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Link Posted: 2/23/2022 12:40:34 AM EST
[#1]
Someone probably did buy it, unfortunately.

I don't think I've been to a gun show in 15+ years, deals are easier to find online.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 12:43:37 AM EST
[#2]
There’s at least one good deal at every gun show.  My dad was convinced that late Sunday evening was the best time for deals because the dealers didn’t want to pack up so much merchandise.  In my experience, I found good deals being the first in line on Saturday morning.  If I could judge how many tables someone had bought and had something in mind that was around the same price range, I could get a good deal and pay the dealer for his tables right off the bat.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 12:45:13 AM EST
[#3]
Do they still do beanie babies at these?
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 12:46:27 AM EST
[#4]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:  Do they still do beanie babies at these?
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I've seen crank fired belt-feds, never seen any beanie babies.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 12:46:56 AM EST
[#5]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
And that right there is why people hit up walmarts etc. Im all for supporting a local shop, but sometimes you cant.
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Too bad someone already hit up the local Walmart and is selling those white box 12ga #7's for 18 bucks a piece at the gun show

Link Posted: 2/23/2022 12:51:47 AM EST
[#6]
Gunshows used to be fun and good deals could be found.

These days, its nearly all scalpers and junk guns or horribly overpriced new ones.


BTW: I made out REALLY well unloading "stuff" last winter. Thankyou to all of you forum members who helped pay for my daughter's college semester by buying on GunBroker.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 12:52:35 AM EST
[#7]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


I went to one for the first time in years last weekend.

80% of the stuff there was cheap Chinese shit.

Powder wise I saw h1000 for 90 bucks a lb and just crazy ammo prices.

There was also a table of nothing but psa rifles 200 bucks or so more expensive than psa pricing.
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If those were private sale, I'd fo.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 12:52:52 AM EST
[#8]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
The good days of gun shows were gone when I last went 10+ years ago.

I can only imagine what it is like now. I know the beef jerky can be replenished, but hasn’t all the nazi memorabilia been sold by now?
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No one ever really ows nazi memorabilia, they only rent it until the child support or trailer rental is due.



(I know that plenty of people collect this stuff for historical value and significance, I just had to make my joke)
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 12:55:14 AM EST
[#9]
Orlando gun show has been decent for me the last 5-6 years.

At worse, I find internet-level or better pricing on shit I actually want:

Ammo (sub-$300 brass cased 5.56)
Surefire lights ($215 for a M600 Ultra Scout)
Glock mags, parts, etc. ($15-20 each new, enough spares to fill a tacklebox)


Best score for me, was a Spike's 11.5" BAR2 upper I paid $500 for (retail was $869 and they were sold out). It's been my SBR upper for probably five years now.

Link Posted: 2/23/2022 12:55:40 AM EST
[#10]
then Buy it

Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
In case you don't know, Varget has been the hardest powder to find for like, three years.

That's not even a 100% markup (aka double).

Primers routinely sell at a 400% markup over pre panic sale prices.

That's not super unreasonable in my book.
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Link Posted: 2/23/2022 12:59:46 AM EST
[#11]
that is Not pretty good. i just bought an 8 for 250. Varget isnt all that rare.

Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
I hate to say it, but 450 for a keg of Varget is pretty good. Single pounders are averaging 60-80.00.

I would’ve bought that, actually.
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Link Posted: 2/23/2022 1:02:59 AM EST
[#12]
this is the funniest thing i read... and the Truth

Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
I quit going to gun shows after Obama got elected. After that I realized that gun shows are where dipshits go to get fleeced by ass hats.
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Link Posted: 2/23/2022 1:09:32 AM EST
[#13]
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 1:11:25 AM EST
[#14]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Once upon a time in the late 1980's and early 1990's a gun show was where you went to find either a bargain, or that rare item that some old codger has kept in the closet for 20 years.

Then legislation, greed, ATF crackdowns, and outright dishonesty turned gun shows into cesspools of people offloading broken shit they know they can only sell to people who don't look too closely, or overpriced merchandise (again) marketed to the unwary.

