Gun show!!
So yesterday morning, time zone difference firmly grasped in my cranium, I hop in the car with my best friend Partner, and head on down to the funshow. We pull out of the driveway at 0600.
We got there at 1100 hours. Nice, huh? The roads were nice enough, at one point, that while trying to change lanes, the truck decided it was tired of going in that boring old forward orientation and decided to go sideways for a while.
At one point, a large box truck screamed past us at about twice our speed. We let it. About ten miles down the road, said box truck was in a ditch, it’s box less squarish than trapezoidal, and it’s contents are scattered all over the shoulder.
We arrived at the fairgrounds and parked, and it only took a brief time for Partner and I to unclench our buttocks from the seat cushions (an action caused by the aforementioned sideways excursion) and we staggered into the (by now 150 meter long) line.
I was looking for a Moisin, Partner for a Krag carbine. And possibly a Springfield Armory 03/A3 with a scant stock. We each found what we wanted but were not as happy with the asking prices and the quality. A sellers market to be sure. Found some nice ammo cans- I need to buy some larger ones, the range cans now take three trips to get into the car- but in the end, Partner’s brother got himself a nice 03/A3 (remington), Partner got himself a replacement elevation knob for his Garand (his had become stripped) and I got a spare mag for my Colt 380 Government model.
The trip home was far less eventful. Thank god.
Pitiably, a bucketload of people I’d have liked to have seen were there, and I didn’t get to see them, the damned place was insane. I cannot imagine what it will be like in warm weather. The Valpo show is coming in february, a show about 1/5 the size of Indy but supposedly a good show nonetheless.
A little hint for people that attend shows:
If you want to stop and gawk at something, STOP AND GAWK WITH YOUR BIG ASS OUT OF THE AISLE. And if you want to actually SEE the show, it helps to KEEP MOVING. THE SHOW IS NOT ON A CONVEYOR BELT, IT WILL NOT MOVE PAST YOU THAT YOU MAY REVIEW IT. One foot in front of the other, OK?
Thatisall.
I’m on call this weekend :-( Hard to do much other than stick close to home and wait for the bat phone.
Looking forward to hearing about it from you guys when we meet up again.
I so want to smack the shit out of the gawkers and wannabe Rambos at the gun shows.
Glad it was a successful day. I enjoy the C&E gun shows here in Virginny. It’s such a flea market. Always interesting things to see, not even weapon-related. Yeah, and it’s a pain when people are so unaware– just like any venue where there’s a crowd.
Looks like the weather’s clearing up here, and we’re going shooting this afternoon for the first time in (sad to say) years! Taking my German Mauser (my first gun show purchase) out for the second time.
Would have enjoyed it, but I had other responsibilities yesterday.
On the up side, the .45ACP I ordered from Georgia Arms a couple of weeks ago has already shipped. I wasn’t expecting to see it till sometime next month.
I may have to buy some 8mm Mauser from them next. I don’t have much of it left and too much of it is old surplus Egyptian stuff. I have too much respect for my Dad’s weapon to feed that through it, even if he did buy it.
Valpo gun show. If I’m not working, sounds like an interesting thing to visit. It may be a good investment to find an arm that’ll soon come under a new AWB, but everyone else must think the same way, so I don’t know. The last gun show I attended was a dozen years ago at the C.P. fairgrounds, and chatting with the people was 90% of the fun and interest: that WAS in the middle of Clinton Days, a few short years after Waco. I might just go for the entertainment that other people provide.
MTS, if you’re gonna go, let me know. We’ll meet there for a coffee.
The CP show has become predominantly jerky and tactical gear. Sometimes someone new shows up, but not often.