Lilred's rant of the week...gun shows

[Lilred]

Well...not really a gun show. Last weekend was the outdoor sportsman show. It's all about huntin. I love goin every year. They have the big buck contest, turkey callin contests and all kinds of mounts and huntin stuff. But COOL huntin stuff. Like a trapper sellin his furs, artists sellin paintings, boxes of ammo fer good deals etc etc.
I was as excited as a sly fox in a henhouse full of 1 legged chickens. Drove the hour and 1/2 ($40 in gas) paid the 9.50 to git in and the place was packed.
First problem...the whole thing was technologically advanced!!!!! (Dern that was a big word)

Fer instance...NO shells. But they had piles of laser guided systems fer rifles, treestands that did everything but climb the dam tree fer ya, GPS systems and lots of dixie outfitters t-shirts. The 3 out of 100 vendors that had huntin clothes were so high in price, Cabelas looked like the Dollar General store compared to em. OK...and this here REALLY got me MAD.

WHY would a hunt club pay God knows what to rent the booth fer 2 days?? None of em will recruit a member, all they did was try to git you to buy tickets to raffle a gun. Well..how much money could you really raise after travelin so fer, payin fer the booth, the gun and all that other crap? One of em was from round here and they had 3 mounts above their head with a huge sign with their name on it. The mounts were perty nice bucks. So what happens???
You get a table fulla fellas askin where they killed those big bucks? "On our lease." Are ya'll lookin for more members? "no but you can buy this raffle ticket...$20 gits ya a shot at this rifle."
After that conversation, would you buy a ticket??? Uh...no. They were arsholes. I knew better than to say anythin, I stood there long enough to see how fer they would go with that conversation. Then they laughed at the poor boy when he walked away. Then they looked at me and asked me iffin I wanted a ticket. I will not repeat my answer here as it would deem me unladylike. ;)

Would you REALLY buy a new dodge pickup w/ camo tape all over it at a huntin show? It as only 34,999...a show "special."
God forbid you'd go to an outdoors show and NOT buy a sandwhich bag full of empty 12 ga hulls fer $ 7.99! :eek:
Which by the way was the only reloadin thing they had there.

There was some homemade turkey calls there...cool.
No tannin or leathers/hides. Way too many taxidermists but some cool mounts. I did see the world-record non-typical muzzloader buck..came from va..that was cool.

What happened to all the things we brave the crowds, the city and all that to go see? Since when has huntin been so dam comercialized? Does the average hunter really think that these new-fangled gadgets will even the odds fer him?
Next year, I'm gonna git me a booth.
I'm gonna have applications to join the Act Right church, I'm gonna give lectures on how we all have the "hunter's instinct" in us and how we need to learn to hone THAT into a huntin tool vs honing in laser guided crap.
Then I'm gonna search all over the country and buy the biggest mounts you have ever seen. I'm gonna hang em up behind me and when those hunt club idgits ask iffin I'm takin members in my hunt club, I'm gonna smile as perty as the sunrise and tell em that *****, ****** and ******* like they are aint allowed and you have to be a member of the Act Right church for at least 10 years to be a member. When they asked where we killed all them deer..I'm gonna tell em " on YOUR lease"....lol
:rolleyes: :p :D

[Rocky Raab]

Lilred, a booth like that is now about three GRAND. It beats me how anybody expects to break even at those things - that's why I quit going to them as a vendor after about three trips (back when they were "only" about eight hundred).

The SHOT Show, which isn't even open to the public, is now running about $75 a square foot and the smallest booth is 10x10.

Those raffles make more money on the name and address lists than on the tickets. How do you think all those junk mail senders get your info? Raffle entries. Try it sometime: put down some silly name with your address and see how long after the show you start to get mail addressed to that silly name. Not long. (The bad part is that it'll never stop, of course.)

[GoodOlBoy]

I remember a quote from a Field and Stream article by David E. Petzal.

By the way, it is a little-known fact that if a small nuclear device were detonated at the SCI convention in Reno, Nevada, the pool of gold from the melted Rolexes would be 52 feet in diameter and 8 feet deep.

