Just In Case You Haven't Seen This

Mayor Nancy Vaughn of Greensboro, NC announced after the Parkland murders that she would seek to end the Greensboro Gun and Knife Show held semi-annually at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Greensboro City Council was in agreement. The only problem is that they didn't have the authority to do that.

So they invited citizens to make their voices heard - assuming it would be anti-gun - during the public comment period on the April 3rd meeting. I think they heard more than they expected but not exactly what they wanted. You can see the full hour plus long video of the meeting here.

Andy Stevens of Grass Roots North Carolina spoke. Just as importantly so did Mark Robinson. What the latter had to say has gone viral. You can see both of their comments below.




Mr. Robinson's comments begin at about the 4:40 mark. His comments have been aired on Fox News, Facebook, and the list goes on. The number of views from various sources now totals in the millions.

Share this video with your friends. Everyone needs to see it.

UPDATE: A.P. Dillon at LadyLiberty1885 blog has more on the Greensboro City Council meeting including video of a couple of the March for Our Lives kids. Dillon notes that they repeated many false claims.

Greensboro Gun Show AAR

This past Saturday I attended the Greensboro (NC) Gun Show with my son-in-law Jeremy and his dad Jeff. The show is held twice yearly at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. It had been a year since we'd last gone to this gun show. The show is an 800 table show which puts it about twice as large as the Asheville (400) and Winston-Salem (300) gun shows.

Much has changed in the year since we last attended this gun show. The largest change is in the political landscape which in turn has impacted the gun world and attendant sales. When it looked like vehemently anti-gun Hillary Clinton would win the presidency, gun sales stayed extremely strong and broke previous records. Many had a "better get it now" mentality. Then Donald Trump surprised both Hillary and the world by taking the presidency. While there are still threats on the state and local level, the pressure on the federal level is now off. Sales are down and so are the prices on certain firearms.

Along with that it seems so is the attendance at gun shows. The last time I attended the Greensboro show there were lines to buy tickets. This year, you could just walk up to one of the four ticket sellers and buy a ticket. Parking was easy and we got a good spot not that far from the entrance.

My experience in Greensboro is similar to what I've seen in Asheville. Aisles are not crowded. There are some tables going unsold and some vendors are missing. I spoke with one vendor who sold knives who said this was their last show at Greensboro unless they saw sales improve. They had an end of the row location with tables covering both sides and the end. In other words, a prime location to attract plenty of attention.

I didn't see too many people wandering the aisles with guns or ammo for sale. That may just have been a Greensboro Gun Show thing as I often see it in Asheville. I did see a handful of tables with people conducting private sales of a limited number of firearms. These tended to be either older bolt action guns or double barrel shotguns.

In terms of prices, gun shows have never seemed to me to be the place to get the best prices on new guns. That said, I was more than a little surprised to see Ruger AR-556s selling for under $500. Indeed one vendor had them marked down to $445. That is as telling an indicator of the state of the AR market as anything. Of course, you had other vendors trying to sell these same carbines in the mid-$600 range. As many others have said or written, now is the time to buy an AR-15 if you don't have one. I almost bought one to put away but I already have enough ARs as well as enough parts to build three or so more.

The one firearm category attracting the most attention are the new 12-gauge,14" barreled not-shotguns, not-pistols, but merely firearms from Remington and Mossberg. I spoke to one vendor who had at least 8-10 Mossberg Shockwaves on his table and he said they were selling very well.

So what did I come home with? A set of AR handguards, a molle mag pouch to use as a knife pouch, a RCBS shellholder, and a Fenix mini-keychain flashlight. My best deal was on the handguard which were the old M16A1/Colt SP1 triangular handguards. While they can sell for as much as $200 for new old stock and in the $35-40 range (or more) used, I picked mine up for $15. I felt like I got a steal!

We ended our visit to the Greensboro Gun Show with a late lunch at Stamey's BBQ which is across the street from the Coliseum. I know my friends from Texas and from eastern North Carolina will disagree but there is nothing finer than a sandwich of Lexington-style chopped pork BBQ topped with tangy BBQ slaw and some dip sauce. It was a great way to end the day.

