Dallas Area Gun Shows For a First Timer?

[snatchel]

Oh, and.... "Buy the gun, not the story!"

Seller: "Oh, yeah, I tell ya a secret...this hyeah Hi-point wuz confiscated from Saddam Hussein his own self and brung back from Eye-raq...."

Know what I mean?

Had a guy trying to convince me that Navy Spec-O guys carry the beretta PX4 storm and FN FAL. Very entertaining.

[G26ster]

Don't go to Big Town in the summer months. Just my opinion, way too hot......

Is the A/C broken at the Mesquite Convention Center?

It worked just fine last summer. I haven't been there this summer.

Edit: I just realized, we're talking about 2 different places. Big Town is not the convention center.

The TSRA show is at the Convention Center. Don't know why Big Town was mentioned by BigPa.

[knotquiteawake]

Probably won't be going out there tomorrow... I casually brought it up with the Mrs. and found out that in fact that all this time she was only just marginally ok with guns and me getting a CHL and the thought of me carrying a gun with me all the time actually bothers her (a lot) but that its an argument she wouldn't have won out on so she just gave up before even saying anything and now that I suddenly want guns for fun she's gettin a bit riled up...
What a rough night. Don't think we've had "discussion" like this in a few months.
Pretty sure its this whole 10th week of pregnancy thing that is the main cause though (our first! yay!)... I'll probably have to wait a few months before bringing it up again, which is fine with me, I didn't have a specific gun in mind yet anyways.
At least I can still carry without a fight, its just the buying more that appears to be an issue.

[doc.lonestar]

gun shows are a great place to get hands on with several different firearms to compare. If I can not find something locally I will go to the gunshow to get a nose to nose introduction to verify fit/finish balance etc

I enjoy having options locally for gun deals, but to be honest I end up, more times than not, shopping online (free shipping no tax).

Advantage for CHL holders if you do buy local is now you have little to no paperwork to fill out for the purchase of a firearm - no wait. Hand chl - fill out form - pay - out the door.

I would also suggest that you know what you are looking for before you go.

Be Safe,
Doc

[v-rog]

+1, the internet at your fingertips is a hard weapon to beat! You may be able to use the particular gun site + cash to get a good deal...

One more thing. If you think you should walk away, do it. Dont be afraid to lose out on a "deal of a lifetime." Worst case scenario is you order it from an online distributer for about the same price and eat the 25 or 30 bucks for shipping/FFL.
If you have a phone with browser (iphone, android, or whatever) have budsgunshop.com open so you can search weapon prices you aren't sure about.

[stroo]

My wife was kind of like yours although maybe not as much opposed. I made a deal with her. If she would take an NRA pistol course, I would take ballroom dancing lessons. She took the NRA course and found that she kind of liked shooting.

I still haven't taken the ballroom dancing course. She has never set it up.

[smtimelevi]

Check any used guns before purchase. Take a small flashlight with you for examination. Im assuming your looking at pistols so ill give some suggestions so you dont buy a lemon.

First make sure the gun is empty and then check to see if the slide locks back. once the slide is locked shine your flashlight into the ejection port and look down from the barrel. Make sure there's no gouges or anything out of the ordinary. Then take the pistol in your strong hand and whack it into the palm of your support hand or maybe into the thigh a few times. If the slide flies forward without pushing the release thats no bueno. Then push the slide release and with the safety on pull the trigger making sure it wont fire. Then with the safety off pull trigger to make sure it does fire. If you can get an empty magazine insert and hit the release to eject. Check if theres anything wrong inside the mag well or with the release, flashlight is also helpful here.

This is probably the most you can do without field stripping or test firing. Good Luck with the MRS. !

[knotquiteawake]

I'm not sure "rational" or "logical" "facts" will help me out in a "conversation" (argument) with a Pregnant Wife!

Her dad actually gave her the .38 special we have and took her to the range so she knows how to use it (all before we got married when she moved out on her own). She doesn't much care for the gun or the fact that we have it. But I've adopted it and like it (a late 80's Taurus snubby). I was even keeping it in the dresser next to my side of the bed without much complaint (we have a drawer safe for it now).

But those pregnancy hormones must have put bad thoughts into her mind because she suddenly got all worried that I would spend "all' our money on guns, be buying guns every month, and leave loaded guns everywhere, and our child (who isn't actually born yet) will find them and shoot themselves ect... not exactly rational ideas that I can counter at the moment.
I think last night I caught her at a bad time, being pregnant is difficult and emotional, and hormonal. I think she will come around once she figures out its something I really want. She knows deep down that I manage our money really wisely. We've done really well. In our 1.5 years of marriage we've paid off $58,000 of debt, we are totally debt free. We are putting lot into savings every month in preparation for her having to stop working for a while after the child.

I think its all a matter of her getting acclimated to the fact that I actually want guns as a hobby and not just the one gun for self defense and concealed carry. It might take a little while but I think she is going to come around and I'll be able to grow my gun collection slowly. Thats what I like about this forum and some others like it is that when you guys share your advice or stories it gives me "ammo" of real-life situations where it was a good thing that person had a gun (Or even better, where even though the person had a gun they didn't have to use it or even take it out, like how they extracted themselves for a potential disastrous situation).

Which brings me full circle back to gun shows and finding good deals! I really appreciate the tips, this is exactly the kind of stuff that helps me make good informed decisions, which usually helps my wife become more comfortable with something I want to buy. While I doubt she will go with me to a show any time soon I think I'm ok to buy another gun soon-ish. Just not as soon as I want maybe, which is fine because I don't know exactly what I want yet.