Today I made a trip to the guns show in Mesquite, TX. For those familiar I believe this is not the same as the big town gun show which i have previously attended.
A few observations,
1. Gun prices seem to by up, duh? But I have observed the same thing in regular gun shops and sporting goods stores.
2. The place was packed, and there seemed to be a smaller number of semi-automatic rifles for sale than I normally see for a show of a given size. Supply and demand, see #1
3. There seemed to be more people (attendees) looking to sell firearms than I am used to seeing. Perhaps the economy, or see #1. However the firearms they were selling were not of the type in short suppy, see #2.
4. Sellers of AR15 magazines seem very proud of them.
5. AR15 rifles seem to have risen in price by $300 or so since the fall, perhaps the same applies to some other rifles, but I am not as familiar with others. Since I just upgraded I am going to sell mine.
As a free market believer, I am not complaining about any of this, and did my own gun shopping outside of the show. I went to several sporting goods stores to finally find what i was looking for. I saw one yesterday in the morning and went back in the evening and it was gone. I drove all over town to find and purchase one at a fair price. ($100 less than the cheapest I saw at the gun show)
For those in Dallas looking for firearms, Academy sporting goods seems to have the best prices on firearms. If they have what you are looking for they generally have lower prices than other guns shops I have visited. I have seen cheaper prices on the internet from sellers who don't have items in stock. I have been burned on backorders too many times (locked in a price and then had my order cancelled when the item's price went up) to buy things I want from people who can't supply them promptly
A few observations,
1. Gun prices seem to by up, duh? But I have observed the same thing in regular gun shops and sporting goods stores.
2. The place was packed, and there seemed to be a smaller number of semi-automatic rifles for sale than I normally see for a show of a given size. Supply and demand, see #1
3. There seemed to be more people (attendees) looking to sell firearms than I am used to seeing. Perhaps the economy, or see #1. However the firearms they were selling were not of the type in short suppy, see #2.
4. Sellers of AR15 magazines seem very proud of them.
5. AR15 rifles seem to have risen in price by $300 or so since the fall, perhaps the same applies to some other rifles, but I am not as familiar with others. Since I just upgraded I am going to sell mine.
As a free market believer, I am not complaining about any of this, and did my own gun shopping outside of the show. I went to several sporting goods stores to finally find what i was looking for. I saw one yesterday in the morning and went back in the evening and it was gone. I drove all over town to find and purchase one at a fair price. ($100 less than the cheapest I saw at the gun show)
For those in Dallas looking for firearms, Academy sporting goods seems to have the best prices on firearms. If they have what you are looking for they generally have lower prices than other guns shops I have visited. I have seen cheaper prices on the internet from sellers who don't have items in stock. I have been burned on backorders too many times (locked in a price and then had my order cancelled when the item's price went up) to buy things I want from people who can't supply them promptly