If you have been to a local gun show recently, I'd love to hear your experiences so please leave them in the comments.

GRNC Needs Gun Show Coordinators

Working the Grass Roots North Carolina booth at the Asheville gun shows has been my way to help educate people face-to-face, one-on-one, about gun rights and related issues for a few years now. While we only pick up a few paying members per show, we do a good job of getting the word out on current issues. John Hammond, the coordinator for Asheville, does a great job in organizing our cadre of volunteers and I've met some great people through his efforts.

GRNC is in need of people to coordinate the volunteers at gun shows in other cities. The alert below mentions Hickory, Concord, Winston-Salem, and Lumberton. If you are a gun rights supporter in any of these areas, this is your chance to increase your outreach.

BE A GUN SHOW COORDINATOR

Grass Roots North Carolina is in need of Gun Show Coordinators at several locations across the state, including: Concord Hickory Lumberton Winston-Salem Responsibilities include promoting the goals and objectives of GRNC, signing up and renewing memberships, soliciting contributions, and acting as GRNC’s ambassador to the public. Coordinators are encouraged to manage their show independently, but will receive all necessary training and additional support from GRNC’s leadership team, many of whom started out as gun show coordinators themselves. Each coordinator will be provided a kit containing the necessary display equipment and literature, and before each show GRNC will issue alerts requesting additional volunteer support. The position requires individuals to be self-motivated, organized and dedicated to advancing gun rights.  There can be as many as six shows per year at some locations. This challenging position is also very rewarding, since gun show coordinators are an integral part of NC's only no-compromise gun rights organization. During the past twenty years GRNC has been responsible for following:   Castle Doctrine, enabling you to better defend your family against violent predators; Concealed carry in state and municipal parks; Concealed carry in financial institutions; Harmonizing state laws on Title II firearms, as regulated by the National Firearms Act of 1934; and Improvements in North Carolina’s concealed handgun permit application process. GRNC was a litigant in Bateman v. Perdue, in which North Carolina's universal ban on guns outside the home during declared states of emergency was struck down as unconstitutional. We then ensured repealed of NCGS 14-288.7, ensuring that citizens can protect themselves outside their homes during declared states of emergency. GRNC recently engineered passage of House Bill 937, which features:Concealed carry in restaurants; Ability of handgun permit-holders to keep firearms in closed compartments in locked motor vehicles on educational properties; Expanded concealed carry in state and municipal parks; Concealed carry in parades and funerals; and Ability to keep firearms in closed containers in locked motor vehicles in state government parking lots. GRNC has killed too many anti-gun bills to count. If you are interested in being part of GRNC's continuing success, please respond to: volunteer@grnc.org Please include which gun show location you are interested in and your contact information, including phone number and email address.

Not Just The Asheville Gun Show

Not surprisingly, reports of heavy crowds at this weekend's gun shows abound. What I saw at the Asheville Gun and Knife Show was replicated across the country. Below is a bit of tab clearing on reports on the shows from both the media and from other gun blogs and forums.

From the comments section of Sipsey Street Irregulars. Mike couldn't get to the Birmingham Gun Show so asked for reports.

From The AK Forum which has a great panoramic picture of the line waiting to get into the Portland Gun Show. It also has links to reports on other gun shows.

A couple of different reports from Arfcom. One here and the other here on the lone protester at the Roanoke Gun Show.

Now for some from the media:

Ontario, California

Lubbock, Texas

Northwest Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Sandy, Utah

Spokane, Washington

Winston-Salem, North Carolina which also reports on some protesters at the show.

Orlando, Florida

Butte, Montana

Rochester, New York. This report makes sure to find "hunters" who don't like handguns.

The list could go on and on. The bottom line is that people are voting with their feet and their wallets on the Second Amendment. They are going out to the gun shows and they are, to be frank, in panic buying mode.

A Visit To A Post-Newtown Gun Show

I had seen reports of record attendance at other gun shows but today I saw for myself. I attended the Asheville Gun and Knife Show held at the WNC Agriculture Center. I was struck by three things at the show: the crowds, the prices, and the level of commitment to fight for gun rights.

