A gun show is not a "gun swap meet". HATE IT OR LOVE IT, WE ALL HAVE TO LIVE WITH IT.

I went to the Dallas arms show the other day and as a long time gun owner, I want to talk about the crowd and what I saw.<br><br>The show was well run and well organized. It was a lot larger than I was expecting. There were plenty of vendors, including several LGSs and some larger manufacturers. The parking was fine, the facility *was* great, the admission was fair, and the show was nice overall.<br><br>Now for the not-so-nice part:<br><br>I have never seen so many people, in person, completely clueless about firearms. I saw one guy holding a pistol wrong and dry firing it on the floor, despite being told not to (he was asked to leave). I saw a couple examining a pump shotgun with the action open, pointing it at the ceiling and asking each other what the "u" shaped thing was (the firing pin). I saw one guy pick up a pistol, after the vendor asked him not to, then rack the slide and rack it again, and the vendor had to step in and tell him to put it down.<br><br>I saw one guy buy a shotgun and decide he wanted to carry it around the show, despite being told it was empty; the show staff had to literally escort him out.<br><br>For the first time in my life, I wanted to ask to check 100% of the guns I was looking at to make sure they were empty, and I still didn't buy anything because I wasn't sure. There were so many sketchy people there.<br><br>I saw guys who obviously did not own a gun before trying to haggle over the price of an AR-15. I saw beautiful historic guns like the SAA and others sitting on tables next to modern AR's and Glocks. There were several counters with only used ammo on them. Like, boxes upon boxes of .38 special and 9mm, with some bunches of .223 here and there. I was looking for the Remington 700 hunter, and all I saw were Glocks and 1911s; one vendor had a 10mm Glock, a 9mm Glock, and a .40 cal Glock sitting on his table, with A BULLET WEIGHT label on each one, as if the 115 grain 9mm version "felt" different than the 180 grain 10mm version. <br><br>I saw at least 2-3 counters with the random pile of junk. Like, a pile of 6-8 old holsters, a couple of magazines, some boxes of ammo and a few accessories. A few of the counters were empty except for a hand-written card that said "I'm not here until 11:00 AM" (the show started at 8:00 AM). There were several counters of "collectible" knives, which only seemed collectible because of the price (like, a $50 multi-tool made by Gerber). And of course, the usual 5-6 counters of MAGA gear, including the mandatory "Don't Tread On Me" flag. <br><br>I was really looking forward to this show. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed to see so many new gun owners and gun show "newbies" ruining it for the rest of us (basically, everyone who knows what they're doing). This show was kind of like going to Wally World on the day after Thanksgiving. I won't be going to any more arms shows in the area.