mtdawg169
03-05-11, 17:35
Just got home from the gun show in Atlanta. As expected there was a wide variety of folks in attendance, from everyday Joes to your typical 450 lb armchair commandos. And as usual, there was a wide variety of AR's for sale. Most of what I usually see at these shows range from Model 1 sales uppers being sold as "as good as Colt", a couple of basement builders using Spikes parts and Magpul furniture to Bushmasters and DPMS.
There were a couple of nice surprises today though. First, the guys from Jones Tactical were present. JT is a local GA outfit and they have recently been gaining popularity thanks to folks like Military Morons, MilSpec Monkey & ITS Tactical. I have been looking for a good everyday carry, range & light duty belt. So I couldn't pass up the JT booth again without ordering one of their Everyday Carry Belts. They made it right on the spot for me after taking a waist measurement. I was able to select my color options and the Cobra buckle color. They had it ready to go in less than an hour, which is much better than their current 6-7 week wait for online orders. It is a well made & very functional belt and I was really impressed with the quality of construction as well as the guys from Jones Tactical. I selected the tan 1.5" belt webbing (also available in black scuba webbing, which is a bit stiffer). For the adjustment webbing I selected the Marpat brown color. They also had a new color for the Cobra buckle, which was available in a matching brown. Other colors available for the buckle were black & a lighter coyote tan color. Webbing was available in a wide variety of colors, everything from blue & hot pink to multicam, coyote, digital camo, brown & a few others. Before anyone asks, I am in no way affilliated with Jones Tactical, I just wanted to pass along my experience and impressions with the products & people of JT.
Other pleasant surprises & observations from today included:
- a properly priced DPMS @ $650 (M4 pattern, not a Sportical model)
- I found .380 Auto Winchester Ranger T ammo for $35 per box, grabbed a couple boxes for the stash
- I saw a .308 LMT MWS with a 16" SS barrel for approx. $2800, not sure what the going rate on these is, but I was just glad to see a quality weapon amongst so much junk
- Right next to the MRP was a .308 SCAR for $2900
- met the owner of The Rifleman gunstore in Macon. He had some great guns and alot of Class III stuff on display. He had my favorite item seen today as well, a new, unfired HK Mk 23 & KAC Mk 23 suppressor for sale.
- and the last thing on my list was a couple of good conversations with some old timers & getting an education from them on a Nazi-marked .32 cal Belgian Browning Model 1922 that my grandfather brought back from WWII
Funniest thing I heard today... some jerkoff selling Model 1 Sales uppers was trying to sell a young guy an SBR upper. He never mentioned the legalities of owning a short barreled upper & a lower without the proper paperwork. The best & worst part was what I heard as I was walking away. The buyer wanted a lowpro gas block configuration. Seller told him, all you have to do is take this one off (FSB) and put a different new gas block on and you can sell the old one for the same cost as the new one, no problem! He made it sound to the buyer like it was just a simple swap that he could just do on his own. He had the guy convinced that it was more akin to playing with legos than an armorer level undertaking. I really struggled with this situation. It took all I had not to speak up and call the dealer out on his BS.
Overall, it was a good way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon and a somewhat better than average gun show experience.
There were a couple of nice surprises today though. First, the guys from Jones Tactical were present. JT is a local GA outfit and they have recently been gaining popularity thanks to folks like Military Morons, MilSpec Monkey & ITS Tactical. I have been looking for a good everyday carry, range & light duty belt. So I couldn't pass up the JT booth again without ordering one of their Everyday Carry Belts. They made it right on the spot for me after taking a waist measurement. I was able to select my color options and the Cobra buckle color. They had it ready to go in less than an hour, which is much better than their current 6-7 week wait for online orders. It is a well made & very functional belt and I was really impressed with the quality of construction as well as the guys from Jones Tactical. I selected the tan 1.5" belt webbing (also available in black scuba webbing, which is a bit stiffer). For the adjustment webbing I selected the Marpat brown color. They also had a new color for the Cobra buckle, which was available in a matching brown. Other colors available for the buckle were black & a lighter coyote tan color. Webbing was available in a wide variety of colors, everything from blue & hot pink to multicam, coyote, digital camo, brown & a few others. Before anyone asks, I am in no way affilliated with Jones Tactical, I just wanted to pass along my experience and impressions with the products & people of JT.
Other pleasant surprises & observations from today included:
- a properly priced DPMS @ $650 (M4 pattern, not a Sportical model)
- I found .380 Auto Winchester Ranger T ammo for $35 per box, grabbed a couple boxes for the stash
- I saw a .308 LMT MWS with a 16" SS barrel for approx. $2800, not sure what the going rate on these is, but I was just glad to see a quality weapon amongst so much junk
- Right next to the MRP was a .308 SCAR for $2900
- met the owner of The Rifleman gunstore in Macon. He had some great guns and alot of Class III stuff on display. He had my favorite item seen today as well, a new, unfired HK Mk 23 & KAC Mk 23 suppressor for sale.
- and the last thing on my list was a couple of good conversations with some old timers & getting an education from them on a Nazi-marked .32 cal Belgian Browning Model 1922 that my grandfather brought back from WWII
Funniest thing I heard today... some jerkoff selling Model 1 Sales uppers was trying to sell a young guy an SBR upper. He never mentioned the legalities of owning a short barreled upper & a lower without the proper paperwork. The best & worst part was what I heard as I was walking away. The buyer wanted a lowpro gas block configuration. Seller told him, all you have to do is take this one off (FSB) and put a different new gas block on and you can sell the old one for the same cost as the new one, no problem! He made it sound to the buyer like it was just a simple swap that he could just do on his own. He had the guy convinced that it was more akin to playing with legos than an armorer level undertaking. I really struggled with this situation. It took all I had not to speak up and call the dealer out on his BS.
Overall, it was a good way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon and a somewhat better than average gun show experience.