I no longer attend anything but true gunshows, and some of those are getting nearly as bad. I remember the days of $1 - 50 caliber suplus ammo cans, and inexpensive 7.62x39mm ammo. One show about elevn years back in Houston the MTM booth at the show didn't want to have to pack up a table full of ammo boxes so they just sold them for 25 cents each. Last show I went to the cheapest ammo at the show was 30% higher than the "expensive" gun shop in town. And surplus ammo cans were $20 each. Everybody has to make a living, but I will be danged if I can't for the life of me not understand how you expect to do so if you can't get customers.

GoodOlBoy

[BILLY D.]

Lilred

If the product isn't tactical, have a lazer or LED, and a built in GPS it won't sell. Just a sign of the times. Take most folks out in the woods and they won't be able to find their a$$ with both hands. And they call themselves hunters and outdoors men and women.

Of course nowadays there is so much game in some areas all the technology doesn't make a difference. If the animals weren't harvested they would over populate making more problems.

Hunting per se isn't really hunting anymore. It's out to the secrect hiddy hole, cell phone ringing, gotta hurry, I can only hunt till noon, gotta do this, that. Busy, Busy.

I feel sorry for those folks.

Bill

[Wolvie]

HI All,
Its been awhile since I was last here.
Been really busy at work.

So LilRed,...I read your post and I completely understand where your coming from.
Thats why I no longer go to those Hunting ,Gun shows etc.
I do however go to one very kewl Hunting related - dog show,..
its called "Swappers Day" and it goes on Labor day weekend in Johnstown Ohio.

It like a huge HUNTING flea market,..and also u get to watch the hounds run the raccooon accross the pond and tree it.
Then they auction off the winners and losers.

I have more fun at that place then any other hunting event I ve been to.
Also they have an archery target area,with 3-d targets set up at differnet yardages,..and in different angles and such.

They used to have GUN SLINGERS ,..or better known as "Quick Draw".
On top of all that ,..crafts,..regular flea market stuff,..and food and drinks and did I mention ALOT of HUNTING stuff?!!!!!

And now for the big deal of the Swappers Day event,...
U have a 30-06 and want to trade it?
Bring it in ,the local sherrif puts a plastic trigger protector on it,..and off you go to trade your .06 for whatever you and the person you end up trading with or for.And if that wasnt enough,...imagine miles of garage and yard sales ,..before you even get to the gates of the SWAPPERS DAY !!!!

Make sure before you come (if any of you do decide to),..save your money,..and dont throw out those old guns,or bows or empty shell casings,..etc.

Now LilRed,..isnt that something more of what you would like to see ,..AGAIN !?
we have it,..and I am sure there are events like this one in your state,..if not get one going ,..The Johnstown Gun Club host this one.
Well it sure is nice to see all of you again and the new poster as well.
Later all
and remember,..............

HUNT SAFE
&
SAFE HUNTIN~

[Rocky Raab]

GOB, it's kind of a vicious circle at gun shows. Expenses for vendors go way up, profit margins go way down to try to be competitive, and so sales slump. So there are fewer vendors al the time.

Admission keeps going up, there are fewer tables to look at, less and less gun stuff on tables at higher prices and so there's less buying. So thee are fewer customers all the time.

Both sides stop going because the other side has stopped going.

The tactical crap and changing hunting scene are both true. So-called hunters think they need to shoot the first deer they see, no matter how far away it is - and end up hunting with something that needs wheels and radar aiming so they can shoot from the parking lot at a deer in the next county. How long before we hear, "Well, I hit one, but I didn't have time to go find it and drag it back. Had too much to do."

[GoodOlBoy]

Yep I know Rocky. I have had more than one booth at a gun show over the years. I remember when the old Three Rivers gun show cost $20 for the first table and $10 for each add on you wanted. Then the saxet show came along a few years later and charged $30 a table. Now I don't even want to think about what it costs. It really is sad to see the changing times. By the way dad sent me this to post. An example of what you really can add on.

