I was at the VC from Thursday thru mid day Saturday. The rain put a damper on the shooting on Thursday and Friday. Saturday morning was decent with no rain. I'd say the gun and goodies vendors were at ~50% of last year, and shooting and casual attendees were down somewhat. But with all that said there were plenty of guns and accouterments, and the vendors seemed more willing to negotiate to lower numbers. I came home with some things, and had a grand time as usual with regulars/friends I see there every year.
One of the highlights for me is when our web host Dave Weber fell, hook line & sinker, for a good joke while at the Fox Collectors tables.
Of course I understand that the economy is severely hurting a lot of people. And that some have to stay near home because of a family situation. But for those who have the option... we all make choices on events like this.... taking vacation days at work, scheduling alternate casual things with the family, deciding to hunt for doves etc. when you have mucho more days of the season to do same, watching the weather forecast and bagging it if it looks like the sun won't shine, rationalizing it's too far to drive, etc etc. All I have to say is it takes a year for another event like the VC to come around, and none of us are getting younger.
Silvers
