Recent Gun Show Experience

[Aragorn243]

I had a bad experience myself yesterday. I went to a large show near Philly that I've gone to in the past and am familiar with. I am not actively looking for any rifles at the moment which I know is unusual but my funds are tapped out and I need a GEW98 which is not going to be cheap. But I had hopes to pick up some small accessory items and ammo.

I was in a pretty good mood, enjoying the day and came across a guy with M1 Carbine and Garand parts. I spotted half a dozen Garand tools in his case and ask him how much they were. He responded that it depended which I wanted as they were all expensive and prices were different as they were different manufacturers. No price offered. So I told him it didn't matter to me which manufacturer as I didn't consider it important. His response was "Then go buy some Chinese crap". Now I'm ****ed but I kept cool and said I have no interest in Chinese crap, what is his least expensive. Finally got a price out of him which I considered ridiculous but I politely thanked him and said "That's all I needed to know" and walked away.

I was then left in a bad mood for the rest of the show. I've seen this guy three times with the same stuff, same cases, same spot, etc. Doesn't look like he ever sells anything and I can tell why.

Ammo isn't too bad in PA anymore but I didn't find what I was looking for. Wanted to get more Privi Garand ammo as they were selling that for $12 a box and it worked great. I bought some at the last show I went too.

All I bought was a stick of sweet bologna and a Garand double ended plastic cleaning/oil bottle with brush and pull through. Didn't find anyone else with a tool.

I did find two GEW98's but the first was out of my price range on a good day and the second had something very bizarre done to the end of the barrel. It did not look cut but it was actually belled out slightly all the way around, the muzzle looked sanded or ground and it looked like someone made a 1/4 assed attempt to counter bore it. If he knocked $200 off it for that I might have considered it. He claimed he didn't notice it before which is possible. He said he was selling it for a friend.

In general, I have decent experiences at these shows. There's one guy that wanders around always with something I like but his prices are about 40% too high and I've learned to not bother asking because he starts insulting you if you don't buy it and heaven forbid you tell him he's too expensive or you just bought the same bayonet for half the price on ebay. Ebay isn't real you know. What's the internet.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[garrettbragg12]

I had a bad experience myself yesterday. I went to a large show near Philly that I've gone to in the past and am familiar with. I am not actively looking for any rifles at the moment which I know is unusual but my funds are tapped out and I need a GEW98 which is not going to be cheap. But I had hopes to pick up some small accessory items and ammo.

I was in a pretty good mood, enjoying the day and came across a guy with M1 Carbine and Garand parts. I spotted half a dozen Garand tools in his case and ask him how much they were. He responded that it depended which I wanted as they were all expensive and prices were different as they were different manufacturers. No price offered. So I told him it didn't matter to me which manufacturer as I didn't consider it important. His response was "Then go buy some Chinese crap". Now I'm ****ed but I kept cool and said I have no interest in Chinese crap, what is his least expensive. Finally got a price out of him which I considered ridiculous but I politely thanked him and said "That's all I needed to know" and walked away.

I was then left in a bad mood for the rest of the show. I've seen this guy three times with the same stuff, same cases, same spot, etc. Doesn't look like he ever sells anything and I can tell why.

Ammo isn't too bad in PA anymore but I didn't find what I was looking for. Wanted to get more Privi Garand ammo as they were selling that for $12 a box and it worked great. I bought some at the last show I went too.

All I bought was a stick of sweet bologna and a Garand double ended plastic cleaning/oil bottle with brush and pull through. Didn't find anyone else with a tool.

I did find two GEW98's but the first was out of my price range on a good day and the second had something very bizarre done to the end of the barrel. It did not look cut but it was actually belled out slightly all the way around, the muzzle looked sanded or ground and it looked like someone made a 1/4 assed attempt to counter bore it. If he knocked $200 off it for that I might have considered it. He claimed he didn't notice it before which is possible. He said he was selling it for a friend.

In general, I have decent experiences at these shows. There's one guy that wanders around always with something I like but his prices are about 40% too high and I've learned to not bother asking because he starts insulting you if you don't buy it and heaven forbid you tell him he's too expensive or you just bought the same bayonet for half the price on ebay. Ebay isn't real you know. What's the internet.

This post sounds exactly like our recent shows. Except the seller isn't a jerk, just ignorant. There's an older guy, probably early to mid eighties, who has a table with Garands and Carbines. He was the one asking $190 for loose HXP. And he too refuses to accept that things can be found almost a 1/3 cheaper online. Now I will give him credit on one thing: the moment you approach and take interest, he gives you full permission to handle anything on the table, and strip it down to check parts, condition, etc. Due to his prices though, I have watched his stuff sit for the past 3 years. His M1D put together for $4,000 has been there for 4 years. But oh well. I do enjoy looking them over every show, and chatting with the guy.

[WarPig1976]

I went to a large show near Philly

I was there too, picked up a crate of Romanian 8MM. Guy wanted $420 for 680rds, whipped out the iPad showed him I could get it for $375 shipped...iPads rock!!!