I attended the annual B & R Memorial Day gun show in Eagle River. This was the lowest numbers of vendors I've ever seen at a B & R show up here. Usually the Labor Day shows have less than the Mem Day shows, and are held in the smaller arena. This weekend's show, in the bigger arena, was kind of pathetic compared to years past, and was even smaller than the last Labor Day show. Drove past at 4pm friday afternoon on my way home, parking lot was full. I went back about noon yesterday... half full parking lot.

I've been attending the up north shows for 25+ years. Only bi-annual Eagle River & Antigo shows remain... used to be one every year in Minocqua too, and occasionally in the fall in Rhinelander. To me, it's a social event, or learning event, more than anything. I just like being around that many guns and "gun people".... At one time, I knew probably half the vendors. Most of those are retired, dead, just not coming up north to do shows, or have quit the business altogether (don't blame them).  

As usual, there were the outrageously priced stuff, the old junk that's a veteran of 1,000 gun shows, and the rare good deal. The best "deal" I saw was on Federal American Eagle 9mm range ammo. They had both 115gr & 124gr FMJ for $14 per box, or (the good deal part) 4 boxes for $50. That's $12.50 ea. Unheard of price at a gun show.

On the other end of the spectrum.... 1,000 CCI #41 small rifle primers for $125? Fiocci .410 2-1/2" #9 shot for $45? Box of 20, .45-70 300gr ammo for $90? Get real... Once upon a time, I used to buy all my reloading stuff at these shows. No more...

About 15-20 years ago, I bought a Marlin (JM stamped) 1895G, .45-70 Guide Gun, the original version with ported barrel. One of my better "finds" at a B&R gun show (only the like-NIB Glock 20SF 10mm w/ 3 mags for $400 a few years ago was better). The Marlin I bought had a Williams aperture sight installed, front fiber optic sight to match, came with a nice Marlin engraved leather sling, has gorgeous wood furniture, original box (original sights inside), and included a box of ammo with 8 rounds fired. Seller claimed it was fired 8 times just to sight it in (it was sighted in). I believed it, gun was mint. I paid $375. Seller was a FFL, tax was added.

Same model gun was there yesterday. 1895G ported barrel Guide Gun. Standard factory sights, good condition - but obviously used, no sling, no ammo, no box.... $1,350. WTF??

The young man who hand makes some gorgeous knives, and sells them at decent prices with thick leather sheaths, was there as usual. I should've bought another knife, saw one I liked, and I already have 4 of his knives that have held up to use quite well.  

Gun shows died many years ago.
Once upon a time, you could go there to see stuff that your local store(s) didn't have, and
what was there was usually at a decent price. Not always great, but usually decent.
Then somewhere along the way it became all about the money.  When they buy from you (if they do)
they screw you, and when they sell to you they rip you off.  (That is if there is anything among the many
tables of overpriced garbage that is worth buying) Plus a lot of the vendors stopped. There was always
one guy that had gun themed books, videos and stickers. Suddenly he was gone.
These are a few of the reasons I haven't gone in years.

Went to the one in Monroe last weekend. Wasnt bad, but still old guys pricing stuff like no one had internet. $1200 for a USED Henry Big Boy .44. Did pick up another mag for my M1carbine for $14. Did see a foursome of antifa clowns going around the show, blue hair, facial piercings, black clothes and needed to use a bar of soap. Yes they STUNK to high heaven from 6ft away and they werent the only ones.

I no longer have the desire or the impetus or the need to go to a gun show. The good old days are long gone.

Eagle River, as a show, has been going downhill for a while. The crowd hasn't brought in anything decent in a few years, and it's too far north for some of the older dealers to attend. Too expensive for them to stay as well, with increasing hotel, fuel, and food costs.

The other problem was the conversation around the recent ATF ruling. The organizer, Ron, left it up to each table on how they wanted to interpret it. Subsequently, roughly half the tables that would normally have guns chose not to bring any, and just have ammo/accessories.

The prices were pretty nuts, the selection of good guns has mostly been picked over by collectors, and there wasn't much enthusiasm at this one. The moneyed tourists just aren't coming through, and all the people looking to get rid of "icky-guns" from their family cabins have done so.

That said, lever-guns are a bad choice for comparison at the moment. At the shop, we can't keep a Pre-Ruger/Marlin on the rack for more than a week before it sells. The new Ruger/Marlin's are selling whenever we get them at $1k-$1.2k depending on model/caliber. Any used ones are usually sold the same day we buy them. Unless it's pretty beat up, a used center-fire lever is going to start around $750-$800.

