There’s a Crossroads of the West show coming to the AZ State Fairgrounds this weekend. I’m considering going but wonder if it will be a waste of time.

I don’t want to go down there to be surrounded by a bunch of assholes with $1.50 9mm reloads and $900 Tauruses....wait, maybe I just answered my own question

They're useless in the Asheville area. The last really good one was the one at Knob Creek a couple of years ago.

Waste of time and money.  Same old shit from the same old people, pay to park, pay to get in and overpay for nearly everything.
Neckbeard nirvana.

I love gun shows, but I’m certainly not going to one anytime in the near future.

Do you like girl scout cookies, beef jerkey, beenie babies, useless "war collectibles", and scented candles? Then gun shows are for you! How about a tazer, Chinese nods, ninja stars and some plates? They've got you covered partner!

I found some good clone parts at the last one I went to. Few oddball firearms I was interested in that went fast. The few lowers I saw were ridiculously priced- Anderson for 200$ when shiptons down the road has them for 50$? Ammo that was priced right went fast, most of it was 1$+ and nobody would touch it. That was two months ago, there is is another this weekend, we’ll see if it’s any better.

Going to one in Indy this weekend

Only thing I buy are $8 pmags

No longer 8 bucks when you factor in parking and entrance fees.

Meh, gets me out of the house...and do enjoy the soft pretzels and Dr Pepper...and asking the only table that has a sign “do not touch anything” sign on tables if I can touch this (after I already picked it up )

Nobody goes to gun shows anymore, it's too crowded.

I go all the time and still get good deals. Picked up a nice Colt N1 stock with milspec tube for $20 awhile back. Also found a good 9mm flattop slickside upper at a great price.

I won't go to a show that has expensive parking unless I know it's a really good show.

I've been to the Crossroads/SAR show and it was great.

I'm jaded, as the first and last time I went, I planned on buying a gun. MSRP + $100 for used guns, this was right in the middle of the salad days...I didn't even want to make offers.  I'm looking at new in-stock prices on my phone while trying to figure out why these used guns are priced so high.  I didn't spend a penny there. That mountain of Chicom optics, my goodness.  1000's of them, stacked as high as your head. The one I went to didn't even have food vendors.

I stopped at Sportsmans on the way home and bought the gun I was looking...@ $200 less than the show had it.

Maybe I'll go to another just to look around but I'll never go again expecting to buy anything.

Went to the last one about a month ago. Lots of people. Mostly looked and picked up a few gun cleaning items. Other than the prices it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

When I have time I like to go. I'm always looking for oddball stuff - sometimes for me but often for other people. I like to stop at out of the way gun shops too for the same reason.

Never heard of having to pay for parking though.

I go for the beef jerky, then look for oddball stuff or an old pistol rarity or something like an AMT or seecamp which you never see in stores.

Thanks for the reminder.

I kind of want to go but also don't really need anything. Don't really want to sell anything either.

Now you have the new "normal" thing of having a custom face diaper made for you.....

I'd rather shop online.

I'll go to the May 8-9 OGCA show, mostly just to see old friends and laugh at current prices. Hopefully there will be some nice collections to look at for their annual display show. Lifetime member, so no entry fee and parking is free.

I haven't been to one since November of 2019 wanenmacher show.

I stopped going to gun shows in earnest in about 1985.   I find no enjoyment looking at over priced crap being sold by retards.

They were great 30 years ago.

They're still pretty good in Indiana.
If you're a resident you can buy a gun cash and carry from another Indiana resident, no paperwork.  I do like that.
I've bought a few guns this year at gunshows. Mostly from private individuals but one from a dealer.

Must be different in other states.

I had a tradition that I went with my Dad every year for the past like 5 years on my birthday since one always fell on that weekend. But we skipped it last year because of the bullshit Covid stuff, and I knew prices were gonna be whack.

Instead I used Armslist to pick up a 10/63 and Bulgy 74 before we got a UBC.

Considering the the prices, the 700 I paid for the WASR and 500 rounds of good ammo makes it look like the deal of the decade.

If you are selling, this is the time to go to gun shows.

Guns, ammo, especially 9mm, 5.56, .22 and .380, it'll be gone dang quick as long as you price it right.

The next show, I'm taking an AK, mags, and some crated M67.

I stopped going a few years ago.

Nope

Nothing I want at the price they charge

I am looking at going to several next month. The bigger shows lately have been packed with long lines outside, and seem to have mostly only new and overpriced guns. A few smaller shows have been a lot of fun and that is mostly what I am looking forward to next month.

One of the small shows I went to last month had nothing but private dealers so no paperwork anywhere. No fee for parking and only $6 to get in. I ended up buying a Ruger Vaquero in .45 Colt and found a bunch of clips for the Garand I had recently bought.

I do enjoy looking at older stuff found at gun shows and occasionally I buy some of it.

In January I went to one in Savannah.  I bought 200 rounds of Federal 240grain Hydroshocks for $19 a box, $190 including the ammo can. especially in these times, I don`t think thats too bad.

Going to my first in a long while this weekend just to pick up a couple ammo cans to avoid paying shipping on such bulky things.

The city forced face diapers at the last one here.  You really need an odor blocking filter on a respirator though.

Not going to do the pay to park, pay to get in, venue metal detector BS either.

Attached File

I went to the big Tulsa show last weekend. Always find something there. Go to the shows while you still can!

I'm down to about two a year. The small ones around here aren't as good as they used to be but it's something to do in late winter early spring.

