Nations' Guns Show Buying Tips

[Darth Fabulous]

Hi all,
I plan to hit the Nation's Gun Show this month with my new C&R. This is my first ever gun show, so was wondering if people had advice as to how to buy at these shows. Any advice you can give so that me and other newbies don't get screwed would be most helpful. Thanks in advance.

 

[Inigoes]

Know the prices of the items you are looking to buy, so you can easily identify the deals.

Take plenty of copies of your C&R license unsigned.

Take lots of money with you

 

[Darth Fabulous]

Take lots of money with you

Is cash mandatory? Or do vendors take check and/or plastic?

 

[BeltBuckle]

some take plastic; some take checks; most all will take cash and sometimes you can use cash as leverage for a better price... all depends on the seller.

 

[lee2]

Dulles Expo Center

4368 Chantilly Shopping Center

Chantilly, VA 20153
July 30, 31 & August 1, 2010

 

[WeaponsCollector]

I've been going to the Nation's Gun Show for a while and I've discovered a few things that help me a lot.
Personally I always take cash and only use plastic for buying gas. Unfortunatley I don't have a C&R license.

*If you have anything gun related you want to get rid of, take it with you to trade or sell. I've sold and traded all kinds of stuff walking around at these shows and one time I even came home with more money than I had before.

*At big shows it can be easy to get disoriented. If you want to see everything there, start at one side and go row by row. Never wander around any which way or you will miss a lot of stuff.

*If you are looking for something that's hard to find make sure you know how much you should expect to pay first and if you find one for a good price, buy it right away! Never walk away saying "I'll get it later" or "I'll find another one that's cheaper" because either you will not be able to find another one, you will not be able to find the table again(only at big shows), or it will be sold when you come back to buy it.

*Try to negotiate on the price. Many sellers will knock off a few dollars if you ask.

*Make a list of everything you need and if you plan to buy a good amount of ammo bring a backpack to carry it in or buy the ammo right before you leave so you won't have to carry it for very long or go back and forth to your car.

*Bring a drink or buy one when you get there because it can take several hours to see the entire show and you gotta walk maybe a mile and a half.

Hope this can help and enjoy the show! I plan on taking off from work to go on Friday.

 

[Half-cocked]

Take plenty of copies of your C&R license unsigned.

All that is necessary is that you sign the copy, not the original... you don't have to actually sign it in front of anyone.

 

[Dan44]

Cash is king....

 

[MikeTF]

Golden rule: he who has the gold, rules!

 

[sigrug17]

Research prices (especially on-line ones), Have a 'want' list, (you can always browse thru once quickly to see who has the best price on your desired item) Bring cash (vendors may give better deal), and always try to bargain.

 

[kalister1]

Take a copy of the FFL C&R book. At the show in York I wanted to buy an old Ruger 22 Revolver. The vendor had a ticket on it saying made in 1958. This alone made the gun C&R. He told me that it had to be 50 years old AND chamber an obsolete caliber. He would NOT sell me the gun on my C&R. When I got home I checked my book and the gun is in there. If I had my book I could have shown it was C&R eligible.

 

[Inigoes]

All that is necessary is that you sign the copy, not the original... you don't have to actually sign it in front of anyone.

True, but if someone helps themselves to your C&R for malicious purposes, you could be answering questions you shouldn't have too.

Leaving the copies unsigned until you are ready to purchase, can alleviate that issue.

 

[Patrick]

I've been going to the Nation's Gun Show for a while and I've discovered a few things that help me a lot.
Personally I always take cash and only use plastic for buying gas. Unfortunatley I don't have a C&R license.

*If you have anything gun related you want to get rid of, take it with you to trade or sell. I've sold and traded all kinds of stuff walking around at these shows and one time I even came home with more money than I had before.

*At big shows it can be easy to get disoriented. If you want to see everything there, start at one side and go row by row. Never wander around any which way or you will miss a lot of stuff.

*If you are looking for something that's hard to find make sure you know how much you should expect to pay first and if you find one for a good price, buy it right away! Never walk away saying "I'll get it later" or "I'll find another one that's cheaper" because either you will not be able to find another one, you will not be able to find the table again(only at big shows), or it will be sold when you come back to buy it.

*Try to negotiate on the price. Many sellers will knock off a few dollars if you ask.

