luvmyberetta

I went yesterday. We got there a few minutes after 11:00 & the parking lot was full, but no line or waiting at all. I left a little after 1:00 & the parking lot was half empty. I found a few really good deals, but not on what I was looking for. Brand new SR9 (not the 9E model) & SR40s were going as low as $399. I saw a couple SR9Es for $339. LC9S models were selling as low as $329, but not in the color I wanted. Ironically I saw more than one older LC9 (not LC9S) priced at over $500. I found a few Berettas & M&Ps with average prices, but you always have a few vendors pricing them $100-$200 over MSRP. Pistol magazines were insanely high yesterday so I ordered some for a lot less online after I got home. When it was said & done I drove 150 miles round trip & only went home with two buckets of Quaker Steak & Lube hot wings so not a total loss.

My local gun shop charges $60 for handgun transfers ($50 for long guns) & a private FFL I used to use no longer does transfers so I'd have to make a drive out of town either way. A guy I've been talking to on the Ruger forum recently posted his LC9s he bought at one of the Knoxville R&K shows for around $330 + tax. I figured if I can find a deal anywhere in that range or even a little more (or hopefully get lucky & find a FDE model) I'd be as well off, plus I'd have the excuse to pay a visit to Quaker Steak & Lube for some wings afterwards.

I haven't been to any gun shows in a couple years & I'm in the market for a LC9s & am considering going this weekend. Have the lines shortened much? I remember a couple years ago when lines stretched all the way down both sides to the parking lot. With sky high local prices it may be worth the 150 mile round trip to the Jacobs Building.

I missed out on it, but someone got a deal on this Beretta Cheetah for $530. Anything under $650 for one in good condition is a bargain. http://bid.taysauctions.com/cgi-bin/mnlist.cgi?tays130/105

I'm going to Knoxville tomorrow, but won't be at the show. I tend to prefer the Expo shows over the ones at Chilhowee anyway.   On a side note... WBIR news was talking recently about protesters showing up at the Chilhowee show last month & probably more this month to try to get the show banned. Did anyone even notice them there last month?

Dang! Prices on a lot of those handguns are already higher than buying brand new at a gun shop & still several days left in the bidding.  :doh:

The roads here are really bad. It's been snowing since before 9:00 this morning & we now have about six inches on top of what was already there. The city said they aren't treating or scrapping it this weekend so I'm staying home. It's movies & video games with the wife & kids this weekend.  :waiting:  

  +1. 50 rnd boxes of Perfecta & Tula Brass Maxx are good quality & made in Italy by Fiocchi. I avoid gun show reloads (or any reloads for that matter) like the plague.

I have a couple Ed Brown 19 lb. competition 1911 main springs I can send to someone. They're brand new & have never been installed.

  It's funny you brought that up. I actually called FedEx first to arrange a pick up & was told by the rep that FedEx cannot ship firearms unless it's FFL to FFL. I asked the guy to double check for me & he told that he "didn't need to look it up" because he already knew the rules. That's the main reason I went with UPS in the first place. Some of these companies need to concentrate on training & customer service.

  The above is why I'm going to let a FFL handle everything in the future when it comes to shipping. The HUB is a 3-4 hour round trip for me so that's pretty much out of the question. My local UPS drop off point is at a drug store. The fact that overnight was going to be well over $100 had me in shock since I've heard guys say that shipping averages $35-$30 in most cases. I even had to drive 100 miles round trip to an out of town post office to get the "U.S. Postal MO" cashed because all three of my local post offices claimed they didn't have enough funds for it, which I know was B.S. That's one of the problems with living in a remote area.

It's been in use for over 100 years & is really great stuff. I've always used it on every gun I've owned & it's safe for ALL gun surfaces, including wood, polymer, brass, copper, & plastic. Ballistol's water soluble so it's not actually water proof, but it's a great leather conditioner. Triple K suggests using it on their holsters on their website & I've used it for years to soften & shape leather holsters. I use it everywhere & like the fact that it's 100% safe around pets & kids, unlike many other products. Under the hood of my car, on the door seals to keep them from freezing shut during winter months, & on the internals of all my guns. It's the best product I've used to clean black powder firearms as well. It just melts the residue away. Some people don't like the smell, especially of the aerosol version. It's not a terrible smell, but can be a little strong if using in a confined space. If you can find it, the liquid bottled version has less odor since it doesn't get atomized into the air during use. I'm always going to use it & highly recommend it. Here's more on it's history... http://www.ballistol-shop.de/History-of-Ballistol:_:86.html?language=en

Thanks for all the replies. Before listing another handgun on a forum besides TGO, I'll check with a few other FFLs to see how much they charge to use the USPS in the future. I used UPS & when I told the clerk it was a handgun she said they would have to open it once it reached the HUB to inspect it, which is about 60 miles away. I said that they shouldn't have to open it for a second inspection. She said they usually just mark them as "tools" & suggested sending it by 2-day air, which was $42. Overnight was going to be $114 after tax & the store's drop off fee. Gladly, it made it safely to it's destination, but I was stressing about it the whole time. If I ever have to ship again it's going into the hands of a FFL I trust to take care of arranging shipping for me.

