The death of the great American gun show

This weekend I did something I often do and almost always regret. I went to a gun show. Specifically the Tallahassee Gun and Knife show. This show has shrunk considerably over the last few years and went from two bustling buildings to one meager showing. As I walked and looked at the prices of ammo and guns, I couldn’t help but feel a bit melancholy.

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I loved gun shows when I was a kid. My dad would bring us all the time to browse and peruse. I remember “Sure as Shooting” Heather with her shotgun in the commercials letting us know when the next gun show was scheduled. Hell, I met my Marine recruiter at a gun show. I remember surplus guns and buying my first Mosin Nagant and my first CZ 52 at rock-bottom prices. Gosh, the surplus 7.62×25 Tokarevs were basically free.

In the last few decades, gun shows have changed or morphed, and I’ve entered an abusive relationship with them. I remember them getting really bad after 2012 or so. That was a huge year for gun sales and panic buying. It took years to recover, and in many ways they never really did.

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