The only firearms I would buy at a gun show would be NIB ones from a licensed FFL.  That is probably the one place you can still get a bargain if it's a case where the dealer is overstocked, for example.  I got a S & W Shield pretty much at the wholesale price three years ago because it was obvious the dealer had a display case full of them and was in need of some sales.

The last thing I bought at a gun show was an N1 stock that looked minty and was being sold at a bargain price.  

Those two things are probably all I've bought at a gun show in 10 years.
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Damn, I miss those shows. Everyone had a barrel of SKSs, selling for $80 a pop. I mean, they ALL had them.

Attachment Attached File
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 3:10:04 AM EST
[#15]
I used to love going on my birthday every year. It always landed on the weekend of so my dad and brother and I would all go and for years I managed to find some great deals. But as soon as the UBC passed in VA I stopped going. Private sales were the only way you could still find a deal.

Got my first AK at one in perfect condition with Russian red wood, and the guy knocked off 50 bucks so I could get a hand full of mags too.

Last one was 2020. It was pretty lame, nothing but Chinese crop, Airsoft and FFL tables spiking prices 3x what they were worth. A fuck ton of people who bought all the PSA daily deals and resold at twice the value and extremely over priced ammo.

I stopped going after they were canceled for covid and by the time they had reopened I figured the chances of a deal are 0 and the price of ammo was 1.00 9mm etc.

I miss it. The people were comical, the fudds everywhere, the tactical Timmy mall cop types perusing airsoft rails for their new M&P and the jersey vendors were all part of the bingo.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 3:17:55 AM EST
[#16]
Don't be angry at capitalism.

Some one will buy it, or not.

Free country, still.

I stopped going over 10 years ago, mainly because of facial recognition and license plate scanners.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 3:24:43 AM EST
[#17]
At that price point for Varget, I should off load 2 8 lb kegs I have and buy a suppressor or 2.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 5:09:42 AM EST
[#18]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
i go for the jerky, i stay for the dream catchers.
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I haven't gone to a gun show since the early 2010s.

And the Buc-ees by me has better jerky.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 5:33:20 AM EST
[#19]
Overpriced guns, so crowded you're bumping into people, and lots of people that smell like they haven't bathed in a week. Haven't been to a gun show in many years and won't go ever again.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 5:40:10 AM EST
[#20]
Everyone here bitching about Beanie Babies, Chinese crap, etc, has one thing in common......you're going to the wrong gun shows.

Here in FL, if you just went to the ones put on by the big promoters, you'd see nothing but dealers selling their store inventory, and overpriced garbage.

I stick to the smaller shows, put on by a few clubs/organizations, and always enjoy them ......
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 6:12:18 AM EST
[#21]
Most I've seen don't cater to people with only a few items to sell, but instead to larger vendors peddling crap not many people want. There are probably quite a few people that would consider the event economically useful if smaller, higher density ( 4x4' section of table and a fold-out chair behind it) space were available. It is not worth it for someone to rent a full table space if they only have a few things.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 6:19:36 AM EST
[#22]
They turned into nothing more than gun-related "flea markets" sometime in the very late 1990s or so. Last one I attended around 2016 was more garbage Chinese optics/accessories than firearms.  Even the few vendors that would bring powder/primers quit years ago because, in their words, "it wasn't worth it to haul it back and forth".  The good old days are gone forever, and I feel lucky to have experienced them, but sad for the future folks that won't.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 6:25:35 AM EST
[#23]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
I stopped going over 10 years ago, mainly because of facial recognition and license plate scanners.
View Quote

How wide spread is that? A lot of large corporate stores can do that too, like Walmart, where they have large screens to show you they're watching.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 6:36:40 AM EST
[#24]
Kenton coon dog field trials was one of the largest outdoor gun show/flea markets before it shut down.
Was a week long
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 7:04:22 AM EST
[#25]
Quoted:
Aside from a vendor selling Magpul, and another Aero Precision / Holosun products this is an example of the pricing I see at gun shows.

https://i.ibb.co/k9B06yx/IMG-20220219-112440.jpg[/url][/url]