First, the crowds. I arrived at the Ag Center just a few minutes after 8am. I was at the show to volunteer at the Grass Roots North Carolina booth. Having volunteered for their booth at the previous gun show, I was shocked at the crowds and by how early people had started lining up. One person told me he got on line at 5:30 this morning after he got off of work!

The picture below is the line-up to get in just before the 9am opening. The line stretched down one lane, across to another, and then up again. When I left at 12:30pm, there was still a decent sized line to get into the gun show!

To put this into more perspective, here is a satellite map of the Ag Center with the red line representing the line to enter at 9am. The small red circle represents the entrance to the Davis Event Center. The building is 300 x 150 feet and has 45,000 square feet of exhibition space.

As you might well imagine, it got crowded inside. At first, it was just the outside perimeter but as time passed every row was filled with people 3 to 4 abreast. You couldn't zip up and down the rows checking out stuff at your leisure. You pretty much either stopped or moved with the crowd. You can see in the picture below what I'm talking about. I wish I had an overhead picture to show just how crowded it was.

There are probably a number of reasons for the record attendance. First, with all the calls from politicians and the media for greater gun control there is the urge to buy it while you still can. Second, you have people like Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell who are calling for gun shows to be banned in Asheville. While the Ag Center is not city-owned, Bothwell claims the land underneath is owned by the City of Asheville. Unfortunately for him, Session Law 2012-121 (HB 552) forced the City to cede title to the land underneath the Ag Center as well as remove any part of it from being within the city limits. Finally, it was the first gun show of the year and it was nice day.

Bob Owens asked me by Twitter whether they had any "fighting guns" left as he had reported none were available in his town. See Bob's excellent post on the subject, "Something funny happened on the way to tyrrany." He would be happy to know that you could find a number of AR-15s, some AKs, and a few odds and ends of other stuff. I noticed a handful of people selling their own ARs as well as stuff like FALs and Mini-14s.

As I said above, you could find AR-15s and AK-47s as well as magazines for them. However, the prices have sky-rocketed due to supply and demand. Plain jane AR-15s were selling for $1,500 and up. If you wanted an AR with all the bells and whistles (optics, rails, laser, bipod, etc.),  one dealer had them for $2,900. AKs had similar price jumps. I saw an AMD-65 which I had just purchased in September new selling for $439 selling for $1,000 used.

Magazine prices were outrageous. Used GI 30-round magazines were selling for $30. Strangely enough, they were selling new ones for the same price. The same dealer had Magpul PMAGs for $40 which were selling a month ago for $12.95. I did see Bulgarian AK-47 magazines for $30. It wasn't just the dealers who were marking up prices on magazines. I did see one guy go by offering to sell Glock 17 and 22 magazines for $90 for two.

Not all prices were outrageous. I picked up two boxes of Hornady 6.8 SPC ammo for $20 each. Wolf primers were selling for $20 a box. Hunting stuff seemed price like it had been in the past. In terms of private sales,  I spoke with a young man selling his FN-FAL for $900 with scope and bipod which I found to be reasonable. If I didn't have an FN-FAL and had an extra $900 hanging around, I would have bought it. Another guy had a pre-ban HK-91A1 for $3,500. While that may sound outrageous, it was the going rate before all the assault weapon (sic) ban talk started.

As I wrote earlier, I was volunteering for the Grass Roots North Carolina booth as I had at the last gun show. The difference was amazing even though the previous one had been just before the election. We signed up at least 10 new members by noon as compared to none the last time I was there. Secondly, people were very happy to sign GRNC's petition to the North Carolina congressional delegation telling them they didn't want any new gun control. We had 300 printed up and I'd estimate we had close to 250 signed by the time I left at noon. Those signing the petition were young and old, men and women, white and non-white. I spoke with people with nose rings and old men with canes. They were all similarly committed in their opposition to any new gun control.

