Gunshow Swapping & Gun Snobbery

I had heard through the grapevine there was a gunshow in town today. Somehow, I had missed all the signs and radio spots. Thankfully, a member of The High Road asked me if I was going, and I put it on my schedule. I wasn't able to be there when the doors opened to the convention center this morning, but I did make it by noon. I brought along my Kahr K40 as trade fodder.

I was shocked at some of the guns I saw. Several guns looked like they had been beaten up with the ugly stick. Beretta had a new monstrosity out named the Beretta 90 Two. It looked like an overpriced tennis shoe with a light rail to me. Like it or not, the Beretta 92FS was a fine, functional gun. This thing is a fashion nightmare. I looked over several Desert Tan HK USPs and Glocks, as well as a Desert Tan Walther P99. The light colored tan plastic instantly looked cheap and flimsy. I was amazed that anyone would buy those. Moving along, I came to a selection of Hi Point 9mm Carbines. This rifle is supposedly a reliable shooter, but it has always been about as ugly as a garfish with a fungus. It seemed, however, that Hi Point was not content with the ugly rifle award. They cast some of the stocks in black and tan swirly plastic reminiscent of Franzanite handgun grips. The result was stunningly horrid. The seller called it camo. I call it something else. I felt a primordial urge to upchuck the chilli dog I had consumed outside the doors for lunch. Finally, I decided to check out some Kahr pistols to see what was available. Kahr has apparently launched a line of low buck pistols to compete with KelTec and Bersa. The CW line of Kahr pistols appeared universally cheap, with flashing poking out of the plastic, and crudely stamped markings on the slides. These plastic pistols, the Kahr CW9 and CW40 were each priced at $399. They were nowhere near the quality of the K40 I carried, not even close. It is good to see Kahr making pistols at a lower price point, but I hope it does not harm perceptions of their previous offerings. I don't mean to sound like a gun snob, but damn these things, from the tan HK to the low budget Kahr, all looked cheap!

As I passed the tables, I came upon a seller who had a Colt Combat Commander up for grabs. It was a Series 70 Model with the lightened slide finished in original electroless nickel. It wore Pachmayr rubber grips. The pistol was in good shape showing very little wear, but it was not pristine. I asked if I could examine the pistol and received the go ahead. I checked it out using my series of 1911 checks. I received permission to field strip the Commander, and everything checked good. I reassembled it and continued under the seller's watchful eye. It had a nice trigger, and it was priced attractively at $675.

I offered my Kahr to the seller, and he laughed. I revealed 2 hundred dollar bills as well, and he agreed to the trade. It was ironic, arriving at the gunshow with a Kahr pistol in electroless nickel with rubber grips, and leaving with a Colt in the same finish and grip material. Now, the decision will be whether to customize or not.......