West Springfield June 6-7, 2015

[FPrice]

Looked but could not find anything about this weekend's scheduled West Springfield Gun Show.

There is a major traffic interruption schedule with the closure of the Memorial Bridge (the major route into West Springfield from I-91). Could cause problems.

http://wwlp.com/2015/06/04/memorial-ave-rotary-road-closures/

The $1 coupon from NortheastGunShows shows a detour but I would expect the traffic to be horrible.

http://www.northeastgunshows.com/

 

[ChrisNH]

Thanks for the negativity. That will encourage customers.

 

[FPrice]

Thanks for the negativity. That will encourage customers.

If you think THAT was negative, wait until some of the folks who don't like this show chime in.

 

[Wildweasel]

yea Frosty how dare you warn people.. LOL

 

[willbdavis]

Remember: pay to park, very little ammo/powder/primers in the outside tent, few vendors (because of crappy for numbers because of all of the above).

But the food is somewhat better than most venues.

 

[FPrice]

yea Frosty how dare you warn people.. LOL

Yeah, I'm just bad to the bone.

Remember: pay to park, very little ammo/powder/primers in the outside tent, few vendors (because of crappy for numbers because of all of the above).

But the food is somewhat better than most venues.

Umm, I support this gun show more than most but even I DON'T recommend the food there. Go a mile down the road after leaving and go to the White Hut.

 

[wmass]

^ This

 

[drgrant]

Thanks for the negativity. That will encourage customers.

It's already the worst gun show venue in MA, There is nothing anyone could say that could actually make it any worse or make any less people show up that don't already go.

The only redeeming things about this show is its in Western-Ish MA and it is "late" in the season.

-Mike

 

[TFLeader]

Thanks for the negativity. That will encourage customers.

Is that good or bad?

Depends if you are buying or selling I guess.

 

[5gear]

years ago this was a good show. have things changed, or are you guys just not that into military firearms?

 

[FPrice]

If you think THAT was negative, wait until some of the folks who don't like this show chime in.

And.....

It's already the worst gun show venue in MA, There is nothing anyone could say that could actually make it any worse or make any less people show up that don't already go.

The only redeeming things about this show is its in Western-Ish MA and it is "late" in the season.

-Mike

I guess I missed the poll that voted on best and worst gun Massachusetts gun shows. "Western-Ish MA"? Only to someone on the NY border maybe. We also have three shows a year so I'm not sure why this one is "late".

Most of the complaining about West Springfield probably comes from people in the "Eastern-Ish" part of the state who think traveling west is a problem.

The venue we are in is bigger than just about any other I have seen and really set up better for shows than most. Yeah it costs to park. It also costs a lot to keep this venue in business. And they have a "No ammo" rule in the main building. If you have problems with that, well I guess you have problems. If gun shows ever make a come back to this god-forsaken state, West Springfield will have more room to expand than any other venue I can think of.

I have gone to Marlboro and wasn't all that impressed. And I spent more money in gas to get there and back than you would spend to park here.

Every time I go to this show it has been well attended. There are a lot of people out in "Western-Ish MA" who like to go to gun shows and would probably make disparaging remarks about "Eastern-Ish MA" gun shows. If they even thought about those shows.

But hey, no one is going to try to make you feel bad about not attending. Just that much more for us to pick and choose from.

Have a good day now.

 

[FalArAk]

Did anyone mention the Nazis that set up shop in the rear of the building playing marching music and selling cassettes.Other than the fact that that show is usually half full of tables,one ammo dealer outside,it really is a great show.

 

[SKS Ray]

It's already the worst gun show venue in MA, There is nothing anyone could say that could actually make it any worse or make any less people show up that don't already go.

The only redeeming things about this show is its in Western-Ish MA and it is "late" in the season.

-Mike

Probably still better than the last Plymouth show.

Honestly the only reason I don't go to Springfield is because like mentioned, it's a hike from where I live. If I find a few people willing to go, I'll go Sunday. Stuff like the parking fee and ammo in the tent doesn't bother me enough to not go to a show.

 

[Eric H]

I plan on going down there early this afternoon with the family. The Lady is into the Scrapbooking show, I'm into the gun show, everybody's happy.

 

[Eric H]

Is another else having issues trying to view the "Detour Map?"

 

[willbdavis]

Umm, I support this gun show more than most but even I DON'T recommend the food there. Go a mile down the road after leaving and go to the White Hut.

I didn't say the food was any good. I said it was better than the other shows.

 

[MachineHead]

I didn't say the food was any good. I said it was better than the other shows.

Whenever I'm in that area, I make a point to grab a slice at Nicky's Pizza in Agawam, I think. Great pizza the size of Nebraska.

 

[TFLeader]

Any reports?

 

[jdesro]

We got there a little after 9AM. There wasn't a very large crowd there, which is good - you could actually get close to the vendor tables to look at stuff. Only problem was, there were not a lot of vendor tables to look at.