I still go to shows. Mainly looking for the oddball stuff. Old pistol magazines, revolver grips, old reloading die sets in long obsolete calibers, etc. The Saturday before last,
I went to a small show in New Lisbon, WI., at the American Legion Post. Found a guy with a bunch of old rifle reloading dies in Variuos calibers. In among them was a set of .303 Savage dies made by the Blair Reloading Co.
Blair Reloading used to manufacture dies and presses for the Pacific Co. before they were bought up by Pacific. I have two 1899 Savage rifles in that caliber, so the dies came home with me. Cost me the princely sum of
$40.00.
Gary

I'm 10 minutes from there but didn't go.  I haven't seen anything worth what the asking price at a gun show in years.  There is a shop just outside of Necedah that is good store though.

Makes perfect sense to me, about the gas prices, motel prices, etc.

I've heard vendors complain about the "cheap" crowd up north that doesn't like to spend money. LOL... as if we were all dumb hillbillies who don't know what stuff is worth, and we don't live everyday at lower wages and higher tourist driven prices for everyday stuff... like gas & food, so every penny counts. No...you can't pawn off your worthless junk to us dumb hicks. (I don't mean you, nor Warren nor Jack, nor any of the other up-north guys, like Eric from Guns & Grease!)

So I guess these are worth something then...

Left is my 1884 Trapdoor my grampa gave me (he "sporterized" it, it was my first hunting rifle in 1964).  Center is the Marlin Guide Gun I mentioned above (now has a DRC SS lever and a 2.5X shotgun scope).  And on the right is the 336C / JM in .35 Rem from 1973, that was a 1st anniversary gift from my wife of now 52 years. She paid $90 for it, NIB. Now has Marlin factory big loop lever, Williams receiver sight/fire sight combo. I've killed more deer with that rifle than any other 5 guns I own combined.

I've got a list of names to call when 336's come in.

We got one in 444 a few weeks ago, and that didn't even make the floor, as that was on an employee bucket-list, lol.

It's gotten to be the same ole people playing the same ole game. Think the dealers are screwing themselves with the games and high pricing. Problem now is everyone has a phone and can price check while standing at the table. At least the smart ones do.

Having gone to the show for many years in the past. It's fun to watch the dealers jockey and cry when they miss a deal come in the door. I honestly think more stuff gets bought and sold before the doors even open. What do you think happens on Friday. They all get set up early and what else do they have to do til 3pm when the show opens. The dealers walk around picking each others tables. Then you walk in and think your going to get a deal, LMAO.

Those JM Marlins where mighty hot few years ago. Bought every one I could for 300-500 bucks and put them on Gunbroker. Usually doubled my money, especially on the big bore stuff. Those guys down south wanted them for hog hunting.

I still enjoy going to gun shows.

My buddy and I hit every show with 1.5 hours of Glenwood City.

This year I did a lot of buying.

Mostly reloading supplies, because I needed them, and paying for them hurt.  A lot.

I got a deal on some LC M80 for my new M1A.  $75 for 125 rounds.

Bought a whole box of Garand clips for .50 each.

Still get deals on 10 gauge, but they are getting more and more rare.

For me gun shows are fun excursions to go see gun stuff, hang out with a very good friend, and have some away from the house/family time.

I don’t think I have ever bought a gun at a gun show, though I have bought guns at gun shops we always go to near the gun show.  Unless you count the M1A, my dealer was at the gun show in Rice Lake and I asked him to order me the M1A during the show and I picked it up a week and a half later.

A mossberg semi auto from Scheel’s for $150, a Benjamin pellet rifle from the gun store on S outside Chetek for $100.  Love that gun store BTW.

Gun show season is about 8 months away and I can’t wait…

My granddaughter's husband has his dad's JM / 336 in .30-30. It went uncared for in the basement for too long after his dad died, so it's got rust on barrel & receiver, with some pitting. He won't spend the money for a total re-blue, but wants to keep it anyway. I do Duracoating, and I've done some "rust removal" on shotgun barrels for some friends (Mossbergs with aluminum receivers only the barrels had rust, so they just brought me the barrels). So I bought, and am familiar with using, Durafill, to smooth over any pit marks. We will be working on it this summer. I have both matte black and "gun blue" Duracoat, we haven't decided which way to go yet. I haven't used the "gun blue" color yet, so I'll need to do some testing with it first. I'll post before & after pics.

The "highlight" of Saturday's people watching was the biker chick with the skin tight blue jeans that looked like they were spray-painted onto a perfect example of mother nature's finest work. Even the women turned their heads and watched her walking away in absolutely perfect locomotion... the men looked like this as she went by  ->

The last gun show I went to around here, I came home with musky lures :) I agree with what a lot you have already said. The best deals happen before the doors open.

Ahahaha...Jack mentioned her; said it looked like she poured herself into those pants!