I am going to preface this by saying I have always enjoyed Gun Shows. I first started attending them in the 1970s, as a kid, with a strict rule from my Dad that I keep my hands in my pockets and always ask him before I touch ANYTHING. As an adult I loved roaming the tables looking for hidden treasures. I developed a strategy for it. I enjoy dickering with Dealers, Sellers and Buyers. Sometimes a deal can be struck, sometimes you’re just too far apart on the price and that’s OK. I have attended Gun Shows as a Buyer and Seller and a Dealer so I have seen them from every perspective. Some of my BEST friends and strongest business relationships started with a visit to a Gun Show. It is, for me, a social event. Do you know why Democrats HATE Gun Shows? Because they become a forum for political action. Groups like the VCDL and the NRA (in their hey day) grew exponentially in numbers thanks to their presence at Gun Shows. Gun Shows became a dissemination point for vital information regarding pending political action/antics. The gun-grabbers can’t organize “No Gun Shows” so that is why they want them gone! What DOES piss me off is when Gun Shows become Flea Markets. Please, if you have cornered the market on Genuine Navajo Jewelry Made In China or a great recipe for Fudge, take it to some other venue. Also, it’s a Gun Show, not a charity. Stop expecting the rules of supply and demand to disappear at the door. It is a myth, just like the “Gun Show loophole”.

Sadly, I believe the American Gun Show is a dying model. Like all brick & mortar business, the Internet has fundamentally changed the paradigm of retail firearms sales. That is a double-edged sword for consumers. Yes, I can almost always find a NEW gun cheapest online, even after the shipping and transfer fees. However, when online sales (and the ATF) have driven all your LGS out of business, WHO is going to facilitate the transfer? If you are not thinking long term about that, you really should (hint: no FFL is keeping their doors open solely from offering $10 transfers). UBC shuts out the gun owner looking to cull their collection or move an oddball piece. ATF, for years, has been doing their best to shut down so called “Kitchen Table” Dealers who primarily depend on Gun Shows to conduct business. COVID may be the final straw. Many Leftist municipalities are using the “COVID risk” as an excuse to shut down popular Gun Shows. My local show has been shut down by Governor Blackface Klanrobes on the eve of the show numerous times. This costs the Promotors, Dealers and local businesses money that they will never re-coup. My local show has been scheduled then cancelled numerous times since last Summer. IT is scheduled to go for this weekend but the table count has been reduced form 1,100 Dealer/Seller tables to 500 tables. Maximum occupancy has been reduced to some arbitrary number while the Walmart next door has no such restrictions. Masks and social distancing WILL be enforced or the State Police will shut the show down. These are the conditions under which the show may or may not operate. We’ll see if the show actually happens or if it is cancelled on the eve of like that last several shows.

If you don’t like Gun Shows for whatever reason, then don’t go. Some of us still enjoy them. Regardless, I don’t see the American Gun Show lasting much longer. It will go the way of the General Store and (ironically) the indoor Shopping Mall. Still, if you hate Gun Shows, don’t worry, the Leftists will be thrilled when they are gone for good so think about who you will be celebrating with.

I don't understand all the negative responses, Xiden said you can get anything you want at a gun show, and I'm in the market for a full auto, flame thrower, and rocket launcher, hell might even grab a few grenades for 'stocking stuffers'

I haven't been to a gun show in 16 years.

Lulz, for me, I haven’t been to a gun show since 1996. I witnessed a negligent discharge from a rifle that had already been “verified clear” by door security, two vendors robbed in the parking lot and four handguns stolen off vendors tables. Not sure how the last one even happened with the cable lock/alarm system. Literally, table after table of Beanie Babies, Nazi memorabilia, Chinese “Italian” stilettos and gun show commandos. The late ‘90’s to mid ‘07ish, I lived for the Aim Surplus, SOG, Sarco and Classic Arms catalogs to arrive monthly. With my 03 C&R, I made out like a thief in the night. Then waiting on the BBT to deliver my loot was like Christmas morning all over again. Nowadays, I order what I want online and have it shipped to my kitchen table FFL guy or local trade boards.

Good point.  They had one locally here last week and traffic was a mess.

How do you carry your shit to sell around the show?

Especially if you brought ammo to sell?

One case and a backpack is full.

How, if ''nobody'' goes to them anymore, are they crowded then?

Dolly that opens up and a sign stating what you are selling with the rest locked in your vehicle to replenish.

I went to a small collector's show a couple of weeks back, prices were meh to stupid but I did score a few of boxes of NOS Winchester .32 Special for a very reasonable price and got a like new S&W branded 4" N-Frame field holster for cheap. I took along a rare-ish Enfield accessory and sold it so I actually left the show with more money than I went in with.

Since we can't do FTF deals anymore it really hurt the show. I for one did not want to buy a gun and take the chance of having to sit around all day or having to go back the next day to pick it up after the VSP approval. I passed on a old but like new in box High Standard Duramatic .22 because of it. Prior to the new law most of the guns I bought at that show were of the FTF type.

Fees, lines, and crap.
Nope, I stopped going almost a decade ago.

I view them as a fun way to go to a smelly, disorganized museum full of interesting people not often seen in public and some interesting artifacts.

Normally there isn't something there I want to buy, especially not at those prices.  I did buy a couple of neat "damascus" knives from a guy selling knives made in India or Pakistan or something last time. And a cutting board that is nice.  The actual gun stuff isn't worth it. Half the tables are just people showing off stuff that isn't for sale.

A good way to spend 8 bucks and kill an hour or two.

Deals can still be found, worked one Sat/Sun sold 42k in two days so people are buying

I’m looking forward to our next one.    Been awhile for gunshows and I always find deals.        

Montana must be better than most places. Or I have more varied interests than lost as I’ve found a screaming deal at every show I’ve been at.

Last gun show I attended was at the Cow Palace.
Purchased Winchester small pistol primers for $10.00 a thousand.
Don’t remember the year.....over 25 years ago!