While in Dallas, we visited the Galleria.
Is it a social faux pas to park your Maserati Quattroporte next to another Maserati Quattroporte? I watched a guy have that debate in his head at the Nordstrom parking garage. He kept going.
Also - they are apparently giving away Bentley Continental GT’s free with breakfast at Denny’s now; I saw five. Sadly, they were out when I asked for mine.
Back from the Dallas Market Hall gunshow. This one is not as big as Tulsa by a long shot - but if you like EBR’s, this is your place. Bring money.
How to spot the Boater at a gunshow: The almost-skinny guy with the Starbucks cup walking at a slow run, eyes darting back and forth. I’m not the only almost-skinny guy there, but I am the only one with a CrackStarbucks cup.
Notables:
- Thompson M1A1, lovely condition, about $18,000. Did I say yet that the NFA SUCKS? I don’t see paying $15k plus for an M16, but the Thompson almost looks worth it. The lean M1A1 style is just beautiful. Not to be an old fogie or anything, but I remember (pre-’86) when these were less than $3,000, NFA and all.
- Bunch of FN FS2000’s. I hear such mixed reviews of the Halo rifle, so I am not ready to buy until I have the chance to shoot one. I did have the chance to play with one extensively at this show and, dang it, it really fits me pretty well. It’s a bit heavier than it looks, but the overall length is excellent and the BIG PLASTIC stock fits me quite well. Trigger action not so good, sadly. A neat toy on the pricey side at $2,200 each. It would be much easier to say no if it felt as clunky as it looks. I wonder if 20 years from now I will think - “Man, I could have bought one of those when they were only $2,200 instead of $22,000.”
- Bunch of FN PS90’s These don’t fit me, and I wonder how they fit anybody over the age of 10 - but they are cute. If the readily available 5.7 ammo had better performance, I’d get one, but the over-the-counter ammo ain’t so good. As Doctor Roberts said: “The way to make the FN P90 perform better is to use an M4.”
- Bunch of Colt LE6920’s. Really, there were big stacks of them, I’m surprised they were not lying in the streets.
-Great heaping mountains of Rock River and Bushy AR’s. These were flying out the door nearly on their own. If you are a vendor, THIS IS WHAT TO SELL.
- A whole stack of new-in-box Colt 9mm AR’s. The Gollum debate is strong with this one: “I do not need a 7-pound 9mm rifle with a 16-inch barrel.” “But it is the preciousss, it is the Coltses, and we wantsss it.”
- Couple of tables full of nothing but Colt 1911’s of recent vintage. My Little Pony is pretty, oh so pretty… The only reliable (out-of-the-box) 1911’s I’ve owned have been Colts; even my Officer’s ACP went bang every time; Kimbers & Springfields - not so much. My Officer’s ACP was one of those “enhanced” models with the flat-top slide that “enhanced” the tearing of holes in cover garments. Dremel, Meltdown … or just get a Glock and be done with it. (I actually did Dremel my full-size enhanced model; it was ugly but it worked and it still sold for about $600.)
The vendors were asking over $1,500 for Delta Elites. Maybe that is the going price, LOL, but I’ve had three of those (all Colts) when they were about $6-700 and ALL THREE cracked their frames after a couple of thousand rounds of Silvertip / Norma / Cor-Bon. (If you’re going to shoot 10mm, may as well shoot the hot stuff). They were reliable, though, and the frame cracked at a place where it didn’t really affect reliability. My G20 lasted and lasted and lasted through case after painfully expensive case of Silvertips, no problemo. No, it didn’t point or shoot as well as any of the Deltas, but it also was reliable. The Boater gave up on the 10mm a while back, but I wouldn’t mind having another G20.
- No shortage of the Remington Law Enforcement rifles. I really want an LTR but the stock, unlike the one on the PSS, doesn’t fit me well. They look essentially identical aft of the trigger guard, so the source of the difference in fit is a mystery.
- A dealer in Accuracy International rifles that didn’t have any rifles to sell. Or look at. Just brochures. The AI people need to add a shift or something.
- Every kind of ACOG, times 5. These rock, especially on a LaRue mount. I’ve always thought that “QD” or “Quick Detach” was something of a misnomer. Any kind of a lever mount can be detached quickly - it’s what happens when you put it back ON that separates the LaRue’s from the also-rans.
