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It was this weekend at Will Rogers Exhibition Hall. As usual, I wasn't disappointed. 1,200 table show. I took a buddy of mine who's never been to a gun show, & he was google eyed through the whole show. Had a great time. He wound up buying a Glock 42 from a vendor, and was please with his purchase. Me? I wound up walking away with 4, CR123 batteries.

In all my years of attending that particular show, I've never seen as many AR parts vendors as that one. One vendor had a rack of 150(good number) AR complete uppers. Prices were all over the place. From $469 to $2300. Not the same guns obviously, but a wide spread. Many, many complete AR's as well.

TONS of new gun dealers with FFL's, and a whole lot of private dealers. A good day was had by all. I love talking to the vendors. My kind of people.

joe817:

Decisions, decisions.....4 batteries or a Barrett .50 sniper rifle? :-)

SIA

Actually thought about going to that one myself..but $8 admission and of course fort worth charges for parking anytime someone is running a trade show near downtown. The parking fee got me. Not going to pay $16 to get into a show to try and buy a set of reloading dies :/ ARs are the big thing right now for sure though. Actually getting my FFL soon as well so I can legally fix the things and build them for people, and sell of course. But I'm seriously considering getting into building up 1911's too. That interests me far more than ARs.

But let me pose an interesting question. What sort of things have you been looking for that you haven't seen at shows? What sort of accessories and what not? Thinking about getting a table at one soon but not going to just lug a bunch of random crap around with me that may or may not sell

surprise_i'm_armed wrote:joe817: Decisions, decisions.....4 batteries or a Barrett .50 sniper rifle? :-) SIA

They DID have one out there. And a Class 3 FFL. I looked at the table....saw the prices, laughed and walked on by. They had some neat full autos though. An MG34, an M-60 and a couple of M-249' SAWS. Very impressive!

Good to hear from you!! Let's go punch some paper sometime! Have you been in contact with USA1? I haven't. Sure miss that guy.

joe817 wrote:It was this weekend at Will Rogers Exhibition Hall. As usual, I wasn't disappointed. 1,200 table show. I took a buddy of mine who's never been to a gun show, & he was google eyed through the whole show. Had a great time. He wound up buying a Glock 42 from a vendor, and was please with his purchase. Me? I wound up walking away with 4, CR123 batteries.

In all my years of attending that particular show, I've never seen as many AR parts vendors as that one. One vendor had a rack of 150(good number) AR complete uppers. Prices were all over the place. From $469 to $2300. Not the same guns obviously, but a wide spread. Many, many complete AR's as well.

TONS of new gun dealers with FFL's, and a whole lot of private dealers. A good day was had by all. I love talking to the vendors. My kind of people.

I've been to the shows at Will Rogers a time or two when I've visited up there. They always seem "better" than the shows here in the Houston area. I don't know if you saw my post on the Glock 42. Let me know how your friend likes it and if he has any issues with it if you wouldn't mind.

Justin2200 wrote:Actually thought about going to that one myself..but $8 admission and of course fort worth charges out the a** for parking anytime someone is running a trade show near downtown. The parking fee got me. Not going to pay $16 to get into a show to try and buy a set of reloading dies :/ ARs are the big thing right now for sure though. Actually getting my FFL soon as well so I can legally fix the things and build them for people, and sell of course. But I'm seriously considering getting into building up 1911's too. That interests me far more than ARs.

But let me pose an interesting question. What sort of things have you been looking for that you haven't seen at shows? What sort of accessories and what not? Thinking about getting a table at one soon but not going to just lug a bunch of random crap around with me that may or may not sell

Yeah Justin I hear ya! Parking was $10...$8 if you didn't mind parking 4 blocks away. Admission was $8($7 if you had a coupon). BUT if you buy(rent) a table, you get a 'dealer badge' that gets you in for free....no admission fee. You probable still have to pay for parking. No getting around that. And for $10 you can park in their underground parking garage....that's what I used to do when I was setting up. Well worth the cost IMO. Since that's the cost for above ground parking anyway. Sure beats a LOT of walking and getting into a cool car from not being out in the sun.

What accessories am I looking for? Well, I dunno. I'm generally an impulse buyer, unless I'm looking for specifically. Today I was looking for a speed loader for my little Colt Gov't .380, but none were to be found, unless I wanted a EULA speed loader for $34.95, which I wasn't about to pay. There were many magazines, slings, stripper clip, military knives people there today. A LOT of knife dealers...both custom, and mass market manufacturers(Gerber, Boker, S&W, etc) No Benchmade though.

