After-The-Gun-Show Report - Fremont County WY

[Watchman]

This is a short, haphazard report of the annual Memorial Day Gun Show in Fremont County Wyoming. We had set up a couple of tables there to sell military memorabilia. First, a few observations on the military items. Nine out of ten of ALL of our customers were Vietnam vets (Don't Let The Gray Hair Fool You, We Can Still Kick Ass). My son and I (he is also an AF vet) TRIED TO ENGAGE ALL THE VETS IN TALK, to sort of find out what their concerns and fears were. Regarding the Vietnam vets about half of them talked about where they served in nam but not the details. The most talkative were the Gulf, Iraq and Afghan vets. They acted as if they were clueless as to what is going on in the world, or they are well-trained to turn fire on their fellow citizens. Maybe the Vietnam era vets were the last of the military with un-brainwashed minds. Vietnam vets kept their cards close to their chest.

There was no shortage of ammunition and weapons though ammo was a little pricey. I was looking at re-loading supplies and noticed that an 8-pound jug of black powder was selling at various vendors for $225.00 and up. I don't know how that compares to other gun shows. One curious thing was bags and bags of brass. I thought this was scarce?

One vendor had three pristine AK-47s and they were sold for cash within an hour. I don't know what the average price is but my son told me they sold for $1400 each. Does that sound high or a bargain?

Pistols were aplenty, as well as shotguns and hunting rifles. There was an especially large supply of high caliber revolvers. One large room off of the main hall had the "hard" weapons, not black powder muskets or similar, and it was full of tables and people.

My overall assessment of this one local show is that people are scared as hell and are stocking up. This applies to all social spectrums and lifestyles. I noticed two lesbians stocking up on ammo. Native Americans were out in force and buying supplies. Though I wasn't really looking too hard (I could give a damn less about them) there were probably feds galore and their $%^&* stooges.

Gun shows are a barometer as to the rising temperature of the country.

[Toepopper]

This is typical of gun shows across the entire country. The price on those AKs was sky high. Not too long ago they were $350 but the demand is there and people are willing to pay through the nose rather than not be armed. Here where I live certain people have gone into the used brass business, going to ranges and picking up spent cases that are left behind by people who don't re-load or realize the value of the empty brass. There are piles of brass cases of any caliber for sale at the local gun shows. One item that is still scarce is 22 ammunition and the few boxes being located and bought are of poor quality with many not going bang when the trigger is pulled. As for the vets, many are not communicating with strangers, afraid to tip their hand and be identified as a vet, even the older VN vets are not saying much for fear of being identified by some alphabet soup bureaucrat.

[308gun]

The Ak in my area goes for $400. to $600. , so yes that was sky high , was it a private sale , no records ??

[Toepopper]

Yesterday I went to a local gun show in Roseburg Oregon to see how many firearms were actually being sold. Did not see a single transaction due in part to the passage of new legislation (114) which was supposedly voted in by the people of Oregon last November. The background checks are taking anywhere from 3 to 6 months because of the backlog caused by panic buys. None of the large vendors were present, they have sold their stock and won't purchase any new stock due to this new bill which is currently being challenged in the courts. Many mom and pop gun stores have folded which was the intent of the fascist anti-American attorney general. Lots of customers were sounding off about this current situation and how a handful of nutcakes have usurped the constitution. The guns I did see for sale were high priced as their value has skyrocketed since this new bill passed. No primers anywhere, some brass and odds and ends and a low turnout of potential customers.