An Evening at the Gun Show

Years ago, I purchased my first Smith & Wesson revolver, a Model 49, at a gun show. That was almost a decade ago, and I paid an even $200. Tonight, I saw a Model 49 tagged at $425. I also spotted a walker carrying a Smith & Wesson Model 40, the snubbie with a grip safety. Unfortunately, he would not give me a price on it. I later saw that he had sold it to a dealer, who tagged it at $500.

It was a Smith & Wesson free for all. There was a Model 18-4 with diamond magnas and the box for $575, a Model 48-2 unfired, for $700, and a Model 14-3 for $400. There was a round butt blued 9mm Smith & Wesson Model 547 up for grabs at $650. A Model 28 with a bit of muzzle wear was offered at $400. There were several two and a half inch Pythons commanding a princely price of over $1200. Unfortunately, the prices were all hopeful, and half the show was Chinese knife beanie baby crap. The show was well advertised, much more than the last show, but there seemed to be less selection.

Cussin' Bob found a buyer for his Mini 14 with the folding stock. Bob had been carrying it at the last three shows. He finally accepted $525 for it. I went out to the car and got my XD9 and brought it inside to try to liquidate. It was in good shape, and had two 10 round mags as well as the box. I had one fellow from out of town offer me $325 for it several times, and in retrospect, I probably should have accepted, but I was wanting $350. Finally, with my feet barking from a long day at work and a couple of hours crawling the show, I decided to toss in the towel and maybe try again tomorrow.