Seems like COVID really killed off good Houston gun shows. The very good George R. Brown Show is gone, and so too is the old "AstroDome" show which in recent years was at the NRG Stadium nearby. The Pasadena Show here is crap with few new-gun dealers ever showing. I go now to the Conroe and Humble Shows which are OK. And The Houston Gun Collectors Show held in the little dark cave called the SPJST Lodge is pretty sad compared to the huge AstroHall Shows they once held! Now $4.50 gal gas makes long drives expensive in my F-150. Can any of you guys tell me how the Fort Worth/Will Rogers Show, Mesquite Show, or the Dallas Collector's Show at SouthFork in ParkerTX might compare to the Houston Conroe Show? I'm familiar with the Conroe show and wouldn't want to spend gas/time going to anything smaller then that.  Geeez.... I really miss the Dallas Market Show of years ago.  Seems like no show is special any more except the Tulsa. (12 hour drive for me!)

I'm searching for a S&W Performance Center 945, 952, or other such target gun, & figure the more tables the better my chances! GunBroker prices are high, & you can't even touchy/feely the gun first.

I feel the same as you. I was a regular at the GRB and the HGCA shows. I also have wondered if it would be worth it to drive to the Metroplex for a show.

The DACA show at South Fork is a shell of the old Market Hall show.
The Mesquite (Big Town) and Ft. Worth shows put on by Premier are usually good with the edge going to Ft. Worth (except for the $10 parking over which they have no control).

Thank's. I was visiting the websites of each show in Houston & Dallas, and saw that some show promoters will specify the amount of tables at the show. One might mention 300 tables, while most don't mention the number of tables at all. (I assume that means most aren't even 300 tables)  But the Ft.Worth show claims 1,000 tables!!  About 25 years ago when I use to happily drive 4hrs to the great Dallas Market show, I once checked-out the Ft. Worth show. Turned out to be a poor show. I don't remember which building or which promoter held it 25 years ago, but I recall it was in a large spacey room with an island of tables. The tables that were there were a lot of smaller private dealers with very few of the larger dealers of modern guns. I don't mind small dealers and private tables, as those guys can have a nice gem of a gun on occasion at a fair price. Unfortunately, you also get a lot of the beef-jerkey guys, blow-guns, boxes full of old-holsters & rusty dies, LIFE magazines, and that same Remington 1100 for $1,150 the guy displays at every show. LOL This describes to a tee our Houston Pasadena show..... except it's a small room, and the mix of corn-dogs and BO stinks.

Hopefully, the Ft.Worth show is not like the one of 25 years ago I remember. 1,000 tables actually sounds pretty impressive!!! Thanks again for the input.

DACA shows are always good in my book, more collector type stuff...never find much collector stuff in Ft Worth or Mesquite...

I will actually have three tables at DACA next weekend, finally...first show I've been able to do since before COVID....

Will have a nice complete RPG-2 with goodies, and some good ordnance, a whole lot of stuff accumulated after 2 years!

What happened to the Market Hall shows? Those were usually all pretty good.

which venue next weekend...?

DACA gave up on Market Hall, and Premier took over the venue, there was a rich & vibrant ND in the parking lot, and the owners said no more gunshows...so there is no Market Hall shows anymore.

DACA moved venues to Southfork Ranch in Wylie/Murphy...still a great show if you are into collectible stuff more than modern, though they still have that too...

The DACA show at Southfork Ranch...

Things are hurting all over. The only large venue left is Will Rogers and they can't fill it. Last two times I was there this year, not one vendor selling 1911 parts. The small venues get filled because they are small venues.

Seems it was the COVID scare, and NOT some permanent thing. Nobody wears the dumb-ass masks at the shows any more. I went to 2 of the Houston Gun Collectors Shows at the SPJST Lodge on Beall Street for my first time ever this year. At both shows all the tables were taken. I asked a member there why they don't rent a larger facility with more tables & better lighting. (I have to use my Fenix flashlight to examine guns) He told me that only recently have 100% of the tables become rented.

Unfortunately, the days of dealers driving hundreds of miles to rent tables to sell quality name scopes, bullets by the pound, or specialty gun parts is over. The internet killed that. GunBroker is now charging sales tax this year along with shipping, and that will help some gunshow dealers be able to compete and survive.


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Thanks for confirmation about the Will Rogers show being large. Looking forward to attending!

The city of Dallas had been trying to get that show shut down for the last 30 years.  There were several incidents in the parking lot before the last one. I'm wondering if Market Hall is still having parking lot chaos for their other events or if it was just the gun shows.

I've been in the San Antonio and Austin area for many years and all the decent sized gun shows dried up here after the cities pushed them out.  I've never been to any of the Houston shows, but I know the Ft Worth (Premier) show I went to last year put any of the old SA or Austin shows to shame. It was worth the day trip for me.

Thanks for that. I will try to attend that Ft.Worth show. It will be worth the $50 in gas for the change in pace and something new for me to see.

Houston ALWAYS had the George R. Brown show about an average of 4 to 6 times a year until COVID. There are still no shows planned there now even though the whole COVID scare and gov control thing ended. Don't know why it remains affected and no gun shows are scheduled there any more. Perhaps the City is still using COVID as an excuse?? (But then how would they discriminate against the gun show but allow other kinds of venues?) It was Houston's Largest Show in recent years and worth my 45 minute drive to downtown in traffic and the $10 admission. Parking was another expense, or I walked 6-7 blocks. It had a good mix of private sellers, small dealers, and a number of large dealers too. Conroe is the next decent show with a nice mix of dealers, and a better element of people, but not particularly a big show. It was just OK. Pasadena is crap, and has been crap for 25 years. It's a nice facility with parking, but the quality of dealers is poor. The BEAL street show is small and not worth going to unless I'm bored. That's about it, except for the Humble show which is OK like the Conroe show.... but not frequently held any more.

All of them…

Always good to be around like minded people…

It may be too late now but I would not recommend driving for this weekends Fort Worth show.

Wait until the Fort Worth premiere show is in town on June 25th.

I researched it last week to double check and see that the Will Rogers show by Premier on June 25th with 1,000 tables is NOT the Ft-Worth show today. Hopefully nobody drove a lot of miles at $4.50 a gallon (like I will be doing from Houston) to get those two shows mixed up. Thanks.

None are worth the drive.  Better prices and selection online and no sales tax.  Stopped going to gun shows 15yrs ago.

We know who hasn't been doing much online gun buying the last two years.

Don't know where you live, but I have no such problems at big shows.

About 2.5 years ago I bought my new P365 for $465 at a Gunshow when everybody else online wanted $500-$550 plus shipping. Can't tell you how many guns I've bought at similar savings. How about the new Colt Python for $1,399 last month at a show?? If you are still buying your guns Tax Free online, then you're not buying them from GunBroker. I also choose the trigger and check the finish on the gun. I've bought a dozen guns online too when I've had no choice, and have been screwed-over by dealers dumping guns nobody would buy in their store!  Ripped boxes with torn labels which are bad for collectors value, rifle stocks that were off center, guns with fine scratches, AR's with excessively loose receivers, etc.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_8_8/620050_11-12-June-Azle-gun-show.html

I try to keep it updated to 3 months out, Abilene to Shreveport, Waco to the Red River, and of course Tulsa.

Thanks!