I had a great time!
I had a great dinner with Bill Grist, Barry and his other friends, and Mike C (Radom) and his wife who is a great pleasure to be around
I had a great night out with Mike (Farb), Bruce, Brad, Brian and company before I left
I look forward all year to seeing Dave R....
All of these guys are truly good people, such fun to be around...you know the type that you can talk to like youve known them all your life
there are others too that I enjoy seeing, like Mel...saw Mike Prucey there which was cool too
I was glad to make a new friend in Stan, what a great guy, I almost couldnt believe what a great guy he was....I cant wait until next year, I wish we all lived closer and could do it more often
We began making plans on renting a van, and ala the movie "Old School" kidnapping Ham to get him there next year...we will have to make stops by Jack's and Eric's too
For those that have never been there, here is a snapshot of how things go down in the shark infested waters of the gun and militaria buying and selling frenzy that is the SOS...NONE of the following short story has been embellished for your entertainment either :
My show was SLOOOOOWWW...but I wanted it to be, I told myself I wasnt going to buy anything, unless really really nice condition....aside from the guys mentioned here, and Mike Prucey, ONE guy that asked about it, knew what he was looking at when he saw my AC45 with a walnut stock and original unnumbered mount rig on my table for decoration (or for sale for huge money), that was little disappointing....well despite the fact that I told myself not to go buying anything, I admit deep down I was feeling a little dejected, not having found a nice gun (esp. a GK43...but I wasnt really looking hard)...SO : I was at the gun show side just as it opened...I had walked around like crazy, was fed up and about to leave, standing one spot, looking around arms folded, bottom lip out pouting, when I see this old guy about 25 yards away pull what I could tell was an attic fresh 98k out of a sleeve : ya know he was one of those old guys that come to the show to BS more than anything, has an old shotgun, old huntin rifle....and this mauser....so imagine me in slow motion, running, pushing over old ladies, stepping on little kids, and I dive head first and do a mid air roll and snatch it from his hands as he is about to put it down...I land on my back, broke an arm and tailbone, but of course the gun was perfectly safe and in my clutches...so I look it over...it was so nice bluing wise that i couldnt believe...you all that arent 98k geniuses like Farb know what I mean : it looks almost too good, one begins to question oneself...so Im calling desperately on the cell phone, finally thank God Bruce answers and Im sure I sounded like an insane person so he gave the phone to Farb who speaks insane...he gives me the OK via what I told him on the phone....I call Brian, I know he's at the Gun show side, for moral support....then, like an angel sent from heaven Bud P. appeared and blessed the rifle...so I negotiate...the old guy gives me one of those "Well, I was on the other side and I saw these that werent as nice selling for $2500" ....usually, 9 out of 10 times, that is total BS and they have junk just like the other overpriced junk that they were looking at to base their value on, but this guy....this guy was right....well I bit the bullet and paid alot, but not what it is worth, and I felt much better about myself...it is a dot44, semi-kriegs stock five digit serial
then the same old guy has of all things, a dual marked AC45 G43 K43 no letter block gun...a really scarce variation...but alas it was sanded through the wrist and some genius polished the hell out of the bolt carrier, so I passed on it
so I got that dot44...and an unmarked bayonet w scabbard that is almost mint with wood grips for $100
sold a few trinkets to pay for my trip expenses so it was all good
OH and I rolled to the show in a 2011 Cadillac DTS too...but that is a whole other story...they really do drive nice!!!