Speaking with the people who stopped by the booth, I could tell they were ready to fight. I doubt any of them would voluntarily surrender their guns, magazines, or ammunition. Moreover, speaking with a former Force Recon Marine, he said he didn't know any of his former colleagues who would enforce an order to confiscate firearms. He said they would rightfully consider it an unlawful order.

It was a good gun show except for the high prices on some things. However, I understand the laws of supply and demand. Moreover, the dealers selling now will have a hard time replenishing their stock for the next show. There will be a gun show in Waynesville at the end of the month. I may try to make that one just for comparison's sake.

UPDATE: The gun show was covered by the local media.

Below is the video report from WSPA of Spartanburg, SC on the Asheville Gun and Knife Show. There were a lot of visitors from the Upstate of South Carolina at the show.




Reporters from the Asheville Citizen-Times also covered the show. Below is a video that they shot at the show which gives a good idea of how crowded it was. I love the comments by Phil Flack of PF Custom Guns regarding the so-called "gun show loophole." You can read more of the story here which, unfortunately, goes overboard on "fairness" by soliciting comments from the gun prohibitionists.

Off To The Gun Show This Morning

I'm off to the Asheville Gun and Knife Show this morning to help man the Grass Roots North Carolina booth. It should be interesting.




I did pick up some extra cash in case I see any deals. I've heard the suggestion that people are selling some of their hunting firearms to raise cash to buy ARs and AKs. Maybe so, maybe not. Still I'd like to find a good used youth-model 20 gauge pump shotgun to convert into a home-defense shotgun for the Complementary Spouse. The only other thing on my buy list are primers, .223 brass, and 6.8 SPC ammo. It all depends on the price.

I should have a report later today on what I saw or didn't see. The last time I went to this show just before the election there were plenty of magazines and AR-15s. I'd be surprised if I saw more than a few.

GRNC On Gun Shows In Asheville

Grass Roots North Carolina has noticed Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell's attempt to shut down gun shows in Asheville. They released the alert below last night.

If you happen to be going to the Asheville Gun Show this weekend, I'll be there on Saturday morning volunteering at the GRNC table. Stop by and say hello.

Councilman fails to understand the law in the latest attempt to ban guns…

In one of the most ridiculous knee-jerk political reactions to recent shootings which have drawn national attention, Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell led an attempt this week to use an Asheville city ordinance that bans guns from city-owned property to block gun shows in the city. Bothwell seems to think that distorting this ordinance should be just the ticket to capitalize on national grief over the Newtown shootings in order to change gun laws, but there are a couple of major issues he failed to recognize before stepping into the limelight with his scheme.

State-wide uniformity of local regulations

One such issue Councilman Bothwell failed to take into consideration is that North Carolina General Statute §14409.40, “Statewide uniformity of local regulation,” states, in part:

“(d) No county or municipality, by zoning or other ordinance, shall regulate in any manner firearms shows with regulations more stringent than those applying to shows of other types of items.”

What this means is that gun shows may not be regulated any differently than any other type of show that is allowed to use the same facilities. In other words, if they wanted to ban gun shows, they would have to ban virtually any other kind of show from the property. State law prevents any county or municipality from treating gun shows any differently than an antique show or an agricultural event.

City or State owned?

One other issue that Councilman Bothwell and other city council members failed to understand is that the facility in question, the WNC Agricultural Center, is not owned by the city of Asheville! That’s right, the WNC Agricultural center is state-owned property, operated by the state. In their blind zeal to remove your rights as gun owners through any scheme they can cook up, the Asheville City Council is trying to enforce a city ordinance which bans guns on city property in a building which is actually owned by the State of North Carolina! What’s more, the WNC Agricultural Center isn’t even located inside Asheville city limits!

