Marlboro MA - January 25 & 26

lol so you're paying $24 over those 2 days (+ gas) just to get in the doors and hope they can beat TSA prices by a few bucks so you can pay cash? Makes no sense when you can have TSA deliver it to your door and make $$ on rewards if you use a card like discover or amazon visa, etc. This makes absolutely no sense to me.
Well, first off, if you're not comfortable paying the admission fee simply for a couple hours of entertainment, you're already in the wrong place and guaranteed to be unhappy. Going around just trying to make up for that steep financial "loss", you are doing it all wrong. [thinking]

Second, TSA is good people (no question!), but they are not for everybody. I've done just as well locally without having to pay the $95/yr membership fee. And that doesn't count the great Walmart ammo sell-off we just went through. [laugh]

But it is true that I gave up buying bulk ammo at the shows a while back. It's just too much trouble to lug around if you expect to get the full benefit from the show, assuming you aren't just there for ammo and beef jerky. On that, we can agree. [thumbsup]
 
“Roped off area” by the front.

Had to show an LTC just to get in. Not sure if you has to show again at purchase.Nothing I wanted the spend money on.
I was there today and didn't see any such area, Perhaps it was taken down or I just missed it. Was it on the side of the building you waked into after getting past the ticket taker or the other side?

What was different about the vendors inside this area?
 
Optical illusion to make it look full.

Springfield did or does it as well.

I still remember one Springfield show where like children of one of the vendors were literally riding around on wheeled toys in the unused area of the building, that’s how much shrinking has happened.... [rofl]
 
Considering the way Gun Shows are trending I'm wondering if it's time for Gun Owners to put together a "Swap Meet" this summer like car owners do. We get a club to host it. Each person wanting to set up a table pays the club a fee. The club could charge a nominal fee for admittance and sell breakfast or lunch. We get a couple FFL's in there to assist with transfers. Gun owners can drag out their stash of firearms, holsters, reloading equipment, gun parts or whatever that they want to move.
 
It's all about keeping people in the hobby and bringing in new faces, gun shows are well attended mostly by newbies now, gun shows advertise to attract new people.
More people not less, is better for the 2A community.
With the hateful attitude of the know it all senior members bashing everything they are not for is not helping the future of a strong gun community.
Not everybody has a cozy relationship with a local gun shop, most get snubbed if they are not a regular.

Case in point, I went with a newbie who’s waiting for his license and wound up spending over three hours there letting him set the pace, stopping at most of the tables as we talked about different firearms. It was the most fun I’ve ever had at one of these things even though there were no deals, everything was overpriced and most of the stuff there was crap.
 
Considering the way Gun Shows are trending I'm wondering if it's time for Gun Owners to put together a "Swap Meet" this summer like car owners do. We get a club to host it. Each person wanting to set up a table pays the club a fee. The club could charge a nominal fee for admittance and sell breakfast or lunch. We get a couple FFL's in there to assist with transfers. Gun owners can drag out their stash of firearms, holsters, reloading equipment, gun parts or whatever that they want to move.


I'd love to see Mansfield F&G do something similar to what the Holbrook club is already doing, but invite dealers from southeastern Mass, INCLUDING Shooters Supply.
 
Considering the way Gun Shows are trending I'm wondering if it's time for Gun Owners to put together a "Swap Meet" this summer like car owners do. We get a club to host it. Each person wanting to set up a table pays the club a fee. The club could charge a nominal fee for admittance and sell breakfast or lunch. We get a couple FFL's in there to assist with transfers. Gun owners can drag out their stash of firearms, holsters, reloading equipment, gun parts or whatever that they want to move.

I tried to get this exact type of thing going a while back, couldn't get enough interest to make it happen locally. But I'd be in if someone did it.
 
I'd love to see Mansfield F&G do something similar to what the Holbrook club is already doing, but invite dealers from southeastern Mass, INCLUDING Shooters Supply.
It won't happen at MF&G, for fear that the insurance would increase significantly.

Braintree R&P did this for members every year. Since Don Kusser ran it, I'm not sure if they are still doing it since Don passed away and I gave up my membership when I thought I'd be moving in early 2019.
 
I was there today and didn't see any such area, Perhaps it was taken down or I just missed it. Was it on the side of the building you waked into after getting past the ticket taker or the other side?

What was different about the vendors inside this area?

When you walked in if you went to the right, all the way down and up by the front windows, there was an area where this was.

