The Nation's Gun Show

The Washington Post had a generally positive and straightfoward article on the gun show in yesterday's paper.

Nearly 300 vendors offering pocketbook-size handguns, semiautomatic weapons and Civil War-era swords, among other things, took over a space almost the size of two football fields at what organizers said was one of Virginia's biggest gun shows -- and Fairfax County's first major show in decades.

Hunters, collectors and the curious -- some in button-down shirts, some in full camouflage -- waited in lines several hundred people deep to get first pickings yesterday morning. Inside, they squeezed through the packed hall, stopping here and there to take a gander at the offerings of what was boldly billed "The Nation's Gun Show."

Doesn't quite make up for the other crap they spew out 364 days a year, but at least its an improvement. What is especially nice is that while mentioning handguns and semi autos, the article devotes consdierable space to the nicer pieces.

"We've had a pent-up demand," said David Condon, owner of a gun shop in Middleburg, whose display of antique firearms -- averaging about $4,000 each -- filled up five tables.

The sheer size of the show made it great for those, such as Harry Addis, 60, who were on the hunt for a particular piece. By midafternoon, the Bergton, Va., resident had scored a modern, never-before-fired Sako Vixen Deluxe rifle for $1,000.

. . .

Elliott said the lofty incomes of many Fairfax County residents make the area a good gun market, too. That sounded right to Tom Robinson, a Luray, Va., collector who was selling about 50 antique pieces, including an $8,800 Winchester rifle made in 1873. "These are your 401(k) types," he said, scanning the crowd.

That ought to shut up the usual crazies who think these things are all about cheap AK-47 knockoffs being sold to NY Gang Members. It was a great event and I look forward to its return in October.