My suggestion is that you need to go to that gun show to see if it's justifiable for you to spend the money for a table, & to see the mix of merchandise that the shows offers. The timing of the show comes into play as well. IE: gun shows right at the start of dove or deer season, draws a better crowd than the off season(summer gun shows). It all depends on what you have to offer.

When I was setting up for that show I only had collectible stuff(U.S. military marked trench & riot shotguns, military knives, military pistols & U.S WWII escape & evasion 'silk maps'). I didn't go for the income. But only to trade/buy what I didn't have, and hopefully to sell enough stuff to have money left over to go buy something else in the future.

But clearly, the best deals you can get at a gun show is if you are sitting BEHIND the table instead of standing in front of it.....Just MHO, and observations.

Note: Those are just my observations from someone who did that for many years as a fun thing to do, and NOT to make a living at it.

puma guy wrote: I've been to the shows at Will Rogers a time or two when I've visited up there. They always seem "better" than the shows here in the Houston area. I don't know if you saw my post on the Glock 42. Let me know how your friend likes it and if he has any issues with it if you wouldn't mind.

Puma Guy, I've never been to any Houston gun show, so I can't comment. But thanks for sharing that.

And Yes, I did see your post and followed it closely, AND I told him about everything you had to say(as I remembered your posts. But I plead foggy memory, as I'm old don't you know. ) He took your words into consideration, and wants me to go with him to his first shoot at the range. And I'll certainly report back on how it shoots. I'll probably buy a box of ammo for it and shoot it all myself..just to test it out.

Right on...I've been to a few gun shows here and there, mostly shopping for reloading components. But it's insulting that someone wants to charge me $60 for a 30 year old set of rusty all steel .45 ACP dies. I've found some deals..got my RCBS single stage for $50, but I have noticed a trend at most gun shows you DON'T get deals. I think a lot of people running tables at shows setup with stuff that they claim is hard to get right now, or that general public opinion says its hard to get..and so the uninformed pay more than its worth. IE...$60 for a set of used dies...$32 for a pound of powder...$42 for a brick of primers. And don't get me started on brass and bullets lol.

Would be nice if I could come up with a way to provide to the needs of the community without raping people's wallets at the same time. I have other businesses that I do on a daily basis, so the Gun show would be pocket change for me...and a good way to network for when I decide to start gunsmithing at home...but mostly about making those connections throughout the industry..I think that's the primary goal for a trade show like that. I've done them in many industries, and its the lasting network that you establish that matters most.

I, too, was shocked at the $10 parking fee. I chose to park several blocks away and use the experience as a chance to stretch my legs. I have basically sworn off the FW show on principle, basically not willing to drive from Collin county just to shell out $18 bucks before I even step foot in the show. But yesterday I had to be in FW at the Civil War Museum, then pick up friends at DFW airport later in the day, so what the heck. Did anyone notice that they no longer had the 06 or 07 signs, but had a ridiculous sign stating that if you were caught with a loaded handgun, even if you had a LTC, that you would risk losing you firearm and permit? Who makes up this stuff? They are just bound and determined to scare people into not exercising their rights.

Dreamer42 wrote:I, too, was shocked at the $10 parking fee. I chose to park several blocks away and use the experience as a chance to stretch my legs. I have basically sworn off the FW show on principle, basically not willing to drive from Collin county just to shell out $18 bucks before I even step foot in the show. But yesterday I had to be in FW at the Civil War Museum, then pick up friends at DFW airport later in the day, so what the heck. Did anyone notice that they no longer had the 06 or 07 signs, but had a ridiculous sign stating that if you were caught with a loaded handgun, even if you had a LTC, that you would risk losing you firearm and permit? Who makes up this stuff? They are just bound and determined to scare people into not exercising their rights.

Exactly HOW are those idiots going to take your license if you are "caught" with a loaded gun? Absent an 06 or 07 sign, you're not breaking any laws! If you're not breaking any laws, on what basis are they going to confiscate your license and firearm?

