Yeah, its a slow news day. Yesterday I spent my morning checking out the San Antonio Gun Show, and before I made the purchase that will be reviewed later this week (hint: you can put a can on it) I took a few snaps and talked to some of the vendors about what they’ve been seeing as far as attendance and sales . . .
The consensus: business is booming. From the ammo guys down to the used gun vendors, sales are looking good. And the number one reason they all cite for the excellent business is the man in the blue and his re-election run, namely President Obama. People seem to be concerned about the vote tally, are hedging their bets and are stocking up.
Handguns are the hot item of the day. Specifically, your typical concealed carry models and pocket guns. People here in Texas seem to be really starting to take their concealed carry rights to heart and have started exercising them en masse, with small guns selling out and CC classes filling up.
Not everything is all smiles and sprinkles, though. One of the vendors told me that, in general and in his experience, people only buy one or two guns in their lifetime. He believes that the current climate is pushing people to fill their personal quota early, and that we’ll see a drop in gun sales once everything settles, politically speaking. I tend to disagree, taking the cocaine dealer view of firearms sales (I myself being a bit of an addict — of guns, not coke), but he’s got a point. Panic spending usually doesn’t last.
For now, though, life is good. Sales are up, more people are becoming gun owners and TTAG is getting ever closer to giving me a paycheck. But, as always, there’s room for improvement and there’s some definite demand in the market for a new concealed carry firearm. We’ll see what SHOT brings in a couple months.
Hey Nick: Did any of those Moisin Nagants have the “CCCP” inscription on them? I regret not buying one of those back when they were plentiful and cheap.
Gotta love those Mosins. They’re about the cheapest center fire rifle to buy and practice with.
Last gun show I went to at the Cow Palace we had about a 40-50 minute line to just get in the door. Being a natural wind bag I yucked it up with my fellow line members. They all cited barry as the reason they were stocking up.
Being as we live in the dems paradise of California with it’s AWB and 10 round mags and “approved” handgun list and HSC they may not be as paranoid as folks in less dem states may think.
Without getting into some imaginary ridiculous zombie scenario, in my opinion, nothing cheaper for stocking up on than 7.62x54R for a SHTF situation, sure 22lr is cheaper but my steel core surplus will go through 4-5 ft trees and the mosin over time has proven to be a bullet proof platform. Say what you will about accuracy but my sako and tikka mosins will outshoot most anything out there within 300 yards.
Takes only a little, and cheap, effort to get a run of the mill Mosin minute of bad guy at any reasonable range. I have a little time and about 5 bucks worth of cork gasket material in my 38 izzy and it shoots just fine. Ammo to Go has cheap surplus ammo on stripper clips. Can’t beat that.
My plan is to take out a vampire-zombie at 75 yards with my Buck Mark .22LR and then take his Moisin Nagant.
You bringing a wrist-watch bullet drop compensator for ballistics on a .22 out of 5″ barrel? Good luck with that math.
Just how many century-plus-old “4-5 ft trees” do you have on your property?
Quite a few , an entire ridge of mature black walnut and white oaks that I cant even get close to wrapping my arms around.
Mmmm, fresh walnuts.
Yesterday, I went to NW Armory in Portland @ noon. It was already very busy with many customers buying guns and ammo. BTW, for those who live out here they provided good selection, service, and prices.
I bought a Buck Mark Camper 2012 limited-run model in stainless finish and black. The .22 LR features a 6.5″ (not 5.5″ standard length) rounded bull barrel, URX grips, F/O front, and rear adjustable sights that sits on top of a 5″ long picany rail. Browning provided a good quality soft-sided carry case with it (wish Ruger would do that too!). I paid $399 and I think it is a good value.
The Browning Buckmark is a wonderful pistol. I really regret selling mine. I’d love to have another but my budget and the fact that my Dad gave me his ’68 vintage Ruger Mk I bull barrel target keeps another Buckmark low on the list.
Interestingly, my local gun shows all prohibit any sort of photography on the premises, so I was rather surprised to see photos from inside an actual show.
Its amazing what they’ll let you do with a press pass 🙂
“One of the vendors told me that, in general and in his experience, people only buy one or two guns in their lifetime”
ah, the poor things. what about the children?
Which means that the grabbers claims that gun owners numbers are dropping and that the bulk of the guns are being bought by a few in the fringe may be not so accurate. Imagine, grabbers fudging the figures.
Seriously. I bought my first gun 12 months ago, have added two more since then, and plan to buy at least two more as soon as funds and spouse allows. My first child is due Jan 23rd, and they’re will definitely be a cricket single shot somewhere between his 6th-9th birthday.
Friendly suggestion: invest in a 22 silencer. It will make teaching him a whole lot more pleasant for everyone involved.
I visited another local gun store in Portland today that was very busy (just like the one yesterday) with much of the counter space taken up by interested buyers. Reflecting back over the past several weeks, I’m seeing about as much interest by locals in buying hunting rifles and shotguns as they are handguns (mostly pistols). It is of course hunting season too.
When I’ve gotten into conversations with other customers many are telling me that they want to be prepared to supplement their families food supply if necessary with wild game. It seems that increasing numbers of people are concerned with the possibility of not having access to meat for various reasons and/or ability to afford meat in the future.
Not directly related, but I was at a gunshow in Austin a couple of months ago and was told I was not allowed to take photographs there. When I arrived, I noticed several signs to that affect. What gives?
It could be to pretect the identities of the customers/merchants. You could also assume that a criminal wanting to know how to smash and grab efficiently can snap shots on day one, and come back and know which table has the best stuff, either during business hours or at night. There are many valid reasons to ban photography in this situation.
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