I had the opportunity to go the Crossroads of the West gun show at the Cashman Center in Las Vegas this weekend; while I was there it seems that Tamara was at the Indy 1500 show back home. Having now been to both, I can say that the Crossroads show pales in comparison to the 1500.
In terms of size, it was about 1/3 to 1/2 the size of the Indy show, with the accompying reduction in dealers present. I did find a few C&R steals, so it was probably a good thing for my wallet that I neglected to bring a copy of my FFL with me, so I couldn’t purchase anything other than black powder firearms. I was actually there looking for a ’60 Colt Army to go with my ’58 Remington, but the only ones they had (all 2) were really overpriced. I did almost buy a .36 Navy Colt with a brass frame – but I really had my heart set on a .44.
In terms of other guns, there were loads and loads of black rifles/AKs, all of which were going for way over what they had been not 6 months ago (the last time I went to a gun show). I guess everyone is stocking up for the possibility of an anti-gun presidency, and I don’t blame them.
I did see some stuff that I had never seen before at a gun show.
- A Nation of Riflemen T-Shirt from Kim du Toit‘s place.
- A guy with literally three cases of Lugers for sale.
- Another guy with three cases of Broomhandle Mausers.
- A Che Guevara flag.
With regard to that last bit, it sort of threw me for a loop. It was at the same table as “that guy” who is at every gun show with his flag collection, ranging from Don’t Tread on Me flags, to Nazi SS flags, and apparently a Che Guevara flag. Not only did it not fit in with the rest of his flags, it didn’t really fit in with the usual crowd that you’d see at a gun show. Needless to say, flags celebrating communist revolutionary mass murderers are not something I’d expect to see at a gun show.
If I were scoring the difference between my real home city (Indy) and my temporary city (Vegas), in the all important gun show category, Indy would be ahead 1-0. Honestly, for the 12 bucks it cost me to get in, I honestly didn’t feel like I got my money’s worth.
Vegas, eh? I’d be willing to bet that guy with the Lugers was the same guy who was at one of the Boise shows before Christmas. It was a nice treat to see something different for a change. Same show had a guy with nearly as impressive a collection of Garands. How big are the shows in Indy? We get 250 or so tables here (tables, not dealers). And I noticed the price increases on EBRs and ammo as well. Availability still good, but prices, not so much.