It's really sad; back as far as the late 70's and early 80's, one could go to a gun show and it was FUN! A whole bunch of guns from a myriad of dealers, and almost all at rock-bottom prices. You could get great guns at prices you couldn't find anywhere else. Then the largest retailers began to set up 10 ~ 15 tables and charge MSRP on everything, and there were people walking around with an abortion of a rifle slung over their shoulder asking 2 ~ 3 times what it was really worth. Later in the gun show timeline you had to be exceedingly lucky to find a good deal on a firearm you wanted to buy. Gun shows have become commercialized; they're no fun to go to any longer.
Occassionally we have a small gun show here, in Illinois of all places, where the tables are mainly rented by guys selling their personal collections. Those are fun to go to.
I really appreciate the small town shows as well: Low or no admission fee, no parking fee and great deals!!! The big shows are bogus and expensive.
