Are gun shows worth going to now?

[bigred90gt]

I am going mainly for private sellers of 1911's. If i cant get there by noonish on Saturday i usually wont bother, cheap stuff is likely gone. Pasadena has gone way downhill but parking is close and free. Something to do if bored. I have done well selling stuff but prefer to just use this site and TGT to sell now. GRB and Reliant are nicer inside and bigger but I am $25+ in the hole by the the time i get in the door, if I go alone.

I think that really depends on which Pasadena show you go to. The Real Gun Show at Pasadena is terrible. the High Caliber show at Pasadena is much better.

I'm with flechero. To me, it is entertainment even if I dont buy anything. I dont go to movies, so I spend my theater money at the gun shows.

[Teamless]

If i am really ready to buy a gun, then yes, the prices are considerably better than Academy or the local shops near my house, so paying the $7 to get into Pasadena (other than having to follow the 30.06 sign (no I do not want to be a test case even though I feel it would not be legal to enforce the sign)).
When I bought 2 of my XD9s, I paid over $100 less at the High Caliber Gun Shows in Pasadena, than I could have at any store near me. so to save 15-20%, yeppers, well worth it.

If you are going to look around, see whats out there, maybe not, but as others have said, just for the entertainment value, $7 can get you a lot of laughs - watching how people dress and act LOL

[Katygunnut]

Are there any Houston area shows that allow concealed carry?

[rm9792]

They all post the non-enforceable sign if thats what you mean. All shows are on city land.

[RECIT]

They all post the non-enforceable sign if thats what you mean. All shows are on city land.

They do a pretty good job of enforcing it at the door I think...You could be sneaky if you wanted to but why rock the boat, especially when there are all those LEO hanging around. Do you want to get on their bad side on a Sunday afternoon?

[SpringerFan]

I mostly go because I love to look at, hold, and drool all over guns that I will never be able to afford. I have found better deals at the GRB show than at the Pasadena or Conroe shows.

[JDRFL1]

not as good as they used to be

[jbirds1210]

Conroe still offers a good show a couple of times a year...not ridiculously crowded and you see decent prices and odd parts.

The Pasadena show has seen their last nickel from me.

[OldSchool]

Well, dang, we decided to try again today at Pasadena: We found stuff to buy!

OK, small stuff....

OK, we did probably save enough on one item to cover the entrance fee....

OK, we would have spent a WHOLE LOT more if we'd carried more cash with us (don't like using cards at places like that)....

But most gun prices still seemed out of line -- you REALLY have to know your prices before going in.

So, we finally found that elusive gun show experience about which others have written. Where'd all the vendors come from all over sudden?

[HotLeadSolutions]

Locally, (DFW area) I find that Mesquite has a pretty good show as well as will rogers center in Ft Worth. Anymore though, you see the same guys, hear the same lies and get offered the same low ball prices [abbreviated profanity deleted] your guns no matter what show you go to. I go for the interaction with other show goers. But now some shows (Frisco I think) are charging an additional 10.00 at the door if you have a gun to sell at the show. I am thinking about organizing a swap event....No vendors just gun nuts.

[OldSchool]

Locally, (DFW area) I find that Mesquite has a pretty good show as well as will rogers center in Ft Worth. Anymore though, you see the same guys, hear the same lies and get offered the same low ball prices [abbreviated profanity deleted] your guns no matter what show you go to. I go for the interaction with other show goers. But now some shows (Frisco I think) are charging an additional 10.00 at the door if you have a gun to sell at the show. I am thinking about organizing a swap event....No vendors just gun nuts.

Ski and car part swaps always used to be fun events, until the vendors turned them into an expensive circus. I think vendors were needed to help cover the rent on the location.

[TXlaw1]

After laying off going for a number of years, I've gone back to the recent ones in Amarillo and been glad that I did. Last weekend I traded three older guns (that I really didn't need to keep any longer and wouldn't use in the future plus all ammo and mags for those guns/caliber) for one really great one that I wanted and will use. Without the gun show environment, this would not have happened. That vendor was happy and so was I - an excellent deal for both parties. So I'll be going again to the next one in about 2-3 months.

But one definitely needs to be quite discerning and know what you are looking for and the prices and how to avoid the junk, especially in ammo! Some of it is so old it could have been from ... you fill in the date decades ago!

On the unexpected plus side I got some new crop pecans that were harvested and shelled within days of the show and really delicious! Yummy!

[Thomas]

I wonder if anyone has tried "trading-up" at a gun show.

You start off with something small, and see if you can trade it. One person's story:
http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/201 ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I did this once. Started with a pencil, traded up to a floor lamp.

pencil -> markers -> Off spray -> first aid kit -> floor lamp

With the right attitude and ambition, one might be able to walk away with a good gun at the end of the day.

[wninja]

So, we finally found that elusive gun show experience about which others have written. Where'd all the vendors come from all over sudden?

I was at the Pasadena show on Saturday and there were at least 3 vendors I normally see at Houston area gunshows who weren't here this weekend. I felt prices on some guns did come up, but went down in other areas. Small example, Glocks were steady at $499 for fixed sight models. I've seen them for $479/$489 on sale at local shops. OD green glocks were pretty cheap though, I think around $439. Prices that were low (extremely)...M&Ps were $399(357sig compact) or $429 (9mm/.40 compact). The M&P compacts I checked online go for no less than $450 at one of the most popular online dealers. The M&Ps were really relevant to me because I was trying to unload one of my own, but I didn't have luck with that.

Saw a Bushmaster MOE in FDE for $869 pre-tax. I thought it was a decent price because I spent roughly the same building a Spike's in FDE MOE (mine is a midlength though as opposed to Bushy's carbine). RIA/Armscor/Phillipines 1911s were everywhere and at very generous pricing points.

Everyone's mileage will vary, but I think one thing was for certain this past weekend, stripped lowers and factory ammo can still be found for cheaper online.

[alvins]

i will start attending again when their isnt a million glocks and other plastic guns.