Gun Shows Having a Revival?

[alleycat]

I found some reasonable .45 ammo at the Jim Miller park show. The new building is nice…plenty of room to walk between tables and the lighting/AC is great. Saw some interesting full auto and semi auto Uzi parts. Saw a few reasonable revolvers too. Could have used more milsurp

 

[ReservoirDawg10]

May have received some resurgence due to people hoping to find some bargains. Dealers seem to think there has been a bit of resurgence as well. I go and help a buddy every now and then. Mainly a bunch of boomers looking to save a few bucks over what they can get online

 

[Piglatinhater]

Mainly a bunch of boomers looking to save a few bucks over what they can get online

Yeah and half trying to reconnect with the past when times were good.

This post is probably one of the few positive gunshows post in the last 5 years. That speaks volumes.

 

[WildBillHimself]

Like isuolympic said, if we can get some of us getting tables at shows and bringing out the interesting collectable things we can have a field of dreams moment. "If we build it they will come!" The ODT show was amazing and having a little of that at each show will start to swing the dynamic, only so many tables available so if we take up a % of the tables and the word gets out maybe the guys that said they would never go back start coming out and bringing guns to sell or trade. We would at that point have a reasonable argument to go to the promoters of the shows about limiting or at least significantly raising the prices for non-gun tables!

I set up at Marietta this weekend, the website said show tables were sold out 3 weeks ago. But I stopped by on Friday and was able to get 2 tables, it really was a good show, steady traffic and lots of people buying! We just need more guys like us out there selling...... I cleared some room in my basement and made money doing it!

So why don't we do it? Let's pick a show and a date when ODT members rent some tables. Let other members know we'll be there.
The naysayers and whiners can stay home.

 

[Farmer 2]

Sounds good to me if I’m not working I will come

 

[Ringorock]

If you go to a show where blue ridge gun and pawn setup, you're going to get some steal on prices. I was completely caught off guard seeing their table. They had lcp 22 for like 299, and everything way below retail. He also had some cool inventory with several SW 22 and 22 mag revolvers.

There was another guy with some Dakota Bandit glocks. He had a Hurry Home model with a couple others. Super cool.

Also got a great deal on silent cci 22, which I can't find anywhere. This was the recent Jim Miller show. It was actually pretty good. Some people still had crazy prices but the few good ones were worth it.

 

[done911]

Last couple of shows I attended were 2020 shows. Both were relatively local so less than 45 min drive. There was no fee for parking, but there was an entry fee. Both shows were a waste of my time and money. The one show I attended before that ( maybe 2019 ) was in the Atlanta area, but I can't recall which venue. Regardless, the parking lot was covered in thugs yelling obscenities at each other. I was surprised there was not a couple shootings in the parking lot. Inside were more of the same thugs, same threats and language. Although I was not "affraid" to be there, I have long ago made the descission to keep myself and my family as far away as possible from that type of situation. We moved away from large population area for a reason.
I had a friend with a table at one of the more local shows, he had mostly ammo, but he did have 3 guns for sale or trade. I walked every table and my friend had more guns than any other single vendor. There were plenty of cheap chineese accessories, a little bit of very unpopular powder at $100 plus a pound, some $150 a thousand shotgun primers and an overload of crap..... t shirts, multiple Jerky peddlers, multiple 5 dollar knife dealers, stun guns, pepper spray, a couple solar dealers with no products to view, a home security company with no products on hand, ladies hand bags and even a discount laundry detergent peddler.
Maybe I'm stuck in the good old days, but I would have been happy to see 20 tables loaded with actual guns at the gun show. Even if they were all way overpriced, I would have at least got to see and touch guns for my entry fee to the "gun show".
If things are truly turning around at the shows I guess that is a good thing, but I think it will still be a while before I'll attend another local show and I will never make another trip to one of the bigger shows in the metro area where being shot in the parking lot is a real possabilty.

 

[Neener Neener]

As a FFL who has done many shows, I can tell you gun shows are not good for anything other than reloaded ammo and seeing the newest stuff. Other than that, if you have a good local dealer with good prices, they are a waste of time.

 

[BigMike]

The last 3 gun shows I went to, granted it's been a while, had 98% of the same people there each time, all dealers. I always feel like it's a waste of time and money for parking/admission to see what I could go look at for free at a number of local gun shops.

I miss going back in the 80s and 90s with my father. There was always something cool to see and every trip was different.

I'm a knife guy more so than a gun guy and the knife showing is poor. The two guys selling benchmade and microtech are fun to chat with, but the rest are selling gas station specials.

 

[Tom Porter]

One of the largest gun shows around Atlanta will be Sept 17&18 put on my RK.
Jonesboro Road just off 285. $15 to get in but always a huge show with just
about everything. I have a table for this show...