Just wondering if it was worth it .   In particular, I was wondering if there were any good deals as far as reloading components, powder etc? Thx for any help!

JP

Did not go to the show, but was with in a stones throw away.

I loved the "Shoot Straight" airplane banner circling the Expo Center.

Went to the rare tree & plant sale instead.

Shoot Straight usually has a big 'sale' on gun show weekends.

Gun shows are some of the best people watching opportunities there is, the son and I will be there tomorrow.

I save my ten bucks and don't bother with the WPB gunshow anymore because since Shoot Straight and the other large shops stopped attending it's become a flea market and there's not much  price competition between the remaining vendors since the biggest attendees are no longer there.

Shoot Straight is right down the block anyway,  and they hold an in store gunshow and sale all week long whenever there's a WPB show on the weekend.

Didn't go but got a Sheild 9mm at PBSC yesterday and the check took for fucking ever to complete....nearly 30 minutes....so I'm guessing gun sales were brisk.

 
I was in WPB last week and saw a billboard about the Shoot Straight sale.  I had some time to kill and was going to stop by but I didn't bother as the sale didn't start til Friday.

I could have sworn I saw the in store gun show and sale going on during mid week at times when I went to the range to shoot.

I passed the place this afternoon on the way home from the airport and their marquise said the sale was currently in progress so maybe the sale starts the Friday of the weekend that the WPB show is held and continues for the following week.

I'm probably going there to shoot tomorrow or Wednesday and I'll make it a point to check it out since I've been away on business since last Thursday.

 
Maybe the sale did start in store sooner than Friday.  All I know is that I was headed South on S. Congress Ave somewhere between the Palm Beach Airport and Lake Worth Road and I saw a billboard on the West side of the street saying the sale started on 5/13.


I was tempted to pop by to see what the sale was about but I didn't think I was going to have time (though later I learned I actually had over 2 hours to waste).


The last time I saw some guy on the street holding a "Gun Sale" sign off Power Line Road I figured why not and stopped for a looksie.  I ended up picking up an old S&W 2206 .22 LR and a crap load of mags for it.  Seemed someone traded in a dozen or so S&W .22's that used those mags so they were dumping them for $8 so I took them all.


As for Shoot Straight, the only time I've been in one was when I went to the range at the one on 441 just North of 595.  It was ok but not great.  They wanted to look over all NFA paperwork and match up serial numbers which ate up a lot of time and then once in the range the AC was blowing so strong it was moving my target and the vent was dripping on me (from the condensation).

^^^^That was a steal for $8.00/mag. Now that S.S. has gone and Florida Gun Exchange stopped going to the shows, I won't attend one again. The last time I went,the dealers everywhere were charging insane prices for stuff you could get cheaper,(can't believe I am saying this), than those found on Florida Gun Trader. I understand they can't buy a lot of stock in some firearms to get the good deals, but some of the dealers prices were stupidly priced. Unfortunately, I don't see that show lasting long as I used to enjoy going when they had them.

 
Considering that they hadn't made in 20 years, I figured that I'd grab the magazines when I had the chance.


I knew that $8 was a good deal, that is why I grabbed them all.

So  I ended up paying the $10 to go to the show  and I can tell you unequivocally that it was a complete waste of time and money.

Unless you are into window shopping for beef jerky,  cheap Chinese AR accessories , Airsoft guns,  or  ridiculously overpriced firearms and gunpowder,  this show is not for you .

The main reloading vendor there wanted to $210 plus tax for an 8 gallon jug of Winchester 231... I can literally have that delivered to my door including hazmat fees for $180 .

This show is a sad shell of what it once was…

Fixed!

Yep, the cost is $43 more for that 8# canister @ the show!  I agree that that is a bit much.

If things continue on like this either there will be some sort of significant change or the show with just implode/vaporize/vanish...  Sad really

I think that the Internet killed the gun show.  There isn't really anything there that you can't buy cheaper on-line.

In the past there were a lot of used guns and there is where the deals could be found because everyone at the show didn't pay the exact same amount for them.  However it seems like all of the vendors selling guns basically sell the exact same ones.  So, the main reason for going was to find deals and that is gone now.


Seems like the only place for used gun deals is Gun Broker but that too is hit and miss as most of those auctions are bid up beyond what I'd pay for stuff.

there was some deals there, but depending on what you were looking for.  I saw about 20-30 I was looking at about or the same as internet prices. Most were not high end stuff though.

It used to be a show I enjoyed going to month after month for years, but after losing one major vendor after another it's become a waste of time.

I've gotten some really great deals on guns there when the major vendors, like Florida Gun Exchange, Gun Country, and Shoot Straight were still there and trying to do volume business.

Andrews Custom leather used to attend regularly but now they're gone too.

The last time they were at that show Shoot Straight had a seated waiting area where customers who had bought guns waited their turn to be background checked and pay for their purchases.

My wife had to wait about a half an hour for the handgun she bought for herself and the wait times were sometimes even longer; the small sellers couldn't, or wouldn't come close to matching prices which accounted for the long checkout wait.

Unfortunately i think that the West Palm Beach show has turned into a flea market now that the last of the major vendors has left and I'm pretty sad about it because I tried to never miss going to that show and it used to be a very good one.

Looks like my wife and will I have to be making the drive down to Fort Lauderdale now if we want to go to a gun show.

Why are these big vendors pulling out of the gun show scene ?  I ask u because I know you go to these and have a good handle on such things.  Thx.

I'm not sure I have an expert understanding of  these things but I do have some thoughts on the matter that may or may not  be worth anything.

IMO in general, the show promoters haven't kept up with the advertising and promotion necessary for their shows to thrive and there has been a large proliferation of shows.

The big guys can make huge sales at shows,  but there's a lot of  work which involves expenses far exceeding the actual cost of the tables they rent and without the advertising and promotion to support those costs, they no longer attend.

As far as I know, Shoot Straight is the last of the gun show mega-vendors and they move what actually amounts to a very large gun store from show to show on weekends and in order for it to be worth their while, they need to price their merchandise to move and the must do a huge volume of sales which requires some heavy promotion and advertising.

It's my opinion, that they actually needed to buy most of the shows they attend in order to ensure that adequate promotion, advertising and sales occurred to support the weight of their huge sales operation.

So far as their leaving the WPB show goes, I've heard that the owner of the show insulted the owner of Shoot Straight and as a result, Shoot Straight no longer attends the WPB show despite the fact that it was well attended up to that point and Shoot Straight was the largest exhibitor by far.

At the  last show that Shoot Straight attended, they sold an incredible number of guns with long lines to check out,  as well as a seating area where customers, including my wife, waited to receive their background checks and pay for their guns.

Shoot Straight must have been making a fortune in sales that day, but  left the show anyway over a personal matter, the gun show owner having publicly insulted  the owner of Shoot Straight.

I believe that this event cost Shoot Straight a lot of business, which they make up in great part by holding an in store gun show and sale on WPB gun show weekends, but iMO, it was the final,nail in the coffin for the WPB gun show which is too bad since I used to attend almost every show there for many years.

The Florida Gun Exchange, which used to be solely a gun show sales operation,  was another very large amd worthwhile gun show vendor at the WPB show, but they opened brick and mortar locations and sell out of their stores these days rather than at the WPB show anymore.

Anyway, that's my opinion and I'm certain that there are others here who now much more about the back stories of what occurs behind the scenes at the gun shows.

Thx for the well thought out response.  Sounds like the show promoter cut his own throat by insulting the SS guy...humans are strange..