Need info on gun shows

[baron41]

Hi everyone. I'm new here and need some info on gun shows. I haven't been to one before and was wondering:
1) Are there good buys on handguns at these shows?
2) When you buy a gun at a show, do they also have to call it in to the state of Pa, like they do at gun shops?
3) Do they accept credit/debit cards, or is it strictly cash?
I'm looking at the gun show at Hidden Valley Sportsmen's Club in W. Middlesex,Pa next weekend. I live near Beaver Falls.

Any other info you could give me would be appreciated.

Baron41

[The_War_Wagon]

Hi everyone. I'm new here and need some info on gun shows. I haven't been to one before and was wondering:
1) Are there good buys on handguns at these shows?
2) When you buy a gun at a show, do they also have to call it in to the state of Pa, like they do at gun shops?
3) Do they accept credit/debit cards, or is it strictly cash?
I'm looking at the gun show at Hidden Valley Sportsmen's Club in W. Middlesex,Pa next weekend. I live near Beaver Falls.

Any other info you could give me would be appreciated.

Baron41

1) Sometimes...
2) Yes.
3) MANY do.

Washington Co. Fairgrounds hosts 4 shows a year that aren't too bad (especially for ammo!) - it's be just a quick jaunt down 79 for ya'. Come take a peek around next show!

[bluedog46]

I have been to a couple. Most of the handguns were similar to what you find in a shop without paying for admission. I did see some good deals on sks rifles though.

my understanding is that most do the background check. I fail to see the gunshow loophole that most communist liberals talk about.

At the ones i have gone to its 50/50

Someone told me the valley forge show in PA is one of thte better ones in the area

[schmol]

As stated above:

Sometimes you can
Yes
they do take plastic, but charge you more, so cheaper if you pay cash...

[Black Sheep]

The biggest advantage I've found is variety. Prices on guns themselve are generally in the vicinity of what you'll see in gun shops (with the occasional outlier), but you'll often have a better selection, particularly if you're looking for something used. I went to the Centre Hall, PA, gun show yesterday, and while the handgun selection wasn't as good as I've seen at other shows, there were a couple of high points (including a few nice old S&Ws that I wouldn't have minded adding to my meager collection). The rifle selection was very good, IMO - I haven't seen that many Savage 99s for a while, and there were some nice old .22s.

You can usually find a wider variety of ammo and accessories than you can at gun shops, with some deals. I was dissapointed that there weren't more holsters at the Centre Hall show (usually at least one or two guys have bins of used holsters that you can dig through and find a good buy or two), but the ammo selection was very good.

If nothing else, a bad day spend wandering around looking at guns still beats a good day at work.

[fastfive0]

I have been to a couple. Most of the handguns were similar to what you find in a shop without paying for admission. I did see some good deals on sks rifles though.

my understanding is that most do the background check. I fail to see the gunshow loophole that most communist liberals talk about.

At the ones i have gone to its 50/50

Someone told me the valley forge show in PA is one of thte better ones in the area

I believe the "loophole" to which they speak of is the public to public selling of handguns in virginia i believe, where there is no background check required. Similiar to long guns sales in Pa when going from person to person.

[baron41]

Thanks for the info!
I doubt if we'll be buying a gun this weekend. I mainly want to give my wife a chance to handle a few of them to see what feels good to her. We both just completed the basic pistol course in Beaver Falls and our problem is that not knowing others that shoot, we want to handle and fire a few handguns to find out what we'd like to own.

Sure wish there was a range around here that rented guns, but the closest one is over 60 miles away. Also, we're concerned about "racking the slide" problems because we're both seniors and don't have the strength we used to.

I kind of jumped the gun (so to speak) and bought a pistol before we went to the class. I bought a Ruger SR9C and it's a nice looking gun, but the wife can't rack the slide and it's about all I can do to rack it too. I haven't fired it yet, bought it about a month ago.

[Nate7667]

This is where is nice small framed revolver shines.
No slide to worry about.
Take a look at any of the S&W lines of Small Frame (J-Frame)
A hammer-less or single action/double action hammer gun would be worth looking into.
There are also many other manufactures out there that offer 38spl, 327Fed, 357mag
The 357mag may be a bit much, but you can shoot 38spl out through it for practice.

First thing you need to figure out is this gun for home protection, daily carry, a range gun as a hobby. Then your next step will be picking the right tool for the job.

[baron41]

Thanks Nate. We both fired revolvers at the class and I also fired a Glock semi. Both of us prefer the feel of a semi. Seems to fit our hands better. Wife is petite and probably won't want anything too large caliber. That's why I want to take her to a show so she can handle a few guns. I'd sure like to be able to shoot a few before buying another one (or two), but I guess that's not gonna be feasible.
I contacted the instructor down at the gun club where we took the class, but he said they don't offer anything open to the public for shooting, so...

[ByAnyMeans]

Thanks Nate. We both fired revolvers at the class and I also fired a Glock semi. Both of us prefer the feel of a semi. Seems to fit our hands better. Wife is petite and probably won't want anything too large caliber. That's why I want to take her to a show so she can handle a few guns. I'd sure like to be able to shoot a few before buying another one (or two), but I guess that's not gonna be feasible.
I contacted the instructor down at the gun club where we took the class, but he said they don't offer anything open to the public for shooting, so...

Check some other gun ranges around you, they may offer rental guns. This will allow you to see if you can rack the slide and how the recoil is. A friend of mine could not rack my Glock 9mm and hated the recoil but was fine with both on a five inch 1911 so you never know.