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Posted By: VarmintGuy In Defense Of Gunshows - 01/26/21
Got tired of the "no gunshow" thing here in Montana - having not had one to attend in MANY months so I teamed up with some friends and we met up at a gunshow this past weekend in north Idaho.
We rented 3 tables and set up on Friday - the intensity of the sales to other table holders on Friday was more than I have ever seen in my 55 years of attending and participating in gunshows.
I sold two scopes to a fellow table holder on Friday before the public was allowed in (on Saturday).
Then on Saturday I sold 8 more scopes of mine and one belonging to a friend! I sold EVERY round of ammunition I had brought along as well as several knives. reloading dies and some silver dollars I had purchased at an estate sale last spring.
The public was lined up to get into this gunshow 2 hours before it was to open on Saturday morning!
The public was controlled once the huge buildings "occupancy limit" was reached and a lineup to get in persisted virtually all Saturday.
The folks I talked to mentioned they had to wait in line later in the day from 30 to 50 minutes before being let in.
Mid-day on Saturday I had so many $20.00 bills in my pockets I had to secrete them in my vehicle so I could sit down comfortably!
Ammunition was sold/bought at simply an astounding pace - and, it was not selling cheap!
Back at the motel Saturday night I counted my money and had $5,100.00 more than I had come with!
One of my table mates counted his monies and had $21.000.00+ in cash on-hand that Saturday night.
Sunday was quieter for me but my friends had an incredible amount of ammunition and AR parts and their sales kept up right to the end.
I ended up buying another pair of Leupold 10x40 binoculars from a customer for a pittance ($50.00) two Indian arrowheads and I finally broke down and bought myself a china joe and his ho proof AR-15 (Rock River LAR-15 with heavy stainless barrel and a whoop-de-doo Leupold scope mount and 6x18 variable scope). Can't wait to shoot this rig as it came from an acquaintances son who recently bought it and put it together then fell on needy times.
Supposed to be fired very little - we'll see.
And of course ammunition for it was tough (expensive) to find.
This show was busier and more packed with smiling people than ANY gunshow I recall ever in the past.
Rumor is gunshows MAY restart in March in Montana, we'll see?
Long live the Second Amendment.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
Posted By: add Re: In Defense Of Gunshows - 01/26/21
Slumlord might volunteer to walk in front of your table in a sandwich board, if you ask him nicely.
Posted By: Jim1611 Re: In Defense Of Gunshows - 01/26/21
Thanks for the update on the gun show. I'm hearing the same around here, Missouri. People lined up to get in and ready to buy.
Posted By: Dillonbuck Re: In Defense Of Gunshows - 01/26/21
Sound like a nightmare.


Glad it worked for you.




PS. Haven't attended a show in several years,
crowds are why. My issue, unfortunately it keeps
me away from things I would otherwise enjoy.
Nice haul.
It was nice to get out to one.
Good people, but the slight desperation is disconcerting ..
nice job!!!!
Posted By: VarmintGuy Re: In Defense Of Gunshows - 01/26/21
DillonBuck: This was another "notable" from the gunshow in Idaho there.
The governor of washington state had closed ALL the restaurants and we were just across the state line from washington.
We head out to the "Texas Roadhouse" in Couer d'Alene, Idaho for dinner, after the show Saturday night. And we waited for 2 hours and 50 minutes for a table!
The parking lot was filled to way over flowing with vehicles from washington state!
They simply drove the 15 to 25 miles to get to an open restaurant meanwhile many of the employees and owners of restaurants in washington are suffering.
Friday night we only had to wait 55 minutes for a table at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Idaho - again the parking lot was chuck full of washington plated vehicles.
Sad what some politicians are doing to their people and businesses.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
Posted By: BobBrown Re: In Defense Of Gunshows - 01/26/21
VarmintGuy: so you’re the guy at gun shows with a trucker hat and fishing vest full of pendants ,pins, and patches ? Awesome
Posted By: BobBrown Re: In Defense Of Gunshows - 01/26/21
You just NARCed on your table mates or having 21 “Big” ones . Sheesh
Posted By: SamOlson Re: In Defense Of Gunshows - 01/26/21
Hope you didn't catch the WUHAN VIRUS!!!!