On that same note, I own a book entitled “Will It Freeze?” Like QD, the title is shorthand for something else, because IT (whatever IT is) WILL freeze. That’s not the question. The question is “Will You Want To Eat It When You Thaw It Out Or Are You Just Keeping It Because Your Mother-in-law Made It And You Want To Be Polite?” That makes for an unwieldly book title, so “Will It Freeze?” will have to do.
- Mo jerky, mo beanie babies, but I didn’t see the guy that makes the little glass figurines. Now, if we could find a guy to make little jerky figurines of beanie babies, we might have something.
- Again, a highly visible ATF presence. I wasn’t looking this time for any violations (moving too fast) and I didn’t see anything obvious. I did see a dealer follow the law and turn down a handgun sale b/c the buyer’s 4473 address didn’t match his drivers’ license.
- Again, not very many ammo vendors, very little .223, and none at a “reasonable” price. As Col. Kilgore said: “Someday, this war’s gonna end.” You might be a selfish bastard if… you wish the war would end so you could buy .223 at Y2K prices.
- Bewildering variety of AK’s. I need to learn more about these, but I only like quality, even in an AK, and there are too many makers to learn them all. I didn’t see any Arsenal AK’s, but I wasn’t looking that hard. 5.56×39 is pretty cheap these days, so I need to look harder.
- Couple of Barrett M82’s, one of which had a $14k price tag. No one was there to ask why so much. One Barrett M99, but the vendor wanted to sell it with the pricey scope attached to it, and I didn’t want that scope. Sigh.
All in all, an awesome show, worth traveling to if you like EBR’s or Colts. Did I say bring money?
Not MY hair, HAIR. Ratt and Poison are touring together this summer, and Pearcy is back with DeMartini & Blotzer so Ratt should be in fine form.
Are they going to call it the “Ratt Poison” tour? Road trip may be taken.
I confess to small knowledge of the big bore options for the AR, but the new .450 Bushmaster looks interesting. Still no release date from BFI on the rifles.
“Only if melanoma is funny.”
Surgery today. Remarkably, fun was had. Doc is very good, and in his waiting room he had the Jan / Feb 2007 issue of Safari, the Safari Club’s magazine. There was an article in there from Zumbo. I’d never read any Zumbo before, and he really isn’t a bad writer at all. Not Capstick, may he rest in peace, but not bad. Of course, Peter Capstick may have,let’s say, embellished his stories just a bit, but they still can make the hair on the back of your neck stand at attention.
One notable feature of the lifestyle of the SuperFudds as portrayed in the magazine is the extraordinary quality of their weapons. There was a story about Krieghoff firearms, and the workmanship is just… from a better, vanished time. I could spend a couple of lifetimes unsuccesfully trying to duplicate the craftsmanship in one of those.
Also in Safari was an ad from Cessna extolling the virtues of their big Caravan. The ad suggested that the owner might want to decorate the interior with at least one hunting trophy. I’m trying to picture, say, Ford saying something like that in an ad. “Get your Nugent Edition Bronco! Heads Up Display includes Real Heads!” Guess that’s better than the O.J. Edition (to start it, type in slash slash backslash and press escape).
1. Only the Boater can look manly while carrying a toothpick sculpture made with gumdrops and marshmallows. Chuck Norris - hah! He might as well wear a dress.
2. If there is a “Dad’s Day” at your child’s school, and you are a dad, you must go even though YOU will not look manly carrying said gumdrop / marshmallow sculpture. If you do not go, your child will be sad. That is not something you want to see, trust me.
3. The Boater has 1337 skillz at paper airplane making. All your paper airplane contests are belong to us.
Paging Jack Thompson…
So NOT playing video games leads to murder?
Seems the jobless 22 year-old otaku let his 76 year-old grandpa lie on the floor in a heap for almost a week before calling EMS - because bill-paying grandpa wouldn’t let the mope buy videogames. Now grandpa’s dead - and the mope’s future isn’t looking too rosy either.
I’m a nice guy, and I’m imagining a waterboarding machine that never stops… Or Alec Baldwin could leave him a voice message again and again and again…
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