Saturday, January 19, 2013

Fun Show.

This morning we showed up at Cafe Pretenchou shortly after 0800 for brekkie. I had an omelet with Smoking Goose jowl bacon, feta, and sun dried tomatoes.

From there, we drove down to the state fairgrounds down on 38th and got in line for the gun show, which wrapped around to the backside of the exhibition hall...


...down the long side...


 ...and around to the entrance on the front side.

None of the people around us in line had ever been to an Indy 1500 gun show before. So much for the media myth of these all being repeat customers...

I didn't see any guns I couldn't live without. Magazines and centerfire ammo prices were borderline insane. I picked up a couple of boxes of Fiocchi .32 S&W Long wadcutters and some more 9mm 127gr +P+ Ranger-T, and the latest edition of the Standard Catalog of Military Firearms, mostly to support my regular vendors and show willing.

These people weren't there buying stuff to turn in. See that line? All those people are about to spend $500-$1000 to become stakeholders in the Second Amendment.

39 comments:

JohninMd.(Help?) said...

And God love 'em for it--- May they grow the courage to stay the course....we all might need it before this one's over.....

Anonymous said...

Similar situation at the local gunshow. Line around the building, Prices on anything AR, AK, ect were sky high, saw a 0% lower for 75$

staghounds said...

Awesome perception and clear expression of it.

Woodman said...

I was floored by the Ruger 10/22s listed at $595, and it looked like .22lr was almost as hot as .223.

BTW, I actually had a Tam in the flesh sighting, I was talking to someone else and saw you out of the corner of my eye, in the process of thinking how to say hi without coming across as fanboi or a stalker you disappeared again.

It was a fun show though, it didn't seem too crowded. I decided to pick up some gun blankets for my rifles. And my search for a nice little plinking .22 was destroyed by the semi auto craze.

Heroditus Huxley said...

I haven't been to a gun show since not long after King Putt took office. I have panic attacks in crowds, sometimes.

Besides. It's the little, small-town gun shops that you find the neatest stuff in...like the Colt 1903 we recently bought that I posted pictures of on my blog. Shot it yesterday, cleaned it last night, and it's going to live in the gun safe, only brought out on special occasions, or to have an oily rag run over it. Because the grips may not be original, but the bluing is.

Darrell said...

Wasn't there a shooting at the Indy show today? AD/ND or such?

JKosprey said...

Darrell, that's what I heard. 3 people hit by one load of birdshot.

Apparently two other shows had NDs. Libs I know are all up in arms about how this means "responsible gun owners ARE THE PROBLEM!"

Woodman said...

ND in NC somehow some gomer fired his 12 gauge while opening the case it was in to show the popo it was empty.

The one in Indy was a individual reloading his carry weapon apparently.

The comments were that private gun sales need to be removed. I'm not sure how asking for a background check removes the possibility of people being idiots.

Anonymous said...

Lines around the buildings at gun shows.

Gunshops completely sold out of popular firearms and ammunition.

Magazines on backorder by the tens of thousands.

NRA membership spikes.

Background check applications surge.

But, outside of a handful of crazy RAAAAACIST militia types, Americans don't want guns and regard the Second Amendment as a dangerous anachronism.

Riiiiiiiight...

Anonymous said...

Of course there are negligent discharges. People are so panicked that the ones for whom the safety rules aren't automatic don't have time to think about what they're doing.
Its all Obama's and Feinstein's faults. They're causing people to endanger themselves.

Missed you at the statehouse, Tam.

Tirno said...

Wait, wait wait, Anonymous@9:35 PM: a zero percent lower?

Is that a baggie of bauxite? Or do we start counting when the Hall–Héroult process is complete?

Kristophr said...

anon 11:19:

Nope. A bunch of people who's involvement with firearms consisted of grandpaw's old longarm in the closet are suddenly packing gunshows.

Due to incompetence in schools and the media, few of them have ever been exposed to the four firearm safety rules ... so expect a few injuries.

Anonymous said...

