Gun Show this weekend!

[LewSchiller]

Went to a small show here in Metro Denver yesterday.
Things seem to be settling down - but guns that are in short supply move quickly. A S&W M&P Shield in 9mm priced way over MSRP at $595 was getting lots of serious consideration by a few buyers. Way high but you just don't see them out there. Of course that'll change.

Ammo prices were as they've been and that's what people are buying. I'm glad my mainstay is .38 special. No significant change there

[Prof Young]

Gun Lovers:
Went to gun show in Collinsville IL yesterday. Daughter went with me and it was a treat helping her learn a great deal more about guns. The only things we bought were not even gun related (sun glasses, pocket knife, magnifying glass) although I did try to trade my 44 mag Raging bull for a TC Encore. No deal. 22 ammo was way over priced, but large pistol primers weren't too bad. Couldn't find any reloader 15 anywhere. Mostly it was just good dad and daughter time. She was attracted to a very small 380 that was purple. We looked at a Henry Golden Boy in 44 mag. It was right at MSRP. I think the old saying is right . . . if you go to a gun show you have to be in the know. (Okay that's not an old saying, just made it up.)
Live well be safe.
Prof Young

[Gaerek]

I chose not to go to the Crossroads of the West gunshow this weekend. I'm glad I didn't. I spoke with a guy yesterday at Sportsman's Warehouse that said the line for ammo, "was a mile long." He also said the prices on reloads were maybe only 5% lower than factory ammo, and factory ammo was anywhere from 10-20% higher than LGS prices. On the bright side, he said there was a lot of ammo, and if you were willing to wait, you could get your hands on some.

Since I only go to get a deal on ammo, really, I'm happy I didn't go.

[Chris Van]

I was at a local gun show in Macon, Ga. This past weekend and ammo prices were quite a bit higher at the show than in local gun shops. Though it may be more difficult to find locally, it is definately cheaper.
For example my 9 year old son shoots in 22lr tournaments so I try to keep him supplied with 22 LR's. Just a week before the show a 100 count box of Blazers were 7.99 at a local shop. The same ammo was 15.99 at the show. And an off brand 9mm 50 count box was 34.99.

[745SW]

This past weekend Costa Mesa show by Crossroads of the West was perhaps the worst in years for many vendors. Many were probably lucky to break even.

Ammo prices at Miwall, 22LR CCI MiniMag’s, 100 count $9.95. 380ACP Aguila, 50 rounds $28. 9mm WWB, 50 rounds $22. 45ACP WWB, 50 rounds $25.

Lines for ammo at about 12 noon were either small or non existent.

Could this be because Feinstein's assault weapons ban was neutered?

[Gaerek]

Nah, I think we're seeing the horders have bought as much as they're going to buy, and the regular folk who aren't going to spend $0.40 per round for 9mm WWB just aren't buying at those prices. The ammo vendors will see the trend and lower prices accordingly. You are seeing basic economics at work right now. If the vendors were lucky to break even, that is their own fault for not seeing the market trends and adjusting prices accordingly.

As for me, I don't see myself visiting a gun show anytime too soon, even though Crossroads of the West occurs less than 5 miles from where I live.

[whip1]

I went to the local gun show this past weekend. I had no expectations, but I found 2 new Glock G19 magazines for $35.00 each. I bought both of them.

[OkieCruffler]

It can work to your advantage. I went a few weeks ago with the Taurus 94 I bought at Acadamy's Black ffriday sale for $349 IIRC. I did have 2 extra mags I had picked up for it. Couldn't take 3 steps without someone making me an offer on it. Finally had no choice but to accept the $550 one fella offered me. A few tables over I found a Dan Wesson 357, 8 inch barrel in perfect condition that I walked away with for $300 becasue the guy said no one is looking at anything without a hi cap mag attached.

[745SW]

I was at the Ontario show during setup Friday. As I mentioned a few weeks ago on this same thread Costa Mesa was unusually bad for vendors. Spoke with a familiar Saturday after show hours and it appears to be another down show although more closer to the norm for Ontario. Costa Mesa is generally the best show in the state in terms of sales and attendance I believe. In recent times Del Mar does better but has always been less consistent than Costa Mesa.

The promoter Crossroads appears to have added this Ontario show in the last month or so is perhaps the reason the three sites indicating coming/passed shows does not list this Ontario show. Turnout for this show is not expected to be good because like Roadrunner, Crossroads is depending on their email list with little or no additional advertising. Ontario is perhaps the most inconsistent of southern California shows so it’s difficult to say whether things have really changed at this point in time.

Ammo is readily available and premium priced like the previous Costa Mesa show. CCI 22LR MiniMag’s are $9.95 per 100 pack, 9mm FMJ per 50 is around $22 and 25ACP per 50 is around $20 or was it $30, can’t remember. Since my day there was setup, Friday, my view of Miwall’s display was terrible because of pallets and because the counter/display is roped/fenced off, kinda like herding cattle.

5.56/223Rem pricing is a joke. $795 per case of 1000 Federal from LAX ammo. Back in January of this year this same seller, LAX, had a parking lot sale and this same ammo was priced at $400. And in 2011 it was about $270 for the same case and from the same seller.

My guesstimated logic of 5.56/223Rem ammo pricing over many years. Since the late 90’s to recent times like 2011 this cartridge pricing, relative to inflation, has actually dropped. During this same time the black rifle, AR-15, became the dominant rifle platform and in turn causing the associated cartridge to skyrocket in popularity. Like most things higher quantity means a lower per unit cost.

[dajowi]

As Cheaper Than Dirt is selling bricks of Armscor .22 for $167. You probably find the same prices at the gun show.

[kilimanjaro]

So, what's the price of beef jerky?

[745SW]

Ventura show by Crossroads this weekend on Saturday was pretty slow. It’s been slow since the last the Costa Mesa show I mentioned previously a couple of posts back. Days prior to the Costa Mesa show Feinstein's assault weapons ban was neutered.

Feinstein's assault weapons ban being dumped appeared in the news on 03-20-13 in the LATimes and the Costa Mesa show took place on that weekend on the 23 and 24th. All other shows since that Costa Mesa show appears down here in southern California for both attendance and revenue. I’d say that news most definitely affected the shows.

Switching to another state for a comparison momentarily. Reno, Nevada, show is said to have been unusually good. The reason appears to be because it draws patrons from further distances, more like a national show rather than local. Cases for the AR rifle is reported to have sold very well which most likely implies vendors of the AR rifle had supply for this show.

Ammo at the LAX ammo booth appeared somewhat lower priced compared to previous shows. 9mm pricing was in the area of $15 to $24 per 50 for hardball. 5.56/223 was closer to $600 per 1000 rounds. 40S&W and shot shells appeared to be readily available.

Familiar seller of AR uppers stated within the last two weeks the availability of the uppers has improved. He can get pretty much all he wants. The strange thing is his stuff isn’t priced and reluctant to reveal how many sold. My observation says three uppers were sold on Saturday but he won’t confirm or deny the number. I guess he’s trying to keep the bubble alive.

Vendors other than firearm related are plentiful as usual. Met one that was more unusual than most, an engraver. Next time you have something engraved it might be best to go directly to the entity that does the engraving. While I don’t have much of anything engraved in my experience the local jeweler is not the person to have any good engraving done. Any engraving beyond some initials a real pro is better IMO. His location is in the jewelry mart district of downtown L.A. Unlike many forms of the jewelry craft an accomplished engraver is uncommon. Examples of his work were on a couple of firearms among other metal pieces.