7 Ways to Avoid Spending Money at a Gunshow

Shooting enthusiasts get excited when a gunshow comes to town. Shooters know that a gunshow will bring together dozens of dealers and offer a great opportunity to find bargains, pick up useful sporting goods, purchase unusual weapons, and procure hard-to-find ammunition and accessories. With all the exciting products on display, it's hard to exercise restraint and make sensible purchases. However, over the past couple of years, I've managed to walk in and out of many gunshows without making any purchases. Here are some gunshow tactics that I've used.

1. Shop from a List. When I visit a gunshow, I have a specific list of items that I am looking to buy. The items on my list make sense for me as a shooter. A gunshow has plenty of products that don't make much sense for anyone. Many shooters have succumbed to temptation and walked home with weird weapons in obscure calibers that cost a fortune to shoot.

2. Know products. If you have researched items to buy and competitive products, you can make an intelligent decision. You really should know firearms manufacturers and the reputations of their products. A gunshow bargain may turn out to be an expensive paperweight if it is inaccurate or jams with every other shot. Some very inexpensive firearms are made from cheap metals and are not made to last.

3. Know prices. If you know firearms prices from stores in your area, you will be less likely to make an impulse buy. For example, in my town, a local sporting goods store was advertising the popular Smith and Wesson SW9VE Enhanced Sigma semi-automatic pistol for $339. When I went to the gunshow during that same week, I saw some dealers asking as much as $400 for the same weapon. When established local gun dealers have good sale prices and major sporting goods chains are advertising lots of exciting specials, you have to think twice about buying from a gunshow dealer who comes to town every other month. To make a sale, the gunshow dealer has to offer unique merchandise and very competitive prices.

4. Compare each purchase to other consumer products. Afraid that you'll lose control and buy something from every table? If you keep the price of other consumer products that your family wants and needs in your mind, you'll have to weigh the cost of buying a firearm against the cost of an HD television or a new computer. It's an exercise that will help you keep any major purchase in perspective.

5. Compare each purchase to equipment you already own. When I go to a gunshow, I look for firearms that will fit a specific niche for me as a shooter. For example, I don't have a shotgun. If I make plans to become a skeet shooter, I'll need to pick one up. A shotgun would bring new capabilities into my shooting hobby. I already have several .22-caliber rifles so buying another is not a high priority for me right now. When you consider a new firearms purchase, make sure your new acquisition is bringing something new to your shooting experience.

6. Know what your local dealers offer. My local sporting goods store has a .22-caliber target pistol that I'd really like to own. It was there last week and it will be there next week. Unless the Second Amendment is repealed, it should be there any week I want to buy it. With that knowledge, the urgent drive to buy something new at my local gunshow is diminished.

7. Know when the next gunshow is scheduled. When I first learned about gunshows, I announced them to my friends and family with the urgency of Paul Revere announcing that the British were coming. I thought each an ever gunshow was a once in a lifetime event. Now, that I know gunshows come to town every other month, the urgency is gone and I can take more time to think out my gun purchasing decisions.

Of course, gunshows provide an exciting opportunity to buy interesting firearms, knives, and accessories that are seldom seen in big sporting goods stores or local gun shops. The key to having fun at a gunshow is to get good deals on guns and accessories that will really add to your shooting experience.