The Gun Show

When you mention the gun show to the man on the street, you either get two responses – a quick flexing of the upper arm muscles in a standard ritual of alpha-male peacocking, or some sort of middle eastern arms bazaar, complete with rocket launchers, grenades, and shady fellows engaged in quiet conspiratorial conversations.

In reality, like the flea market, the gun show is one of the last bastions of true capitalism. Here we find people selling guns, knives, and related accouterments, which can include such incongruent items as jewelry, and the ever-present and much-maligned roasted nuts vendor. In a collectors world that has been turned upside down by eBay, flea markets and gun shows are one of the few places where you can still find a good deal on used/new-to-you items.

In reality, rather than the gang-member ridden image provided by the anti-gun media, the patrons of the gunshow are largely of the collector and sportsman category. Though I would sadly say we are probably in the waning years of the cool surplus gun market, there are a disproportionate amount of collectors and hunters in these shows, the latter of which being more likely to be hunting for a good deal vs. hunting for some tool to use in the commission of a crime.

The gunshow is really one of the best places to find a good bargain on that one small part that you need, and to be able to actually see and touch something before you buy it. Though some would invariably disagree, there is often little to no difference between the “practically new” firearm you find at the gunshow vs the brand new one at the local gun store.

In fact, since shooting is a hobby where you often have to buy something to figure out if you like it, the gunshow offers one of the very few ways to get a used gun at a good price. (Note: though some ranges do rent guns, the selection is usually limited to whatever is the most popular, so chances are they don’t have exactly what you’d like to try out). Yes, you can always find something online, but even the most honest photographer can accidentally omit a small detail that would prove a deal-killer for the would-be buyer (cracked stock, rust, etc.).

But truly, guns are only half of the mix, and part of the fun of the gunshow is all of the other stuff, too. Nothing like digging through a big bin of miscellaneous weaponry to find that one knife you lost as a kid and haggling over the price with the seller.

A true treasure hunt that usually includes fantastic dried meats . . .  but that’s another story.

#gunshow, #gunshowculture