Gun Shows....

Today I went to my first “Gun Show” in Chantilly, Virginia! I must say I was astonished to see so many people, guns and ammunition under one roof. Pallets and pallets of ammo were rolling out the door and most vendors were sold out in the first 4 hour of a three day show. There were miles of tables with every imaginable and unimaginable firearms, knives, ammo etc, etc. I was surprised since this was a first for me. I’m glad I went and I did make a few purchases.

Has anyone ever been to a large scale gun show like this and if so, what are your thoughts.

I have been to many, here in arizona,.
is always good to chat with others there,.
I was at one in wickenburg AZ a year ago,. and found a colt 1917 new service revolver,. US government marked,. and was made in 1918
in really nice shape,.
it is interesting to look at,, a great conversation piece,. as it has some history to it,.
but,. that is all it is,.

I used to go the the SHOT show every year. That show was a dealer only show and was so big that it took me and the wife three or four days to see every display. Every day I would leave with 30-40# of manufacturers product info and samples/freebie stuff

SHOT=Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade

shot show was in las vegas???? years ago,.
or different places?

Shot show rotated through a half dozen or so different venues. LV was a favorite because of the other attractions. Dallas, Houston, New Oleans and seems like Alanta were other spots. Had to be a big city with facilities big enough to handle over a hundred thousand attendees. At that time, there were well over 200K FFLs and probably 400 vendors showing everything from camping supplies to archery and firearms, including shoes and clothing and even some golf stuff

Gerry Wrote:

don4975 Wrote:

We had the Lansing area gun and knife show here this weekend. I spent a couple of hours there yesterday (Saturday).

What you were seeing is people stocking-up on ammo before the proposed legislation to register ammunition. Congress has tried numerous times to pass legislation that would require legal gun owners to register their ammo purchases. Everything from rim-fire ammo to the largest rifle/pistol and shotgun ammo.

The NRA, ammunition makers and gun manufacturers have thus far been successful in striking down the legislation, but with the current state of affairs, we (gun owners) are a bit afraid that it will soon pass. This will impose yet another tax on the ammo (which is already expensive enough), and also allow one more layer of control over what is a protected right.

There are those at the range where I shoot who literally have tens of thousands of rounds of ammo stockpiled right now.

This by the way is not a rant against gun control, against Democrats, for Republicans, or even against trees. Simply a reply to a previous post. - My disclaimer.

Mike is right. The threat of future gun restrictions is fueling the rise in gun/ammo sales. The likelihood is great that we will not get through this administration without at least one major gun grab. Just one more step towards the goal of forming the population into sheeple with little or no means fight oppressive laws. The basic desire to make all people ever more dependent, thus controllable, on the government is the driving force. Sad thing is that over half of the voters have fallen right in step-with their hands stuck out waiting for their handouts

I do alot of reloading,.,. and if need be,. could make everything from scratch,.
see this link for updates
http://gunowners.org/

This would explain the ammo sales volume.

Sounds like a stock tip to me.

don4975 Wrote:

Better get ur guns and ammo now...going to become scarce soon, I'm betting.

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/8460

I read this just now,. if this passes,. our freedoms are lost,. I cant believe this is true,.
but,. it is,. rights that make the USA different than other countries,. will be gone,.
it looks like "they" have it all planned,. the timing , the possible economic crash,.

I was thinking...I hope they do go after ammunition/guns. Now that would rally the troops!

The Chantilly show is insane. Years ago you could get a good deal, now it's not so easy. You pay admission then list price for whatever you want. If you are looking for something very specific or a bunch of parts it's a great idea. Last fall ammo prices were average or a little high compared to Internet sources.

Check out the show in Harrisburg too, not too far away, smaller, but similarly interesting.

The real truth is that all of them are insane. I used to think that I could get a good deal at the shows BUT when I got my FFL and saw what wholesale prices really were I realized how bad gun dealers were robing their customers. I sold many guns for cost+10% while others had a mininum of 100% markup.Customers just don't realize what things really cost. BTW, the local dealers did everything they could to kill the small home dealers including co-operating with the Clinton administrations desires to reduce the number of FFLs out there from over 250K to around 24K. This was counter to the intent of the Gun control act of 1968 which made it illegal for anyone other than a FFL to ship a gun across state lines. GCA1968 allowed owners to become FFL dealers to prevent the unfair restriction of gun sales by a handful of dealers.

I look for private sellers, not dealers,.
I like collectable old stuff,. colt revolvers mostly,.although, I did manage to get a nice AR ,. made by cavalry arms of AZ,. with a synthetic lower,
Im sure the next gun shows will be mobbed,. and all those great deals will be gone,. early,.
like that smith n wesson model , early hand ejector in .45 acp using the moon clips,. WW1 vintage, that I missed last time,.

don4975 Wrote:

I was talking to a couple of people a few days ago and the subject of ammo came up and the new laws. They all said to buy the ammo at a gun show. Why is that.

6863m Wrote:

Best deals at Virginia gun show are at outside front entrance buying from individuals and not with those dealers on the floor. Just make sure to check their driver's license, write down the number, and get a bill of sale. We've bought many that way and do register em with our concealed weapon permits :) :)

The bad thing about buying from individuals is that should something go wrong you have no recourse because you may not be able to find them. I have known many owners who have traded their non functioning weapon in at a gun show for this very reason. Too, get caught with a stolen gun and you may loose it to the police, as well. You pays your money and takes your chances as they say.

I could pretty much predict that a month after every local gunshow I'd get an increase of customers with non-functioning guns they just bought. Knew one guy who brought me a rifle that would not shoot straight for anything. He did not want to spend any money on it so he traded it in an another at the show. He did not tell the buyer what was wrong with the gun. Two weeks later his new gun came to me, because the firing pin was damaged. He got what he deserved for trying to take advantage of someone.

Gerry Wrote:

What's the lilelyhood of a crook having a fake ID? They were all too common aroung here a year or two back. Even heard from my cop friends about fellows who could speak only Spanish with name like Smith and Brown. I ahve had customers try to sell me a stolen gun before. Thats where having a friend on the force comes in handy. One simple call and a serial number was checked. Guy left without his gun when he heard me talking to the police. Just never can tell what kind of idiots are out there look for someone to trust them just long enough to screw and get away