As I posted earlier there was a gun show on Saturday and Sunday. I decided to head there on Saturday morning with one of my shooting buddies and one of my co-workers. First I’m going to talk about my co-worker. He has never been to a gun show and his exposure to firearms, from my understanding, is limited to shotguns used for hunting. He wants to eventually get a permit to carry but has no experience with handguns.
Well I figured a gun show would be a great place to bring him up to speed on the different types of handguns. We showed him semi-automatic pistols and revolvers. We explained the differences in shooting a very tiny handgun vs. shooting a larger handgun. We explained the differences between calibers. Heck we tried to cover everything we could. I feel accomplished as he seemed to learn quite a bit and hopefully the experience motivated him to get his permit to purchase (required in Minnesota for purchasing pistols and military pattern semi-automatic rifles).
But the best part was showing him the lies the general media says about gun shows. Of course since he never attended a gun show before he had no experience but believed what CNN, MSNB, CBS, etc. said. My co-worker believed it was a place where you could walk up to any table, pay cash for a gun, and walk out without performing the background check and paperwork. He was surprised when I picked up a Glock 30 and showed him the process for purchasing a firearm. I had to fill out the ATF form, present my driver’s license and permit to carry, and of course go the NICS check performed. It was an eye opener for him and I firmly believe everybody who thinks gun shows are a major source of illegal arms should attend a show and watch the process people go through to get guns.
As for the shot itself there are some things to note. First of all the prices of AR-15s and AK-47s are coming down. They aren’t at the same point they were before the Obamessiah was elected but are getting closer. Also I’d like to note the huge number of both types of rifles at the show, the shortage is officially over here in Minnesota. The same can be said of ammunition which has slowly been returning. Most of the vendors had plenty of ammunition in stock for all the popular calibers. The only thing that was in short supply were primers which are slowly trickling back in.
There were some good deals to be had and some horrible ones. It was obvious once again that if you attend a gun show check every table before you buy anything (unless that thing is rare enough where you are legitimately worried somebody else will buy it and nobody else will probably have it). On one side of the gun show the Glock 30 I picked up was going for $100.00 more than where I got it from. They were both brand new and came only with the standard load out (two magazines).
There weren’t as many people walking around selling personal guns this time. Likewise the number of people in attendance was quite a drop from the earlier gun show held at the same location around the beginning of the year.
My friend tried to sell his AK in .223 but was unable to do so. If anybody out there is looking for a like new AK rifle that shoots .223, has a milled receiver, and comes with eight magazines let me know and I’ll put you in contact with him.