*Make a list of everything you need and if you plan to buy a good amount of ammo bring a backpack to carry it in or buy the ammo right before you leave so you won't have to carry it for very long or go back and forth to your car.

*Bring a drink or buy one when you get there because it can take several hours to see the entire show and you gotta walk maybe a mile and a half.

Hope this can help and enjoy the show! I plan on taking off from work to go on Friday.

All of this advice is great, but I agree heartily with the bold one above. I "lost" something I wanted to buy two shows back because I never paid attention to which table it was on. I saw it within two minutes of coming into the show (so it was front/middle somewhere) but wasn't paying attention yet.

And just because it is the cheapest at the show doesn't mean it is the cheapest you can get it. Internet prices can be better. But you have to add in shipping (usually offset by VA sales tax) and the fact you can walk out with it now. That has value, too.

I pretty much build up my supply of magazines one show at a time.

 

[mayor_quimby]

As others have noted price researching is the best thing to do. Just because its sitting right in front of you doesn't mean you should buy it. The one thing I learned is patience is key. As an example I was looking for a Mosin I went to the show and they were well overpriced for the quality but I went to AIM online and got a great one for the price. I also went to Keep Shooting and was able to get another one for a good price.

I remember seeing people leave with huge boxes of ammo. Once I added it up myself I could get a better deal online the only thing was I would need to wait a few days to get the item. With ammo and a lot of other items becoming more available over the internet , I feel that a few of the vendors still try to get you on the "obama craze" prices.

 

[DZ]

From what I remember, you will need to forms of ID to purchase a firearm in VA.

On top of that, whatever you need to do to buy a gun as a DC resident, I've lost track of all that...

 

[Patrick]

The biggest item on the list for me, as a MD resident, is magazines over 20 rounds. The good news is that I was picking up new manufacture PMags for the same good prices you can over the internet. In the case of mags, the internet is not much of an option.

Also cash and carry rifles are good to go. But get there early because the VA NICS check gets bogged down when shows happen. You will have to wait a while and may need to come back the next day. So don't buy a gun on Sunday unless you are willing to drive to the vendor's shop on Monday.

I bought a gun in VA last year and was delayed for three days. It happens a lot, I was told.

 

[WeaponsCollector]

All of this advice is great, but I agree heartily with the bold one above. I "lost" something I wanted to buy two shows back because I never paid attention to which table it was on. I saw it within two minutes of coming into the show (so it was front/middle somewhere) but wasn't paying attention yet.

It took me a while to figure this out the hard way.
I've lost a LOT of great stuff at gun shows by saying to myself "I'll come back and get it later". One time I found a huge museum quality artifact that was no doubt authentic for $700. I knew as soon as I saw it that $700 was a steal but I decided to come back and buy it later. By the time I got back to the table it was already sold. I later found an online auction of the exact same kind of artifact but a little smaller, it was selling for $10,000!
Another time a guy had about 10 Remington 870 shotguns from a County Sheriff's department. All the recievers were marked "so and so county sherrifs department" and they were $150 each. I said to myself "I'll come back and get one later" and of course when I came back not 15 minutes later they were all gone, one man had purchased all of them.

 

[Mike OTDP]

If you are going to buy ammo, bring a hand cart. The Dulles show is a good place for ammunition purchases, but you need a way to schlep it to your car.

+1 on starting on one side and going through very methodically.

One tactic I've used is to find something I like, leave...circle around, come back in 10 minutes and buy it. Don't appear too eager UNLESS it's a truly fantastic buy.

 

[doneyd67]

If you are going to buy ammo, bring a hand cart. The Dulles show is a good place for ammunition purchases, but you need a way to schlep it to your car.

+1 on starting on one side and going through very methodically.

One tactic I've used is to find something I like, leave...circle around, come back in 10 minutes and buy it. Don't appear too eager UNLESS it's a truly fantastic buy.

Thats good to know I plan on going there to pick up some mags and ammo for my AR it'll be my first time going there and I look forward to it.

 

[Jimbob2.0]

Cash and some "special K" to calm you down.

Seriously have cash, if you are looking for something in particular be very knowledgable of markings, pricing, etc.

There are a lot of gems but much more junk circulating so caution is highly advised.

C&R has been drying up lately..........