Posted: 5/29/2008 8:56:09 AM EDT
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hello i am going to the gun show in houston to hopefully purchase my first AR or parts for my First AR.I was wondering if anybody had any tips that could help me save as much as possible cause i have never been to a gun show before. can you barter? and do they sell new guns there?? |
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To answer your questions, yes and yes. You will see various brands and configurations at the funshow, so know what you want before you go. I would check the EE on this board to see some good prices for rifles. Remember that you will have to pay sales tax on anything you buy at the gunshow, so add 8.25% to the price. Dealers at the gunshow will give you one price for cash or check, or 3% more if you use a credit card. I usually take my checkbook in case I see something I like. Unfortunately, the rifles sold by various gun dealers generally come in a bare-bones state. Think of buying a car with no radio, heater or backseat. A dealer told me that few people would buy a rifle if they had to pay $2,000-3,000. However, if you strip it down and sell it for $800, guys will stand in line to buy one. So, just keep in mind that you will likely be spending more money for optics, triggers, quadrails, handguards, stocks, flash hiders, and on and on. You have a few key decisions to make before you buy. 1. Decide on a "M4" or "M16" like configuration, i.e. a 16" barrel with a collapsible stock or a 20" barrel with a fixed stock. The M4 version is lighter and generally more popular. 2. Decide on a removable carry handle, no carry handle or a fixed (non-removable) carry handle. With the carry handle removed, you have a rail on which to mount either a scope of some sort or an iron sight. For flexibility purposes, I would recommend that you at least buy an AR with a removable carry handle even if you don't currently plan to install a scope. 3. Decide on a chrome-lined or non-chrome lined (i.e., chrome moly) barrel. Chrome-lined is probably more durable, with a slight loss in accuracy. These 3 choices above are pretty important and will cost you a lot of coin if you later change your mind. AR15s are known as the "grown-up's LEGO set" and are very modular weapons. So I would think a little about the above choices and make an informed decision. 4. Once you have answered 1, 2 and 3 above, decide on the brand of rifle you want. Good choices to pick from are Colt, Bushmaster, Rock River, DPMS and Stag. Each of these rifles brands likely has more choices for you to make. You will pay a premium for the Colt name. A "good" price on a Colt LE 6920 is around $1,200 plus sales tax. 5. You also need to think about what you are going to use your rifle for, i.e., do you want a military-spec or a law-enforcement-spec rifle? If you want to build it yourself, here are a couple of suggestions. Buy a Stag rifle kit, with ARMS 40 flip up sight, one mag and everything else needed except a stripped lower. This kit comes with a chrome-lined 16" M4-profile barrel, and collapsible stock. $633 shipped from Legal Transfers on the EE. Buy a Stag stripped lower at the gunshow or off the EE. If you buy the lower off the EE, you will need to pay a $20 transfer fee to your local FFL to take possession of your lower. If you want to use a carry handle in lieu of the ARMS 40 flip up sight, CDNN Sports has AR15 carryhandles for $50, plus $10 shipping. Using these parts, you can have a functioning rifle for $750-825. Leaper's makes a decent cheap 6x scope with an illuminated mil-dot reticle for about $60-70. You obviously can buy more expensive optics, like the Trijicon ACOG TA-31 RCO scope I have on my rifle. Using the parts I listed above, this is a great way to get a lot of value for the money. For quad-rails, I use the Yankee Hill lightweight model. This free floats your barrel for greater accuracy. Other brands include Knights Armament, Daniel Defense and LaRue. If you want a two-stage trigger, Geissele is the best in my opinion ($279 from Adco Firearms). Other great triggers include Knights Armament, LMT and Rock River. With the basic Stag platform above, it is easy to add this stuff at your own pace. You will also need to invest in some more magazines, ammo and a good cleaning kit. The best place to buy mags is probably www.44mag.com. Check out their prices plus shipping and compare to the gunshow prices plus sales tax. Good luck mate. |
| Watch for people wandering around with ARs that match the configuation you're looking to buy and ask if they are selling them. You'd be surprised at the deals you can make away from the tables. My step-father bought two ARs (Colt and Bushy) that way and saved a couple of hundred bucks. |
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wow thanks man.. ok here is what i have planned getting or looking for soo far 20'' chrome lined RRA A2 AR15 unless i get optic first which is unlikely. larue or daniel defense quad rail free float. and some rail ladders ill look around for trigger upgrade but i am mostly wanting a improved bolt and fireing pin. ?? sound good i have like a 1300 overall budget but its not set in stone if you know what i mean. |
A 20" rifle is heavier than a 16". Pick up both and see which one you like. I have not seen a 20" Rock River at the Houston shows in awhile, but you might get lucky. You can probably find a Rock River 2-stage trigger (or your rifle might even come with one installed) at the show. You will likely have to order the other brands I mentioned. Don't waste your money on an improved bolt or firing pin. The ones that come stock will do just fine. The LaRue or Daniel Defense quadrails are great, but Yankee Hill has essentially the same thing for about half the price. You might also want to look at a weapon light, a forward vertical grip and a sling. The SOG Armory should be at the show, and they have a bungee sling that goes over your shoulder and attached to a mount on your rifle. These cost around $60. Good luck. Make sure you report back with what you ended up getting. |
I know that Texas Tactical did have a Rock River 20" chrome lined complete upper in stock as well as at least one or 2 stripped lowers. If you can't find the complete rifle, you could buy yourself a upper and a stripped lower, then a Rock River 2 stage trigger parts kit then the butstock of you choice. Also LMT makes a mighty fine AR too! I know there will be some complete LMT rifles at this show. |
Can better deals be found at the main gun show vs the Pasadena show or is it hit or miss? I live just down the street from the Pasadena conv center and weighing gas money its smarter to go to the close one. I want to get a lower and possibly a front YHM flip sight. Thanks for any info. |
| I think buying the upper and lower seperately may save you some cash on the excise tax.. Don't pay more than $120 for a stripped lower. You can get them for $100 if you are patient. I got my Stag lower from JTAC for $99. They have gone up a little. You can also get a complete lower from anvil arms for $300, but I don't know much about their quality. |
I have seen good (and bad) deals at both shows. It really is hit or miss. I would suggest that you go to both shows and get an idea of what you like. Make some notes on a small notepad that fits in your pocket before you go with what you are looking for and some prices you have found on the EE. See if you can beat the price at the gunshow. Remember, you have to pay Texas sales tax if you buy it in person. You can find stripped lowers on the EE for around $100, and this often includes shipping to your FFL. Your FFL will then charge you $20 more to hand you the lower. So, paying $100 + FFL fee of $20 is the same as paying $120 in person. The dealers at the funshows know this and price their stuff accordingly. The most important things you can do are (1) know what you want, and (2) know what a good price is for what you want. When you see it at a good price, buy it. |
Thank you for the advice. I am wanting to snag a lower an register it as a pistol otherwise I would be scouring the EE for deals. $120 with tax seems ok to me. I had hoped the HGCA show would have been much larger, in comparison the Pasadena show is not that bad. Proximity makes up for the distance. The Kahr MK9 I bought at the last Convention center show was the only one there and used as well. Hit or miss like you said. |