Well hell…

The Nations Gun Show today was a bust… 10 degrees so at least the crowd was down, but the prices were stoopid as usual…

$3200-4000 for an 80% WWII 1911 at the one table that I actually LOOKED at prices…

Speaking of gun show pricing, saw one table offering $25 off any gun and $50 off on any HK. Only problem was the prices were AT LEAST $100 over MSRP to start with… sigh  Oh yeah, and one other one- Magpul 30 rounders for $13, but the 10 rounders were $18! WTF???

$19.5K for a full auto M-16, and a ‘bargain’ M-14 with giggle switch for ‘only’ $16.5K…  $2500-4000 for M-1s and parts prices are double what they were a year ago…

One table with .22 was wanting $70 for a brick, or $17/100 of CCI. Saw one lone can of 855, they wanted $449/1000 for it. The only positive we saw was powder is coming back a little bit, so Murph jumped on some 231, grumbling that the primers were ridiculous, and now he had to go find his 231 recipes again…

Lot more tables of jewelry, candy, T-shirts, etc. At least three ‘good’ dealers I know weren’t there, either due to weather or because they aren’t getting the prices they want.

So… a bust…

BUT I did get to have lunch with Murph and Joe at Hooters, so that kinda made up for it! 🙂

Comments

Well hell… — 15 Comments

  1. Hey, Jim, do you recall the manufacturer of the “super shotgun” that had you & LawDog & the FodGuy so enamored, at the NRA shindig in Houston? It was the one with the 2 side chambers, that could be loaded with one’s choice of shells, a “switch” for choosing which chamber, including a choice of alternating from one chamber to the other – it was being sold for, I want to say, around $1,200.00.
    Semper Fi’
    DM

  2. Wow… I just grabbed 3 bricks of .22 at Walmart the other day for about $27/brick. The big 555 bricks, too, not the little 333 ones. Plus, picked up a bunch of sub-sonic .22 for good prices at the LGS, too. Gotta have quiet stuff for to put through the new can!

  3. DM- They had one here today, but I didn’t even bother to look. As Murph said, if an 870, run by somebody that knows what they are doing won’t handle the situation, you’re in WAY too deep… 🙂

    Pedi- Yeah, difference between gun show and reality pricing! 🙂

    • Oh, Hooters was great. Old NFO had some sort of a connection with the hostess who seated us and we wound up in the section with an extremely pregnant gal for a server. Coincidence?

  4. Hey Old NFO;

    Like CenTexTim said….”You went to Hooters for Lunch”…And they were for the wings….Right?

  5. I went late afternoon. Got one box of PPC 6.5 Swede from a dealer that hasn’t raised prices on that brand/caliber in 5 years. Also nicely illustrated owner’s manuals for both ’03 and M1 Garand. Made by DCM. $5 each. That’s it.
    Also got very cold.

  6. And now the rumor is that AR-15 ammo will be banned?
    Are they actually TRYING to start a revolution?
    (Don’t answer. I already know.)

  7. Our gun show was ‘okay’, some crazy prices (22 Magnum for $24 a box of 50 – plain jane FMJ too) but there were a pair of Savage 24s that had my attention. But in the end, couldn’t justify the cost, I already have others that fill in the slots. Sold a pair of knives (Western W49 Bowie w/ wall plaque) and Remington R6 Skinner because they were taking up to much room – the income was welcome.

    I did not know about the 855 ammo being banned before – I would have looked at the price had I known that. Sneaky sneaky politicians.

  8. “$3200-4000 for an 80% WWII 1911” insane, confirms why i don’t go to gun shows anymore.

  9. Stretch- Wish I’d known you were going, you could have met us for lunch! And you’re lucky! And yes it was COLD!

    Greybeard- Yeah, you and I ‘know’ that answer… sigh

    j.r.- Nice! Sadly the good knives are getting harder to find too!

    Randy- Understood… and I’m about at the same point.

  10. Back in Colorado and went to the Aurora range for some .22 steel target shooting. Hadn’t shot in a year [way too much back story], and what was in the bottom of the shooting bag – boxes of CCI. Amen! Plus a large bag of really junk .22.

    Haven’t had a chance to try the new Skinner sight on the Henry pump. A rep at Henry suggested the Skinner. We’ll see.

  11. I usually go to that show whenever it is in town. I was gripped by a need to panic-buy another can of 855… and some primers…and a bag of 500 SS109 projectiles (even though I prefer AMax for shooting accuracy). Stupid gun market always stampeeding every time some government agency announces something stupid. Just once I would like to be on teh leading edge of that and sell something I have at exhorbitant prices to some sucker instead of being the sucker. I’d love to see some panic buying in the “piece of shit guns I have but no longer want” category.

    But I was still feeling a little sick, so I skipped it this time.