Oaks, PA Dec 14-16

[Walleye Hunter]

Not quite Walleye. Close though. The old Ft. Washington show was put on by MAAC at the old Honeywell building. The old Valley Forge show at the KOP Convention center was put on by The Valley Forge Gun Show promoter. When MAAC lost the Honeywell Building they tried moving the show to where it is now. It seemed to lose some momentum when it moved and as the gentleman who ran MAAC was wanting to retire, didn't push the show as hard as he could have. Eagle Arms bought the Oaks show from MAAC about the same time as VFGS lost the KOP Convention center to the casino renovation (Blach!) and they had to move to some sports complex which was a wholly inadequate facility. That show faded out due to ill health and an untimely passing of one of the operators. Eagle Arms has grown the Oaks Show to where it is currently.

I'm familiar with the history as I was there as a vendor for all the transitions and rises and falls of these particular shows. I REALLY miss the old KOP show. A sad demise for what was the best all around gun show in Eastern Pa.

Thanks for all that. So...it was just coincidence that when one went down the next came up. I like the proximity of Oaks the best, it's easy in, easy out for me.

[ScotsGuards]

Yes, that's pretty much what happened. Good and bad fortune, timely opportunities and coincidences combined in a relatively short time frame.

[bug]

If you're really bored, all of the history is right here in the archives of this gun show forum. For example, go back 51 pages or so and see the post in a 2011 thread. Kind of funny, too. Jeff, there was a guy giving you grief because there was only one men's room at an early Oaks show.

[Gunsnwater]

Oaks is the remnants of the Ft. Washington show from the days of old. When the former Honeywell Bldg in Ft. Washington got re-purposed the show moved to the Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia for a few years...two floors, lots of vendors...then when Pennco moved out of that Oaks facility it got re-incarnated into The Philadelphia Expo Center and the rest is history.

They were all good shows, lots of memories. Do you remember the old Allentown show, I think it was in a Road way. It was the first show I ever went to, big show, it lasted years then died. I went to every show wherever it was after that first one. Took me a little time to realize size matters. the smallest show I ever went to was in a room off a hallway. We were lined up single file all the way in, around one u turn and back out.

[Bow2no1]

Anyone else notice the guy in the front selling AK parts seems really high. I don't say anything, just keep it to myself. Everything is high and some as much as double what you can buy it for other places.
It's to bad. I understand people need to make they're money. But gees...

[Bang]

Wonder what happened to those machine guns taken from the dealer's vehicle after the VFCC show.

[mrat]

In my experience, just look for the longest line to get in the front door.

Went in the afternoon, no line. Looked for the cop car.

[abner13]

Anyone else notice the guy in the front selling AK parts seems really high. I don't say anything, just keep it to myself. Everything is high and some as much as double what you can buy it for other places.
It's to bad. I understand people need to make they're money. But gees...

Gun shows are now big business. Table fees are up there , and it's a lot of work.
I started going to guns shows when there were mostly hobby-types , collectors , old gun dudes. Ya know the good tables with a bunch of old parts just dumped in boxes or loosely on the tables. Kinda like swap meets used to be. Never knew what ya could find. Shows were in union halls (Labor Lyceum), VFW or Am Legion posts , churches , shriner's (LuLu Temple) and fire dept banquet halls , etc. Old cigar-smoking guys would sit out front with a pocket full of money just waiting to see what would guns folks would walk in looking to be sold. Not a lot of new retail dealers back then. Lots of ''kitchen-table FFLs'' back then too.

[ForeverPA]

I also noticed some out of state dealers selling their guns through PA dealers. Not sure if it's legal.

[Bow2no1]

Gun shows are now big business. Table fees are up there , and it's a lot of work.
I started going to guns shows when there were mostly hobby-types , collectors , old gun dudes. Ya know the good tables with a bunch of old parts just dumped in boxes or loosely on the tables. Kinda like swap meets used to be. Never knew what ya could find. Shows were in union halls (Labor Lyceum), VFW or Am Legion posts , churches , shriner's (LuLu Temple) and fire dept banquet halls , etc. Old cigar-smoking guys would sit out front with a pocket full of money just waiting to see what would guns folks would walk in looking to be sold. Not a lot of new retail dealers back then. Lots of ''kitchen-table FFLs'' back then too.

Ya, I get that. I don't want to badger anyone for making profit. I understand at some point prices will be a little higher. I guess one example was a triangle AK stock he had. I asked, is it Izzy, Bulgarian, tula. Looked Izzy to me, but I'm not 100%.. he said he didn't know. Then I asked is the pin 4.5 or 5.5? He said he just knows they're Russian.
Ok, then I asked what do you need to get for one?
He said buck and a quarter.
I just handed it back and said thank you.

I need a 4.5 pin, I can pick them up for $60-$75 pretty easily. 5.5's right around the same money for Izzy and Bulgarian. Tula's are a more because they're rare.
Those are about a Buck and quarter.

If he had some info and it was a 4.5 pin. I would have given him 70-80ish cash. 90 would have been pushing it.

It's not just the stock, gees the prices where high on all of it. With no info... I'll look, but in don't think I can afford to buy anything from him.