Gun Show Report

Attend the Fort Worth Gun show at the Will Rogers' Coliseum - some place I haven't been since they had wrestling back in the 70s.

Parking wasn't an issue, I parked in a back lot and walked a couple hundred yards to get to the exhibit hall. I carried concealed (since I was hoping to try out some holster options), the police manning the entry table didn't bat an eye, just put a tie down through the barrel and action. Never saw an argument, not a harsh word or argument over the safety precautions.

It was a packed house, I stood in the middle of the room and took shots facing either direction.






I don't know if it is just the combination of Texas manners, friendly gunnies, or just people's natural good nature but as crowded it was almost everyone apologized if they bumped into me or I apologized if I bumped into them.

There were literally thousand of firearms there....so much for the canard that increasing the number of firearms increases the danger. There were many armed confrontations, people buying and selling. I saw many table of licensed dealers, with form 4473 ready and phones set up for back ground checks. I didn't personally see any individuals selling to individuals but I am sure it happened. How many, I don't know.

MikeB asked about Nazi memorabilia. I saw 3 tables with some WWII German items. One table was packed with Lugers and other WWII firearms that I couldn't identify. Could have spent hours learning the history of those guns.

Here are two pictures that show the extent of the "memorabilia". I saw more table selling ShamWow's then I did Nazi items.















I didn't see any booths or even individuals identifiable as "skin heads" or white supremacists. And I was looking. I covered the entire hall, aisle by aisle.

Here is a picture that shows what a rough crowd it was.


Those two schnauzers were simply worn out from all the attention they were getting. It was something to see folks in camo, in suits, carrying all sorts of gear....all of them stopped to pet them.


Not FEMA concentration camp stuff, no hate or fear of Obama. I did hear politics being discussed but nothing I didn't hear while Bush was in office.

There were a couple of tables for "survivalists" but nothing paranoid. There was a table discussing how to add gold or silver to your investment portfolio. There were a couple of tables with survival supplies, but in any state those items are common sense. Rechargeable flash lights are getting hot. There was a really interesting stainless steel water purifying system - (note to self -- remove pamphlets before washing clothes if you want to blog about it later). Here in Texas aka Tornado Alley, it is entirely possible to loose clean water for days. A system like that want be a smart investment. I think it was something like this.


One of the things this show really brought home was the opportunity to see which firearms fit my hand. I saw many that I would like to add to my inventory eventually. Being able to go from a Kel-Tec P3AT to a SeeCamps 380 to judge fit, size, etc was very helpful.

The other thing I realized is this is just like any other hobby. I've been to remote control exhibits, I've been to photography shows, computer swap meets and this was no different. A mixture of established businesses and private people selling and swapping gear, talking about what they like to do. Just regular people getting together to enjoy their hobby.

So I went to the show with some goals in mind. Well, let's see how I did.

1st item was some B27 style targets. -- Accomplished; picked up a roll of 20 for $9.

2nd was holster options. There were many to choose from but I ended up not purchasing anything. I didn't see any shoulder holsters that met my 2 requirements, comfort and price. The comfortable ones weren't in the price range for today....and the ones in the price range weren't as comfortable. Well, my birthday is coming up maybe I'll get some cash or gift cards.

3rd magazine carrier. Saw a couple but until I've settled on a holster I am going to wait. Most of the carriers weren't acceptable for the nature of the clothes I usually wear. I'll keep looking.
Didn't see any of the concealment undershirts at the show, but might spring for one online. A coworker highly recommends them.

4th ammo. When did they start making .45 ACP and .380ACP out of 18K gold? Luckily, I've stocked a little .380 so I'm okay there. Have some .45 coming, supposedly, so I'm okay there also. Didn't see any .38 special hollow points that weren't reloads so I'll keep looking. Did pick up some 12 ga. Double aught buckshot.

Also picked up some snap caps. I thought of making my own as suggested by Tom, but wanted something that would stand out at the range when doing malfunction drills. These are purple aluminum so they'll stand out. It will also make it easier to insure I'm using training rounds for practicing drawing from concealment.

All in All a very enjoyable 2 hours. If I hadn't had errands to do, I probably would have spend 3 to 6 hours there. Not bad for 8 bucks.