GoodOlBoy

[Rocky Raab]

What? no 100-round double-drum magazine? Amateur stuff. LOL!

Hey bud, any rain today? Hoo boy.

Crossroads of the West shows now charge $85 a floor table, $95 for a wall table, with $10 off if you pay in full two weeks in advance.

The Big Reno Show is now $100 a floor table and $400 for a wall booth. I always got a booth there - same spot for 12 years. Throw in gas for 1200 miles round trip ($250 at Nevada prices!), $300 for rooms, at least $200 for food and tips and then figure out how many sales you have to have making a few bucks on each one - to break even. It's cheaper to stay home.

[GoodOlBoy]

Heck Rocky I am impressed ya spotted the gun! It took me 10 minutes just ta find it!

Yea I just talked to a buddy of mine. He said Saxet has come back down to $55 a table for a two day show. Alot better than I feared it would be but still. It means I can't just load up piles of old gear and knives to sell anymore.

What do ya figure tha candle power is on this light?

:D

GoodOlBoy

[Rocky Raab]

That's funny. Nice "Shop" job. I especially love the safety gun lock keys!

[Rapier]

Lilred,
Ain't it the living truth? I did shows for a while (put them on). That was at the Shrine Club in Ft Walton, Rocky. Then I did a couple of years at the fair grounds. We had a great time, guns and gun related items only, display tables were free. Then Jim and I got into traveling the circuit with my Rugers and Jim's Ohio Rifles and we left the show production scene. After a few years I came back to the local shows and they had been hijacked by commercial promoters. It was a disaster of which I wanted no part.

Truth is that the local shows that were being run by local collectors or clubs have all been taken over by pros. Nothing is free, so the collectors do not display. All you have is black guns and jewlery. Junque.... that is high priced junk, crowds the isles. The pros are their own worst enemy, they grub money, refuse to give and the vendor quality goes down, customer volume goes down and it spirals out of control.

Unless you are 60 or so I doubt if you have ever gone to a show and seen the stuff of magazines and mesuems, like you saw years ago. It was what made a gun show a gun show.

I ride 12 hours each way for the Tulsa show and have several tables. Or I have had for the past 3 or 4 years. If you have never been, go over and take a look.
Ed

[Dan Morris]

Yup, the Dever Sports Expo has been this way for the last couple of years......think I'd rather spend the time in a surplus store and just be done with it.
Dan

[fabsroman]

I went to about 4 gun shows. Bought my first rifle at one 14 years ago, and bought 4 more rifles at one 7 years ago. Went to my last one about 5 years ago in PA. Those things are nuts. There is so much crap out there to take our money that it is insane. The worst part about it is wondering if the thing you bought will really do what it is supposed to do. If I didn't have a need for it in the first place, it makes no sense to buy it. Now, when I need something, I just order it from Cabelas, Outdoor World, or some other online retailer.

Gun/Outdoor shows are the way they are now because of the commercialization of hunting and fishing. Heck, look at the outdoor shows. Outdoor World puts on a show and lists all the gear that the hunters are using. On a pheasant hunt they list the gun, the aftermarket choke tubes, the $15+ a box shells being used, the boots, socks, and other clothes, and anything else they can think of.

It is all about the money. Eventually it will change.

[Dan Morris]

Fabs, I agree 100%. Plus, all the over priced canned hype runs newbies off...they immediately think they cannot afford hunting
and fishing!!!As I reload and hunt public lands, it is not any where as expensive as they portray!JMO
Dan

[fabsroman]

Too many things are about money nowadays, and I blame most of that on TV.

50 years ago, hunters just grabbed the gun out of the closet, put on some old warm clothes, and went hunting. Nowadays, I have a checklist to go hunting.

The same thing goes for cycling. After being away from the bicycle racing world for 18+ years, I decided to get back into it this year. 18 years ago, everybody used steel frames for our bikes and there were only a couple of component manufacturers. Almost all the racing was road racing, and we used the same bike for road races as we used for time trials. In my last year or two of racing, they started to introduce aluminum and carbon fiber frames and time trial specific bikes. Now, there is mountain bike racing which requires its own bike, and cyclocross racing which requires its own bike.

