Portland Gun Show - R.I.P

[TheHumungus]

I just left the PDX gun show at the Expo Center and I feel like I just left the hospital after visiting a dying friend for the last time. It had been a year or so since I last went.

Paying for parking and admission to basically look at Keith's Guns inventory just isn't worth the bother any more.

I get that the days of panic buying are over, and that the gun business is a brutal, low margin endeavor, but I've been attending gun shows for over 40 years, and there's just not much meat on them bones any longer.

Not complaining, just sad to see its demise.

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[Bobbay]

Beautifully said, the Wes Knodel and Collectors west shows have been a joke for a few years. I would place them below a swap meet or flea market.

 

[clearconscience]

Yeah I stopped going 10 years ago.

just overpriced basics you can find at any local gun store.

it's mostly the LGS and their used firearms at almost retail pricing. Not to mention the premium you pay just to park and get in.

your better off surfing the classifieds here

 

[nwslopoke]

I would hate to see the death of these shows even if their usefulness is so so right now. The what ifs comes to mind. Most local gun shops are either in someone's house/garage or an over priced brick and mortar. How long will it last? Most fell to big box stores which no longer carry the guns you want.

If the laws continue their downward spiral in a few years we'll be saying how great gun shows were and reminisce about jerky and t-shirts. I don't go to PDX but I still go a few times a year to some of the cheaper ones like Albany and Rickreall. You might find a gem like a cc Fanny pack or cheap knockoff knife. Sticking it to Amazon whenever possible.

 

[Geardo]

Gun shows died when you could no longer do private party sales without a BCG. If I have to pay for a BCG/Transfer anyway I would rather buy online at better prices.

 

[MountainBear]

I used to drive from Bend to Portland just for this show. But I haven't gone in many years. Being $20 into it before I get in the door to see a bunch of new guns just isn't worth it. I miss the days where there was piles of parts and tables full of $5 holsters. Like someone above said, nothing really wrong with Keith and his traveling gun shop, but that's never what I went to shows for.
I'll spend the extra $5-$10 and support my LGS before I go online or to a gun show.

 

[slimmer13]

I think that online competition did to gun shows the same thing it did to many brick and mortar stores.

I also think that vendors probably snatch up any decent deals amongst themselves before the door opens rendering the shows pretty much pointless.

 

[TheHumungus]

A good half of my collection was picked up at a gun show. Some great deals, some not so great deals but were impulse buys, and there were always guns at the gun show I'd admire and dream about owning some day. But now, it's basically a flea market. Only thing that stays the same is change.

 

[RVTECH]

Never been to The Portland gun show but have been to some pretty large one in other places in the past.

One of the best I was ever at was in Oklahoma City many years ago.

Used to 'do' Redmond, OR routinely but it too has gone downhill.

Interestingly we have two a year in LaPine - one at the Sr. Center and the other put on by the city.
Nothing major but kinda reminiscent of the 'past' with hobby type vendors bringing used stuff, vintage and lots of interesting gun related gear & other stuff. Small but fun for an hour or so. Nice people, small town-ish 'attitude'.

 

[HA556]

Only thing that stays the same is change.

Truest thing I've heard all year!

 

[gmerkt]

As gun laws keep getting tighter and tighter, eventually gun commerce will get strangled. For multiple reasons. Eliminating private sales has killed at lot of gun commerce. Many people don't want to do the paperwork, pay the fees, buy another gun the state has a record of, endure the waiting period here in Wash. Then there is this:

impulse buys,

This is a killer for many sales that used to take place between private persons at gun shows.

Dealers are also getting strangled by the new laws. Many potential buyers realize that guns are becoming more illiquid as an asset and don't want to buy any more of them. They don't want to buy more items that they cannot easily sell if it becomes necessary.

As time passes there may be fewer and fewer dealers. Because they simply can't make a successful business out of it. That combined with elimination of private sales results in very limited gun commerce. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this was likely a goal of recent gun restrictions to begin with.