Kristophr - A bunch of people who's involvement with firearms consisted of grandpaw's old longarm in the closet are suddenly packing gunshows.

I think you're right. Further, as Tam has often written, there's not a lot of sense in making people unload / unholster - i.e. handle their guns - just to enter a given building or space.

Maybe the shows need to rethink the policy, or at least their procedures for HOW people demonstrate that grandpa's old shotgun really isn't loaded.

Woodman said...

I really would like to know how you shoot a shotgun while opening it's case. It's things like that that make it sound like guns go off all on their own.

Roger said...

The same in Fort Lauderdale. The lines were as long as the prices were high. No NDs however.
Firearm salesman of the year: Barack Obama.

Ian said...

Woodman - You use a gun sock type case, reach your hand in, and grab it by the grip & trigger to pull it out.

Jenny said...

I don't know about y'all, but I'm expecting the next PSA to feature rats running through dark corners with a menacing voiceover.

... this being on the receiving end of a coordinated media jihad feels weird.

Anonymous said...

Same at the Ft. Pierce, Fl show yesterday (abt. 100 miles N of Ft. Lauderdale)Went to a coin show for a couple of hours instead of waiting in line. Went back after lunch and the line was only about 20 long. Swarm of locusts must have visited the larger ammo dealer. Won the early drawing at the coin show. :)
I am going the go fondle my ammo now, I am rich!
Terry
Fla.

Keith said...

$500- $1000? Can one even become a stakeholder for that little anymore?

Anonymous said...

Not to sound paranoid or anything, but someone good with statistics want to tell me what the odds of 3 NDs at 3 different gun shows on the same day is? I get the idea that there might be more people who have only ever owned grandpa's shotbgun out and about now, but that's not the story from the gun shows. The NC ND story keeps alternating between a guy removing the gun from the case, and him already having removed it an it being on the table and going off somehow. The Indianapolis one was supposedly the guy's personal carry weapon, and the Ohio ND was supposedly by a dealer. Assuming those facts are all true, to me it's an awful big coincidence that you have 3 NDs on the same day, all at gun shows and each one covering a "level" of legal civilian gun owner (long gun, CCW and dealer). Heck the only thing missing is another DEA agent declaring he's "the only one professional enough in the room to handle this gun" before shooting himself with it.

Woodman said...

Ian, ahh, so you use a gun sock and then reach in and shoot the gun. I wonder what the accidental part of that is. ;-)

I called my dad last night and told him he could triple his money on his 10/22 and he didn't believe me.

That being said, a couple buddies of mine did find deals and were happy with their purchases.

Ed Foster said...

I am somewhat understandably cautious about any write-in survey, but the Wall Street Journal questionaire on restricting large capacity magazines is about as neutral as I think such a survey could be, with a reader base that encompasses a fair share of the political spectrum.

It's been running a pretty consistent 80% against banning to 20% for. Very liberal Son-In-Law just took his pistol permit class, along with his fire-breathing Teabagger wife.

My Punkin' is a sweetie, but there are things she takes MOST seriously.

Either nothing has changed, or there has been a modest shift in public opinion toward greater firearms rights and more common ownership.

The left lost in the courts last year, and true to form, they are now trying to win by cheating. It's the old Saul Alinsky line about never letting a good crisis go to waste, combined with the Hitler line about how any lie becomes truth if told long enough and loud enough.

How about charging any public official who puts up a "No Gun Zone" sign with conspiracy to aid in the commission of mass murder?

Tam said...

"Assuming those facts are all true, to me it's an awful big coincidence..."

No it's not. If you follow various state-level gun forums, not a weekend goes by that you don't have a couple NDs at gun shows around the country.

The only difference this weekend is the national media attention.

Tango Juliet said...

Saw a VERY nice Smith 15-4 at the Cabeelo's store yesterday. $625 for it. I was very tempted.

Still tempted but I really should buy a 17.

Kristophr said...

Docjim:

I suggest a loading/unloading barrel outside the gunshow, with a competent safety instructor ( in body armor ) to help.