It's like they don't realize the internet exists.
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Last year at camp perry there was a vendor asking 600 for that jug.  Not only did people not buy it, they avoided his shop all together
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 7:24:51 AM EST
[#26]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
I have one of the better gun shows in Ohio a mile and a half from my house (Medina Gun show) and haven’t been to it in 15 years because of BS like that. I use to go 6 times a year. Do not miss it.
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When I lived in Brunswick the Medina Show was the best around in the 70's and 80's followed by the Berea Fairground Show.  I did belong to the O.G.C.A. and that was the ultimate show at the IX Center and was well worth the membership fee just to attend.  I  have not been to a gun show in 20+ years as the beef jerky and cheap gold plated jewelry tables were more prevalent than gun related items.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 8:18:36 AM EST
[#27]
I have a feeling some people complaining in this thread are the same ones who ***** about....well.  Everything.

  That said I do know some gunshows absolutely suck.  Hit a couple on road trips around the country and am grateful for Montana gunshows.  

 Deals I’ve picked up(recently not 20 years ago prices).  Across the spectrum so there’s stuff for everyone:
  Russian SKS. $325
  M91/30 Finnish mosin. $300
  Inter arms Mark x Mauser .458.  $400
  Browning 1886 trapper 45-70. $450
  Winchester 1895 30-40 krag antique $750 (wish I’d have kept that one)
  Swedish m38 Mauser mint wih bayonet $400
.270 weatherby high grade MK V NIB$600
 10-22 $200
  Ruger standard .22 $200
  Beretta 92fs.  $375
  Marlin 336 .35 with 200 rounds.  $450
  Remington 141 .35.   $300
  1875 uberti .45 with 250 rounds $400
   Swiss 7.5 GP11.  480 rounds $240
    Etc etc.   I could go on forever.

  So everyone:   Don’t move to Montana for retirement. We want our gunshows kept cheap.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 8:30:30 AM EST
[#28]
There's a couple of small shows in the next county over every year.
One I go to religiously every year, the others occasionally.
No beanie babies, no beef jerky.

Got to know a bunch of old timers that sell at them over the years.
I stop at their tables (full of ordinary guns) , say hello and make some small talk.
After a while, out from under the table comes something really nice.
Like a prewar S&W in the box, a nice pre 64 Winchester, a WW2 bring back...
all in excellent shape, all reasonably priced.

Of course there are the guys trying to sell stuff to the gullible and naive for way more than fair market.
That guy whose items are always "Rare" and "Like New" but smell like cold blue.
Those guys are the used car salesmen of the gun shows.

Link Posted: 2/23/2022 8:31:43 AM EST
[#29]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
I have a feeling some people complaining in this thread are the same ones who ***** about....well.  Everything.

  That said I do know some gunshows absolutely suck.  Hit a couple on road trips around the country and am grateful for Montana gunshows.  

 Deals I’ve picked up(recently not 20 years ago prices).  Across the spectrum so there’s stuff for everyone:
  Russian SKS. $325
  M91/30 Finnish mosin. $300
  Inter arms Mark x Mauser .458.  $400
  Browning 1886 trapper 45-70. $450
  Winchester 1895 30-40 krag antique $750 (wish I’d have kept that one)
  Swedish m38 Mauser mint wih bayonet $400
.270 weatherby high grade MK V NIB$600
 10-22 $200
  Ruger standard .22 $200
  Beretta 92fs.  $375
  Marlin 336 .35 with 200 rounds.  $450
  Remington 141 .35.   $300
  1875 uberti .45 with 250 rounds $400
   Swiss 7.5 GP11.  480 rounds $240
    Etc etc.   I could go on forever.

  So everyone:   Don’t move to Montana for retirement. We want our gunshows kept cheap.
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It's amazing that we live in a time and age where 300$ Mosins and 325$ SKS are a good deal.

Also ruger 10/22 for 200 seems about par depending on model.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 8:43:22 AM EST
[#30]
I guess it depends on what you're looking for.  My personal take has been anything I'm interested in is going to suck for pricing at the gun show so find stuff I'm partially interested in and get those deals.

