Last weekend was the Gun & Knife Show in Fergus Falls, MN. Thought I’d give you a little follow up. I missed seeing a lot of familiar faces but was glad to see those of you that could make it. Probably good to apologize to those of you I might not have recognized behind your mask (and there weren’t a lot of those!)
Attendance was outstanding
First, let me say the crowd on Saturday was incredible. They limited the number of people that could come in at one time and the waiting line stretched out the door and down the block. It was probably 2:00PM before the crowd started to slow down. In the mean time, there was a lot, and I mean a lot of money changing hands.
The enthusiasm level was as good as any gun & knife show I’ve attended in a while. Covid infection rates are really low up hear and no one seemed overly concerned about it. People were glad to get out and about.
Prices and availability
I’ve talked about the inflated prices we’re seeing for ammunition. There weren’t a lot of ‘deals’ to be found if you were looking for ammo and the larger dealers weren’t offering a lot of hope the situation would resolve soon. Manufacturers are running at full capacity and aren’t getting ahead of the demand curve. At one point there was some hope we’d see ammunition availability improve by late 2021. Now it sounds like shortages will run well into 2022.
Gun prices were up. Especially if you were looking for conceal carry sized handguns. From what I heard, people weren’t negotiating very hard if they found what they were looking for. They were just happy to close the deal. The problem was trying to find affordable ammunition!
This is all being fed by a flurry of new gun control proposals under consideration. I’m aware of 6 bills filed with the House Judiciary Committee at this time and of course, the threat of Executive Orders hangs over us as well.
- H.R. 30
- H.R. 121
- H.R. 125
- H.R. 127
- H.R. 130
- H.R. 167
Axe & Knife Sales
Axe & Knife sales were excellent. The first two knives I sold totaled over $700. High end knives were definitely what buyers were looking for at this show. By the end of the show, in addition to knife sales, I had sold 7 axes. This was just the second show I had taken the axes to and the response was great. People were able to put their hands on the axe and actually see the difference in a $90 axe and the big box stores $40 axe. There’s a lot to be said for actually handling an item before buying it.
I’ve said many times before that it’s much more fun to sell items in person rather then remotely or online. The ability to put an item in someone’s hands is so much more effective then sending a picture.
With any luck, I hope to set up at the Sauk Centre, MN show on April 10th & 11th. This will be followed (I hope) by the Detroit Lakes, MN show April 24th & 25th. By then we’re all hopeful the Virus will be on it’s last legs and life will be returning to normal for most of us.