Since I switched to weekends, hitting the show on any day but Sunday is hard. We'll be set up at the Labor-day show and I'll be there both Saturday and Sunday.

I expect a few more injunctions to be in place by then.

Is the store you speak of "Stars and Stripes Sporting Goods"? I've driven past there several times but never stopped in. I'll have to check them out sometime.
Gary

Don't forget to call me if a SAA clone in .45 Colt, by Cimarron, Taylors, or Uberti, shows up.

The way I see it, the serial gun show organizers, like B and R, or marv Krause, it's always the same dealers with the same shit. Much of it not gun related. It's the annual shows usually hosted by a gun club, that were decent.

Haven't been to one in years though.

Problem is more and more "shows" are prohibiting cell phone use in the building for that reason. Although that doesnt stop people from using them.

The B & R shows lately have had signs up saying no cell phone pictures or videos can be taken inside at the show. It doesn't restrict using a cell phone for texting, making phone calls, or using Google. AFAIK.

I received 2 texts, sent replies to both, last time I was there. Nobody even looked at me "weird". I saw others using their phones, either texting or talking. I also had a picture stored in my phone pics, of a list of powders to snag if I saw any at decent prices (I didn't), which I checked at several tables. Nothing was said.

Not all of them. Been to a couple over the last 2 yrs that had signs up "No cell phones" right at the doors.

Looking at the Bob & Rocco website, I see that the last show on their schedule for 2024 was the Eagle River Memorial Day weekend show. There's usually one in Eagle River on Labor Day weekend also, and shows around the state all summer... at least one every 2-3 weeks. They seem to pick up frequency in the fall, and are normally scheduled well in advance. Nothing now. So... are they now done for good, or what???

I've noticed the same thing recently. One of the promoters (Gun Buyer Shows) in the south central part of the state has no future shows scheduled after the Waupaca show in July. I wonder if it has to do with BATFE redefining who needs an FFL to sell firearms. The last show I went to in New Lisbon, many of the vendors were voicing concerns over that issue.
Gary

It appears to me ~75% of the vendors selling guns are FFLs, if not more, at the shows up north I normally go to ... Eagle River twice each year, Antigo usually once per year. Those with private sales normally only have a half dozen or so guns on the table, while the FFLs have all the multi-table displays.

Down here, most of the table holders are private sellers, at least at the smaller venues. Marv Krause Productions has large shows at Tomah, Baraboo and Jefferson that have more FFL holders selling their wares. Being that far north, you must get Michigan FFL's at your shows?.
Gary

Not sure where they're from, I don't read their licenses (most FFLs do have a copy of their license displayed on their table). The private sellers usually have signs saying private sales. Last B & R show, there was a guy that I've never seen at a show before, with about 6 tables of guns marked private sales. It was by far the most guns by a private seller I've seen up here, in my 33 years living up north. Fwiw, there's never been a gun show in Vilas or Oneida counties since 1992, that I haven't been to. There's a smaller show every July up in Manitowish Waters that's not a B & R show. There's been a few private sellers at that one, but mostly old farts like me who are downsizing.

only time i go to a show is if im selling

B & R has a new schedule up. For up north... Eagle River will have the Labor Day weekend show as usual, but I don't see the usual October show in Antigo on the list. There's an Oct show in Eau Claire, and November show in Wausau.

There is a gun show next Sunday July 28th (Sunday only), in Manitowish Waters, at the community center next to the airport, right on hwy 51, on west side. 8:00 - 3:00, $5.

These days the only guy making money is the one selling tickets and tables...

Thanks for the heads up
I might go down to the Wausau one just to see if any old friends are still around...

WHats up with a bunch of them now just doing Friday and Saturday and they close up early saturday?

Which ones? The Bob & Rocco schedule posted on their website still shows 3 day shows. Friday nights are 3pm-8pm, Saturdays 9-5, Sundays 9-3. That's the same schedule the Eagle River & Antigo B & R shows have had for as long as I've been going to them (about 25 years?).

Eagle River ice arena has 2 buildings, the large "dome" and the smaller aux rink next door. Memorial Day shows are usually in the larger dome, where all bathrooms and snack bar are located. Labor Day is in the smaller rink, but the larger building is open for using the bathrooms. The larger rink is now covered in ice, with skating going on everyday, as it's used for it's intended purpose.

The last Memorial Day show in the large building was smaller (# of vendors) than the typical Labor Day show.

The freedom firearms one in Cedarburg that was this past friday and yesterday.

Marv Kraus has a show in Jefferson next weekend.

I have always found interesting items at Marv's shows. I've never been to the Jefferson show but I always attend his shows in Baraboo and Tomah.
Gary