i went to the crossroads of the west gun show here in phoenix today. i took me over 45 minutes to get into the show, and i must have walked around for close to 4 hours. i saw few deals, all of which required cash, and i was looking to use a credit card. lots of ammo at the same kinds of pricing you could get around town, but without any limit of how much you could buy. enjoyable, but i left empty handed. i still have my wrist band, so i may yet return.
Although i own guns for self-defense, and support ownership and reject regulation on principle, i would usually attend gun shows just to catch a glimpse of some of the finest steel work i had ever seen on knives and swords.
My boyfriend attended one recently, and we have both noticed a marked decline over the years in the quality of gun shows here. The cost of entry seems to get rediculously high, the price of the weapons gets ever higher compared to stores, and the tone has gotten…strange. The cash-only things is a good example.
And true blade craftsmen seem to have been overrun by cheap pakistan and chinese import junk.
Ah well. It’s still something worth supporting, even if the paint job has worn out and it runs a little rough.
Comment by Anonymous-T-Girl — December 6, 2009 @ 8:58 am
i tend to agree with you. as i mentioned, i left empty handed. the prices were equal to, or more than what i can get ammo and guns at the local stores. the only upside is that there’s no limit to amount of ammo you can buy – as a comparison, there’s a 6 box limit at walmart. though the best price i saw at the show for a 100 round value box of winchester white-box 9mm was about $24, it’s about $21 at walmart, when they have it in stock.
the cash only thing at that one vendor was because it was a private sale – he was just some guy who rented a table and was selling his stuff. you know, the now infamous “gun-show loophole”. but there were other vendors giving a “cash price”, and to use a credit card incurred a 3% surcharge.
and the entry price – totally out of hand. $19 which included a $1 off coupon, and $7 to park. granted, it’s a 3 day show, and *huge*, but that’s a $5 increase over last year.
Comment by nexy — December 6, 2009 @ 11:48 am
The so-called ‘gun show loophole’ is something i would politically defend at all cost.
i admit i sound paranoid. But i believe registered weapons are no defense at all against a government that founding fathers worked hard to limit and control.
Comment by Anonymous-T-Girl — December 8, 2009 @ 7:00 pm
agreed. i think the only thing that gun registration achieves is that big brother knows where to go when they want to confiscate guns.
Comment by nexy — December 9, 2009 @ 9:44 am