Of course, I haven't been to a gun show in 5 years...
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 8:50:13 AM EST
[#31]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
It's the smell, if there is such a thing. I feel saturated by it. I can taste your stink and every time I do, I fear that I've somehow been infected by it.
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@grambosc

Someone's been going to the Jamil Temple

40+ year's worth of nicotine cover the walls and ceiling and the floor reeks of cat urine.

Attachment Attached File


Attachment Attached File
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 8:55:42 AM EST
[#32]
Quoted:
Aside from a vendor selling Magpul, and another Aero Precision / Holosun products this is an example of the pricing I see at gun shows.

https://i.ibb.co/k9B06yx/IMG-20220219-112440.jpg[/url][/url]

It's like they don't realize the internet exists.
View Quote



It has been this way. For years. After seeing reports of gun shows I don’t understand why people attend them. Seems like a novelty from the 1990s when the internet wasn’t as massive or popular as it is today.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 8:55:44 AM EST
[#33]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
I stopped going a few years ago.  $15 parking and $25 entrance, with no deals to be found.
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Geez, they hit you for parking too....      Guess we are lucky that's not a thing in this area.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 8:56:09 AM EST
[#34]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


@grambosc

Someone's been going to the Jamil Temple

40+ year's worth of nicotine cover the walls and ceiling and the floor reeks of cat urine.

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/189022/FuddNoLowballers_jpg-2289967.JPG

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/189022/GunShowCriminals_jpg-2289968.JPG
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damn that last one is about a spot on.

Needs a 400lb woman on O2 in a scooter selling purses or beanie babies.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 8:59:45 AM EST
[#35]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
that is Not pretty good. i just bought an 8 for 250. Varget isnt all that rare.


View Quote


Right. Grab one for me then. Fuck it, grab me two.  You see my feedback, I’m good for it.

I’m gonna guess I won’t be hearing from you.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 9:01:23 AM EST
[#36]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:  These are the many of the ones I was specifically thinking of, when I made my disparaging comments.

I know you live for these things, and I can appreciate that. But nah, man. I can't do it anymore.
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That's b/c you know there's a Python out there waiting for you.  

I know I've dragged you to a couple of the Premier shows, and those are the biggest shows around.  But once I get back in town, I expect I'll set up at the smaller shows, rather than try to compete w/ the big dealers @ Premier.  Have you been to Tulsa yet?  That's where you'll find your Python.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 9:07:27 AM EST
[#37]
Came back from the Fort Worth Gun Show a couple weeks ago $2000 richer (sold some ammo I was dragging in a rolling suitcase for nearly double what I paid-shit was gathering dust in the back of my closet-a couple of rifles I didn't shoot anymore, and traded in my Shield Performance Center Gen 1 for a SIG P365 $150 below MSRP because the box had been opened and nobody wants an external safety model apparently)

Caught up with some familiar faces, got some primers for not retarded pricing, got the general word on the street of the industry, and made it home before dark.

Bought some asshole burning beef jerky too

Overall I'd say it was a good time spent
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 9:10:37 AM EST
[#38]
I've noticed that the booths not making sales when other booths are doing a lot are the ones to find a good deal at.  

That's exactly how I bought my last gun from a gun show.  I walked up and said what's the best you can do on this gun and they said $500.  I asked if that was out the door and they thought about it and said yes.  $500 was less than online prices for the same gun at that time so I was happy.  After they sold to me they immediately made 2 more sales.  I was the sale that got them moving they said.

Paper targets and tannerite almost always are cheaper at gun shows.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 9:14:37 AM EST
[#39]
I stopped enjoying going in 2012 when prices went berserk.
I stopped going in 2020.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 9:21:59 AM EST
[#40]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Orlando gun show has been decent for me the last 5-6 years.

At worse, I find internet-level or better pricing on shit I actually want:

Ammo (sub-$300 brass cased 5.56)
Surefire lights ($215 for a M600 Ultra Scout)
Glock mags, parts, etc. ($15-20 each new, enough spares to fill a tacklebox)


Best score for me, was a Spike's 11.5" BAR2 upper I paid $500 for (retail was $869 and they were sold out). It's been my SBR upper for probably five years now.

View Quote



I use to go to the Orlando show quite often.  I found a few good deals over the years.