GRNC President responds

In a letter sent by GRNC President Paul Valone to Asheville City Attorney Bob Oast, Valone stated that these kinds of actions are clearly irresponsible and a direct violation of state law:

To: Robert W. Oast, Jr., Asheville City Attorney
From: F. Paul Valone, President, Grass Roots North Carolina
Re: Proposal to restrict gun shows at Western North Carolina Agricultural Center
Cc: Mayor

“Dear Mr. Oast:

According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, the Asheville City Council is contemplating enforcing an ordinance in such a way as to restrict gun shows from the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center. Accordingly, please allow me to point out §14409.40, “Statewide uniformity of local regulation,” which says in relevant part:

“(d) No county or municipality, by zoning or other ordinance, shall regulate in any manner firearms shows with regulations more stringent than those applying to shows of other types of items.”

Our Director of Legal Affairs advises me that the only way Asheville could ban gun shows at the facility would be to ban all shows at the facility. If that is your intent, please let us know.

Otherwise, please be advised that any attempt to limit gun shows in violation of §14409.40(d) will be met not only political opposition targeting the City Council, but also legal action similar to what we filing this week against the city of Winston-Salem.

As one pundit recently pointed out, the similar case of Nordyke v. King kept Alameda County in court for thirteen years before they finally lost. I’m sure we wouldn’t want to tie up the Asheville City Council for such an extended period; it might distract them from the fine work they do.”

Show your solidarity!

You can do your part to stop this attempt to block your rights as gun owners. While the Asheville City Council attempts to use city laws to override state law, you can show your resolve by attending the gun show scheduled for the weekend of January 5th & 6th at the WNC Agricultural Center. Volunteers are needed to help at the GRNC table. If you would like to volunteer a few hours at the GRNC table, please contact Cliff Odom via email at inhisstepscliff@gmail.com .

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

IMMEDIATELY CONTACT THE ASHEVILLE CITY COUNCIL: Use the contact information provided and deliver the message below

PLAN TO ATTEND THE ASHEVILLE GUN SHOW: You can make a difference by attending the Ashville gun show to show your resolve against these incredible schemes

Support GRNC!: GRNC needs your support to help combat the efforts against your rights as gun owners. Join or renew your membership! http://www.grnc.org/join-grnc/join-grnc-online

COURTESY COPY AND PASTE LIST

Note: Some Email programs automatically hyperlink addresses. Click Here to get a version you may copy.

mayorbellamy@avlcouncil.com, emanheimer@vwlawfirm.com, cecil@braveulysses.com, jandavis@avlcouncil.com, marchunt@avlcouncil.com, chrispelly@avlcouncil.com, gordonsmith@avlcouncil.com

DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

Suggested Subject: "Hands Off Gun Shows"

Asheville City Council Members:

I urge you to respect the rights of North Carolina gun owners. Councilman Bothwell's poorly considered attack on gun shows is both misdirected and illegal. North Carolina's preemption statute (§14409.40) clearly does not allow you this latitude. Also there facts that the WNC facilities are state-owned and OUTSIDE of the Asheville city limits.

Any attempts to violate my rights as a gun owner will be remembered at the polls. I will be following your actions through the alerts of Grass Roots North Carolina.

Respectfully,

A Concerned North Carolina Voter

CONTACT INFORMATION

Mayor Terry Bellamy Contact Information:
Mail: P.O. Box 7148, Asheville, NC 28802
Phone: (828) 259-5600
Fax: (828) 259-5499
E-mail: mayorbellamy@avlcouncil.com
Personal Web site: www.terrymbellamy.com

Vice-Mayor Esther Manheimer contact information:
Mail: 11 North Market Street, Asheville, NC 28801
P.O. Box 7376, Asheville, NC 28802-7376
Phone: (828) 258-2991
E-mail: emanheimer@vwlawfirm.com

Councilman Cecil Bothwell contact information:
Mail: 54 Fulton Street, Asheville, NC 28801
Phone: (828) 713-8840
E-mail: cecil@braveulysses.com

Councilman Jan Davis contact information:
Mail: 209 Patton Ave., Asheville, NC 28801
Phone: (828) 253-5634
Fax: (828) 253-8029
E-mail: jandavis@avlcouncil.com
Personal Web site: www.jandavistire.com

Councilman Marc Hunt contact information:
Mail: 55 Cambridge Road, Asheville, NC 28804
Phone: (828) 273-2172
Email: marchunt@avlcouncil.com