Double SHEESH!!!!!!!
Posted By: VarmintGuy Re: In Defense Of Gunshows - 01/26/21
Oldanofthesea: I noticed that on a couple of interactions with folks (the desperation). One instance was a woman (wife) and she was there at the behest of her husband who had to work on Saturday and she approached our table seeing the 9m/m ammo my partners had for sale. She had her wallet open and stated "how much for all of this"? There were about 15 boxes of various brands of 9m/m and my partner added it up quoted her a price and out came the hundreds, change made, and she left headed right out the front door. Plus she had paid $9.00 to get in. She was just in a no nonsense, no haggle hurry and away she went!
I have noticed on this site that there are so many more of our fellow CampFirers putting up "wanted " and WTB classified ad's for munitions and some guns than there used to be!
Lesson learned there already for me.
The continuous talk/worry among both the customers and fellow tableholders was the overwhelming worry about ammunition being taxed by the federal legislators!
I don't know.
The LAR-15 in 5.56m/m I bought, came with 20 rounds of good looking Winchester factory ammo - and I was just to appalled at the prices the 5.56m/m ammo at that show was selling for to buy any - then it was gone.
So I am gonna have to be on the lookout for factory ammo for it in the future.
I have TONS of 223 reloading components on hand but I don't think I am going to reload for this HB AR-15 - it will be for shtf situations only so 300 rounds or so should let them know I was here!
Stay warm down there it was 4 degrees here this morning.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
Posted By: callnum Re: In Defense Of Gunshows - 01/27/21
2 questions

Did you see any chained up Cobras on the way?

And who the hell eats at Cracker Barrel by choice?


Also kinda funny when a guy from Montana visits Idaho and is complaining about guys from WA visiting ID.

Boomers double sheesh
Posted By: Dillonbuck Re: In Defense Of Gunshows - 01/27/21
Be careful callnum,
You're gonna insult the Bluehairs.



Varmintguy, damn shame to see the stupidity in your state.
But you, like us, have to live with the F-tard that got elected.
Originally Posted by VarmintGuy
Oldanofthesea: I noticed that on a couple of interactions with folks (the desperation). One instance was a woman (wife) and she was there at the behest of her husband who had to work on Saturday and she approached our table seeing the 9m/m ammo my partners had for sale. She had her wallet open and stated "how much for all of this"? There were about 15 boxes of various brands of 9m/m and my partner added it up quoted her a price and out came the hundreds, change made, and she left headed right out the front door. Plus she had paid $9.00 to get in. She was just in a no nonsense, no haggle hurry and away she went!
I have noticed on this site that there are so many more of our fellow CampFirers putting up "wanted " and WTB classified ad's for munitions and some guns than there used to be!
Lesson learned there already for me.
The continuous talk/worry among both the customers and fellow tableholders was the overwhelming worry about ammunition being taxed by the federal legislators!
I don't know.
The LAR-15 in 5.56m/m I bought, came with 20 rounds of good looking Winchester factory ammo - and I was just to appalled at the prices the 5.56m/m ammo at that show was selling for to buy any - then it was gone.
So I am gonna have to be on the lookout for factory ammo for it in the future.
I have TONS of 223 reloading components on hand but I don't think I am going to reload for this HB AR-15 - it will be for shtf situations only so 300 rounds or so should let them know I was here!
Stay warm down there it was 4 degrees here this morning.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Likewise I have a reserve of 223 components although
I picked up what may be factory, but may be reloads (one case had what could be a slight ejection dent) and the cardboard seems like it has been stored in an old ammo can (darkened and a bit slick).
All the brass matches, but there is an poor I can't quite place. Too sweet for gear oil. Cosmoline from an old ammo box maybe.
Is LAR a LE model ?

Kinda happy I have been holding onto old primers as someone posted an e-book on primer reloading.

One not that I forgot to mention in my show thread is a I saw my first box of Olin green-tips. I guess they have got a handle on practice ammo and are moving on to more complex stuff at LC now. I saw two half height drums of federal green tip in November. Clearing out the last of the LC federal inventory I guess.
Happy shooting!
Posted By: Theo Gallus Re: In Defense Of Gunshows - 01/27/21
Originally Posted by VarmintGuy

Mid-day on Saturday I had so many $20.00 bills in my pockets I had to secrete them in my vehicle so I could sit down comfortably!
Ammunition was sold/bought at simply an astounding pace - and, it was not selling cheap!
Back at the motel Saturday night I counted my money and had $5,100.00 more than I had come with!
One of my table mates counted his monies and had $21.000.00+ in cash on-hand that Saturday night.

Sounds like some folks here might think you are price gougers, rather than capitalists making use of the law of supply and demand.
Posted By: Birdwatcher Re: In Defense Of Gunshows - 01/27/21
Pretty sure most of those folks were spending their stimulus cash, I did.
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