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

[Squib Joe]

First plane to land at Guadalcanal.

I'm pretty sure it was a PBY, not a P-38

[12smile]

googled it ...you're right....Maybe they were the first to land in Japan after surrender ?

[1000]

Can anyone, come up with what would be a fair % markup on a new gun? (Home base FFL vs Gun Shop.) Anyone that does gun shows knows that it takes about 3 hours to pack up and then setup at a show and about 3 hours to pack up unpack at the shop. As well as the time at the show, about 10 hours on Saturday and 7 hours on Sunday.

There are very few “Gun Shops” left. (Thanks to CCRN/GOCRA) But that’s another story for later.
The old days (60's & 70's), in Minneapolis you had Gray's Guns, Mpls Outlet, Hoppe's Guns and a few more in South Minneapolis. Remember when all of the Hardware stores, Gas station and yes Walgreen’s use to sell guns.

[Drizzle]

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.

His wife handles the magazine side of the business (or maybe the reverse). Great people to deal with, they will refund or exchange if you got the wrong one or they don't fit right, no questions asked, and they're at every show, so they're easy to find.

[ijosef]

I've seen a few decent deals on accessories (used gun grips still in good shape, etc), but most of the stuff is overpriced. I go mostly just to look around. I've seen some "okay" prices, but no smokin' deals yet.

The only thing I've bought at a gunshow was my Mosin Nagant 91/30. I wanted to get one, and a table had a nice one with a decent bore for $85 tax included. All of the cosmoline had already been cleaned off so I didn't have to mess with that. It had all the crusty old accessories too, so I'm guessing someone either bought it, cleaned it up and sold it right away to this particular dealer, or the dealer cleaned it themselves before selling (unlikely).

[CZscout]

I've gone to most of the gun shows in the TC area over the last 3-4 years. Crocodile, MWCA, AC Expose, PTC shooters assn etc...

I have never purchased a gun off of a table...most of the same or better prices can be found at Cabelas when the guns are on sale or featured / clearance.

I've had GREAT luck with private sales walking around and in the parking lot!

For me, gun shows offer great prices on mags and ammunition, accessories etc...

Best deal yet....over the shoulder bandoleer (cabelas brand ) with 50 rounds of new Winchester 12 gauge 00 buck.....$15.

So, who's going to Forest Lake MWCA show this weekend?

[CZscout]

Sorry to post back to back....

I'd venture to say that THIS forum has the BEST deals on firearms and accessories in the TC area. The Market Place here ROCKS!

[2in2out]

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.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but that's cool to find a warbird fan here. I didn't know there was a P-38 at ANE (Anoka) last weekend - that would've been cool to see. Since Planes of Fame moved to California, it's not as common to see one in Minnesota.

I fly out of Austin, which has been home to a P-51 Mustang named Sierra Sue II. The gentleman that owns it sold to someone, and the rumor is that it's going to Anoka for restoration, but I haven't heard for sure.

The Blaine Aviation Days used to be quite the fly-in, but I haven't been there in several years now. There are more warbirds up there than most people think.

Incidentally, another place nobody thinks of for warbirds is Granite Falls, MN - home of Warhawks, Inc. Somehow, the P-38 "Ruff Stuff" (the one in my avatar) is connected to them. Their web site claims it's in their collection, but I don't know if they restored it, own it or what.

I remember when Major Ira Bong's memorial was still in Poplar, WI, and they had a P-38 on a pylon in from of the school. That airplane was restored and moved to Superior for the Bong Museum. I should have film pictures from when it was in Poplar, but it would take a miracle to find them. If I do, I'll let you know.

First plane to land at Guadalcanal.

I'm pretty sure it was a PBY, not a P-38

No, I think he's right - after the Marines captured the airfield, I think it was P-38 that landed first. I'm going strictly by memory here, and could be wrong about that.

I think the PBY's get short-changed in history, though - great, great airplane. The Duluth branch of the CAF has one or two, I can't remember... I think it's two. They used to base one in South St. Paul, but that one was damaged in a storm and I don't think they had the capacity to repair it and keep everything else flying at the same time.

[12smile]

Google gives me the pby as the first plane to land at Henderson Field. Thought it was the p-38. It's amazing what you can find online about the p-38...original army training films. the 'owners manual' etc.

[Squib Joe]

No, I think he's right - after the Marines captured the airfield, I think it was P-38 that landed first. I'm going strictly by memory here, and could be wrong about that.

There is a famous photo of the first aircraft landing at Henderson, a PBY-5A, on August 12th, 1942. It was piloted by Lt. W. Simpson



This was very significant for the Marines. Up until that time they must have felt trapped, and in some ways abandoned, on the island.

Simpson had been ordered to land offshore to evacuate two critically wounded Marines. Knowing that ferrying the Marines out to the plane would be hard on them, and wanting to boost morale, he pretended to have engine failure as an excuse to land on the airfield instead.

The Marston matting wasn't put down yet and the runway had several bomb craters when he landed

Sorry for the thread drift!

[12smile]

First land victory for US in WWII, following the sea victory at Midway.

If the Japanese had finished the field they could have threatened shipping to Australia. It didn't need to be the first land battle of the war but both sides decided to make a stand and we were'nt going to lose the first battle of the Pacific war.

...After Pearl Harbor we had guys lined up around the corner of recruiting stations and lying about their age to go fight the Japs.

I had four uncles fighting in the Pacific and 3 uncles and my Dad in Europe (2 big Catholic families )

They all made it back.

[1911fan]

First off. All the deals are snapped up by other dealers before the doors open. There are some good values but hardly ever deals. I have been at several shows very early and seen the guys horse trading between themselves trying to find new stock for their shops or tables.

Regarding the P38 and Henderson. We invaded Guadalcanal in the summer of 42, only eight months or so after Pearl Harbor. The P38 was operational then but very limited use with most of them being in the aleutians due to their range. We forced the Japanese out of Guadalcanal in January 43. For almost all of that time it was a marine operation and the planes that flew out of their were almost all wildcats,dauntlesses, and older aircraft.