March 19 saw yours truly venturing to the Hickory, NC Gun and Knife (and junk, as usual) show, meeting up with some old friends and new acquaintances.
I guess I shouldn’t be too harsh, there was less in the junk category than usual. Only one vendor was totally non-gun. She was selling those little etched crystals that sit on a base and collect dust around the house. I think she believed that all us husbands would feel sorry for our wives, who were being good sports and coming to the gun show just to be with us–and buy them a pretty. The Freeholder learned about this one a long time ago–Momma stays home when I go to the gun show! (This is aside from the fact Momma wouldn’t be caught dead at a gun show.)
There was a good variety of sellers for most items, but no one selling reloading supplies, which had been the stated reason for the trip. There was one fellow with a rather eclectic assortment of dies and a few bags of once-fired brass, and that was it.
Prices were widely variable. You would have someone with a good price on, say, a DPMS AR-15 in A3 configuration (not that I was looking all that closely, you understand). Next door, a gun similar in all respects was 50% more. One bunch was selling South African 7.62 NATO surplus ammo for $260/case. Right across the isle, someone else is selling it for $200/case. Guess who was selling more ammo?
It also seems that interest, at least in the selling of, side-by-side doubles is growing. I was several dealers with tables full of old doubles. I’m really jonesing for nice one, and it tried my selfcontrol, but I looked and passed on. Maybe one of these days….
I did finds some ammo bargains, outside of the above mentioned South African surplus. Winchester reduced recoil 00-buck for $2/box if you bought 10 or more boxes. Works for me. I also bought an Uncle Mikes Kydex holster and magazine holder for use at the range, and a few other odd and ends, including a copy of Boston’s Gun Bible (the revised edition). I was also able to buy an inexpensive (you know, cheap) 3×9 scope for an inexpensive Winchester Model 70 I’ve had for a while. Not a great scope, but good enough for the intended purpose.
The lunch excursion to Hooters also served the cause of general merriment.
The funniest line of the day came from a friend. We were waiting just outside the door for someone, watching everyone come out with their purchases (or what they’d failed to sell). He remarked “You know, we could make a fortune. We print up t-shirts that say ‘My husband went to the gun show and all I got was this lousy t-shirt’. We’d clean up.”
Great–another “non-gun vendor at a gun show” is born. Thanks, bud!