I'd almost forgotten what a real gun show looked like . . . Guns! Ammo! Components!
* Lots of regular dealers with tables full of pistols. Saw that some models of Kimber 1911s are approaching the prices of a new Les Baer TRS . . . and saw a Wilson - Wilson! - that was twice as expensive as the Les Baer TRS.
* Found that stripped AR lowers are readily available - for under $100. Quite a change from a couple of years ago. (You COULD find a "billet" receiver for close to $500.)
* Ammo is expensive. Many vendors appear to be buying from WalMart or Academy and simply marking things up. Cabela's has better prices, especially if you watch for sales or use a coupon. From the battered condition of some of the boxes, I suspect many bought on speculation when prices peaked - and are too stubborn to sell at today's market prices. (They've obviously been hauling some of these around for a while.)
* USGI magazines? Cheap. NIW for $10.
* There is a HUGE amount of cheap Chinese junk flooding the market - AR15 accessories like rails, forward grips, etc., and optics. Lots of "NCStar" optics, red/green lasers, and flashlights. Eotech, Streamlight, Trijicon, and other brands being knocked off and copied. Told the guy selling Olites that I was looking for a basic weapon light for an AR15, and he went on and on about all the different modes of his flashlights - as weapon lights, they definitely violated the K.I.S.S. principle.
* Many of the small time accessory sellers had a few barely-used knockoff 'scopes or lights. Makes me think they bought them because they were cheap, and - SURPRISE! - found the performance lacking. Now they were trying to unload them.
* Mosins were as cheap as $100 out the door. But when did common SKS rifles hit $400?
* "Service Grade" M1 Garand? $950. Assuming it was a CMP rifle, that's a neat $350 markup. "Beater" M1 Carbines up to $700. One guy tried to sell me a "WWII" carbine that had some swastikas carved in the buttstock - one for each German killed? Sure.
(Old proverb: "Buy the gun, not the story.")* Didn't find the Luger I was looking for. In fact, I only saw ONE Luger. "Original" Mauser, $1850. Looked awfully . . . shiny . . . for a gun with worn blue and some pitting.
* Maybe it was just me, but some of the people selling jerky and such seemed to have an especially . . . aromatic . . . product. (OK, it stank.) Wonder how many customers were destined for a bout of Montezuma's Revenge?
* Didn't find the Enfield No.4 Mk II I've been looking for.
* Saw a few older S&W revolvers - but a Model 28 isn't worth $700 + tax to me.
* The guy with multiple Garands that I used to see in Austin was there - didn't ask him if he still uses two sets of muzzle and throat erosion gages. (One if he's selling, the other if he's buying. Hmmm . . . )
* Found that gun show vendors are still just as full of . . . nonsense . . . as stereotypical used car salesmen. (Example: Animals can't see green lasers because they're color blind. Example: Some AR15 manufacturers like DPMS and Bushmaster use a Dremel tool to make their guns fit together. Example: Our partners are part of elite Executive Protection details, and they approved our products. )
I still can't get over all the cheap Chinese knock-off junk that was for sale . . . what once was a trickle, is now a flood.
Still, I enjoyed the opportunity to just wander up and down the aisles . . . not a bad couple of hours spent on a Saturday. With SAXET bringing their show back to Austin, maybe I'll get to see all this more often again.
