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Tips for upcoming Tulsa Show


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Greetings fellow firearms enthusiasts,

The Tulsa Show has been on my bucket list for many years. Besides wearing good walking shoes & bringing lots of greenbacks, do you guys have any other suggestions for a newbie? I’ll be driving from MO with an expected drive time of 6 hrs after work Friday evening. Also, pondering on what to buy with the most potential for appreciation. The Class III stuff appears to be stabilizing after yrs of going up, so looking into stuff that’s out of production but were made in limited numbers. Thanks in advance for your answers.

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 after 10 or so years of working the show I'd have to say.... don't go. It used to be awesome, packed, shoulder to shoulder, it's not anymore. I still go and drink with my buddies and we have a good time, but that's all it is, rarely is any money made. 

Looks like you're going no matter so my advise:

It's twice or three times bigger than any show you've ever been to. I about pooped my pants the first time, before my buddy said it was a two level building!  11 acres,  4000 tables. 

If you see it and want it, BUY IT! either you'll never find it again or it'll be gone when you go back!

Last I knew Joe wouldn't allow NFA to be sold at the show allow you will be see some on display. 

You will see plenty of guns of all types for sale, I'd say most are about %20 marked up if not higher on tables.... that being said I've made a lot of great buys from people walking around!  Lot of them. Hell a buddy of mine didn't know better and passed on a higher grade Winchester model 42 for a grand that was worth 8k!!!

 wish you the best, not sure if the boss and I will be going this time, prety burned out 

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After attending a few times I'd echo Shortbarrelpete in the fact that if you see something you want buy it.  I've missed more stuff than I have purchased because by the time you decide to buy it you either can't find the table again (yes,even if you put the location in your phone) or they "just sold it".  It's a long day and no one is giving anything away but I'd say it's well worth the trip. 

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If you are coming in from out of state you cannot legally buy and take possession of a handgun.  It will have to ship to your in state FFL.  You CAN buy and take possession of a long gun or shotgun as long as it is legal where you live.  There usually is some NFA but not supposed to be there.  Lots of cool stuff.  Used to do the show every year.  It is also fun just to see all the different people - could make one of those national geographic type nature shows just featuring the people that are there.  I can hear the narrator in his perfect British accent describing Bubba and his entourage (or me in years past LOL)...  Look at car tags from all around the country.  Definitely a people show along with the gun show.

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It has been years since I've been to the show.  I used to live in Tulsa so it was easy back then.  Based on the past experiences it is definitely worth going.  You will likely see stuff there (not necessarily NFA) that you likely won't see again for a while (if ever).  I once had a table there about 15 years ago when I was getting rid of a bunch of title 1 guns to buy NFA.  I actually bought a Swedish K at that show once.  I should have bought the M60 the guy also had (set up as door gunner gun) but I just did not have the money.  He also had another Swedish K I wish I could have afforded as well.  I would go in knowing what I was looking for and covered lots of tables quickly.  Odd mags and such usually turn up there.  Parts kits used to be in good supply (probably dried up by now).  Lots of other non-gun "neat" things too.  Plan on covering lots of ground.  Good luck!

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Just got home from Tulsa. For the firearms enthusiast, this event s/b on every gun collector’s bucket list. Simply amazing. Don’t know how many rows there are, but i covered rows 1 thru 7 Sat & rows 7 thru 14 Sunday. Didn’t even have a chance to get to lower level. 

Only saw (1) NFA MAC-10 in those first (14) rows. 

Lots of fascinating stuff there, like the 100% wood Winchester rifles there (which were a work of art) & a guy dealing with b-b guns.

The notes below are just my opinion & based strictly upon observation. I don’t have verified proof so please don’t get bent of of shape.

Thousands of AR’s & kits at the show so just based upon the sheer quantity, i’m going to assume that the AR market saturation, years from now, the AR will certainly not appreciate as an investment like an NFA item (NFA approx 200K vs 340 million US population).

Same goes for all the handguns on the market along with engineering design improvements of handguns. Example would be the simpler disassembly of the Ruger Mark IV compared to the Mark I thru Mark III. A majority of my handguns purchased over the last 3 decades have not appreciated in value, actually have decreased.

Not sure how many decades or centuries these polymer frame pistols will function without getting brittle & cracking. Not like a 100% metal gun.

Picked up a L.C. Smith 12 GA side-by-side shotgun for $800, which was listed for $1395. A buddy talked me into pheasant hunting recently so I didn’t want to borrow one of his shotguns constantly.

Already planning to return next year. Thanks for everyone’s help. Much appreciated.

Edited by slotcarking
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13 hours ago, Shortbarrelpete said:

YOU DIDN'T GO DOWNSTAIRS?! Oh man you missed the really good stuff!  — Darn! Thanks for the heads-up! I’ll start at the lower level next year. My back & feet were aching terribly at end end of the day on Saturday & Sunday. Getting too old to walk & stay on my feet all day long.

 

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