Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire First time to be a gun show vendor...

Yep!!! You’d be amazed at how many dumbasses with little kids are not watching those kids at all, and they will walk up and try to pick up a gun. Always made me want to slap the schitt out of the Parent! Not the dumbass’s kid. 😡

Watch out for BATFE undercover entrapment agents. Don't offer any under the table deals or listen to offers for same. Just be careful. Used to be the most fun weekends of my young life, trading, swapping, selling, buying. No longer.

Was at the Astrohall show in Houston in 1980 when someone walk out with an original Henry rifle when vendor went to the can. Was about 3 or 4 tables down from our table.

If this needs to be said you don't have any business being at a gun show.

My biggest concern was always not hauling out more than I hauled in.

Have been setting up tables at gun shows for over 20 years. Just got back from the world's largest show in Tulsa OK. Really enjoy doing it and have made some awesome deals over the years.

Mason jar to piss in, (so you won’t have to leave site of your table)

Or just have a piss bag catheter like some of them 350lbers

Haha!!

Thanks everybody, you've suggested items that I wouldn't have thought of until I got there.

Enjoy yourself.

Watch for shoplifters. They are often a 250 pound girl with a hoddie on and large front pocket or a big purse.

Bb

#1‐Booth Babe.....
Word spreads like wildfire...

You go to sell when you rent a table. Sometimes you actually sell something you want cash for. If all you have is high dollar items on your table lots of potential buyers don't even pause to look, I allways have something that women might be interested in like a few videos or paperback books. When a woman sees this stuff she stops to look and so does her man. He is looking at the guns , ammo, reloading dies , etc and she is checking out your bait which you have on the back edge. Sometimes you get some pretty good views of her frontal assets while selling him something but be cool. You know your supposed to have fun also. Mb

Last show I did was 2 weeks ago, all I had was ammo, you would think it was wal mart on black friday, swamped for a good 3 hours, low stock by 12 noon

This is becoming apparent. I was taking two rifles and some ammo - now I'm taking a LOT of ammo. Debating whether or not to let go of my S&W 686, too.

Now THAT'S funny!

From my memory of gun shows in the late 1990's, sparking a taser attracts cops like hitting a slate in the woods for toms in the springtime - brings 'em running in!!

Good for you. Sounds like fun. My buds and I get a couple tables at a small gun show once or twice per year. As mentioned, take a couple clean blankets as table covers. Take zip ties to "lock" your guns. We price items with Sharpies or ink pens on little sticky dots or with index cards folded and set up on the table. Scotch tape, a note pad and a penlight are essentials for us. I find a magnifying glass and a small tape measure helpful. I take my screwdriver kit and a rag and oil to wipe down guns. I take about $50 in small bills ($1 & $5 bills) to make change. If you sell small items, take some shopping bags for buyers. As noted by others, I typically price things a bit high as most buyers will want to dicker. Remove the detachable magazines from your guns so they don't come up missing. I keep all the supplies in a plastic ammo box that gets restocked between shows. We only do one day shows, which lessens the time away from other activities. A clean shirt a little hygiene also go a long way. Best of luck.

Want people at your tables, take ammo, powder, and primers

I've got a dolly but much prefer a 4 wheel cart. They pull easier and your less likely to have something fall off if you are loaded down. I've been doing gun shows for years, and I don't take credit cards. There are usually ATM machines at most venues which helps a lot.

This is a good list. The blankets are important, because many gun shows won't let you put your stuff straight on a bear table. Plus use a big blanket that goes to the floor on both sides and use it to cover your stuff at night.