A FIELD GUIDE TO GUN SHOWS

VERY HIGH POWER, The Magazine of the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association | 02-2004 | Jim Sebring, VERY HIGH POWER Proofer

[CatoRenasci]

This is really funny and spot-on! When I was a kid in the late '50s and early '60s, my dad was a pretty serious collector and went to gun shows almost every weekend. I went often enough to know the various denizens by sight and swagger. Of course, in those days, you could get real Nazi regalia and Japanese swords (one I paid $50 for turned out to be worth several thousand $$), anti-tank rifles and guns (13mm Boyes, 20mm Lahti, 37mm Rheinmetal), bazookas and all sorts of interesting rifles and shot guns. My father was fond of Purdy and LC Smith shotguns, Browning shotguns, Winchester rifles (he had almost everything but a volcanic at one point) and Colt percussion revolvers, I remember being duly impressed by how big and heavy the Walker and 1st Model Dragoon revolvers were, especially compared to the 1857 Navy and 1860 Army revolvers. All sorts of odd and interesting things passed through the house: Mauser pistols in both 7.65mm and 9mm, an m1928 Thompson, a Johnson with a selector switch for full auto, a .900 NitroExpress elephant gun, big old Holland and Holland magnum rifles, an 8 guage LC Smith that kicked like a mule, a 2 guage punt gun, and assorted other weapons. I was a simple boy: I used a 16 guage Browning model 5 for almost every shotgun need and a Winchester Model 70 in .30-06 for most rifle needs. My first .22 was a single shot Remington rolling block.

[Squantos]

Yeah and before Eaker gets here I'll tell ya the Jerky was good !

Stay safe TC..........:o)

[PoorMuttly]

MUTTLY: Very knowledgeable, curious, pleasant, interested...goes with a REAL expert who doesn't let him buy anything. Comes home with a $5 unidentified bayonet blade he thinks is "cool," and a bent case from a .219 Donaldson Wasp somebody gave him.

[Squantos]

LMAO.......We "have" to add Poor Muttly to the Texas Carnivore ping list.......:o)

Muttly that is usually my day at a gun show looking at the tables with boxes of crap and finding gold in the bottom of the box.

Stay safe !

[Liberty Valance]

Hehehe - the last thing I bought at a gun show was a Shiner Bock :o)

[TexasCowboy]

Damn!

I'd have liked to grow up in your household!

[TexasCowboy]

"I'll tell ya the Jerky was good !"

Ahh, yes!
Breast sweat - the nectar of the gods!

[RandallFlagg]

I'm Kevin in his mid-thirties.

I'm terrible at gun shows. All I do is wander around and try to keep my drool from ruining the weapons.

I haven't been to one in 2 years. Still trying to get out of debt.

*sigh*

[Mulder]

I rarely go to gunshows anymore, unless there is a gun I want to fondle before committing to purchasing it (then I'll usually buy from a local gunshop).

The shows are just too crowded, and some of the prices are outrageous (one dealer wanted $400 for a plain Ruger 10/22!).

[Dan from Michigan]

LOL.

I was a sucker once as a newbie. I learned. (Remington 7400 - SUCKS)

[TexasCowboy]

"Still trying to get out of debt."

Yeah, but that's a good debt, if there is such a thing.

If I didn't have to eat and drive, I could have a lot more guns.

[TexasCowboy]

"unless there is a gun I want to fondle before committing to purchasing it"

Heck, I do that at the gun shops!

Fountain Firearms here in Houston thinks I'm a gun pervert.
I go down the aisle fondling every gun.

[RandallFlagg]

Yeah, but that's a good debt, if there is such a thing.

Yeah, but I MARRIED my debt.
I suppose it's okay; it's teaching me some SERIES dicipline with my money. If I was single when I got the great job I have, I'd probably be in prison by now...

[TexasCowboy]

Funny about wives.

I had one gun in the house when I was married.
Now I've got a gun safe full.

[Ken H]

Do you like the Remington 870 12-ga. 18"?

What is the best shotgun and ammo for home defense, IYO?

[BooBoo1000]

Where can I find the guy with the Herter reloading kit. He might have a Herter cook book, the one with Pond Scum Soup. Lost me recipe

[Dan from Michigan]

I never fired an 870 so I can't comment on it.

As for the best gun and ammo, it depends on the person and how the gun feels to them.

In my case, I have a Mossberg 500 12-ga. pump with 3 inch shell loaded with 6 shot turkey loads. (I live in an apartment). I also own a 1911(Rock Island) .45ACP which I can also use for self-defense.

For the record, I'm not a gun expert(I'm more involved in the political end of it as a freedom issue), nor claim to be one.

[chadwimc]

I still enjoy a gun show. I took my teenage son and his friend(who leads a bit of a sheltered life). My only rules were "Don't touch anything. Don't buy anything until I see it". We walked through the door and I turned 'em loose. The lads ended up with a really tacky, gaudy pocket knife and a fake hand grenade. I traded my Rolling Block of dubious origins for a well kept Winchester 30/30. The other guy wanted a "project gun". I wanted a "shooter". We all ended the day happy. The teen who leads a sheltered life has really had his eyes opened...

[NYTexan]

LOL!

bookmarked

[Eagle Eye]

My stateside area has some unique aspects to the gunshows. There's local conservative minister (posted and often reviled on this forum) who makes frequent visits to the gun shows because he's a2A advocate...then there are the local politicians who always need the 2A and Bubba vote...but alas, it is a truism that 'mine is gold and yours is crap' every time you want to try to bargain. About the only deals that are worth making are in the aisles or parking lot.

But heck, I like jerky, Dawn/Bambi, hot sauce samples, and things that I can't afford just as much as the next guy.