In my opinion, the days of courtesy, politeness, and common sense etiquette are all too frequently lacking on both sides of the table and aisle at collector & sporting arms shows today.... I fear even CADA shows will die as a result of unrealistic pricing and just plain rude behavior by both dealer and buyer.
Let me quote something from a book published in 1997:
"The chance of finding a decent collectible Parker at a sporting-goods store or local gun show is almost nill. Should you beat the odds and find a desirable gun, you will surely hear the plaintive cry of the casual and naive 'dealer.' 'I got more than that in it.' My advice to a new collector is to make the acquaintance dealer who specializes in Parker guns, and the sooner the better. Also, try to find a mentor who isn't just trying to peddle his mistakes."
I have taken my own advice and have purchased my guns almost exclusively from Chaddick, Galazan, Criswell, McKuen, Whitney, and James Julia. The expertise I developed by starting out with "benchmark guns" has allowed me to infrequently find and properly evaluate a gem at a local show...but they have been few and far between. As to local shows, be thankful for opportunity to maybe find something worthwhile, like the Robin Hood 10-bore shell I found at Monroe WI last year for fifty cents (see p.322 of my new book) or the pristine Gamble's shotshell box (p.172) or the 95% all-original ca.1905 VH (p.33) that was on a table at Pecatonica IL in close proximity to Beanie Babies and Nazi knock-offs.
This weekend there is a show at Juda WI (try to find it on a map!). I'll be there because the reasonable table charges at local shows tend to encourage memoribilia to come out of the closet. The ammo collectors and collectibles people have been priced out by CADA; the book business is so down that hardly do you ever see a book dealer at a gun show anymore (none at Chicago CADA where there used to be at least four). I believe the Internet has killed buying books from specialist dealers, and the ammo collectors simply post their extras on eBay. And finally, many of the dealers have only themselves to blame...
Wally B.---CADA promoter--has to rent the venue in St. Charles IL for the whole weekend, but can hardly expect any paid attendance on Sundays. This is because the dealers start packing up Sunday morning to show their disdain for the lack of traffic Sunday afternoon--a self-fulfilling prophesy! No one goes to a gun show after 9 am on Sundays because they know the show will be over by noon. A gross example of this was evident at the recent Vintage Cup, where the PGCA had a whole tent that was vacated Saturday afternoon (to go off campus for the PGCA private dinner) and 90% of the display tables were empty Sunday morning. Most of the officers were long gone. If this spreads to other exhibitors and more and more booths and tents become vacant on Sunday, I fear for the Vintagers and Vintage Cup. Ray P. had to rent up the venue for the duration...no paid gate on Sundays...we have found the enemy and he is us (sayeth Pogo). EDM