Don't assume knowledge. This is too important. Make everyone clear before going in.

Noah D said...

And me needing to get an AR, and a pistol for carry. Sigh. Guess I'll give it a few months

Scott J said...

Jenny @9:22AM, to me it feels like the middle 90's again.

All that's going on right now gives me a serious sense of deja vu. It's just all turned up a notch this time.

Steve said...

I currently work at a range, and have worked at several gun shoppes over the years.

It doesn't surprise me at all about ND's, because every untrained/self-trained (watched every John Wayne movie) gunsel-wannabe out there puts their booger hook on the bang switch every freakin' time they pick up a firearm! Every. Freakin'. Time.!!

I call them on it, try to train them, but you can't fix stupid.

staghounds said...

One good thing about the MTV quick-cut news cycle, the unmotivated lose interest quickly despite the jihad cheerleaders. If it takes a couple of months to get to a vote, the gun control story will be as front burner as Trayvon Martin.

staghounds said...

And #$%, I've been wanting to buy an RFB.

~Katherine~ said...

@Steve 3:12 PM:

THIS.

Hubby and I went to the gun show and then a couple of shops in a (fruitless) search for ammo this weekend. At the show, had the disquieting experience of watching every (declared ;)) gun--and yes, that includes carry pieces for CHL holders--that walked in the door get emptied and zip-tied by the local cops. Then I had the more disquieting experience of finding myself almost agreeing with that precaution, because I had more guns pointed at me at that show than I would if I joined the Army to see Fallujah. And yes, the pointers were immune to frigid stares and firm stepping-asides.

At the local store, while waiting in line, I saw one of the guys behind the counter dry-firing a pistol for a would-be customer. Good customer service, I suppose...except that he was pointing it at a coworker at the time. *facepalm*

This, incidentally, is at a store that, like the show, requires all guns to be emptied before they're taken into the shop. I begin to see why, though I imagine that fingering the bloody thing while unloading it is more likely to result in a ND than even the asininity displayed behind the counter. Well, maybe. I guess. Possibly?

The store in question has a range attached to it. Hubby and I, having just moved to the area, have been looking for one. We'll go and see what sort of standards the RSO seems to keep there, but I'm already a bit disgusted with the place.

Steve Skubinna said...

Terry @ 10:04, that was my first thought a well. After a little reflection (informed by my own experience as an RSO) it seems that is probably not out of line, but ordinarily the MSM couldn't be bothered by what the sister humping snake handlers in flyover country are up to. Lately they're dispatching anthropological expeditions to the red states in search of "Gunowners in the Mist" stories.

I have never performed or been near an ND but I've seen a lot of Rule 1 and 3 violations. Kristophr's suggestion is a good one - adult supervision helps.

Steve said...

@Katherine,

What shop (if you don't mind me asking)?

jdunmyer said...

Jenny said:

... this being on the receiving end of a coordinated media jihad feels weird.

It was this way around the time the 1968 gun law was passed. I felt personally demonized at the time. Now, however, I realize that I'm far from alone.

Anonymous said...

Wait, wait wait, Anonymous@9:35 PM: a zero percent lower?

Is that a baggie of bauxite? Or do we start counting when the Hall–Héroult process is complete?


Actually a milk carton full of empty PBR cans

Matthew said...

If you know any of these people get them signed up for the NRA. NICs checksis all well and good but if every current member signed up one or two non-members, even if on their own dime, and every GOA type would hold their noses and join an organization even for just a year that is actually respected by politicians, the paid membership would double or more in the space of a month or so.

That kind of growth will do more to protect us in the Congress than any number of NICs checks.

Anonymous said...

"And yes, the pointers were immune to frigid stares and firm stepping-asides"

Nah, they won't understand why you're doing that. You have to say something to them, and even then they might go "Why?". It's still a good thing, we were all noobs once.

Geodkyt said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Geodkyt said...

staghounds said...

And #$%, I've been wanting to buy an RFB.

And how is anything different now?

You couldn't find one before Election Day, you still can't find one now. . .

{wink}