GTA
All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => Back Room => Topic started by: a1Bogey on February 20, 2011, 01:35:44 PM
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There is a gun show in Augusta Ga. which ends today. Since I was in Augusta yesterday I cruised by to see what was happening. Disappointment is the only nice phrase that comes to mind. It was held at the fair grounds in an area that is mainly used to house and judge pigs during the fair. That in itself should have been a warning for me. Half of the people there with tables should have set up at the flea market down the road. And the other half should have just had a yard sale. Junk, Junk , Junk. It was the waste of an hour that I'll never get back. And the price of admission should have been refunded to everybody. I almost went over to one of the cops working security to ask that the operator be arrested because what he had there was a crime.
In the future I will never attend a gun show or anything if it is not held in a building where the rent is less than the price of a chili-dog.
Bogey
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We must have the same Gun Show down here.
The Gun Show comes to town twice a year. Same junk as always. What's not junk is priced 3 time more than what it is worth. I have been twice and will never go again.
If that is not bad enough, I hear the same gun show is also in San Antonio
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Cactus Rat, Thanks for reminding me to rant about the outrageous pricing. How did I leave that out??
And like you, only about 2 "shows" per year. The vendors remind me of "camp followers".
Kynykos/Bogey
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You're welcome.
I like that "camp followers"
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Guess I'm lucky here in S.W. Ohio as we have about two a month here(if not more) that range from normal to hard core collecter's(must belong to a club), only bad part is you seldom see any AG's. Price's are on par with going rate, an you can alway's play one dealer against another to obtain best price for what you want to pick up(is getting rather expensive for ticket's at around $8).
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I too feel fortunate, we have pretty much one a month or more in the DFW area and they are usually pretty good. They have something for everyone and even several airguns at most of them. There's almost always someone with a table full of b3's for around $20-25. It's also almost always packed full of sellers.
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We have The Nation's Gun Show which comes about every two-three months. I keep looking for Bill Murray and the groundhog - same guns on the same tables. It's almost eerie. I usually get to see one or two very interesting pieces. One local antique gun dealer brings some nice (and expensive) pieces such as very early flintlocks. So far, I've only seen a few air guns. I have snagged one or two nice ones at good prices but that is the exception to the rule. There are two air gun dealers but nothing to raise the heart beat. The one, something like Midwest Armory, also sells on Gun Broker. I wouldn't buy anything from them. Told them a year ago that the Minuteman Precise (Relum) tap loader they want way too much money for has a cracked wrist but it's up there on the rack, show after show for the same price. Most of their guns are tagged two-three times over what you would normally pay and many are in so-so condition. There is a twice-a-year club show that's small but nice. Hardly any junk and sometimes a good deal on air guns.
OTOH, I have picked up a couple of nice muzzle loaders at the big show. Unfired T/C Hawken just last weekend. I doubt I'll be going back for the next shows, though.
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bogey
where are u i am in north augusta..
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I'm in Southwest Missouri and the biggest show around here takes place in Tulsa, OK. It happens twice a year. It's huge and always crowded with people. Like others have mentioned, some of the same dealers have the same merchandise at each and every show...sometimes only the price has changed. Last fall, one dealer had a cased shotgun, a Holland and Holland I think it was, for $175,000!--(Uh huh, that's One Hundred Seventy-Five Thousand..). I haven't seen too many air guns there, but I look every time. The wife and I meet some good friends there and make a get-away weekend for us. All in all it's fun and we have a good time. The next show is in April..if you live close, you might find it interesting.
Larry
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Well he in the Not So Great State of New Jerkey,
We don't have Gun Shows any more, the boys in Trenton don't want us hurting ourselves !
So I have to go to Pennsylvania if I want to go to a Gun Show. They have them there all the time.
It sure beats walking the Malls looking at women's Clothing, women's Shoes and Handbags. Not much there for men, except the food court and a cup of questionable coffee :)
So I enjoy going to a Gun Show now and then, just to walk around a man's Toy Store full of like minded people, looking at boys toys :)
Those Were The DAYS !
Bill
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I went to my first gunshow at the Light Guard Armory in Detroit when I was 20, 1976. Ten minutes after I got there, I heard a big BANG!, and everyone, except me, hit the floor. Someone brought a gun to the show to sell, and forgot to unload it. The dealer at the table I was in front of told me it happened all the time. No one was hurt, but I think a few pairs of underwear might have been soiled. :o The shows around here are run a little better now, guns have to be checked by security before entry.
I won an airgun match at that show. One of the vendors sold Hy-Score airguns and sponsored a contest using an H-S match gun, made by RWS. It cost me $2 to enter, and I won a $50 gift certificate to use in his gun shop.
Larry
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At the gun show in AL. it's the same thing, the dealers have junk that they want to part with so they set up tables and hope that someone will by his junk. I went to the first one in January and seen the same junk that I seen last year but no air guns, so I really don't think that I will be to another one for while. Heck I could have add 6 more to the price of admission( $10.00) and got me some poly mags.