As to panic sales, I wouldn't rule out another round of that. Even given compliance with recent new laws now in effect. Here in Wash., the powers that be are talking about further limits on "assault rifles" and ammunition "regulation." If and when any such new laws go into effect, it won't be immediate. There will be some effective date delay, however brief. That interim may spark a panic buying session.

The other thing is what happens in DC in the future. With the rash of mass shootings, a dam of new federal gun control laws is waiting to burst. If the other side takes over, this is almost inevitable.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

its all about the ARPC show in albany!

though, some of the old coots must not realize the internet exists and if they expect to sell anything they might want to take that into account when pricing stuff out!

 

[CountryGent]

I haven't done gun shows since at least the late 2000s. They became a total waste of time. I know my wife went to one without me shortly after that, but since then neither of us have bothered. Meh, to each their own.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Talking with the vendors and the attendees at the local shows...its seems the BGC has killed off the gun show.

In my view...its the BGC and too much of the same guns or type of guns on what seems like everyone's table.

I used to do a lot of buying and trading before the BGC Law...
It was fun finding a .22 rifle or shotgun...fixing it up , shooting it for a year or so...then trading it off for another project gun...Unfortunately those days are long gone....
Which is too bad as one could get a lot of experience with different guns and actions, without much outlay of cash.

Even my favorite gun show , the big black powder show in Monroe has showed signs of "dying out"...
Its still fairly big and you can still find some interesting items , but ...
The days of the really big shows with many more vendors and folks showing up with something to sell or trade have been declining , sad to say.
Andy

 

[RVTECH]

I used to do a lot of buying and trading before the BGC Law...

Oh man! same here !
Probably 5-7 guns a year - buy, shoot, sell or trade.

Along with the other reasons for gun show decline SB 941 in Oregon was the catalyst.

 

[TheHumungus]

Talking with the vendors and the attendees at the local shows...its seems the BGC has killed off the gun show.

In my view...its the BGC and too much of the same guns or type of guns on what seems like everyone's table.

I agree the BGC law played a big part in it, but I really agree with your 2nd point about the same type of guns. Variety is the spice of life.

 

[Whisky Tahoe]

Without realizing it, I have replaced going to the gun show with forums like this one and their classifieds. The weekly Gun.deals newsletter seems to be having the same effect on Gunbroker.com. Club swap meets might be the ticket for getting together with members to tell stories and swap gear. I do miss going to the shows but I agree with the OP that the last couple have been real duds

 

[CountryGent]

I agree the BGC law played a big part in it, but I really agree with your 2nd point about the same type of guns. Variety is the spice of life.

Agreed. One of the things that made me stop going was gone were the days you could find unique, novel, historical, etc. items and instead only saw the same plastic, striker-fired automatics and ARs. Not there is anything wrong with that; I just found it dull. And prices were no better than online, so, meh.

 

[oremike]

I'm a vendor that goes to gun shows, and I'm not at Portland this weekend. But before that I'm a shooting enthusiast from way back. I go to shows to see cool stuff and maybe find something I didn't know I needed until I saw it. The promoter shows are not being promoted well and have the same camp follower dealers. This has caused a stagnation to happen.
Background checks, I don't really have a problem with the principle of the checks being to keep guns out of the hands that shouldn't have them. I don't like dealers charging random fees to do the paper work. I think the State police should have a table at every show doing the checks for the 10 buck fee.
I don't know what the answer is but have a couple ideas one would be to remove the sigma around guns by allowing firearms and shooting sports into the outdoor/ hunting and fishing shows. When's the last time you saw a Bass boat with an optional duck blind camo cover turning it into a two season hole in the water to throw money into. Next why aren't the local gun clubs at the shows promoting there differnt events, notice I said promote not just hand out tri fold brochures.

 

[Capn Jack]

I quit going to the gun show in Monroe when I was informed that they only sold firearms to club members.
The Wes Knodel and Collectors west shows are a joke. If I want a new firearm at retail, I'll take my business
to my local gun shop.