Went to the Gun Show

**M14sRock** · 14-09-2012, 05:13

Made the pilgrimage on Saturday. Very crowded.

Took the family and some friends and hit the Gun Show in Ventura, CA. I went planning to buy nothing but ammo.

Some of the great Sellers got me to buy their stuff purely because they were cool.

These targets are AR500 and 3/8" thick. The guys selling them drove down from Salt Lake City Utah for the show. That is about two days of driving each way. Ouch. Paid $55 each. Without measuring I'd guess they are 4-5 inches in diameter and weigh about 12lbs each. They came with the orange stickers in place.

These sheet metal pistol cutouts are bottle openers (check the muzzles), and the kid who makes them is awesome. $3 each. My wife wants him to come and make us a stainless steel backsplash for behind the stove in our kitchen. She also wants him to make us new house address numbers.

Some snausage sticks.

A cool surplus 2 day pack in great shape. $50.

Some FrogLube liquid. $14. This stuff is incredible.

A very sweet British Bolo machete and scabbard, dated 1942. Scabbard is in pristine condition. Bakelite handles are tight, and un-cracked.

A Cattaraugus 225Q "Quarter Masters" knife in decent condition. The sheath it came with is not the right one, but is very high quality. I'll find a use for it.

The Bolo Machete and the 225Q were a combo for $100. VERY happy with that purchase.

Scored this Imperial (Schrade) for $20. Very similar to a Craftsman knife I recently resurrected (that was made by Imperial). These were hunting knives made from leftover parts and pieces from Military contracts. For some reason, every one I've ever come across has had tight, intact handles (leather washers). Great knives for a giveaway price. Late '50s vintage.

And a pure impulse buy. An Anza knife made from a file. This one is a brute. Blade is about 6" long and a tad over 1/4" thick. Handles are Micarta, and the sheath is very high quality leather.

I bought my first Anza knives over 25 years ago and they are still going strong. It was marked $180usd and when I asked him if he could go any lower he said $110. Damn. Then I noticed that a tiny piece of one handle was not glued down right, and first he said he could not sell it and tried to hand me another of the same knife. I explained that I WAS buying THIS knife and he said, "OK, $100". SOLD!! It is razor sharp and very heavy, and I am in love.

While wandering around the show I ran into a friend who was selling his G36 with 5 mags. He had gotten it in a trade a few weeks ago and it was unfired. Score.

Here it is on the right, with my old G36 on the left. Plus the mags it came with.

After the show I took my 1990 GMC Jimmy to the upholstery shop for a new headliner and they told me it would be done in an hour. So my buddy and I went over to check out the LGS (Local gun store). I was checking out a very clean Norwegian 1914 (1911 clone) in the case, when one of the salesmen said, "If you like cool old guns, check this out." He pushed a CZ 83 in 9x18Mak across the counter to me. For $150 I could not pass it up, even though it is in a caliber I don't currently own. But the trigger was so smooth that I could not quibble. I paid for it, but will need to wait to do the paperwork due to the CA "one gun per month" BS. But I did snap a quick pic at the gun store.

So I didn't buy any ammo, but did get a pile of cool swag.