REVIEW: Knoxville 2021 Gun Show

[CrosbyStills]

Went to the Knoxville area gun show yesterday. Huge turnout, a lot of people. Several thousand during the times I was there. The area was poorly managed. It was well worth the extra couple bucks to buy the VIP passes online to allow you to skip the ticket line.  Their website was crashing as people in line were trying to buy tickets online to get out of the ticket line. The lines were not labeled or marked. It was a mob at the front of the venue. You had to ask around and hope you got in the right line.

There were 3 (off-duty?) Knoxville PD guys there checking in firearms for people bringing them into the venue (for private sale). Some of the people were walking around the masses in the aisle to sell stuff without renting a vendor table. There were another couple watching the back door and monitoring that only vendors were entering/exiting through there.

There was one guy at the entrance feeding people into the hall. If you had the pre-bought ticket online and only had a QR code to show on your phone, the guy had no reader. He just looked briefly to see if it looked legit then waved you in. No one cared to check when you left (for air, bathroom, smoke, etc). No one cared if you had the stamp on your hand when you walked back in.

The large hall was curtained off in half. The other side had a lot of hot tubs out for some type of show, but was not operating on this day. The gun show side of the hall was the approximate size of large grocery store. The aisles were crammed with people doing the slow shuffle to get around. Wider aisles between tables would have allowed people to view more vendors' wares.  The busiest tables were the ammo sellers.  Prices were higher than expected - on everything.  Just inside the door was the best priced item I saw all day- a no-dash model 63 Chief's Special S/W in fair condition for $600. 

I Saw a box of 50 9mm rounds (American Eagle IIRC) was $75!  There was one vendor with pallets of ammo - large quantities only, but no takers. No one was dropping a G or more on bulk ammo. Not much in the way of reloading gear. Some AR vendors, some Glock type vendors, a lot of knife and accessory vendors, some swap meet type vendors (bins of well used mags, sort through yourself), and very few "new product" retailer vendors. There were plenty of older guns, which I prefer. I skip over the AR stuff, not really my thing. I did see one pre-ban looking Colt H-Bar Match Sporter but they wanted $2,500 without the box.

I was surprised by the number of times I was lazed by people picking up guns on the tables. If I counted the number of times a barrel was inadvertently pointed in my direction, It'd almost match the large number attending the event. Lots of assumptions that guns were empty. There were a few announcements about mandatory mask wearing, but I would say less than half were wearing either masks or neck gaiters, with little concern from anyone about those not wearing any type of PPE.

There were plenty of guys with tables that I was interested in, mostly older SW revolvers or standard wood stocked rifles (Winchesters, Remington, etc.).  I really enjoyed checking out some of those Model 88s and Model 70's.

I left after picking up a couple P-Mags.

I did see one thing that was kinda sketchy when I was leaving. In the parking lot I was parked near a Williamson County plated Tesla. Three people came up to it with their hands full of plastic grocery bags. One was a female, one was a guy wearing his sister's jeans (flashy chick-like decorations on rear pockets) and one was an Asian male. It was easy to see they had 6-7 Glock cases in the bags. They loaded up the pistol cases (which I would assume had pistols in them) in the trunk. The woman got in the Tesla's backseat while the two men headed back into the venue.  Kinda seemed like Nashville area liberals buying up guns. Probably making the second trip in to buy ammo.

Later I heard a story from someone that they approached a vendor and bought a pistol with no paperwork, ID, or background - just a cash for gat trade. Don't know if that is legal in TN, but I suspect not.

All in all, I enjoyed the event. I was impressed with the number of people that showed up, even though the exterior of the venue looked older, run down, and nearly abandoned.

Anyone else make it there?

 

[Ironhandjohn]

If the vendor is a ‘personal collection/cash only’ type of seller, then the cash-only sale is perfectly legal. The people from Williamson county may have dressed differently than you, but how did you come to the conclusion that they are liberals?

 

 

[runco]

To me sounds like a standard run of the mill gun show, except the op left out hover rounds running over your toes, and the constant sound of tasers.

