Fitchburg show?

I will be there, yet again. It is by far one of the worst shows I have to work. Stop by the Stoney Acres tables and check in.

Last year by 11 in the morning there were more dealers at the show than customers....oh well at least when folks stop by I can shoot the breeze for awhile.
 
A friend of mine who does not have an LTC yet wants to attend the show. I have not been to a show yet. Is it a requirement to possess a MA LTC in order to attend the show?
 
nxtgto87 said:
A friend of mine who does not have an LTC yet wants to attend the show. I have not been to a show yet. Is it a requirement to possess a MA LTC in order to attend the show?
Click to expand...

The only requirement is that he has $10 US currency. That's the only thing they check at the door. [wink]
 
I was supposed to work the GOAL table on Sat am, but got a call this afternoon from GOAL telling me that they aren't going to be setting up for the show. I may go anyway.
 
OLAK said:
I was supposed to work the GOAL table on Sat am, but got a call this afternoon from GOAL telling me that they aren't going to be setting up for the show. I may go anyway.
Click to expand...

I would hope that GOAL would be there. The show organizers should let GOAL set up for free. The more people join GOAL, the more gun owners there will be and therefore more gun owners to attend the gun shows.

I am thinking of pulling an all nighter and attending the show first thing this morning!
 
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Reptile said:
I would hope that GOAL would be there. The show organizers should let GOAL set up for free. The more people join GOAL, the more gun owners there will be and therefore more gun owners to attend the gun shows.

I am thinking of pulling an all nighter and attending the show first thing this morning!
Click to expand...

What are you crazy . That would make too much sense and cut into their profit margin.
 
As someone who has worked gun shows for GOAL for probably 20+ years, here's how it works.

- GOAL (or NRA or SAS) will be GIVEN a table for free if they want it. The promoter sticks them wherever she has an empty spot so the location may be OK or absolutely suck (we've had both ends of the spectrum).

- GOAL has to have table coverage for BOTH days to make it work. If they only get one volunteer for one day/half a day, they can't do it and cancel. That seems likely here.

- Lots of people say that GOAL should do this or GOAL should do that, but when it comes to volunteering time, people are scarce.

- It's a lot of fun. You get to talk with all sorts of people. You get an opportunity to raise awareness about GOAL (you'd be surprised how many people know nothing about GOAL) and help them raise membership/money at the same time. You also get a free pass to the show.
 
It took me about an hour and a half to go thru the show.
I bought a couple boxes of ammo, three AR mags( as if I need more), nice pair do deerskin gloves for $15.00, and a mag for a 22. Can't forget the jerky and smoked cheese.
 
Not the worst show I've seen, but low attendance.

-some- of the ammo that the dealer on the left side was selling was OK price wise- they also were selling primers for like $27 a box for the normal brands and like $23 for the wolf poop. The guy on the other side of the hall though, I couldn't believe he bothered setting up a booth with those prices. (Hint: When the guy on the other side of the show is mostly selling the same crap as you for $3-4 less a box, that might be a sign you want to adjust your pricing a little bit. ).

Best part was the guy selling all kinds of pistol mags for way too much money. I really wanted to say "Dude, a $23 markup on a Glock mag? Are you serious?" (Worst part this is $23 over internet, not even over a distributor. ) I guess he's another one of those that likes selling 2 or 3 things and then packing up the other 99% of his crap to lug it to the next show. [laugh]

-Mike
 
I took the girlfriend. Wanted jerky and cheese, and a slug barrel for my 1100 or a new slug gun. Talked to 50 BMG, he recommended the Savage 220, but none to be found. Drove around a bit and found one at Dick's, but obviously they don't let you pull the trigger till after you buy so it's quite annoying. Still can't decide what to do, buy a Cantilevered 1100 Slug Barrel or now the Savage 220 bolt action shotgun.

Oh well, I'll eat my jerky and cheese while I decide.

The rest of the show was the same crap different show deals.
 
SKS Ray said:
How many tables at this show and how were the prices on cases of 9mm?
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Not many tables, TONS of open space. Not many people either. I didn't notice prices on cases of 9mm, but cases of 54R were only $165. Yep, 880 rounds for $165. Not bad. I've been seeing cases north of $200 most places.
 