However, there was one vendor that pissed me off.

He was an older guy that was always in the middle of big building.

He had a SP1 that interested me.  Nothing special being 1980s production but in good shape.  His price was $1600.  This was back when most SP1s were selling for between $900 and $1100.  I offered him  $1200, which was really more than it was worth.  He felt offended.  Try to tell me how rare the SP1s were.  $1600 was his set price.  I wasn't going to pay that.

I kept seeing the rifle year after year.  During the Obama era pandemic he raised the price to $2500.  It sat on his table for probably six to seven years.  As far as I know nobody ever bought it.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 9:45:11 AM EST
[#41]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


About 200 or so in the 'old' days
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Link Posted: 2/23/2022 10:03:46 AM EST
[#42]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:



I use to go to the Orlando show quite often.  I found a few good deals over the years.

However, there was one vendor that pissed me off.

He was an older guy that was always in the middle of big building.

He had a SP1 that interested me.  Nothing special being 1980s production but in good shape.  His price was $1600.  This was back when most SP1s were selling for between $900 and $1100.  I offered him  $1200, which was really more than it was worth.  He felt offended.  Try to tell me how rare the SP1s were.  $1600 was his set price.  I wasn't going to pay that.

I kept seeing the rifle year after year.  During the Obama era pandemic he raised the price to $2500.  It sat on his table for probably six to seven years.  As far as I know nobody ever bought it.
View Quote



"Don't try to lowball me; I know what I got."
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 10:21:45 AM EST
[#43]
I haven’t seen good pricing at gun shows in years and the hard to find stuff is easily found online now. I don’t see a point. It’s mostly non firearm crap anyway
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 10:25:22 AM EST
[#44]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


When I lived in Brunswick the Medina Show was the best around in the 70's and 80's followed by the Berea Fairground Show.  I did belong to the O.G.C.A. and that was the ultimate show at the IX Center and was well worth the membership fee just to attend.  I  have not been to a gun show in 20+ years as the beef jerky and cheap gold plated jewelry tables were more prevalent than gun related items.
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
I have one of the better gun shows in Ohio a mile and a half from my house (Medina Gun show) and haven’t been to it in 15 years because of BS like that. I use to go 6 times a year. Do not miss it.


When I lived in Brunswick the Medina Show was the best around in the 70's and 80's followed by the Berea Fairground Show.  I did belong to the O.G.C.A. and that was the ultimate show at the IX Center and was well worth the membership fee just to attend.  I  have not been to a gun show in 20+ years as the beef jerky and cheap gold plated jewelry tables were more prevalent than gun related items.

Tri-state show in Lima was a good one also. Lots of mil-surp, haven't been there in a few years though.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 10:43:53 AM EST
[#45]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Do they still do beanie babies at these?
View Quote

Is that what you are looking for?
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 10:46:56 AM EST
[#46]
Last time I went to a gun show was about a year ago.
I was a vendor. All the AR15s I built and parts I accumulated when they were cheap came in handy during the panic.
I also had some old, spare ammo to sell.

Before the show opened other vendors pretty much cleaned me out.
I turned about $800 invested into a several grand.
It was a great weekend.


Gun shows were actually good before the internet.
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 10:47:25 AM EST
[#47]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
I stopped going over 10 years ago, mainly because of facial recognition and license plate scanners.
View Quote

Link Posted: 2/23/2022 10:50:32 AM EST
[#48]
Was that at the OAKS show by any chance?
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 10:58:34 AM EST
[#49]
Link Posted: 2/23/2022 11:00:15 AM EST
[#50]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:

View Quote View All Quotes
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Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
I stopped going over 10 years ago, mainly because of facial recognition and license plate scanners.



People make fun of that kind of stuff, but I believe I was followed from a gun show by a car with US Government plates one time.

It was an out-of-state show.  As soon as I left the parking lot this sedan was behind me.  As I got back on the interstate I noticed it was still behind me.  It followed me for like a half hour.  Finally I started believing it was actually following me, and I decided to get off the highway at some oddball rural exit.  I timed it just right so the car didn't have time to exit with me, and when it rushed past I noticed it had US Government plates.
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