Was not huge, but there was a girl asking for an LTC to get in. She would not let in one guy and his wife (out of state, no ltc)
 
Spent 15 mins saying Hi to every bearded cargo pant wearer in line I saw , I was the grey haired, cargo pants, camo vest, ball cap wearing, bearded guy.

I dont know how you missed me..I was wearing a FDE baseball cap with a subdued American flag and Oakley's on the brim with an Arcteryx shirt so i could show off the sleeve of tattoos on my right arm. Also had my Coyote Brown 3 day pack on.

You must have seen me !
 
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I'm gonna start by saying I'm gonna sound a lot older than I am. LOL


I'm in line now, where is everybody ?

Come and say hi, I'm the guy with the beard and cargo pants.

I noticed something. I need to stay out of daylight, get less head hair and more facial hair. And eat more Twinkies. Your average Mass gun hunter needs a diet. LOL

2nd the amount of fewer tables (but since there were tables, and was therefore more space, why were the aisles smaller?!)

Aisles were MUCH wider than normal.

Only thing I found wrong with the show yesterday is that it was way too crowded before noon. Parking situation was about the worst I had seen it. I decided to leave, have lunch and come back later. Turned out to be a good idea. Things slowed down and parking eased up in the afternoon. Unfortunately, one nice bargain I had spotted was gone when I returned. Vendors I spoke with were reporting brisk sales, including one old vendor that is always grumpy over slow sales.

For all the endless jokes and criticisms here, mostly from folks who haven't attended in years, someone is attending these shows and I'll bet the promoter is still making a bundle. Forget the number of vendors in attendance (which was down for sure). As long as the promoter is making good money, these bigger shows (Marlboro and Wilmington) will continue.

Worst was right after Newtown. Crazy crowded. People buying anything at any price.


Wasn't a bad show. P365's all over. Many at $499. Some at $529. One guy at $569. LOL
 
Well, first off, if you're not comfortable paying the admission fee simply for a couple hours of entertainment, you're already in the wrong place and guaranteed to be unhappy. Going around just trying to make up for that steep financial "loss", you are doing it all wrong. [thinking]
Second, TSA is good people (no question!), but they are not for everybody. I've done just as well locally without having to pay the $95/yr membership fee. And that doesn't count the great Walmart ammo sell-off we just went through. [laugh]

There's no entertainment value to seeing the same stuff I can find at a LGS or a flea market in the case of all the non-gun garbage at these shows. I'd rather spend the same amount at a movie theater if I want a couple of hours of actual entertainment. The MA shows just suck now, NH shows are cheaper and have much more interesting stuff, no tax and usually better prices. They used to be better but over the past couple of years, MA shows have really gone down the toilet.

TSUSA doesn't make you pay a membership fee. Some do for the 'prime' discount but I don't and still get better pricing than pretty much any shop except maybe Carl's when he has a sale. And for a long time they weren't charging sales tax either so you were ahead of the game in that respect too. Even with the sales tax now they still beat most prices.
 
It won't happen at MF&G, for fear that the insurance would increase significantly.

Braintree R&P did this for members every year. Since Don Kusser ran it, I'm not sure if they are still doing it since Don passed away and I gave up my membership when I thought I'd be moving in early 2019.
I didn't know Don passed, that sucks he was a fellow USAF guy, helped me out a lot back in 2000 with getting my LTC and becoming a member at Braintree. Sorry to hear that. Very nice guy.
 
I didn't know Don passed, that sucks he was a fellow USAF guy, helped me out a lot back in 2000 with getting my LTC and becoming a member at Braintree. Sorry to hear that. Very nice guy.
It was very sad, cancer did him in and he suffered a great deal. Super nice guy and a personal friend for ~40 yrs. He and I worked the GOAL tables at gun shows going back almost that far.
 
The last Marlboro Show I attended, in 1989, was when I had a couple tables there, and I had my FFL, and there were plenty of guns and related items. From what I hear, it's more Hot Sauce, Jerky, and Raffles now. Times have changed for sure.
 
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It was very sad, cancer did him in and he suffered a great deal. Super nice guy and a personal friend for ~40 yrs. He and I worked the GOAL tables at gun shows going back almost that far.
Len, Sorry to hear of the Passing of your long time Friend. Hope you're well since I last saw you. Keep planning that move North..
 
Len, Sorry to hear of the Passing of your long time Friend. Hope you're well since I last saw you. Keep planning that move North..
Thanks. We purchased a house in the Nashua area and have been slowly moving in. My Wife retired last week so we're spending a lot more time in NH than MA, but returning to MA to clean out stuff and move stuff before we call the movers. Once we're totally settled in, we'll be paying you a visit for sure.
 
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