Took some guys there Saturday.  That show has really gone downhill since they moved it to  the Ballerina hall at Hara Arena.  
Not nearly as many tables, fewer dealers, higher prices, fewer attendees, too much flea market type junk. This show is no longer worth the drive from Findlay.
Anymore the Bowling Green show is bigger and has more to offer.
My two cents.....

The Dayton show, from a dealers stand point sucks as well.  No one buys because there is nothing there to draw the crowd.

There is a lot of BS behind the scenes that drive the dealers away. ($).  

BG is a decent show.  It took the place of the old Maumee show that was run out of town. Not that it was a bad thing because the organizers were destroying it as well.

Many dealers would say the same thing.  The show sucks.  many only do it when there is nothing else going on the same weekend.  The organizers try to make up for it by over booking shows, and end up saturating the market.  You can not have to many shows in the same area in one month. People just don't have the money or need that much stuff from the shows to support them.

Have heard a couple of dealers say they don't like BGoodman.

There were people standing in line to get in last month.

BTW got a good/great deal on ammo over the weekend at BGs. A case of Q3131A for $155 out the door. Only deal I found.

I have also found the Goodman shows lacking.  I tend to try and make the PRO shows in Wilmington and I'm going to try to make the next non-Goodman Louisville show.

The internet has killed gun shows.

Quoted: The internet has killed gun shows.

I would say that bad promotion, and the lack of any real nice imports in any variety and numbers has hurt gun shows.

Add to this the fact that people have been in full scale panic buying mode since Clinton took office, most people who go simply have more than what they need right now. The economy took a little bumb, and that always hurts too.

Have you noticed that shows are more and more just tables full of the same crap, and grandpas shotgun?  That kills gun shows.

The internet has taken its toll, and will grow due to sites like this, but the shows will be there as long as legal - in some form or another.

The web may have hurt some, but I think poor promotion hurts them combined with a lack of exciting new products from the manufacturers. Personally I would rather see what I am buying.  Also, I have run into some real dips when buying and selling on the net.
My favorite show this side of Houston is the Indy 1500.  I'll miss it this weekend due to our local IDPA match.
Never been to Medina, but hear it is a good one.

All the gunshows are not what they used to be.People are not buying.Dealers are going out of business.The promoters are scrambling to find anyone to rent table space to(why there are so many beany babies and non-gun bullshit on display).All costs are up.Table rent is $40.00-$50.00 per table now.All the good shit is drying up(no imports).Shit,the fucking liberals just have to sit back and watch gunshows choke to death on the"loophole"that's around the entire industries neck.It's not just the Dayton show.IMHO.  

Quoted: Quoted: The internet has killed gun shows. I would say that bad promotion, and the lack of any real nice imports in any variety and numbers has hurt gun shows. Add to this the fact that people have been in full scale panic buying mode since Clinton took office, most people who go simply have more than what they need right now. The economy took a little bumb, and that always hurts too. Have you noticed that shows are more and more just tables full of the same crap, and grandpas shotgun?  That kills gun shows. The internet has taken its toll, and will grow due to sites like this, but the shows will be there as long as legal - in some form or another.

The fucking AWB didn't help either.

Nor did Klinton's FFL restrictions.

Fucking liberals, may they all burn in Hell.

Quoted: Took some guys there Saturday.  That show has really gone downhill since they moved it to  the Ballerina hall at Hara Arena.   Not nearly as many tables, fewer dealers, higher prices, fewer attendees, too much flea market type junk. This show is no longer worth the drive from Findlay. Anymore the Bowling Green show is bigger and has more to offer. My two cents.....

Hey dude, I'm from Findlay too.

It's been several years since I've trekked to a Dayton show.
I don't know what happened, but it's just not worth the drive any more.  
I remember 12-14 years ago, that show kicked ass.  It would take almost all day just to walk through one time.

If I was going to drive that far for a show, I'd drive another hour and go to an Indy 1500 show.  Haven't made one yet this year, but I will.

I really like the Bowling Green show.
(The fact that it's 20 minutes away, and there are great college bars there doesn't hurt.)
Myle's Pizza, mmmmmmm.  Hot college girls, mmmmmmm

I try to make every Medina show, I think it's one of the better shows in Ohio.  

I haven't been able to attend a Berea show for quite a while, but I hear good things about it.

The Lima show is probably the only Ohio show I can think of that has actually GROWN in recent years.  
Well worth a 30 minute drive down from Findlay to check it out.

I occasionally go to a Hilliard show, but not too often.
The PRO shows are hit and miss, you never know what vendors are going to be there from one show to the next.  
A good example of over-saturation, IMO.  Too many shows in a relatively small geographic area.

I REALLY want to become a member of OGCA so I can attend their shows.  
Sounds like a first-class outfit.


What's the best show Ive ever been to?
Hands-down, Crossroads of the West show in Denver, CO.  
I lived in Wyo for five years, the gun shows out there are few and far between, but when they put on a show they do it right.

A big part of the problem with the Dayton show is that when Goodman turned it over to his son, the little bastard didn't have a damn clue about running a show.  

When many dealers told hm they didn't like the way things were going, he told them "If you don't like it, don't come".  This bit him in the ass, things have gotten so bad that a few months ago he was offering dealers money to come to the Dayton show.  We, like many others told him to "F" off. Most of us go only if there is nothing else to do. Many won't even come then.

Things are only going to get worse in Dayton until some major changes in management are made.

TWO from Findlay? Wow. I'm about 30 min. from Findlay.

Sash, as a long time member of OCA,  would advise not to become a member.

I have let my memebership lapse this year.  I have been a member since '94.

If you want a bunch of snobs selling the same rifles at OGCA for twice the price than they do at any other show, it is a good place to go.

I have made many great deals there, but when I look back. he one killer deal per year and gas sppent going there no longer makes it a great deal.

From a dealers point of view, Hilliard is hit and miss, but like most other shows, it is slowly lossing its quality due to a lack of any good firearms being imported.

I REALLY want to become a member of OGCA so I can attend their shows.  
Sounds like a first-class outfit.


What's the best show Ive ever been to?
Hands-down, Crossroads of the West show in Denver, CO.  
I lived in Wyo for five years, the gun shows out there are few and far between, but when they put on a show they do it right.







OCGA is OK if you are a collector.  Not much in the way of tactical or AR, AK stuff.
I rejoined last year, went to two shows, will not renew in 2004.

Quoted: TWO from Findlay? Wow. I'm about 30 min. from Findlay.

I have been a member of OGCA for 21 years.There are some really good people associated with it.The downside is the political bullshit that goes on with the leadership,and the bullshit it translates into at the meetings.OGCA is like a scaled down federal govewrnment.The leadership apparently is un-comfortable with the buying and selling of state of the art military weapons.Where you can set up depends on who you blow.The little Adolph Hitlers they have walking around selectivly enforcing the Assn's rules,(again depends on who you blow)must be encountered to be believed."Throw the bastard out"is the response for all situations.OGCA apparently likes to keep it's membership numbers down.If you are a director apparently none of the rules for the other members apply to you.OGCA is in my opinion a family run business."No sales to guests"They,are for the most part,the only people interested in buying anything.The OGCA Legal Defense Fund is first rate though.Power truly does corrupt.The OGCA sees itself as some kind of "exclucive mens club"instead of what it could be,the biggest gun rights organization for collectors in Ohio.

A few years ago, I inquired about joining OGCA.  They responded to me promptly, but gave me the impression that my membership wasn't really all that important.  You definately have to "know people" to get in.

Since I like military-pattern firearms, perhaps I wouldn't be a good fit for that group of musket and shotgun collectors anyway.