I went and was happy . Saw a couple of guns that deserved a second glance ,,,,,till I realize I already have them . Enjoyed myself for almost 3 hours for 9$ (3$ an hour)....... Friend bought a gun there,,,and ammo . It is a 50 mile drive from Beverly but I was happy to patronise a gun show in this state . If these shows disapear whom is going to be complaining then ????
Tom C
I also got to stop at a couple of gun stores on the way home .....great day !!
 
SKS Ray said:
How many tables at this show and how were the prices on cases of 9mm?
Click to expand...

One vendor had Fed AE and some Winchester 9mm NATO for $8.99/50 rounds. That's far cheaper than most MA gun stores sell it for.

-Mike
 
I wonder if anybody has poked that poor little old man to the left of the front door to see if he is still alive. I've never seen anyone buying anything from him in ten years
but he's still there. I wish I had such longevity[wink]
 
Is he the cleaning and polishing guy? Or the guy with the insanely overpriced firearms.

Depending which way you were looking at the front door...
 
I went - was my first one here in MA. I agree it was small and not very well attended, but not a bad show. It just needed more volume - more tables and more customers. Most firearm vendors seemed to have the same stuff. I did happily come out with a nice Ruger 10/22, and couple of rather large ammo boxes that my kids will enjoy storing their Lego's in :)
 
What a crapfest. One friend sold 15 guns another nothing. I walked out with beef jerky. Friends and I had plenty of time to talk from behind the tables...never a good sign. The last 3 years have been slow and on Halloween... coincidence?
 
Squished said:
Is he the cleaning and polishing guy? Or the guy with the insanely overpriced firearms.

Depending which way you were looking at the front door...
Click to expand...

Good point. He's the cadaver looking guy with the insanely overprice firearms which I believe are as old as he is.
I don't mean to make fun of him especially, I doubt I'll make it to 100 myself.
 
News Shooter said:
Good point. He's the cadaver looking guy with the insanely overprice firearms which I believe are as old as he is.
I don't mean to make fun of him especially, I doubt I'll make it to 100 myself.
Click to expand...

Actually he's somewhere in his 80's I believe . His last birthday was on the Sat. of the last Marlboro show. They had a birthday cake there for him and all comers.
 
Well, for being my first ever gun show I enjoyed myself, there was some stuff to see and it deffinetly encouraged me to go on with obtaining an FID. There were a few rifles and shotguns that put that spark into my eyes. Although there was alot of open space towards the back and to the far right of the building. That could have been put to good use, and there definetely more dealers than attendees. The dealers I've spoked to were very helpful as well. Overall not a terribly bad show.
 
News Shooter said:
Good point. He's the cadaver looking guy with the insanely overprice firearms which I believe are as old as he is.
I don't mean to make fun of him especially, I doubt I'll make it to 100 myself.
Click to expand...

Know exactly who you are talking about. His prices are INSANE. His stuff isn't even that hard to find.
 
I gotta tell you all, it seems like the sole purpose of these gun show threads is to complain about them. If this show is "bad", and the past 74 you went to were also "bad", then lower your expectations or simply don't go.

I, on the other hand, found a gem at this show (as I most always do) and it was well worth it simply for the experience. Also if I can find something I'm looking for at one of these shows (those that know me know that I have very esoteric taste in firearms), then I'd say that most others would probably have some luck as well.

I view these shows like this: It's a bunch of mini gun stores all brought to one central place for the buyer's convenience. Are some gun stores better/more reasonably priced/friendlier than others? Of course! The exact same concept applies here from table to table. People bitch about the entrance fee; that just kills me. You'd spend far MORE than 9 or 10 bucks to drive to two or so gun shops and not get a 20th the selection you'll get here. Seriously, if you have to sweat 10 bucks, stay home, as you're clearly not a player for a gun anyways at that rate.

I've found everything from rare HKs, to parts I needed to really hard to find mags at these shows, and if for some reason I don't find what I want, I get to spend some time around a bunch of guns and gun related parts.

I don't mean for this to come across harsh, but these threads are consistent bummers for me.
 

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