doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Las Vegas show?

Surprisingly (to me, at least), other than Dr. Bob's regrettable experience, there haven't been any comments on the Beinfeld show, at least I haven't yet seen any. There were a few ACGG members there, displaying along with the FEGA folks, and I'd be interested in any opinions, viewpoints, etc. about the show overall and specifically about the FEGA/ACGG displays.
Craig Libhart

I was at the show Friday. This was my first show so I wasn't sure what to expect and have no reference for comparison. There were two large halls with vendors and exhibits and several smaller rooms that housed primarily exhibits for upcoming auctions by the various auction houses. My primary interest was double guns and I saw many, many very fine ones. I was also surprised at the number and variations of Lugers many of which looked like they'd just left the factory. I was particularly enthralled with a cased Westley Richards double gun and bolt action rifle set with all accoutrements, a gorgeous Purdey bar-in-wood hammer gun, a massive H&H double rifle billed at an "Elephant Gun" cased with ammo and accoutrements and an Enigma machine at one of the auction house exhibits. The Engravers' Guild area was very interesting and enjoyable; the skill these artists have is truly amazing. You could also try your hand at engraving with one of the automated engraving tools. Another highlight was finally meeting Drew Hause. Oh, and it was kind of neat seeing Tom Sellack.

All in all a very enjoyable time that could have only been improved upon by having about $10k in my pocket. :-)

Phil

Craig, the FEGA show met all expectations and then some. We had, I think, some 57 tables. There were about 6 ACGG members showing (a couple also members of FEGA) and another 8 or so FEGA members who are also ACGG members. There were several first time displayers and the displays all around were excellent. The traffic through our area was busy but we had so much space in the isles that it sometimes looked less than it was. The banquet was well attended with about 180 people and the auction a great success...and it all finished by 9:15 which must be a record! Oh, and I had the best looking ukulele in the gun show!

i played a really nice guitar in the fega area,i think there were some good deals if you looked around.a really nice side lock double rifle in 8x60 for under 10,000 with dies brass and i think a mold i saw a great deal on a fn side lock that had intercepting scears.

Any small bore British box locks?

My friend who came over from the shot show bought a cased Webley & Scott 701 20 ga with ejs

I found a Birmingham SLNE 28 ga with 30" brls.

I am sure there were others.

My 2nd time going and helping Toby Barclay, Heritage Guns.
Kirby Hoyt had a fresh batch of guns just imported from the UK. He had a couple of small bore English boxlocks for fair money. They should be up on his website or just give him a call.
I ended up buying 4 guns. A modern Beretta 12, a cased pair of damascus Thomas Turner 12 ga BLEs and a cased Masu side lever 16 hammer (sleeved). I also picked the a 28" VC pair case for my Guyot pair of 12 BLEs.
Those who have been on the board know I lost some guns to a break-in about 6 years ago. One of the lost guns was a twin to this Masu 16. My lost gun was #2 of a pair. This one could be the next serial number to my lost gun. I haven't dug out my records yet to see. I have a Masu magazine case that has been orphaned since the break in. Now I'll have a cased Masu (with label) with my Masu magazine case.
I looked hard at the CSMC 20 M-21. I went ready to order a Grade 1 if I liked it, but the Grade 6 was stunning, causing me to dither on a decision. The other purchases tapped me out for a while, so the M21 20 will have to wait for now.
There is a UPS store in the Riveria. I shipped some stuff back rather than lug it through the airport.
It was well worth the trip.

Joe

My first time also, and both the quality and quantity of fine guns, knives, and accoutrements were overwhelming. The greatest pleasure was meeting so many here, including SamW and Steve Culver. Dr Bob and the Lefever fellas were most gracious and it was fun measuring barrels.
I hope everyone will forgive my brief moments of confusion It takes a couple of beats to connect the dots from...what have we talked about in the past...which forum...forum handle...real name.
I stayed at the Marriott SpringHill Suites only 1/2 a block from the Convention Center. Very nice, quiet, no smoking, no casino, a small restaurant & bar, and a good breakfast buffet as part of the room fee. Just me, Mormons, and about 50 British and Polish NATO service men and women
And BTW; a gunsmith who requests anonymity has had lots of experience with Magnaflux and penetrating dye testing of pattern welded barrels and believe the process to be quite useful in evaluating the integrity of the metal. He is going to get some pics to me and it might be time to update the thread before long
http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=7498#Post7498

Overall the sporting arms show was a little thinner than average. European builders like those from Italy and Austria were absent. Famars is out of business, no Spanish makers present, didn't see several of US dealers who usually attend. Missing also were the blackpowder cartridge rifle makers. Couple of the British gun house were also missing. The FEGA addition was great. The knife show is not much better than many local shows, didn't see any big name builders of knives. The rooms across the hall for Julia's auction wares was excellent for looking but nothing for sale there until March. The Alaska estate room was interesting too. In the main hall things were pretty much the same as far as I could tell. Maybe the quality of content was a little lower but still a good show for me.

This was my first time at the Vegas show. It nearly killed me to be trapped at my table and not able to wander the show extensively. I was great to finally meet Drew in person. Nice to shake hands with someone that you have been communicating with for years.



Jerry; now you�ve gone and hurt my feelings. LOL!!!

The knife show section certainly isn't like the Blade Show, but there were at least a handful of makers in attendance who are highly regarded by the custom knife industry. While many of the top makers were not actually at the show, there were dealers in attendance who had knives made by them. I am aware of the sale of a single folder for over $16k. The knives and the buyers were there.

I had a great show for sales. I brought twelve knives and sold eight. I didn't bring any really high end pieces, but sold two $1,000 hunters and a couple of $2,000 bowies. I didn't expect that this show would be the place to sell many upscale knives, but may have to reconsider. I'll be back next year.