Gun show ammo

[Daniel_Carlsbad]

ok don't beat me up about my newbie question about gun shows and ammo but here is my question... I went to my first gun show today at the Del Mar fair in San Diego. Lots of cool stuff, some new some old, lots of tables promoting their different items. So the ammo sections were pretty much packed and carried about 5 big time name brand ultra manufactures of ammo. I did come across two small tables inside that were selling their own ammo but the tables were dead and no one was buying from them really in comparison to the "big guys" who had huge lines.

Are there "small time" professional licensed manufactures that sell at gun shows? I really thought i'd see more small businesses trying to promote their products against the big guys, isn't that the point of a gun show. We can all go online and buy from the big guys anytime for probably cheaper than the gun shows anyway. guess i was just disappointed to see the little guy under-represented at the little Del Mar gun show. Would have been cool to be able to talk to the small business man and ask about his business instead of just being another number in a long line to buy factory.

Do people buy from other vendors besides the big guys? They all had to start somewhere so what are your opinions about that?

just curious, I'm not political and not biased just wondering from other peoples experience.

would definitely like to say that it was cool to see so many people there, nice to see a large presence of gun owners in SD. Good times!

[varanidguy]

I can tell you that in my experience, a lot of those little guys are selling ammo that they reloaded themselves. Call me paranoid but I don't trust anyone else's hand loads unless I personally know them and know for a fact that they are competent at loading ammo. That's why I don't buy from them, personally. But I'll buy components from them all day so long as they are factory components (CCI, Federal, Hornady, Sierra, etc).

[stilly]

I only bought ammo from Sure Fire or whatever they were called. I kept thinking they were as good as the flashlight people.

They used CCI primers, new brass and plated pills but I dunno bout their powder. Surefire breaks down their ammo to show you what components you get and they are sometimes dead, but for ammo, I got 750 .45 ACP for $225 and my friend got 1500 9mm for $235. I think they all shot great as well. This was a year or two ago but still was a good value then. The guy did not charge us tax because we paid in cash. They may have used once fired brass, but everything else was good.

[brdrgrd]

There are other vendors at the show who sell ammo. The small tables you are referring are most likely those selling reloads. When it comes to the big name manufactures no one can really compete with the two main booths, although there a few other smaller vendors that have factory ammo where you may get lucky. Also, LAX ammunition has some big name factory stuff as well as their own.
As for the small businesses most of them are using the space they have to promote their firearms and parts. They are doing exactly as you mentioned and promoting their products against the "big guys".
As far as going online to get ammo, most of the time you can find ammo at the show for the same prices or slightly cheaper. The only problem is factoring in the ticket price and parking, which is usually more than shipping charges. The difference is you get to go to the show and learn about firearms and have a good time. If you look at it that way it is worth it, at least to me anyway.
Not trying to downplay what you are saying in anyway, it would be nice to see more small time vendors. Also cheaper tickets and parking would be great and would get more people to attend, especially for those who only want ammo. Then the price overall would be the same as online. The show would draw more people, who might purchase other items. Don't know why they don't do that, other than each entity wants to get their "piece" so to speak and doesn't really care if the other guy sells more of their stuff. Equilibrium point of price and demand I guess.
Anyhow, it's late and I am ranting. Glad to hear you had a good experience.

[Daniel_Carlsbad]

That's awesome. Sounds like some good experiences. I was just curious of other people's opinions thanks for shining some light. Going back to the gun show today.

[opos]

Haven't been to Del Mar for years...cost prohibitive...but in the "old days" I bought some plastic baggie packed reloads from a seller...result was terrible...had 2 squibs and load variance all over the place...I broke a lifelong rule of shooting anyone's reloads that one time and never again...I've shot a few loads from some of the big "production" reloaders on occasion but always had that uneasy feeling...so I load for me...I don't supply anyone else with reloads and I don't shoot anyone elses loads....

The slight difference in price is not worth the risk of not knowing the status or condition of the loader, the equipment or the process used...If I'm not reloading I tend to go to folks like SG ammo in Oklahoma...they got great prices and service and the shipping costs are no big deal when figuring in local sales tax, gun show admission, parking, etc...Example is some 20 round boxes of PPU 25-06 ammo..great brass for loading and PPU is good stuff....cost was $14 a box of 20 and for the 10 boxes I bought I think the shipping was $12..making the cost about $15 delivered for 200 rounds...I'll get a number of reloads out of the brass as well as having on set of loaded ammo to shoot...just not worth the "savings" of not knowing where the brass or components came from or how they were handled...I'll bet that much of the 1x shot brass that floats around is brass where the loader has no idea of the prior usage...I doubt range pick ups are 1x fired in most cases...probably left because it was the last gasp on the brass...

Your mileage may vary.