Gunshow prices----sheeeeeeesh!

[mexicanjoe]

Went to the gunshow in Odessa ,Texas today.... while the prices of gun was up, and the prices of ammo was ridiculous; I went and bought ONE sticker for my collection( which resides on the door of my gun locker) and was told $5.00 for a single SIG sticker......... Well I don't have a SIG, but I thought it would add a touch of class to my meager collection posted on the gun locker.... Mind you ,I don't think VW, Ford and Dodge stickers are considered gauche by any measure, but I thought this is ridiculous! Last time I buy one of the silly things.....Think Ill just paste some bullseye targets to the gunlocker.........There aint nothing wrong with being poor, but it sure is inconvenient!

 

[contender]

Sadly,, (for buyers,) the demands have exceeded the supply,, and those with a supply, (seller's) they are rejoicing.
Some folks are speculating,, while others are just scared. Panic buying,, or new buyers,, all have helped create the demands.
And,, remember new gun owners do not have a "history" of "Well, just last year I paid XYZ for that" attitude.


There's a post on another Forum about gun books. I recall back when I was pretty poor,, and wanted some books. I'd scrimp & do without something,, to buy the books I wanted.
Now,, many of those books are out of print, desirable,, and very collectable. I smile at my ability to go ahead & suck it up & buy what I wanted ,, when I wanted it.

 

[RoninPA]

I'm at a gun show in Huntsville, AL this weekend. A customer asked me to look for some 30-30 ammo for him. Found ONE place that had 2 boxes (20 rnds per box). One box was marked ......$50.00. The other was marked........$60.00.

$3.00 per round for 30-30?????, No friggin' way!

 

[daveg.inkc]

I went to a gun shop/shooting range today. Primers $6.00 /100. 3 boxes of Hornady bullets $28.00 each. But, Ruger Old Armys. $1,000 each. Both stainless, one fixed one adj. sights. A stainless Vaquero in .45. $1,000. Every thing I looked at was a grand. Gun prices are sure up.

 

[WMB30]

mexicanjoe--- I have some stickers, all yours if you want em email your address

Bill

 

[Slyk Willy]

My Conservation Club just hosted a Gun & Knife show in our very small community. People came from miles (over 300 folks showed).
A lot of complaints about store bought ammo prices and some vendors attending, I also saw a lot of purchases made after whining about it. I guess you buy what you need and don't worry 'bout the price.
I bet if you asked any of the "buyers" if they (really) needed the ammo they'd say no, just HAD to have it.
I'm glad I started reloading when I did.

 

[Mobuck]

I quit attending "gun shows" about 2010. Prices were way out of line even back then. Sellers were asking scalper prices for questionable goods trying to rip the casual or uninformed buyer.

 

[BlkHawk73]

Prices are dictated by the consumer. If nobody buys, the seller, if they really want to sell, will have to lower the price. On the there hand, if product is selling quickly and continually, a smart seller raises the price a bit. That in turn allows another slower moving item to have it price lowered thus keeping profits fairly level.

 

[Cholo]

Last weekend's Atlanta show was high as expected. Folding stock Mini 14 $1,500, a standard Ruger SR1911 5" for $1,350. 22 Magnums for $25 per 50. I saw zero 9mm. Other ammo was selling as fast as people could grab it.

This was the most crowded this gun show has ever been. There's so much demand that this venue had a show in Dec, Jan and another one in Feb when usually there's only 2-3 per year. Ammo prices were much higher in Jan than Dec. I expect a similar increase in Feb as the supply continues to dry up.

It's a good time to be a seller!

 

[IKE]

Hard to believe what folks are asking and may be actually getting for .22LR nowadays.....not far from home some fella is asking $185.00 for one 550 round bulk pack of Federal, 33¢ per bang.

Not selling any but it looks like I'm sitting on a gold mine. :)

https://www.armslist.com/posts/12999572/oklahoma-city-oklahoma-ammo-for-sale--22-lr-ammo

 

[vito]

Unless you already have a lot of primers, even reloaders will be in trouble. I just read excerpts from an interview with a manufacturer that said that the primers sold to the public are what was not needed by the ammo manufacturers, so now that those manufacturers are producing as much ammo as they possibly can, its likely that primers will become increasingly impossible to find.

My last few trips to the range were to shoot 22lr exclusively. I don't feel comfortable shooting, for example, my 9mm since I am down to only about 600 rounds which feels like the bare minimum to keep in case the SHTF. I'll continue to shoot 22lr until I get down to a single box of 500 and then my range trips will stop for the foreseeable future, although I guess I could get down to lower levels of 38 and 45 since I do not rely on either of those calibers for either home or concealed carry defense.

This ammo situation is starting to get really serious.

 

[blume357]

message me your mailing address and I'll send you a Sig sticker.... I'm sure I have a spare somewhere around here....
I'm hoping Georgia Arms will be at our Feb gun show... and if so I'll probably order and pickup 500 - 1,000 rounds of ammo if I still have the money by then.... just bought my wife (us) a new cook stove.... $2,300!

 

[Cholo]

↑ Don't count on Georgia Arms being there as they havn't been to the last 2 gun shows, the largest in GA. Plus, with a quick look I didn't see anything for sale on their website.

 

[Kevin]

I don't particularly like gun shows either. I've never felt like the prices were fair, or the sellers completely honest. But this could have been just my experiences. I know some of ya'll here have tables at gun shows.

