Big Town Gun Show

My cowboy action club, the Texas Tenhorns, bought a table at the Big Town Gun Show. I volunteered to help work the table at the show, trying to drum up a little interest in Cowboy Action Shooting.

When I first moved to the Dallas area in the '70s Big Town Mall was still a big deal, built in 1959 it was the first air conditioned inside mall in the southwest, in what was then a small town outside of Dallas. Today the mall is gone, the only thing left is a huge parking lot and the exhibition hall.

The cities have grown so that all the small towns that were well outside of Dallas are now surrounded by the city. All of the fields where folks used to hunt quail and dove are paved over. This has much to do with city folks not liking hunting, there was a time when hunters could dive twenty miles from the city's center and find a place to hunt, and it was inexpensive.

Today a free place to hunt means owning land far from the pavement. Hunting is fighting a battle we may not win as it becomes so much more expensive.

I wasn't there for hunting, though, we were just telling folks about the joys of CAS. We talked to a few folks, most everyone else was after one, or more, of those "scary guns". There were lots and lots of the SKS, the civilian versions of the AR15 and AK47, rows of cut down shotguns. Tons of handguns. Prices are insane. The SKS that sold for $99.00 before the scary gun ban during the Clinton Administration (that helped bring on the '94 election where Gingrich took over the House for the first time in forty years. Anyhow, those guns are up to over $400.00.

Primers were up to $45.00 per thousand. Ammo prices are insane. The revolvers that police departments traded off for those newfangled self stuffers have tripled, or more, in price. An old Colt Official Police was $450.00. Since I wasn't interested in another .38 Special I did not ask if it was a storekeepers gun or had been reblued, there was no holster wear on the finish.

I did get to look at a few genuine, engraved Colt Single Action Army revolvers as well as a Bisley Model. I got to actually handle a few of those fine old revolvers. The table was across from ours and I managed to watch it while the owner went to the john. So when he came back I got to handle a real Colt Bisley model, a second generation nickel plated, engraved Single Action Army, another engraved SAA, this one blued. Those last two revolvers were $8,000.00 and $7500.00. Don't forget I have a birthday coming up!

There was also a Colt 1911 model, the serial number said that this gun was a WW1 veteran. This wasn't exactly a pristine shooter, it had holster wear, worn checkering on the grips, dings and nicks. A gun with character.

Before I work another gun show for the club I must buy some boots with a walking heel. Those mule ear boots are good if I found myself on the hurricane deck of a half broke bronc, not so good for walking around on concrete. Especially wearing two Colt clones.

Since hardly anyone was even slowing down at our table I filled one of my vest pockets with the club's business cards and went around handing them to anyone carrying a single action or lever rifle.

I only bought a shotgun cleaning rod, even those are up in prices!

The plus side? There was only one table with assorted Nazi crap. That's a big plus. There was a VFW table, collecting money for the disabled vets and their families, and the families of those who came home in an aluminum box. Even with all the hate and discontent stirred up by the left the vets of this war are being treated a lot better than the vets of my war.

The Dallas TEA Party table was, thank the Lord, on the opposite side of the building from the Nazi crap table.

So, I'm home after another visit with my neurologist today, I'm way behind on my blog reading. Oh, the Doc doubled my dose of Neurontin. Linda Lou is wondering if this dose will make me comatose. Well, if it does, that will save money.

So, that was my weekend, how was yours?

Note: I don't yet have SASS or the Texas Tenhorns on my blogroll. If you care, Google them. Eventually I'll get around to putting them up, until them, use your favorite search engine.