The Nation's Gun Show

[ltorlo64]

Went to the Nation's Gun Show yesterday in Chantilly, VA. Not a bad show and probably the biggest show I have ever been to. It was advertized to have over 1000 tables and about 1.5 miles of vendors and table space, and after seeing it I would say they were probably about right.

Gun prices seemed decent. We were looking for a blackpowder pistol, like a Kentucky pistol, to use as a wall hanger. Didn't find any but did see many nice blackpowder rifles, old and reproductions, for about what I was seeing on line. Actually, the old ones were much less expensive, but I think that was due to the quality and the providence of the piece.

Ammo seemed to be alright, except for .22LR. There were about 4 or 5 vendors that all they had was ammo. The one vendor that had .22LR wanted $80 for 500 rounds of Remington target or $60 for 500 rounds of Remington Thunderbolt and the like. Seems like $60 bucks is where .22LR has steadied out as I have not seen it less than that in about a year. I did pick up 500 rounds of Fiochi 9x18 Mak for $170. From what I have seen that was a pretty good price. I know I can get Brown Bear cheaper but I have used that and would prefer to pay a tad more for better ammo.

The one thing I have noticed in the last couple of shows I went to was the lack of revolvers. Tables and tables of pistols and I would say less than 5% are revolvers. I was able to hold a Ruger GP100 though, which I think will be my next purchase, once I talk myself into getting another new caliber.

The other interesting thing was the notice to DC residents, since this was just outside of DC. There is only one FFL licensed to operate inside the city limits of DC and he was charging $125 per transfer. Not sure if the price is set because he is a monopoly or if it is set because of extra fees that DC is charging. I just know that I would be hard pressed to buy a new firearm if I new that besides taxes, training fees, and registration fees (required to own a firearm in DC), I was going to have to pay $125 on top of that to get the gun transferred to me. Another reason I can't wait to move back to the west coast.

[Schuetzenman]

I remember when that show started up. The promoter touted it as a really big deal to FFL dealers that did gun shows in NC. Thing is the tables were $100 bucks each, if memory serves me. That was double the table rate for a dealer at a typical show at the time, I wouldn't travel that far and dump that kind of money into tables. You have to sell a lot of product to make up $400 in table fees.

As to the dealer that charges $125, it is probably a combination of license fees in DC and the cost to set up at the Chantilly VA show. On .22 LR prices, the manufacturers have not raised their prices for the most part. The wholesale to retailers have simply to slow down the sales of it and maximize their cash flow when they do sell it IMO. To some degree this is a result of high demand by the public and the realization that if you don't jack up your price to what everyone else is doing, when other dealers find out they will flock in and buy up all the .22 LR you have then turn around and mark it up. Been there, seen that when 911 happened. Other dealers had jacked up all their ammo prices to 3 or 4 times what the typical rate was before 911. I showed up at a show in New Burn, NC as a dealer and saw what they were charging. I immediately redid my prices to be just below what I was seeing at the other tables. It didn't slow down sales much, I ran out of almost every caliber in stock. In 2 months demand and then prices started to drop.

The problem we have now is; Obama (flaming antigun politician) and Sandy Hook Massacre that lit the fuse big time. People are still in Panic Mode, IMO they will be until the Senate is taken over in 2014 by Republicans at the least. It may not really calm down until he's out of office in 2016.

[ltorlo64]

The problem we have now is; Obama (flaming antigun politician) and Sandy Hook Massacre that lit the fuse big time. People are still in Panic Mode, IMO they will be until the Senate is taken over in 2014 by Republicans at the least. It may not really calm down until he's out of office in 2016.

I hope it doesn't take till 2016. I have been cutting back on my shooting hoping ammo prices will come down. With all my moving I don't get to keep a decent stock pile and with prices so high I don't want to go shooting what I have.

[Schuetzenman]

I'm not short on .22 LR ammo or any other type that I still have weapons for. However, I also have cut back on shooting simply because of replacement costs being so big and or difficult to even find. .22 LR ammo is the example of unobtainum in my area. I simply haven't seen it unless it is nearly 4 times as high as it should be. I'm rolling the dice on a back order with Midway on a case of .22 lr. You can order 1 of any .22 LR, be it 1 box, 1 Brick or 1 case. So with only 1 being allowed to be ordered I made it a case of 5,000 rounds.