doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Disappointing Local Gun Shows

Come to a Crossroads of the West show in St. George, UT or to one at the Cashman Center in Las Vegas. Might as well go the the "swap meet" in Azusa.

Wait for a few weeks and then try the Louisville show if it is not too far away for you. Good luck.

I went to the Greensboro gun show this weekend. Not exactly a classic shotgunners dream but a hundred doubles of field and lower grades of graded guns on the tables.

The hall was sold out and he'd opened up another section. I think we sometimes expect too much of a general gunshow. Gunshows reflect current trends. I don't like all those trends, but we can hardly blame the guys who promote shows. I do get tired of the cammo and ammo shows but I'll admit the only thing I bought at this show was a set of Walls insulated camo overalls.

I've been told Lousiville is a great show.

By the way, Greensboro was so crowded you could hardly get down the aisles. That's a good trend for shooters whether you like jerky or not.

m2cw

The show in Lakeland Fl is always good for SXS's.

It seems as if in my area, even the city that the show is at makes a huge difference in what is there. When I go to the big cities, I see many plastic guns and few with wood that is better than a 2x4. When I get to more rural area shows, there seems to be more guns with wood that matters. NOW that I just said that, there is good stuff at the big city shows also, just not by the same percentage. Same as the knives, want a knife? Go to the big city shows. At least this is my experience in Ohio where I go.

Here is the scoop. I used to do gun shows many years ago. In fact I was having 5 tables at the Houston gun show when it was at Astro Hall. At that time there were 2000 plus tables. Folks like Mike Weatherby, Jack Puglisi, Thad Scott, Hershall Chadick, etc came to that show. But like all the shows, sales for us started to dwindle. So those guys started to not come. I started to reduct my tables down to three and later two. Now its very rare tht I set up at a show.You see the same guys going to the show, just looking and talking guns, but very rarely buying. I see on chat boards, lots of guys talking about seeing guns at shows, talking about them, but saying they should of bought or saw this or that, but not saying they bought anything. As a dealer we do not mind setting up at a show if it results in sales and profit. But to travel to a show, incur extra expenses, tie up a weekend working, and have to travel back to where we are from, unpack and put the stuff away and back to work Monday, just to show guns/talk guns to folks for entertainment value, does not work for the folks setting up. ( I still walk guns show and visit with folks I know. Its amazing that the numeber of folks that go to a show and after they pay the 8-10 dolars to get in a a $3.00 coke, they are tapped out)


John Boyd

I got hornswaggled into going to what used to be a pretty good gunshow this weekend. My chaperone summed it up pretty well when she had been there for about five minutes. Compared to the collectors show in Vegas, it was a low grade swap meet.

John- Just an observation... If the dealers worried more about their customers and less about gossiping with each other, they might make a few sales. At this same show about two years ago, a gent had an E grade LeFever on the table. When I asked if I could look at it, he told me to come back in an hour- then hi tailed it to the hot dog stand to meet his buddies. Didn't look for him in an hour. I see more and more of this every time I go.

PatriotUSA, you may find a double shotgun or two at Louisville.

Thanks Eightbore. A small dealer in S. Ill. told me I would see a lot of doubles in 'Loooavull' LOL

It is the "hope springs eternal" that keeps us going to these shows. Years ago back east, I quit going to a little armory show because it was getting to be all black guns, camo and jerky. My buddy continues to go and scores a Parker Bros. vent rib BHE pigeon or trap gun!! A couple of years ago, I swore I wasn't going to the show at the Spokane fairgrounds any more, but I was bored on Sunday, so went and scored a C-Grade Baltimore Arms Co. double with straight grip and steel barrels.

When I lived in the mid-Atlantic area we use to go to the Louisville show, and it was a very good show for doubles. For a year or two the Parker Gun Collectors Association had their annual meeting there the same weekend as The Vintage Cup.