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When I'm done walking the big show, maybe three hours later, my back is out from twisting and squirming past the tables with gawkers three deep on each side of the aisle and my feet are sore from the concrete floor. As if the shows aren't over-crowded, you've got the guys who simply must drag their whole extended family with them - babies in backpacks and strollers (even those big, three-wheeled jogging rigs), little kids who shouldn't be handling guns and bored-to-death wives and girlfriends. So much for a "Man's Store", LOL! My new gun show pet peeve - guys walking at a snail's pace because they are texting. (You ever see how fast an adult texts? The show's only eight hours long!) So, now, I'm sticking to the smaller show. Besides, I've sometimes spent almost half an hour just trying to find parking at the big one. It's in a complex with another very large building that houses simultaneous shows so there's almost no parking out of I guess a thousand spaces.
Oh, I didn't mention that the small show is put on by the Virginia Gun Collector's Association. Usually has several tables of collector's displays. Never know what you might see. One show it was a very extensive collection of Polish Radoms. While I was checking them out, another fellow came up and gave the owner some info on a couple of his guns/holsters. Turns out the guy could ID them because they were used after WWII by the Germans (under GI supervisors, of which he was one) to oversee reconstruction teams comprised of ex-German soldiers. You don't get things like that at the big shows.
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Guess I'm lucky here in S.W. Ohio as we have about two a month here(if not more) that range from normal to hard core collecter's(must belong to a club), only bad part is you seldom see any AG's. Price's are on par with going rate, an you can alway's play one dealer against another to obtain best price for what you want to pick up(is getting rather expensive for ticket's at around $8).
Jay --- The Ohio Gun Collectors is coming up on this march 12 and 13 10.00 will get ya in for the weekend on a guest pass. It is held at Roberts Center between Xenia and Wilmington, Ohio.
maybe I'll catch at that show. One of the oldest shows in the country. Gots to get their to pay my yearly dues I didn't make it to the one in Jan-2011. They have'em every other month.......
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8) DaveShooter I'll get in touch with ya an we can get together at it ;), I might even drag Gary on here with me an we can make a day of it. Maybe grab some food an drink's at Max&Erma's afterward's.
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Bill, there's one on long Island in March I was thinking of checking out. I think it's supposed to be AG only. Anyone been to that one yet?
pv
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All of the ones here in LA have some decent stuff but it is all WAAAAYYY overpriced and they will insult you if you attempt to trade... You can get a better deal at Academy if you are new gun shopping! Also full of clowns on cell phones, strollers and babies too! I haven't been to one in about 3 years now. I'll stick to the boat shows.
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Used to have a pretty good one in Middletown RI ( near Newport). Legislators closed it up, said there were too many private sales. There's a 7 day wait period here. Now have to go to Ma. and there are lots of regulations there as are there in CT., New Hampshire, Maine and VT are the same and if you buy it has to be shipped to an FFL in your home state. Wouldn't go to one just to look for AG's, do better on C/L or on the classifieds internet boards, Gun Broker.
For you guys that live near the Big E in Springfield, Ma.....this has to be the best Gun Show in the North East.
Takes a couple of days to see it all. All kinds of stuff and great deals last time I went. Wasn't into AG's at the time.
But yes check it out.
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Larry, we're about the same age and I also started with the Light Guard Armory shows in Detroit. I was there as much for the memorabilia (used to hang at the Historical Shop in Royal Oak) as the guns. I don't remember any live ammo mishaps but I'm sure they were possible.
Here in CA we have the Crossroads of the West shows, and they are much as others describe- crowded, high prices, lots of junk booths and craft fair types, and with the CA waiting period there is no thrill of the impulse buy. I do all my gun shopping online and through the classifieds, and pretty much gave up on the shows. Never was much in the way of AGs, anyhow.
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Here in NW AR there seems to be a show each month within driving distance. The show in Springdale, AR on Jan 28th had no AG dealers. I only found two airguns for sale in the entire show.
The next show on March 12-13 will have an airgun dealer with two tables. Some new, some used. I hope I have enough sales so that I will attend other shows. :D
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Larry, we're about the same age and I also started with the Light Guard Armory shows in Detroit. I was there as much for the memorabilia (used to hang at the Historical Shop in Royal Oak) as the guns. I don't remember any live ammo mishaps but I'm sure they were possible.
Here in CA we have the Crossroads of the West shows, and they are much as others describe- crowded, high prices, lots of junk booths and craft fair types, and with the CA waiting period there is no thrill of the impulse buy. I do all my gun shopping online and through the classifieds, and pretty much gave up on the shows. Never was much in the way of AGs, anyhow.
The shows here are pretty tame now, and the prices are ridiculous. It's cheaper to go to a gun shop than a gun show. Nice to see someone else from this area on the forum, even if you did desert Michigan. ;-)
Larry
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There's one near the Montreal, Canada area....I think it's bi-yearly. Been there last year (My first ever gun show)...most vendors sell their stuff overpriced. Only saw two air rifles...a Crosman 760 in it's original box (Mid-1970's) and priced $80.00Can. Forgot what the other one was...for sure not a high quality one. Won't be going back for awhile that's for sure.