There is another promoter that hosts gun shows in the Orlando area, at the Volusia County fairgrounds, on SR 44 just a couple hundred yards east of the I-4 exit.

I have not been to either one for a few years, but since the one in Volusia is not owned by Shoot Straight, I would imagine that there are more smaller vendors there. Not in Orange County, so I believe that face-to-face sales between non-FFL holders are still legit without a 4473.

I went to one at the Daytona Convention Center, it was a smaller version of the one in Whorelando, not a ton of attendees, some different vendors.

Might have to check out the VCF show, be a good ride up for a day.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

Might have to check out the VCF show, be a good ride up for a day.

With the current weather pattern in the area, you have a good rain suit, ¿si?

we usually set up at every Nations Gun Show, and do well,

this time last year was the worst show we have had, (including shows in Fishersville, Hampton and RVA)

so we skipped it this time, and will return in the end of July,

gunshow, big area (NOVA) with schools graduations, small festivals, etc all in the area ,,,

it was a very light crowd last year, and not heard much good so far about the show last weekend

At a show in Hickory, NC last week I got to see a complete (all the attachments) S&W Model 53 revolver in .22 Remington Jet, like this:


(Stock photo, not the actual gun.)

You don't see these every day. And with half of the route through mountains, it was a scenic drive.

Not a gun show expert, but used to live in Northern Virginia and went to the Nations Gun show a few times, probably up to 2014, and went to the one in Charlotte last year and year before. Charlotte one was full of vendors and pretty crowded.

quote:

Originally posted by blueye:
Use to go alot back in the 70's and early 80's to the gun shows in Michigan when I lived there. Not bad. I did go to one here in Ft. Worth about 10 yrs ago. A vendor promised me a good price on aluminum siding but I live in an all brick house.

Did you go to Bill Goodman's Gun shows at the Light Guard Armory on Eight Mile Rd.? Those were good shows in the late sixties-early 70's

I miss the gun shows I went to 10 or even 30 years ago. The first show I went to was when I was 21 and bought my first pistol, a new S&W 629. I used to go with my father or a friend and we would find some great deals and interesting items. We would spend a couple ours there,get some lunch and make a day out of it. Now the shows by me are smaller, with fewer guns/parts tables and more crafts and junk. The West Palm Beach show used to be the place to go, as far as distance from me, but since the big vendors aren't there, for whatever reason they had, the shows are not worth going to. Prices for parking and admission have increased but other shows/venues-(crafts fairs,etc.), at the same places have cheaper prices for parking and admission. I wished to take my son to a show and spend quality time together but I am afraid we missed the boat.

^^^^^ Could the price differences be related to gun shows needing more insurance?

flashguy

The last Utah gunshow i went to was the Crossroads one i think? It was pretty much conceal carry purses, military recruiters, and the plethora of home-based FFLs in the state who bought tables to sell all their new guns at or barely below Cabelas prices. And it was PACKED. Not fun. Not interesting. Hot. Crowded. No deals. Dumb. And pointless.

The one i went to before that was one i drove up to Ogden for and it was some mil-surp or historical show. More mil-surp rifles than i could name. Older gun owners with neat tables, history-based booths with a lot smaller, slower moving, nice and chatty crowd with a common interest in good, old guns. Lots of Garands. Like Hundreds of Garands. Lots of militaria for sale. Felt more like a good gun flea market rather than a “BIG GUN SHOW, ALL WEEKEND!!” Type shit.

Id go back to that one. Ill skip all the other shows.

quote:

Originally posted by Broadside:
It’s the Internet. Most items can be purchased cheaper on the Internet.

A couple of months ago I went to the Nation’s Gun Show in Chantilly, VA. It was the first time in five years. I don’t think I will ever go back.

it's the modern flea market. Same guys, same junk. Crafts, pickles, stun guns, etc. And once every five or six shows, a diamond amongst the ruff. The only reason I still bother with the Chantilly show is free parking and a free pass from a retired friend who rents a table. He's considering not paying anymore...they want to double his table fees or push to the back.

Three local shows to the Pittsburgh area, two don't allow concealed carry, one does. I go to that one, its held 4 times a year. Going tomorrow

My wife and I really just go to support it, sometimes buy something, usually don't - most items I need I get from my local LGSs (plural...) or the internet.

Started going to gun shows in the mid 80s in Ky, then the 90s in WA. Really since the late 90s, they haven't been that good; my opinion of course.

I too am a veteran of the Bill Goodman shows at the old Hara Arena in Dayton.

How was beef jerky selection?

Quit knocking beef jerky, some of us like it. The reason the vendors keep coming back is because we buy what they've got.

I still go to the local gunshows when we have them. I won't travel very far to go to any, that's for sure. It's nice to walk around, get some exercise and look at things. I rarely buy anything other then maybe some ammo, a holster or two, minor things. As far as firearms, over the years, I've only ever purchased two AR lowers at gunshows, that's it.

Gun shows certainly have gone downhill over
Time. When I was in my late teens and twenties they were great. Mostly collectors and private individuals at tables selling. This was in anti gun New York and sometime in the 80’s or early 90’s they changed the rules and forced everyone at the show to charge sales tax and have a business license the. Later an ffl ahead of any formal law change and that killed them in NY. Same few dozen dealers seen at the same circuit of shows.
Here in free America ( Arizona it is a lot better, but most of what I see for sale
Is modern plastic (AR’s glocks etc) at prices higher than my local brick and mortar stores. And older classics are sparse and overpriced. Every once in a while a deal can be had, and findingthat needle in the haystack is fun at times.
What I do find deals on is small stuff - reloading components, small amounts of ammo, magazines and parts. Last show I attended I ended up with 1000 .38 bullets,500 45 bullets 1k large pistol primers and 1k small pistol primers for under $75. I will take those sorts of deals any day.
Same with the local auction house that has massive auctions of a lot of very nice collector guns. I have picked up a few guns but mostly great deals on small lot stuff

Shows here in MT as well as the big ones in ID, WA and NV have surely CHANGED, and most of it to the negative side. Times change, the way it goes.

I found one has to attend to find that occasional deal/rare item.

My analogy; You can't make that point unless you are IN the game.

I can relate a dozen stories of true "finds" at shows, many for very reasonable prices.

Waiting in line in below zero temps to get into the Bozeman show bought my pristine, S prefix Smith M-58 for $350 from a kid who didn't have the $5 to get in. So sold it to me cheap.

Walk into a show in Missoula and find an early M-617 without the silly underlug. One of 210 or 220 produced. Guy wanted $450...another find and bargain.

Yeah they get old, but ya gotta attend.

I think the days of gun shows are almost over.

The same thing happened to computer shows a while back, everything became a commodity you could buy online at a lower price and the shows went extinct.

Why should I drive to a gun show, find parking, maybe pay for parking, then pay $15 just to get in to find the pistol I was looking for and it’s overpriced if they even have it?

My last pistol purchase in early April; went on GunBroker, found exactly what I wanted and had it in a few days and at a good price.

Nope, the gun shows simply aren't what they once were. The internet has hugely affected the gun shows and not in a good way.

Being a collector of the arcane and obscure there used to be a nugget at just about every show, and I went to a lot of them.

The past 10 years or so, I go to just one, the Kansas City Missouri Valley Collectors Assn in July. I had a display table there for years. The past few years I attend simply to visit with my friends, some of whom I've known for over 50 years. Parking is free and as a member I get in free.

Oh, there is usually something that strikes my fancy.