Anyway, I just try to avoid them. Yesterday, I had some money burning a hole in my pocket, so I went downtown to the gun store. I had heard about a gun show downtown this weekend, but didn't think about it. Apparently the line to get in the gun show was incredibly long. People left and went to the gun store just down the street. So I was stuck in a line just to get in the store.

The gun store's prices aren't high, but they certainly toe the line of MSRP, which is fine. I know they have to pay their employees and such.

 

[RoninPA]

Well, The show wasn't a complete bust. Among other nice things I won/got, I bought, in a private sale, a blued, 1981, 4" Speed Six in 9mm. I rate it overall 98%+. Came with the correct box with the correct manual but it did not have an end label. Oh, yes, I got it for $400.

 

[hittman]

I bought, in a private sale, a blued, 1981, 4" Speed Six in 9mm. I rate it overall 98%+. Came with the correct box with the correct manual but it did not have an end label. Oh, yes, I got it for $400.

God smiled on you my friend!

 

[krw]

I learned a very valuable lesson after the Newtown shooting. I will never be low on 22LR again. Mayb the people paying $50bx for hunting ammo will learn to. When AR parts, ammo and reloading supplys were cheap, people shooda been stocking back supplys. Best way to learn is when it costs $$$

 

[contender]

Ok Ron,,, give up more details on the Huntsville show,,,!

BTW; NICE score! Now I won't have to worry about mine sneaking away from here,,,!
:D :D

 

[blackhawknj]

That's why I stick to the LGS's. I ended my gun buying moratorium in December, stopped by one of my LGS/ranges,there waiting for me was a Japanese made Weatherby Mark XXII, near mint. $500 +$15 NICS OTD.
No sooner did I take possession of it then it was down to the range.

 

[blume357]

I have a simple rule: keep 200 rounds of ammo per gun on hand.

I haven't taken an inventory on my ammo as of late... but think I'm low at around 10 - 12,000 rounds......

 

[jgt]

When the tables selling flea market items out number those selling firearms I no longer consider that a gun show. Today the smaller gun shows are selling more guns. The larger ones, not so much.

 

[trebor44]

When Cabelas regular prices are less than 'gun show' prices, it is time to boycott the gun shows. Gun shows in Idaho have seldom had any 'bargains'. I always remember the time years ago the Cabelas sale on 7.62x39 and the 'customer' sweeping the cartons of ammo off the shelf into a shopping cart and reselling it at the gun show for a hefty profit! Gouging is the American way!

 

[Johnnu2]

There is only ONE WAY to control prices......... DON'T BUY..no matter what you 'need'.... DON'T BUY

IMHO of course,
J.

 

[contender]

The gougers & such would NOT be doing it,, if,,, if,,, nobody paid their prices. Some people do not care what they pay,, or know what "normal" pricing is.
Supply & demand.

But gun shows are still places to enjoy.
Sometimes,, you find that out of production gun you'd like to own,, such as what Ron mentioned about that Speed-Six in 9mm,, or you find that odd part or accessory that you need for a project. You have to look for the things you truly want.
And if new production items are your thing,, then, by all means,, support you local gun shop. Be willing to NOT pay more than you should for a new item.

BUT,,,,,,,consider this,,,,,,,,,!
What happens if we lose gun shows completely?
The anti-gunners win again.

I'm NOT saying go & pay for overpriced stuff that the gougers & such are selling. I'm saying go & enjoy the FREEDOM of just having a gun show. I went to a gun show a month or so back. I didn't buy much,, but I truly enjoyed it. I saw some friends,, got to hunt for the possibility of an OM Ruger,, and I did buy a few small items that were being overlooked by others that I needed.

Basically,, be a smart shopper.

 

[chuck]

There is only ONE WAY to control prices......... DON'T BUY..no matter what you 'need'.... DON'T BUY

IMHO of course,
J.

to bad we cant stick togeather.

 

[chuck]

In my area their are no gun shows because of the virus , We usually have about 4 a year I go to them but seldom buy anything because of their prices, I buy most of what I want over these forum's a lot better deals.

 

[protoolman]

Our first gun show was a couple weeks ago. I picked up a remington wingmaster special upland gun for $455 and a 4" .45 colt Redhawk for $790. When I checked to see the prices on gunbroker the same Redhawk was bid up to $1500 with 2 days left on the auction. Our gun prices were pretty low but reloading stuff was at quadruple prices. Primers were at 175 to 200 per thousand!

 

[AzShooter1]

I'm with Johnnu2. Don't buy this overpriced ammo or guns and you will see the prices come back down. Even my local LGS is gauging their customers. A .22 rifle that sold for just over $100 last year is now worth $800. They couldn't sell it at $100 so what makes them think the will get the higher price.

I stocked up on ammo over the years. I have at least 1000 rounds for each of my guns. Still not enough for an occasional practice session except for .22s I can still shoot 500 rounds a week and have a 2 year supply.

It shocks me that people are paying the new prices. Just like toilet paper, it will be back in stock and I hope those gauging ammo get stuck with it.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Saw a post on the book-of-face for a pair of "old model" Pythons at $3k apiece. Wasn't aware that you could sell guns there.

 

[Heliman]

Right now, I only have one show that I set up at every other month. That's it. Not too much gouging going on because the vendors know the regular attendees won't pay. Very small show. Less then 30 tables in an out of the way town 50 miles from me. I have not been selling any firearms on the internet other than a local site. This past week I bought a new pistol at a small LGS. Price was more than competitive with larger stores, plus I got a 5% veterans discount. I don't really need any ammo and won't pay the bloated prices. I have been trading ammo however at reciprocally inflated prices. Doesn't really matter in a trade!