I just wanted to report my thoughts on a gunshow I attended this weekend. Just some observations and trends that I noticed.
1. AR15's - the quantity of AR15's, accessories, lower receivers and upper receivers was overwhelming. I'm not in the market for an AR15, but if I were, I'd be licking my chops because there is most certainly a glut of AR15's out there. I'd say that we are in an AR15 bubble. In fact, I'd seriously think about renaming this event from "gunshow" to an "AR15 show".
2. Lots of new handguns being sold by dealers. Taurus, Sig, Glock, Springfield, Smith & Wesson - nothing really new here.
3. I was looking for an HK P7M13 - not one in sight, though I saw about 4 8round P'7's. One guy tried to convince me that the P7M13 was a piece of junk and that only a fool would buy them because the special opps only uses the M8. Oooookay, moving on....
4. I fondled one Sig X-Five - it was the model that didn't have the adjustable trigger. Sticker price was $500 over what you could find on the internet. It is a heavy gun, but a truly admirable piece of work! I enjoyed handling it. I also was able to compare it to the all stainless Sig .40S&W - The X-Five is definitely a cut above even those. My itch for an X-Five has become more severe!
5. There was a small amount of class III stuff - mostly MAC's and a few suppressors.
6. Lots of 1911's - I'd say the most common type of gun, next to AR15's (probably even more, but because they are small, they don't get your attention as quickly). Everyone had their 1911's priced like they were brand new, top shelf custom builds.
7. I heard plenty of advice being thrown around - most of it ranging from slightly wrong to absurdly wrong. I kept my mouth shut - as none of it concerned me.
8. I saw a guy who looked like he couldn't have been more than 12 years old, try to buy a 12 gauge "tactical" shotgun from a guy walking around with it. That conversation was interesting, so I stood by and listened for a short spell. I know, that was pretty rude, but what the heck - it was entertaing. The shotgun guy didn't end up selling it to the kid....you could hear in his voice that he didn't even want to show it to him.
9. I overheard an interesting conversation between a guy who was selling .22 "assault" pistols together with the collapsible stock that was made for it. Of course, he didn't have these stocks installed (just sitting right next to the gun), and he did give one of his customers the NFA warning that "technically" if it were to be installed it wouldn't be legal - and he did mention that it could be registered as an SBR. I heard enough without opening my mouth, so I just moved on.
10. I picked up from some dealer conversation that there were lots of lookers but not many buyers.
11. I saw no "fair" deals on ammunition - IMHO, it was all overpriced, based on what I can buy it for on the internet + shipping cost.
All in all, it was not a very interesting show to me. There was a lack of higher end pistols, shotguns, and even rifles. The Hunting rifles that I looked at were pricey for the rough condition they were in. I did see a number of Sig 556 rifles (and pistols) - I'm thinking that the prices on these might fall, and if they do, I'll probably buy one.
PS - one more thing that I did find interesting (another thread reminded me of this). There is a really nice rail-mount foregrip out with an internal bipod. This particular foregrip is of far better quality than the grip-bipods that have been out for awhile (can't remember the name). One guy had them for $75, another guy had them for $120 - go figure. I didn't buy one, but I came real close - good piece of equipment.
PS#2....How could I have forgotten this one! The funniest thing I saw was a boy from the "hood" walking around with a Desert Eagle stuffed down the front of his pants - first, it had to be unloaded. Second, that just goes to show y'all that Deagles can be used for conceald carry - (eventhough this one wasn't concealed)!
1. AR15's - the quantity of AR15's, accessories, lower receivers and upper receivers was overwhelming. I'm not in the market for an AR15, but if I were, I'd be licking my chops because there is most certainly a glut of AR15's out there. I'd say that we are in an AR15 bubble. In fact, I'd seriously think about renaming this event from "gunshow" to an "AR15 show".
2. Lots of new handguns being sold by dealers. Taurus, Sig, Glock, Springfield, Smith & Wesson - nothing really new here.
3. I was looking for an HK P7M13 - not one in sight, though I saw about 4 8round P'7's. One guy tried to convince me that the P7M13 was a piece of junk and that only a fool would buy them because the special opps only uses the M8. Oooookay, moving on....
4. I fondled one Sig X-Five - it was the model that didn't have the adjustable trigger. Sticker price was $500 over what you could find on the internet. It is a heavy gun, but a truly admirable piece of work! I enjoyed handling it. I also was able to compare it to the all stainless Sig .40S&W - The X-Five is definitely a cut above even those. My itch for an X-Five has become more severe!
5. There was a small amount of class III stuff - mostly MAC's and a few suppressors.
6. Lots of 1911's - I'd say the most common type of gun, next to AR15's (probably even more, but because they are small, they don't get your attention as quickly). Everyone had their 1911's priced like they were brand new, top shelf custom builds.
7. I heard plenty of advice being thrown around - most of it ranging from slightly wrong to absurdly wrong. I kept my mouth shut - as none of it concerned me.
8. I saw a guy who looked like he couldn't have been more than 12 years old, try to buy a 12 gauge "tactical" shotgun from a guy walking around with it. That conversation was interesting, so I stood by and listened for a short spell. I know, that was pretty rude, but what the heck - it was entertaing. The shotgun guy didn't end up selling it to the kid....you could hear in his voice that he didn't even want to show it to him.
9. I overheard an interesting conversation between a guy who was selling .22 "assault" pistols together with the collapsible stock that was made for it. Of course, he didn't have these stocks installed (just sitting right next to the gun), and he did give one of his customers the NFA warning that "technically" if it were to be installed it wouldn't be legal - and he did mention that it could be registered as an SBR. I heard enough without opening my mouth, so I just moved on.
10. I picked up from some dealer conversation that there were lots of lookers but not many buyers.
11. I saw no "fair" deals on ammunition - IMHO, it was all overpriced, based on what I can buy it for on the internet + shipping cost.
All in all, it was not a very interesting show to me. There was a lack of higher end pistols, shotguns, and even rifles. The Hunting rifles that I looked at were pricey for the rough condition they were in. I did see a number of Sig 556 rifles (and pistols) - I'm thinking that the prices on these might fall, and if they do, I'll probably buy one.
PS - one more thing that I did find interesting (another thread reminded me of this). There is a really nice rail-mount foregrip out with an internal bipod. This particular foregrip is of far better quality than the grip-bipods that have been out for awhile (can't remember the name). One guy had them for $75, another guy had them for $120 - go figure. I didn't buy one, but I came real close - good piece of equipment.
PS#2....How could I have forgotten this one! The funniest thing I saw was a boy from the "hood" walking around with a Desert Eagle stuffed down the front of his pants - first, it had to be unloaded. Second, that just goes to show y'all that Deagles can be used for conceald carry - (eventhough this one wasn't concealed)!
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