Moved to Naples, FL last year from NV, which gun shows and/or promoters are the best ones?  Would appreciate being pointed in the right direction.  Noticed there is one in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami same weekend July 16-17.

OP if you find any post in this thread

I found listings of the various shows on gunshowtrader, etc. but don't know which are worth driving to

West Palm Beach at the fairgrounds is the best in the South Florida area.

Shoot Straight is a retail chain of gun stores, and own the big show circuit, for the most part. Shows with the yellow State of Florida logo in larger cities are usually Shoot Straight shows. Shoot straight is always the largest presence at these shows. There are lots of other venders, but Shoot Straight dominates them. They are middle of the road, relatively higher priced, but sometimes make deals, especially on used guns or trades. They have a deep inventory.

Florida Gun Show Trader web site has all the shows, smaller cities have smaller shows by different promoters. I’m not down south , so someone else can chime in on what smaller shows local to you are wort while.

My favorite Central Florida show is the Deland one. Melbourne wasn’t bad, Orlando( shoot Straight) wasn’t worth the bother.

West Palm Beach used to have a good show years ago but now it is more of a "handle the gun you think you want and then go home order/buy it somewhere else and have it shipped" gun show. The prices have become insane and there are a lot of non-gun vendors there almost to the point of being a craft/trade show. I stopped going years ago as it was a waste of time and money. Shoot Straight used to dominate that show but the other smaller vendors couldn't match the prices Shoot Straight sold things for,so one thing led to another and Shoot Straight was told to leave permanently. Now they have a shop right down the street of the fair grounds that houses the gun show. I have bought many things from them over the years but once they left, the gun show was not the same and is catered more to new shooters that have no idea what prices are good or bad. Shoot Straight occasionally goes to the Saint Lucie County show but I have not seen them lately. The gun shows now seem to be a mix of small dealers, (nothing against them), but they usually don't have the inventory or better prices than what you would find in most larger retailers. Occasionally you might find a hard to find part or a decent price on a  gun you may be looking for but overall, I don't go to them anymore. Just my 2 cents.

They are all seem to be about the same to me.

Trying to clear up what happened. Since there is some false information here.  I am going summarize it somewhat as some things don't need to be said on a public form.

The story with shoot straight no longer at the WPB gun show is as follows.  This comes from one side of the dispute and what I have heard/ seen and from what other vendors seen / heard. (Yes, I was there the weekend this happened).

I am sure there may be alittle more details to it. So take it with a grain of salt.   You know, one side says one things, the other another and the truth is somewhere in the middle kind of thing.   (End disclaimers).

Khaled is the owner of Shoot Straight,  Bill is the Owner of the WPB gunshow.

This happened on a weekend that the Miami show and WPB shows both going on. (Same weekend) ( Khaled also owns FL gunshows which hosts the Miami show)

More than one vendor had expressed concerns to Bill that they were going to lose their tables in Miami and possibly not be allowed back if they did not attend the Miami show that weekend. (They therefore had to call out of the WPB show).

Bill confronted Khaled about it.

Khaled did not deny it, but "insisted" on the names of the vendors who had said it to Bill.

Bill would not disclose the name of the vendors.

General pissing match ensues.

Bill went on the intercom and said something along the lines of  I have been made aware that some vendors have been targeted and given an ultimatum on attending this show or the Miami show.  If this has happened to you, please come talk to me.  

Another pissing match ensues.

Khaled had signs printed and put on their tables that this would be the last show they attend.

They never showed up again,  They were never kicked out and I believe they have an open invitation to still attend.

For the next year or so, They hired people to stand outside with signs, paid for a plane to fly over the fairgrounds. (With a banner behind it).  Had a box truck driving around the parking lot...etc etc.   Basically trying to push customers to the Shoot Straight southern blvd location with sales..etc.

There has been alot of back door stuff since then.  Of trying to purchase the gun show from Bill. Trying to go around to the Fairgrounds and offer more money to take the venue away...etc etc.  


There you have it. Nothing to do with pricing or getting kicked out.

The gun shows that happened back in 1980 to mid 1986 were great, DIAS for sale along with the little gizmo that made your AR-15 bolt carrier into a M16 profile...  I'll let you know when I get the time machine working properly.

Would be a bit of a drive, but the Lakeland gun show use to be the one to go to. They only did it twice a year when they were at the Lakeland Civic Center(great concert memories from that place as well). They started 3 times a year a little while back, around the time they changed venue to the airport(If I am remembering correctly).

Doesn’t surprise me one bit about Khaled.

Lakeland is by far the best show and they allow individuals to sell face to face.
And they don’t charge $5 parking fee.

The Florida gun Shows ( shoot straight)  Tampa and Miami shows are by far the biggest with the largest selections and most dealers. FGS's Orlando show is close, but the venue is literally in a ghetto and by far the worst in the state.
Small/mid sized towns that aren't very wealthy (Ie: Lakeland, Ft Myers, etc) have the best deals because sales are slower there. Go late on a Sunday for the best discounts.
In my experience Jacksonville and West Palm aren't worth going to at all.
The shows put together by 2guys on the Gulf Coast are hit or miss, sometimes decent. Small dealers favor them because they're cheaper.

Generally, gun shows aren't competitive with the internet, and an increasing number of dealers are backing out due to the poor returns.
In another decade they probably won't be sustainable at all, we should all probably get used to shopping online.