Lately I've been working for Sparks Firearms at a couple different gun shows. I love gun shows and the people I meet and the stuff that is there. I'm always trying to find something new and exciting. I generally find some pretty cool stuff.
Working at the gun shows I've started noticing things I don't like. People seem to not know the laws or just try to get around them. Like we as dealers aren't going to run back ground checks on them. Or they just think they can get lost in the system by having multiple gun dealers do background checks on them during the same day. I wish the FBI or someone would start prosecuting the people doing it! It says right on the form that it's a Federal crime to knowingly lie on the form, and it's a felony for people that can't possess guns to try and buy them. So when anyone starts talking about going around the law (like a 17-year old that wanted to buy a handgun) I ask them to leave or stop touching the guns at our booth.
There is also some theft that goes on at gun shows. Kind of sucks to have things walk off. I love gun shows but they seem to bring out the worst part of the gun culture. It brings out those that want to get illegal guns and those that would steal. I wish local areas would start prosecuting these people since the Federal government seems to refuse. Just frustrating as a gun seller. I certainly don't want to sell a gun to someone that will use it in a crime and I know the owner of the shop feels the same way. He and I would simply refuse to sell a gun to someone that we knew was going to use it illegally.
The other major downside of selling guns at a gun show is the amount of people I'm trying to talk to. I love talking to people and want to help them get the right gun for them. It takes time to pick the gun if they don't know what they want. And it always seems that there are three people trying to ask me a different question about guns at the same time. Then somehow they end up looking at the same gun. I had this happen over an AR a couple weeks ago. Thankfully we had two of the same gun to sell them.
If you haven't been, go to a gun show and check it out. It's a lot of fun and just a sight to behold.
Ben