...what shipper have you used & which do you prefer? For the first time I recently shipped a handgun & will probably have to sell a couple more & may have to ship them too. I hear guys talk about being able to ship overnight for $30-$40, but UPS & FedEx have quoted me more than double that price. So far UPS & FedEx estimates for overnight run anywhere from $70-$100 & 2nd day air runs around $40-$60 to most parts of the country. My local gun shop & a local gun smith offer shipping through the post office, but charge an additional $25 fee on top of the actual shipping charge. What do you guys suggest?

I prefer Paypal because it's so convenient & I use it for most of my purchase anyway. I buy more things online than from retail stores. I rarely go to a store for anything other than groceries. Paypal "smart connect" is basically a low rate electronic credit card anyway.

  I'll take it if still available.

  Thanks everyone. I'll wait until I go to the next gun show & see if I can find some deals. I picked up a large mortar can for about $15 last year at Bud's, but it's way too big to fit in my gun cabinet & the 50 & 30 cans stack perfectly in it so I'm going to ditch the mortar can & replace it with some more 30s & 50s. I'm not storing loose ammo. I'm storing regular 50 & 100 rnd retail boxes by caliber in each can & labeling them. That way I don't have multiple calibers piled on top of each other & in range bags. All I have to do is pop open the can & grab a box.

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, but I couldn't find the info in the forum.   How much are the empty 30 & 50 cal steel ammo cans selling for at the Knoxville area gun shows lately? I found some brand new Blackhawk 50 cal cans for $14.99 at an out of town store. The last surplus ammo cans I bought cost me between $7-$10, but that was a couple years ago. The nearest place I've been able to find them is about a 120-150 mile round trip for me so saving a few bucks will help.

What is it about rednecks? One man's dead & the other is in the hospital & may not survive. All of this over a fighting rooster. Darwin's hard at work here...  http://wate.com/2015/09/17/uncle-dead-nephew-injured-in-meigs-county-shootout-over-gamecock/

  The American built LC9 magazines are junk! There are some lengthy discussions about this subject on the Rugerforum.net  Contact Ruger about the problem & they will probably send you an Italian (Mec-gar if not mistaken) mag at no charge or at least on exchange. Several guys have had the same problem with the American made mags & switching to the Italian mags took care of the problem. Ruger has a great CS dept. & will take care of you.

My family & I have been wearing bandanas treated with permethrin (Bug Shield) lately & they have definitely made a difference in keeping mosquitos away, but I highly suggest taking lots of B vitamins (B1, B6, B complex) for ticks. I used to get eaten alive by ticks, especially those horrible seed ticks, but I started upping my B intake during tick season a few years ago & haven't had a tick bite in 6 years. That's saying a lot since I'm also a volunteer Boy Scout leader & I camp & hike often. I used to sprinkle garlic on my socks, which does work, but then you have clothes & shoes that smell like garlic. IMHO the extra B intake is a good alternative.

If it's a handgun that I went through an FFL to obtain I'm a little more careful. If the gun is linked back to me through an FFL, I always ask to see a valid TN DL & require a private bill of sale. That's for the protection of myself & the buyer in case the gun is ever stolen or used in a crime someday in the future. If it's a handgun I got through private sale or trade I usually only ask to see a TN DL or TN HCP.

My dad has the black CPX-2 & likes it. He's only put about 100 rounds through it, but so far it's been reliable & he says it feels good in his hands. After seeing the junk SCCY made it the past, I'm certainly not comfortable enough to trust my life to one yet. He paid $230 + tax for it brand new last year & got a free box of Remington 9mm ammo at the time of purchase. Time will tell if it turned out to be a bargain or not.

  +1. Plus they're not trying to have a gun show or show off new products. They're looking for serious people to fill highly sought after job positions. That would be pretty hard to do with "Bubba" hanging out at the LGS talking bull about brand "X". Beretta's the oldest company in the world that's still in existence & has been building firearms for 500 years. I'd say they know a thing or two about how to run a business.

  I've never heard of them before the earlier post, but I found a link to their site... http://www.e-sarcoinc.com/