Dreamer42 wrote:I, too, was shocked at the $10 parking fee. I chose to park several blocks away and use the experience as a chance to stretch my legs. I have basically sworn off the FW show on principle, basically not willing to drive from Collin county just to shell out $18 bucks before I even step foot in the show. But yesterday I had to be in FW at the Civil War Museum, then pick up friends at DFW airport later in the day, so what the heck. Did anyone notice that they no longer had the 06 or 07 signs, but had a ridiculous sign stating that if you were caught with a loaded handgun, even if you had a LTC, that you would risk losing you firearm and permit? Who makes up this stuff? They are just bound and determined to scare people into not exercising their rights.

No, I didn't notice the absence of either 06 or 07 signs. Nor did I notice the silly sign you mentioned about a loaded handgun. In all honesty, I went in concealed, & loaded. And I didn't un-conceal the entire time I was there. No one noticed or cared. I never gave it a second thought.

Most of my buying experiences have been positive at the Ft. Worth shows, but you do need to do your homework before going. I always weigh in the entry costs parking etc. against purchasing online with shipping costs. I have found that most vendors will come down from the marked price if asked, if not, there are plenty of others who will. I also believe that the target market is the uninformed, newbies, or those who pretend to know more about things than they really do. But, I haven't found gun shows to be a great place for real bargains in several years, the only advantage for me is that I can actually handle what I'm interested in.

Years ago, back in the early 80s I had a buddy who had his FFL and would work with him at the shows. He was very small time and mostly just traded guns as a hobby

Jusme wrote:Most of my buying experiences have been positive at the Ft. Worth shows, but you do need to do your homework before going. I always weigh in the entry costs parking etc. against purchasing online with shipping costs. I have found that most vendors will come down from the marked price if asked, if not, there are plenty of others who will. I also believe that the target market is the uninformed, newbies, or those who pretend to know more about things than they really do. But, I haven't found gun shows to be a great place for real bargains in several years, the only advantage for me is that I can actually handle what I'm interested in.

Years ago, back in the early 80s I had a buddy who had his FFL and would work with him at the shows. He was very small time and mostly just traded guns as a hobby

Bingo buddy! I absolutely agree! There are many caveats about going to a gun show. First and foremost is know what you are going for and know what the competition is selling their stuff for. The gun dealers that ARE FFL's work on a small margin, and not prone to lowering their prices much if at all. OTOH, the 'private' exhibitors(in it for the hobby) are in a much better position to negotiate....BUT....almost all of their inventory is used guns. IMHO that's where the good deals are....used guns. But that's not everybody's preference. But it sure is for me. But that's ok. To each their own.

joe817 wrote:

Jusme wrote:Most of my buying experiences have been positive at the Ft. Worth shows, but you do need to do your homework before going. I always weigh in the entry costs parking etc. against purchasing online with shipping costs. I have found that most vendors will come down from the marked price if asked, if not, there are plenty of others who will. I also believe that the target market is the uninformed, newbies, or those who pretend to know more about things than they really do. But, I haven't found gun shows to be a great place for real bargains in several years, the only advantage for me is that I can actually handle what I'm interested in.

Years ago, back in the early 80s I had a buddy who had his FFL and would work with him at the shows. He was very small time and mostly just traded guns as a hobby

Bingo buddy! I absolutely agree! There are many caveats about going to a gun show. First and foremost is know what you are going for and know what the competition is selling their stuff for. The gun dealers that ARE FFL's work on a small margin, and not prone to lowering their prices much if at all. OTOH, the 'private' exhibitors(in it for the hobby) are in a much better position to negotiate....BUT....almost all of their inventory is used guns. IMHO that's where the good deals are....used guns. But that's not everybody's preference. But it sure is for me. But that's ok. To each their own.

I also avoid those booths that have pretty girls in tight shirts and shorts, they are nice eye candy but you pay for it if you buy anything from them.

My wife and I went to the show on Saturday. I haven't been to a gun show in quite awhile. They had gotten so crowded and with very few good deals to be found it just didn't seem worth it.

I'm glad we went to this one though. It was busy but not over crowded. It was nice to just walk around and look at all the fun stuff. Still did not see any great deals. Most things were way over priced. There were a few tables with non-gun stuff throughout the show that my wife liked. She got a really nice wall hanging wood carving.

Lots of AR parts although most were as much or more than getting it elsewhere. I was looking for reloading items but did not see much and what I saw did not seem to be a good deal. I was looking for a trimmer and the only one was within a few dollars of a new one. I did see a Spike's Crusader stripped lower that I'm kicking myself for not getting.

All in all it was good entertainment walking around looking at stuff.