Councilman Chris Pelly contact information:
Mail: 95 Cisco Road, Asheville, NC 28805
Phone: (828) 231-3704
Email: chrispelly@avlcouncil.com

Councilman Gordon Smith contact information:
Mail: 49 Euclid Blvd., Asheville, NC 28806
Phone: (828) 279-2551
E-mail: gordonsmith@avlcouncil.com

You Don't Want To Go There, Mr. Bothwell

Cecil Bothwell is a City Councilman in Asheville, North Carolina. He also ran for Congress in the 11th District but was trounced in the Democratic primary. He is proudly the left-most member of the Asheville City Council.

Today Bothwell called for banning gun shows on city-owned property. He wants to use a city ordinance that prohibits the possession of firearms in parks and other city-owned property (other than concealed carry holders in parks.)

From a report in the Asheville Citizen-Times:

City Council member Cecil Bothwell today called for the City of Asheville to ban gun shows from City-owned properties, including the WNC Agricultural Center.

"Our municipal code specifically prohibits the carrying of weapons on City-owned properties. I don't understand why that law is not being enforced," Bothwell said.

The City of Asheville's Civic Center and WNC Agricultural Center have both been rented to gun show promoters in recent years, despite this long-standing ban.

"Many citizens have contacted Council members asking for action in the wake of the Newtown school murders, but the City has very little ability to regulate guns, permitting or background checks under North Carolina and United States law,” Bothwell said. “However, we do have the power to enforce the laws that are on the books.

"Gun shows not only promote the ownership and use of weapons, including the glamorization of the assault-type, semi-automatic killing machines used in too many mass murders, but sellers at shows are not required to perform background checks on buyers. That means that guns intended for rapid fire killing may easily fall into the hands of persons who are mentally unstable or who have criminal intent."

"This is one place we can easily draw the line," Bothwell added. "The law is already on the books."

 The ignorance in Bothwell's statement astounds.

First, as a councilman, Bothwell ought to know what properties the city owns or doesn't own. The WNC Agricultural Center is owned by the State of North Carolina and operated by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Second, his statement about background checks and "rapid fire killing" is so ludicrous that I'll just pass on it other than to say that FFLs are required to make NICS checks regardless of where the sale takes place.

Third, and on this I might excuse Bothwell, given Nordyke v. King was in the 9th Circuit. Despite being in another circuit, Asheville would be on very shaky legal ground to try and ban gun shows on city property. I don't think the City of Asheville wants to be in Federal court for 13 years like Alameda County. Precedent is against them. More on Nordyke can be found here.

Gun Shows In Chicago?

A posting in today's The Shooting Wire announcing the Chicagoland Gun Show caught my eye.

Outdoor Sports Group (OSG) is proud to announce the first ever Chicagoland Gun Show January 23-27, 2013 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont Illinois.

The Chicagoland Gun Show will be co-located with the Chicago Outdoor Sports Show which continues a 30 + year tradition of sports shows gracing the shores of Lake Michigan and providing the Greater Chicagoland area a break from cabin fever.

While there are other shows in the vicinity of Chicago, for example shows in Wheaton and Lakemoor, I couldn't find any that were actually being held in Cook County unlike this show. Rosemont is outside the city limits of Chicago near O'Hare Airport.

I like the fact that they are co-locating the gun show with the outdoor sports show as it should bring higher traffic to the gun show. Given the onerous restrictions on gun ownership and even gun stores in Chicago, I'm guessing there might be some pent-up demand to go someplace where you can actually "touch and feel" a firearm and, with the proper documentation, buy a firearm.

I know the promoters are calling this the "first ever Chicagoland Gun Show" but I wonder if this is hyperbole. If any readers in the Chicago area know of gun shows in Cook County, either current or in the distant past, I'd love to know about it. You can post the info in the comments section.

What I Did This Morning

Grass Roots North Carolina, the state's more aggressive gun rights organization, usually has a booth at all the major gun shows across the state. These booths - like the organization itself - are staffed by volunteers. Knowing the election was coming up and with the Complementary Spouse out of town taking care of family matters, I thought helping out at the Asheville Gun & Knife Show would be an ideal way to spend a few hours.