They have this show in the Young building, which is quite a bit smaller than the Better Living Center where they have the other gun shows, and they couldn't even fill the Young building up with tables. It seems that a lot of the vendors that usually go to the other shows were missing from this one.

As with most gunshows nowadays, actual deals were few and far between. Prices weren't necessarily horrible, but some things did seem a bit higher in price than you would see at the more popular Mass. gunstores.

I think I got a very good price on a used M&P, plus it is always fun just to look at and fondle a lot of the different things you get to see at these shows, so for me it was worth the trip (a whole 15 min. drive).

 

[drgrant]

I guess I missed the poll that voted on best and worst gun Massachusetts gun shows. "Western-Ish MA"? Only to someone on the NY border maybe. We also have three shows a year so I'm not sure why this one is "late".

It's late cause it's basically the last one of the season, that's not a ding, it's a fact. My "Western ish" comment is based on knowing people from western MA giving me shit if you call Springfield "Western Mass".

Most of the complaining about West Springfield probably comes from people in the "Eastern-Ish" part of the state who think traveling west is a problem.

For me traveling is not a problem. I've gone further than that for tiny, crappier shows, even. (like the teeny one in Brattleboro VT).

The venue we are in is bigger than just about any other I have seen and really set up better for shows than most.

It's bigger than the others but the thing is like never more than half full. It's like having Gillette stadium for a concert but only selling 2000 tickets, a lot of good that does. At one show I worked some kids of some of the vendors were riding little scooters and ride on toys around in the huge amount of unused space in the building, and they didn't get in the way of anyone, that's how much empty space there was in there.

Yeah it costs to park. It also costs a lot to keep this venue in business.And they have a "No ammo" rule in the main building. If you have problems with that, well I guess you have problems.

I think all of those things are helping to slowly kill this particular gun show, plus a bunch of other things.

If gun shows ever make a come back to this god-forsaken state, West Springfield will have more room to expand than any other venue I can think of.

Buy a powerball ticket, your odds are better, unless the promoter gets a clue or gets replaced.

I have gone to Marlboro and wasn't all that impressed. And I spent more money in gas to get there and back than you would spend to park here.

Not that impressed even though there's like an easy 25% more vendors and stuff to buy? (and that's being conservative).

Every time I go to this show it has been well attended.

I guess it depends on your definition of well attended.

I've worked the show like 3 times now and each time it was a snorefest, although in one case there was a blizzard so that could account for poor attendance, I'll give them a pass on that one. My definition of "well attended" is "shitload of people till 1 pm on Saturday" and recent experiences have not shown that. Wilmington and Marlboro on average get much better crowds.

There are a lot of people out in "Western-Ish MA" who like to go to gun shows and would probably make disparaging remarks about "Eastern-Ish MA" gun shows. If they even thought about those shows.

But hey, no one is going to try to make you feel bad about not attending. Just that much more for us to pick and choose from.

Have a good day now.

I guess I'm just biased having worked at these things and attended a few zillion of them. West Springfield used to be the best in MA about 10 years ago (full building, shitloads of people, shitloads of vendors, pretty much everything you could ever want- but it continually gets worse and worse as time goes by. Distance isn't a problem for myself at least. If I wasn't busy this past weekend I probably would have gone for the hell of it, even if it is a shadow of its former self. I just wish they would dump the big E and put it anywhere else. I think between the parking and the jackassery by the promoters and the venue people it's scaring vendors (and attendees) away.

I guess I just don't see the need to polish a turd. I'm just calling it like I see it. I'm glad western MA still has a show, I really am, I just wish it was a lot better than it is now. There is quite obviously a calculus of bad factors in play there.

I also don't care if anyone makes fun of eastern MA gun shows, either. I don't have any skin in the game in that
regard. When I go to these shows (regardless of location) I pretty much expect the worst so I won't feel let down and might even get pleasantly surprised once in awhile.

-Mike

 

[drgrant]

Probably still better than the last Plymouth show.

Honestly the only reason I don't go to Springfield is because like mentioned, it's a hike from where I live. If I find a few people willing to go, I'll go Sunday. Stuff like the parking fee and ammo in the tent doesn't bother me enough to not go to a show.

I would have gone Saturday if I wasn't tied up most of the day, I probably would have spent about 30 minutes there, but even with the deterioration of that place, you never know who is gonna show up and what they might have. A crap show can also work in your favor when trying to roll a deal or in terms of "the good stuff" sticking around a little longer than it would normally. Hell nowadays I go to them more for social aspect than anything else, I run into so many old-school NES folks at these things its fun to catch up.

-Mike

 

[FPrice]

We could probably debate this issue forever and still not come to any consensus. Let's just be glad that we still have gun shows in this state, no matter how bad they may be.