[xtriggerman]

I was there about noon time and CS is pretty accurate about the show. All tho by that time, the ticket line was about 15 people. A real cluster in the front of the show but thinned out to not bad further back. One guy had some 15-20,  cases of PMC TAC 5.56 going for 18.95 per box.  I was hunting for a SAA in 357 and found only one Uberti for 700, while there were a number of 45's in the upper 400 range. I passed on any buy there. I did however get a deal on a barreled action TC 22 classic for 80 bucks off a private table. I'm going to fit that into a M1 carbine stock I have laying around.  All in all a pretty good show with a clear showing of bizaro pricing on the most wanted items list. And I saw that white Tesla also, My son pointed it out.  If your a bit concerned about catching Covid, don't go. Masks dont do much any way. If its in the air, its on the items tabled. I didnt go there to keep my hands in my pockets if I see something I might want. 

[LynnB]

 Thanks for the reports.  In normal times I would have been there, but laying low for now.  Have not been to this one since last June.  I'll try for the Smoky Mountain Gun Collectors show this summer. 

[CrosbyStills]

Runco, you are right. The constant sound of tasers clacking away and people on mobility scooters took up a lot of space. IronHandJohn, I came to the conclusion that they MAY LIKELY be liberals due to a lifetime of professional observational training.  How many conservatives do you know that wear trendy jeans usually associated with another gender and virtue signaling electric cars?  Not that they couldn't be conservatives, but observable data indicated otherwise.  Even Xtriggerman and his son noted another Tesla (mine was red, not white) seemed unusual to be there - I'm not the only one that arrived at that logical conclusion.

[KahrMan]

You know what they say about judging a book... I know a couple of TGO members that have Tesla’s and others that wear jeans like that. It seems to me to be more a age and profession indicator than conservative/liberal. That’s my opinion and you know what they say about opinions...

[Nikiski Dave]

Arrived Saturday morning at around 8:20. Line was around the building. Sat there for an hour, line got longer. Left. Came back at 8:30 Sunday, parked and was about 50th in line. Ammo prices were for the rich or uninformed. Found a couple of Ruger 10-22's that I was interested in. I really liked the one till I looked closer at the tag, $1100. Next one had about the same upgrades but $650. the others were stock ranging from $400 to $500.  Went back to find the one for $650 and it was gone. Oh well. Found a couple of mags for brothers S&W, another mag for the UZI,  Sight Mark reflex sight, ultra light bipod and 12 gauge buck shot at $2 a round. One guy asking $25 for 5 rounds . Went looking for 6.5 bullets for reloading but not a one. got crowded around 11 am. Prices seemed to be anywhere from 20% to 50% above what I was able to order online 6 months ago. Primers from $100 to $130 a thousand. Still have some money in my pocket, lol. I drive a pickup truck

 

 

Edited January 31, 2021 by Nikiski Dave

[papa61]

oh wow! I saw a 10-22 in stock online for $359. Synthetic stock for $232. This was from one of the big sporting goods stores.

[billmeek]

On the 10/22s it really depends on how they are customized as to their value.  A base synthetic stock rifle is inexpensive, where full custom rifle can be a couple of grand. Just the Kidd 2-stage triggers in my 10/22 rifles cost more than a basic 10/22.

That's one of the great things about Ruger 10/22s.  There is a plethora of options and accessories available.  

[SRST51]

I Drove up about 10AM Saturday with my friend.  Saw the line around the building and went to Harvey's instead.  Bought a Springfield TRP Operator.  Good day.

[CrosbyStills]

20 hours ago, billmeek said:

On the 10/22s it really depends on how they are customized as to their value.  A base synthetic stock rifle is inexpensive, where full custom rifle can be a couple of grand. Just the Kidd 2-stage triggers in my 10/22 rifles cost more than a basic 10/22.

That's one of the great things about Ruger 10/22s.  There is a plethora of options and accessories available.  

Absolutely right. I have a wooden stock basic model 10/22 that I picked up a few weeks ago for $350 (incl DOJ/Tax/pair of 25 rnd mags and 150 rounds).  I also have a Volquartsen custom Ruger 10/22 that was $1,500 15 years ago and wouldn't leave my safe for under $2,500 today.

Edited February 1, 2021 by CrosbyStills

[monkeylizard]

22 hours ago, KahrMan said:

You know what they say about judging a book... I know a couple of TGO members that have Tesla’s and others that wear jeans like that. It seems to me to be more a age and profession indicator than conservative/liberal. That’s my opinion and you know what they say about opinions...

Didn't I see you walking in the neighborhood in a pair of these? The ducks at the 1:04 mark would be good for hunting season.

 

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by monkeylizard

[KahrMan]

@monkeylizard

Edited February 1, 2021 by KahrMan

[papa61]

I understand the 10/22 can get pricey. Since the OP didn't say custom I just assumed. and yeah, I know what assume can do.