Our job was to introduce people to GRNC, hand out voter guides, and hopefully sign up new members. While the show opened at 10am, it took a while for people to start showing up. I'm guessing a lot of folks either went on Saturday or they were at church.

John Hammond, who coordinates these efforts in the mountains for GRNC, told me that he had handed out over 300 voter guides on Saturday. He also told me that the Republican nominee for the 11th Congressional District, Mark Meadows, had visited the booth yesterday along with Rep. Joe "You Lie!" Wilson (R-SC) and the 2010 Republican nominee Jeff Miller of Hendersonville.

In the three hours that I worked the booth, I'd estimate we spoke with 50-75 people. Some were already members, some had never heard of GRNC, and some were interested in joining in the future. After running into 3-4 people who said they were not registered to vote, we started asking people if they were registered to vote before giving out a voter guide. Those that were registered were genuinely interested in the voter guide. I stressed that we were non-partisan and that in some cases the Democrat actually was ranked better than the Republican.

I have to admit that I was somewhat dumbfounded that we ran into that many unregistered voters. I guess I shouldn't be but with the ease of registration nowadays it makes it hard to say you didn't have an opportunity. We never pressed it as we thought the deadline for registration was this past Friday (30 day before the election). However, checking the State Board of Elections website, I found that the deadline will actually be this Friday, October 12th. Given this, it would have been a good idea for GRNC, the NRA, or another gun rights organization to have had a voter registrar available to register these potential voters.

All in all, I had a good time. Of course, since I was already at the show, I had to do a little shopping. I came home with some Greek 30-06 ammo in en bloc clips, a couple of AK magazines, and a smattering of other stuff but no new guns.

Small Gun Shows

The Complementary Spouse and I trekked up to Micaville to attend the High Country Gun Show. Micaville is about 45 minutes north of Asheville in the shadow of Mount Mitchell which is the highest peak in the eastern United States. It was just the right distance for a Sunday drive.

There is something to said for the smaller gun shows. They are less crowded, the vendors have more time to spend with you, and everything and everybody is just friendlier.

I had a short list of things I was seeking. I was looking for 5.56 and 7.62 stripper clips and spoons, AK-47 steel magazines, and paracord for the Complementary Spouse. I did end up buying 4 AK mags, a handful of 5.56 stripper clips for a nickel each, a box of small rifle magnum primers, a couple of boxes of Yugoslavian 7.62x39 ammo, and 2 Rite in the Rain notebooks. We couldn't find any paracord other than already made-up survival bracelets or any spoons for the stripper clips.

I can't speak for all smaller shows but at least at this one vendors were happy to send you to a competitor if they didn't have what you wanted. That's how I ended up with the AK mags and ammo.

While the High Country Gun Show had lots of handguns, they also had a lot more hunting rifles and shotguns than other shows I've been to recently. They also had some rifles in more unusual calibers such as a gorgeous Winchester Model 70 in .300 Holland and Holland and a Remington 700 in .416 Rem Mag (or maybe .416 Rigby). I also came across a Browning Citori O/U shotgun in 16 gauge. I love 16 gauges and this was a nice one at a good price.

To sum it up, if you get a chance to go to a smaller gun show, take it. I think you'll have a good time.

A Trip To The Gun Show

Yesterday, the Complementary Spouse and I went to the Land of the Sky Gun and Knife Show held at the WNC Ag Center. This was her first gun show and my first one in a couple of years.

Things have changed since the last one I attended. I saw more guns, ammo, and knives and less military surplus and Nazi militaria than in the past. In fact, I don't think I saw any of the Nazi stuff. The gun show had moved to a new building and this attracted more vendors. This was a welcome change in my opinion. I also didn't notice that many people selling personal guns like in the past. So much for the myth of the gun show loophole.

I asked the Complementary Spouse for her impressions of the show. She said there were a lot of families and a lot of baby strollers cruising the aisles. Of course, one of those strollers had five Yorkshire Terriers in it! The other thing she noticed that there were a lot of people buying stuff as evidenced the number of shopping bags.

