Gun Shows, Shops and Ranges in San Antonio (Temple, Wells: lease, authority)

[TexasRedneck]

hehehehehe.....told wife about all the jewelry vendors there today. She decided *we* need to go in the morning. Looks like I get a second shot at things!

[GEM-Texas]

IHOP isn't known for intellectual acumen. I did see one of the new NAA 22 breaktop minirevolvers. It was very cute and expensive. Otherwise pretty standard stuff. I bought some hard to find ammo for one of my more obscure calibers.

There were a few coin dealers, too. Saw quite a few used Judges - I guess they are joining bought it, shot it once, sold it - crowd. The EMP's in 40SW tempting but not at $1000.

[majormadmax]

GEM

Agreed on both the Judge (a solution to a non-existent problem) and the EMP (nice, but not at that price!). I was also kinda disappointed that one of my favorite vendors, where I get some AK accessories at a decent price, was MIA. I hope he just didn't make it, but the fact that there were no empty tables makes me fear he's bowed out of this show. I'd hate to hear that, as he was a nice guy and we always enjoyed talking to him.

After every show I keep thinking we'll give the next one a miss, as it seems like we end up going anyway. It's kinda like IHOP, their service is slipping but it's still not enough to keep us from going back!

Cheers! M2

[TexasRedneck]

hmmmm.....better half just confirmed she wants to go, so hopefully we'll get outta here by noon. Hopin' it'll be a light crowd 'cuz of the Superbowl! Buddy came by while ago and picked up a pistol I'd had for sale - gives me a *nice* slush fund!!

[Boghaunter]

I went "to" both shows Saturday 5 Feb - disappointed. The first one, off Marbach, in southwest SA was a mess and I didn't go in. The traffic was bad due to inadequate parking and non-existent traffic direction, and I was so disgusted I didn't go in.

You'd think, given the draw, they'd make some kind of arrangement with merchants that share the parking area instead of gouge the $3 parking fee. The show in the north east, in Live Oak on Pat Booker, had plenty of parking. The show was no good, though, with few tables and a third of those flea market-related. I'll remember to avoid both venues.

Edited: I probably should have read about the parking issues before I went. Live and learn. It's a shame - I was both a buyer and a seller. I wanted to sell a nice featherweight M70 7mm-08 and buy a Smith M&P. I'll keep and eye on the posts here to see when they get the parking fixed at the Event Center, then I'll go.

[rd2007]

This show absolutely sucked. Went yesterday with MMM and another friend of mine and was seriously disappointed. The place was packed way too early, selection sucked, and the prices were all jacked up. A Colt Defender I bought a few months ago was up nearly $100 (same vendor) and a WASR UF like mine was $100 more than I paid and in worse condition.
I was happy to get a Glock t-shirt, though, and also picked up a nice leather belt for only $12. I'm thinking I'll never get another gun again because the desire just isn't there anymore.. and most likely never going back to IHOP ever. The food is just pure a$$ and the incompetence associated with splitting a check is unforgiveable. How could it possibly take 10 minutes to split a check three ways? The food is the worst part, though. What they called eggs benedict was a travesty.. The only good thing about them was it kept me full until around 6 PM and I didn't even finish just the eggs..

[Cindy...]

Went to the Marbach location yesterday and purchased a small handgun. The vendor charged me ten percent of the purchase price to use my credit card. When I asked if there was an ATM available, he said he didn't know. I didn't want to make my friends wait, so I paid the extra 10%. I felt the vendor should have mentioned the extra fee upfront and not after all the paperwork was done. Is this a common practice at these gun shows?

[majormadmax]

Cindy

Unfortunately, it is. Vendors try to get you to pay in cash so they show that price instead of including the credit card fees like most places. Others add the fee and offer a "discount" for cash purchases.

However, usually it's only 3% of the total price, 10% is excessive. Would you mind DM'ing me the name of the vendor?

Cheers! M2

[GEM-Texas]

That's a jerk. I bought an expensive case of ammo and got the case discount with a credit card. No problems from the dealer. 10% is crooked. Bah!

[TexasRedneck]

Frankly, I wish they'd post their name on the board - always nice to know who to avoid.