Ottawa members - Valley Fishing and Outdoor Show this weekend

[rf2]

For the Ottawa area members, note that this weekend there is the Valley Fishing and Outdoor Show at the Carp Arena

http://www.valleysportsmanshow.com/

As usual, there is a gun show portion as well.
I will be going Friday evening to check it out.

[Oddmott]

Most likely going. Haven't chosen a specific day yet.

I don't really need anything, which means with the pressure off, that's most likely the time i'd find a great deal. lol Anytime i'm looking for something specific, the prices tend to be outrageous.

Last year i had 2 of the clothing vendors practically fighting to give me a turkey hunting jacket.

[Oddmott]

Checked it out today. Still no growth to the show, despite charging $8 before you even get in the doors. In fact, I think there were fewer vendors this year than the previous two.

A couple of decent shop setups that could fill most of ones hunting/fishing needs (for this time of year anyways) but overall quite weak.

I went intending to grab really simple items; a camo ball cap, a 2" foam seat, 20 ga ammo. And i had no luck. Pretty pathetic, really. The only ball caps had garish and brightly coloured brand badges on them... not exactly useful for turkey hunting.

One of the vendors, a local shop that likes to constantly bleat about how customer friendly they are and how they have the best prices, wouldn't knock $4-$5 off their Steel Lips 25 round magazine for a Ruger 10/22. They were charging $33 when BP & Cabelas charge $26.

It's the 3rd year in a row this vendor has refused to agree to a respectable price on a badly marked up item - last year was a jake decoy they had marked at $94 when all competitors sell it for $75ish; refused to reduce by even a buck. Just... rubs me the wrong way. Maybe i should walk around with a sign around my neck that states i've worked in the industry and i know exactly when i'm being fleeced.

A really good band playing on stage for much of the morning though... and a couple good seminars/talks provided as well.

Grabbed a Gobblestalker call and striker for Otto11. Those lads are great and i got a bit of a calling clinic in the bargain. Came straight home and tried out a couple new techniques that i hope to have down pat for this season.

[rf2]

I think I know which local vendor you are talking about. If not, there was more than one with outrageous prices. I checked out a couple of the prices then just kept walking.
I concentrated on the used gun show portion. There were some nice guns, but I found the prices too high.

[Fox]

I think I know which local vendor you are talking about. If not, there was more than one with outrageous prices. I checked out a couple of the prices then just kept walking.
I concentrated on the used gun show portion. There were some nice guns, but I found the prices too high.

When you charge more for used than you could buy new, you know you are at a gun show.

I had other things to do this weekend but I only go to gun shows to find things that are no longer made. Anything that is for sale on a regular basis is always cheaper outside of these shows.

Did they have any vendors with obsolete ammo?

[Oddmott]

When you charge more for used than you could buy new, you know you are at a gun show.

Yeah... funny how this industry is, really. Markup on firearms is pretty tight and in many cases some retailers when they include firearms in certain sales events, are actually taking a loss on the item. They're just hoping and praying that the good deal on the gun gets you interested in spending extra $ on accessories and peripherals.

I know gun sellers who won't even put rifles with iron sights on the display rack... because they only want you seeing and considering the rifles which require scopes and rings and bases, or rails and red dots, etc.

But guns don't really lose their resale value until they've really been beat to hell... so the used prices aren't (or shouldn't be) surprising.

The Old Co-op was at Carp and i enjoyed speaking with those lads. They had the Weatherby SA-08 12ga Deluxe on hand, so i handled that and fell in love. A 6.5lb semi-auto meant for hard, high-volume shooting... at just $749... yes please. lol May have to drive all the way to North Gower to see them again.
If you lads are reading this... i liked your lil log cabin booth setup... however, those birdfeeders by the back door have to go. I brained myself when i walked out and literally saw stars and tasted blood for a bit. Not sure what kind of wood they're made out of, but they hit hard.

[Fox]

Yeah... funny how this industry is, really. Markup on firearms is pretty tight and in many cases some retailers when they include firearms in certain sales events, are actually taking a loss on the item. They're just hoping and praying that the good deal on the gun gets you interested in spending extra $ on accessories and peripherals.

I know gun sellers who won't even put rifles with iron sights on the display rack... because they only want you seeing and considering the rifles which require scopes and rings and bases, or rails and red dots, etc.

But guns don't really lose their resale value until they've really been beat to hell... so the used prices aren't (or shouldn't be) surprising.

The Old Co-op was at Carp and i enjoyed speaking with those lads. They had the Weatherby SA-08 12ga Deluxe on hand, so i handled that and fell in love. A 6.5lb semi-auto meant for hard, high-volume shooting... at just $749... yes please. lol May have to drive all the way to North Gower to see them again.
If you lads are reading this... i liked your lil log cabin booth setup... however, those birdfeeders by the back door have to go. I brained myself when i walked out and literally saw stars and tasted blood for a bit. Not sure what kind of wood they're made out of, but they hit hard.

Wes is a good guy, he is who we go to for ammo, if he can get it for us.
Between me and a couple buddies we bought 3 flats of steel goose/duck ammo last fall from him to help liquidate stock. He made money and we saved money, worked out well.

It is hard to justify a used gun at $500 though when the new gun is $400, for the exact same model, not even a difference in stock.

One local company is trying to sell an old rifle in 30-06 that they did not even both scraping off the rust for and they want more than a new Savage. I get that the Axis is not a high end rifle, but a rusted to heck anything is not worth more than an Axis until you clean it up.