I had a couple of things I wanted to do at the show and I accomplished both. First, I wanted to meet Mark Meadows who is running as a Republican in the 11th District of NC. He has received four stars from GRNC as well as their recommendation. He was the leader in the first primary but just missed the 40% threshhold to avoid a run-off.

The second thing I wanted to do was find .380 ammo at a reasonable price. I ended up getting a box each of ammo from American Eagle, Tula, PMC, and Sellier and Bellot for an average of $15 per box. I want to try them out in my new-to-me Sig P238 which I bought used last week.

Of course, going to a gun show is like going to WalMart - you always leave with more than just what was on your list. I ended up getting large and small pistol primers, some cleaning equipment, and even a leather pocket holster for the P238.

The Complementary Spouse got in the act as well. She ended up with a selection of exotics meats jerky for her son-in-law Jeremy as well as paracord in a variety of cool colors to use in crafting.

We had a good time and I think we'll be going back the next time they are in town.

Cool Gun Show

Most gun shows nowadays have devolved into something else. However, I got an email the other day for a gun show that I think would be a lot of fun to attend.

When my family took our great Bicentennial trip out west, we stopped in Cody to visit the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and the Cody Firearms Museum. I think back then it was called the Winchester Museum but I could be wrong. I do remember that even as a 19 year old I was quite impressed with the gun collection.

Bloomberg Back To His Old Tricks

According to a story in the New York Times, Bloomberg sent undercover investigators to the Crossroads of the West gunshow in Phoenix, Arizona the weekend of January 22-23. The story isn't clear on whether these were private investigators or actual NYPD undercover cops.

The goal of these investigators was to purchase firearms from private sellers without a background check. As you can guess, they succeeded.

In two instances, the New York undercover officers specifically said before buying a gun, “I probably couldn’t pass a background check,” but were still sold guns, city officials said.

In a third case, an investigator bought a Glock pistol and two high-capacity magazines like the ones used in the Tucson shooting. Such purchases were made without any background check but were perfectly legal.

Bloomberg plans to release the results of his "investigation" today. I'm sure he'll make a big deal out of it. What will be missing from any discussion is that the purchasers broke Federal law in purchasing handguns in another state without going through a FFL.

Now, I think a couple of those sellers were stupid as it sounded like an entrapment situation. Given this was in a border state, I would be surprised if the BATFE didn't have undercover agents at the show pursuing Operation Gunrunner. Instead of muckraking investigators from New York City trying to make hay for Bloomberg, they could have been dealing with an ATF agent trying to pad his arrest statistics.

UPDATE: The New York Daily News also is covering this story in their typical idiotic way. According to their story, Bloomberg used private investigators to make the purchases. Of course, the Daily News refers to the sellers as "Arizona gun dealers" as opposed to private individuals giving the impression that they are being sold off the books from a FFL.

Bloomberg promises to have video of the transactions at a news conference.

This all leads to an obvious question - does being a billionaire mayor and gun banner absolve you from conspiracy to commit a felony?

And I Almost Went to a Gun Show Today!

Courtesy of Everyday, No Days Off we have a description of the personalities that you will run into at a gun show. He also has a description of many of the vendors.

I almost laughed myself hoarse after reading these. And the sad part is that they are all just a bit too accurate.

My favorite personality was No. 15:

The “south will rise again” guy, normally between 350-450 pounds, wearing a confederate hat and sweat-stained grey Walmart sweatpants. He talks about old Bobby Lee like an old friend he hasn’t seen in awhile and how he is looking forward to the next American civil war where he is going to single handily kick the crap out of every government agency himself. Check

And my favorite vendor was No. 5:

Ammo purgatory. He has a huge display with every type of ammo anyone could want – set up with absolutely no order to any of it.

If we didn't have out-of-town visitors coming tomorrow, I would have printed this out and taken it with me to the Land O'Sky Gun Show at the Ag Center to compare it against the people I saw there. There is always a next time.