NEWS FROM PORTLAND GUN SHOW

Michael sez: Just got this from Mrs. Charli Gribble. She got it from a friend of hers.


Greetings,

Went to the Portland gun show Friday, 11/21. Hadn't been there for several years.

So there things were a bit different than I remembered. On the scene at 11:15 AM. Ticket windows weren't open until Noon. Was just aboutto leave to find some coffee. Turned around, looked, and the lobby was PACKED with people. About that time a security guard had us split up into 3 lines. Finally got tickets,went outside to have a smoke. By then the line waiting to get in was not only out the door,but all the way to the next building and beyond. This show isn't as big as it used to be. But there was a LOT of stuff there. Quite a bit that I wasn't expecting.

Manufacturers of AR15s, FALs, etc. cannot keep up with theorders they are taking. So was surprised at the quantity available. And the prices hadn'tgone through the roof as expected.

That probably won't last. There are a couple outfits that sell lots of hand guns at this show. They were sellingLOTS of hand guns. Lines of people waiting to do paperwork. Reloading components were there, but much thinner than years past. I didn't see what I specifically was looking for. Glad I didn't really need anything.

The big news was the ammo sellers. Three outfits with BIG displays. Didn't even try to see what they had early on. They were MOBBED. Ammo was leaving that show by thehand truck and 4 wheel dolly load.

Interestingly, the guys buying the most ammo were my age (59) and older. Must be the 3 percenters. When the doors opened at noon, people flooded the place. You could move down the aisles, but it was crowded. By 3:00 half the crowd was gone with most of the ammo. By5:00 the ammo vendors were calling their suppliers hoping to replenish stocks.

Remember,this was the first day of a 3-day show. A Friday. A work day.

This may have been the real election day of 2008.