Today, almost every manufacturer offers the same type bike in steel, aluminum, carbon fiber, and titanium. They say that each one of them has different ride qualities. Well, I bought an aluminum frame and a carbon fiber frame from the same manufacturer in the same geometry, bought all the same components for both bikes, and guess what, I cannot feel the slightest bit of difference between the two bikes, except that the carbon fiber frame cost $2,000 more than the aluminum one and it looks nicer and more expensive.

Today, there are heart rate monitors and wattage monitors to tell you how hard you are going and the amount of power you are putting out. The wattage monitor for the rear wheel is $1,000. I haven't bought one yet because I am trying to avoid it. Ended up buying a heart rate monitor/GPS cycle computer though for $300. Never had any of this stuff 18 years ago.

Also bought a time trial specific bike too, which is more aerodynamic and faster than a road bike, but why can't the racing organizations just outlaw these bikes for amateurs so that the poor folk won't be penalized. Also bought the aero disk wheel, which I can also feel the difference with, but that thing was $1,400.

All the marketing is utterly nuts. If I told you how much my bikes cost and how many I have, you guys would have a cow. Kind of like me telling my cycling friends about the number of guns I have and how much they cost.

By the way, if you cannot tell yet, after my family, my next two passions are hunting/shooting and cycling, and the marketing guys have gotten me pretty good in both categories. However, I am at the point with hunting where I feel like I don't need anything more than a farm. Two years ago, my wife gave me the green light to replace my SBE with the new SBE II. I had talked myself into that purchase because of the recoil reduction system and the larger trigger guard on the SBE II. Lucky for me, I thought twice about it and decided not to spend $1,400 on another gun when the one I had was working just fine. Then, I almost talked myself into the Benelli Sport II because of the recoil system, but then thought twice about it because I shoot my Beretta 391 pretty darn well. As of right now, I'm not buying another gun unless it is leaps and bounds beyond what I already have or it fits a niche that I don't already have (e.g., AR10 & AR15). I'm also not going to buy the newest and greatest camo pattern that seems to come out every year. Killed 100+ geese for several years with my current camo, so it cannot be all that bad. Killed 50+ deer with my current camo/hunters orange, so that cannot be that bad either.

Lucky for me, I am running out of things to buy and I am refusing to buy all the brand new hyped up stuff out there. Still haven't bought a scent-lok suit either.

[Nulle]

I also did the vendor thing but stopped several years ago now.
We had some fun times in the early years but the last few I took part in was just a big drag and not worth my time.

[GoodOlBoy]

Ah but see Fabs you don't have to have the checklist. That's what I am working on now is getting back down to the raw fun of hunting the old way. Yes some things are nice, and I am lazy, BUT I am working on that too.

Have already decided to do all my hunting this year with my single shot 20 gauge again like the old days.

GoodOlBoy

[Rapier]

GOB,
A 20ga single shooter can make the 12 dove limit for 1st phase an all afternoon event.:D
Ed

[GoodOlBoy]

Yep and it can make the 15 per day limit on squirrel a real hoot too!

You want skill? Get close enough to plug that deer with a 2 3/4 inch rifled lead slug from a single shot 20 :D Hit him right he drops like he was hit with a sledgehammer. You don't and I certainly hope you practiced tracking when you were doing all that bowhunting :p

GoodOlBoy

[PJgunner]

The last gun show I went to was a total disaster. Almost nothing but dealers with prices jacked way up high. One outfit that sells nothing but ammo and primers had priced running $2.00 higher than Sportsman's warehouse and the Warehouse's prices are already way too high.
All the rest was jerky and jewelry. $9.00 to get into the show, $5.00 for parking, Hot dogs at the lunh counter $4.00 :eek: , like four bucks for a six inch dog? :rolleyes:
I spent exactly $10.00 at that show for a pretty blue handmade beaded necklace for my wife. ;) Cheap insurance should I come home with another gun. :rolleyes: :D That is, if I can even find a gun at these gun(?) shows.
Paul B.