I am disappointed w/ gun shows....no 'deals' :)

[onebohemian]

Supply and demand has caused the prices to rise and stay high. Lots of newbies came out of the woodwork when the paranoia leading up to the last election was running rampant. I believe many of the sellers at the gun shows took advantage of these new customers, perpetuating the paranoia and selling guns at prices that novice buyers did not know were high. The worst example I personally witnessed was that badge guy telling a prospect that the overpriced hipoint he was handling was the type of gun families pass down through their generations. I suspect many folks bought guns that sit in bedroom drawers after they may have been shot once or twice due to the buyers realizing after the fact how expensive ammo is. I keep waiting for those buyers to start dumping their purchases, but I think what's actually happening is the ones being resold ending up at places like Gander because the newbies don't know where else to go. Regardless, as someone said above, gun shows are entertaining to attend, and if you have some knowledge of what you want, the quest is a fun part of being a gun owner. (In addition, sometimes it's nice to take aside one of those newbies you see being fed a line of b.s. and give them a few pointers on which are the good tables/sellers to visit.)

[macphisto]

Badge guy gives me douche chills. It's fun to troll his table, though.

[Rodentman]

I found a squirrel feeder at the show in Bloomington.

[dleong]

I found a squirrel feeder at the show in Bloomington.

I've noticed a distinct lack of beef jerky for sale at local gunshows.

[macphisto]

You can keep the jerky as long as they've still got the Nazi stuff!

[dleong]

There will always be a market for Chinese-made Nazi memorabilia at American gunshows.

[mnmike59]

Dude, You obviously have not been by Thunderjohns booth. He has awesome deals on everything. Make a point to look for him.
Southwest arms
SouthwestArms AT Gmail DOT com

[Seismic Sam]

Oh, forgot to mention that at these shows there is a guy with gray hair and a ponytail who sells gun grips, and his prices are quite reasonable, and he has grips for just about anything. Wolf's Den is also there, and they generally bring out whatever once fired brass they have in their storage locker that you can't buy at the store.

Got these grips from the guy at the show, as the original grips on my Springfield V-16 longslide were nice Rosewood but VERY sharply checkered, and with full bore 45 Super loads (230 grain FMJ @ 1200 FPS ) the abrasion on my hand was nasty.

[rugersol]

Oh, forgot to mention that at these shows there is a guy with gray hair and a ponytail who sells gun grips, and his prices are quite reasonable, and he has grips for just about anything.

+1

[45Badger]

Sometimes you get lucky. I see good deals all the time, just not on things I'm interested in or want. Things I have snagged in last year at shows-

Leupold Rimfire 2-7 scope- MINT for $50
Fugly/painted but 100% functional 870 Wingmaster $129
Really nice Remington fieldmaster pump $175
Really nice Remington .22 bolt - $175
Speedfeed 870 stocks for $30

I passed (ask Shippy and Okern how difficult it was) on a nice $195 social work 870. Broke my friggin' heart...............

What's not to like? The K and L frame Smiths for over $600? The used Glocks for over $500? Used 1911s over $800 without Baer, Brown, or RRA on the slide? The 20 year old Leupys vari-x2 for $300? That stuff can stay in inventory until somebody else gets stupid. I almost never buy new guns, but as others have noted- If you want a new gun- see ThunderJohn!!!!!!!!

[12smile]

When I get my second pf9 i'm going w/ thunderjohn...already got a quote.

[Pezhead]

He's a great guy to work with, wise choice.

[zachkuby87]

Dude, You obviously have not been by Thunderjohns booth. He has awesome deals on everything. Make a point to look for him.
Southwest arms
SouthwestArms AT Gmail DOT com

agreed i actually met him over a year ago at a show and was supposed to purchase from him and lost his business card "now i have 2". then i found him on here and within a day or two of joining here i purchased a brand new xdm45 for 600 out the door i couldnt find that deal anywhere i had looked especially at gander or similar places... hes actually bringing some stuff to the show in flake for me for super cheap. awesome guy go see his booth...

[2in2out]

I got a knife at the Rochester MWCA show last year that was cheaper than anywhere on the internet.

But, there was also a guy selling a table full of folding knives for about 10 times what I thought they were worth.

There are deals, but it doesn't seem to be as many as there used to be 10-15 years ago. Mostly, it's just fun to go and check out what people are trying to sell.

[12smile]

There's a p-38 in your avatar....did you know one of the 6 flying p.38s was in Anoka last weekend? I think there were other planes too. Almost pm'd you. I have every image of the p-38 available on the internet.

First plane to land at Guadalcanal. Shot down Yamamoto. Lindberg flew one.