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Posted: 7/23/2010 2:35:39 AM EDT
| I am thinking of starting my first build and am wondering if parts are any cheaper at gun shows. The last couple of pistols I have purchased have been at gun shows and I have saved 10-15%. |
| Most of the prices are overinflated at gun shows. I have seen some decent prices on stripped lower receivers (considering not having to deal with shipping and transfer fees). I did get a good deal on a Spikes buffer only because I bought it directly from Spikes at a show here in FL. |
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I think it's easier to get burned buying AR parts at a gun show than almost anything else. If you pick up a S&W revolver, it has a serial number, you're likely buying it from an FFL, so you can be relatively sure what you're getting.
That's not so true when you're buying pieces for an AR. Individual parts aren't necessarily identifiable by manufacturer and quality can vary wildly from a top-shelf maker to the bottom feeders. You can't depend on a random guy at a table to tell you whether the parts kit that's claimed to be Colt is really Blackthorne. You have to go to the show armed with a lot of expertise on what you're looking for or limit yourself to doing business only with vendors that you know have a good rep. Make one bad purchase and the 10% you might have been saving goes out the window. |
| most of the ar related items I see at my local guns shows are overpriced, there are deals out there but if you add in the cost of the gas you spend driving to a bunch of shows looking for the deals it ends up being cheaper to buy online. Also, I don't know about other gun shows, but alot of the stuff I see at the ones I attend is cheap chicom crap and they want tier 1 prices for it. |
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Quoted:
I am thinking of starting my first build and am wondering if parts are any cheaper at gun shows. The last couple of pistols I have purchased have been at gun shows and I have saved 10-15%. Shop around on the EE and the other vendors that are listed on here. If you are looking to piece it together over time just be patient and you can find good deals. Aim usually has good deals on lowers and other parts along with several other sites. shop around and you should be able to get a better deal on things online. Or just make really good friends with a dealer and get it at his price |
| The local ones that around around me (in eastern PA) don't interest me anymore. I pay $7 to get in to walk around through a crowd of people who don't believe in personal hygene so that I can buy things for higher prices than going to one of my local gun shops (and supporting them). I'll go there to pick up a lower... and that's about it. Quite frankly, I'd rather have a local shop order a lower for me. |
Ya I'm done with gunshows. I haven't seen any deals and if there is one then its because the dealer doesn't know what he has. That most likely wont happen because they think there garbage is the best. I haven't seen a dealer that didn't have a FU I don't give a F*ck if you don't buy my used priced more then new crap. Gun shows are waists of time and money. 
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I go to see what something looks like or feels like up-close-and-personal. Heft it for weight, the stuff I can't find out by reading about it. I don't expect deals, but I look for stuff I don't want to pay shipping on - like ammo cans. Fat-50s are pricey to ship. I buy one at least as a shopping bag, then I wander around talking to the people I haven't seen since the last show. |
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I just went to a gun show here in Dallas last weekend and was pretty appalled by the crap people were selling. Lots of Chinese knockoffs and CAA junk.
I realized after walking around for an hour or so how big of a gun snob I've become. This is of course, all Arfcoms fault. 
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I went to a gun show last weekend and saw a used and abused Oly AR15 spray painted blaze orange with some camo colors for $1200 and a used SCAR for $5500.
Also some cheap BS from some vendors to get me to buy some product. Gun Show vendors are kinda like listening to fishing stories....they'll tell you anything to get you to buy their over-priced stuff. ETA: Also saw an "ITT" PVS-14 (they were ANS) for $3500. Another $300 for the gun mount, another $200 for the J-hook mount, another $400 for the helmet mounting system, another $50 for the bag... Shit, if I had that money I'd just go to TNVC and get the PVS-14 SF kit for $3600 and use the rest on escorts But yeah...the best deal I have ever saw at a gun show still didnt justify to the entrance fee on total cost. |
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Quoted: I like to buy stripped receivers at gun shows, but i buy all the rest of my parts online... And sometimes i'll get some ammo at the shows, always need more ammo. I've gotta agree with this post. About the only thing worth buying for a build lately at guns shows would be the stripped lower receiver since are will just be paying for a receiver and not the transfer fee if you had ordered it and had it sent to a local FFL. Last gun show I attended had several boths with Spike's stripped lowers between $99 and $105. The cost of admission to the gun show would be cheaper than what one of the local shops wanted to charge me for a transfer (they want $50) which is what has been stopping me from ordering a BCM lower for my BCM Middy. Next time I can make it to a gunshow (work schedule has been conflicting and wife went through the roof when I mentioned burning some TOWP hours to attend a gun show), I may end up buying a lower. If I get a BCM lower, it will go with the upper I already have. If I get a Spike's or other brand lower, it will go for the new build I want and the BCM will stay on the Century marked CMT lower (which will probably get an upgrade to the trigger if I stick with this lower for my BCM). |
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