On second impression, while I still like the bag from SAR USA, the Brownells bag was a little more comfortable to use. It has more of a shoulder strap, and proved to be fully capable of carrying the weight.
Best swag of the day: the grips side of Hogue (not to be confused with the knife side, which was across the aisle) was giving away thick heavy rubber gun mats. You know, the kind of thing that your local gunshop puts on top of the glass display case before they get out that vintage Smith and Wesson. Or the kind of thing you put down on the kitchen table at home before you start tinkering with your own gun.
Still haven’t found anything that grabs me, but the Cimarron people let me handle one of their Wyatt Earp Buntline Specials: it is a nice looking gun. Sadly, they did not have a Billy Dixon Sharps reproduction, for reasons related to being unable to secure them at night. However, they are up in Fredericksburg, and have a storefront there…
Something else that makes me go “Hmmmmmm…”: Walther has a new line of auto pistols, the WMP, chambered in .22 Magnum, which has not been a very common auto pistol caliber. And the price does not break the bank.
Guns are not sold at the show. But other items are (or can be) and I have picked up a few things.
Wilson Combat Zippo and Gun Guy from Wilson Combat. CEO from Columbia River Knife and Tool. Coffee mug from Eley.
I also picked up a t-shirt that should make Robert Francis O’Rourke cry.
There seems to be a little less swag this time around, and what there is, is of somewhat lower quality. But I have picked up lots of free hats and bags, some pins, lots of stickers and key chains, a few screwdrivers, and even some lens cleaning cloths. (One vendor was even giving away lens pens, which I thought was nice. Unfortunately, I can’t lay my hands on that item right now, but when I do dig it out, I’ll update.) Eley also let me have several sets of foam earplugs when I bought my mug from them. And, of course, more morale patches than Carter had liver pills.
(Once I sort through everything and take out the stuff I want, the rest of it is going to my brother’s children. Generally, if it’s something I like, and a fairly small and inexpensive give-away item, I try to get at least three of them: one for myself, and two for the nephews and nieces.)
Mike the Musicologist and I actually bailed on the show early today. By 3 PM, we’d seen the entire exhibit floor, and we’d revisited specific vendors we wanted to come back to. The plan for tomorrow is still to use it as a targets of opportunity day. (Speer had something else I want, but didn’t want to try to lug back to the hotel today.) Also, folks may be more willing to make deals if it means not having to lug stuff back with them…
It does seem like a smaller show than the last one we went to. And there were some vendors we would have expected to see that didn’t come: SIG and Crimson Trace being two that we specifically noticed.
We also noticed a very strong law enforcement presence, including a lot of folks running around the exhibit hall in full battle rattle. But I can’t tell if they were supposed to be between us and the protestors, or if they were attending the show on their own time (in full uniform, complete with tactical gear), or if they were there in case we all spontaneously rose up and started a mass insurrection against Brandon.
I report, you decide.
Edited to add: Walking distance today: 4.9 miles.