Crazy-gun show in ATL.

Wombat · 12-16-2001, 05:41 PM

Well, just got back from one of the gun-shows here in Atlanta. The biggest one in GA, happened to be this weekend. It was an excellent show, probably the biggest I've ever been to before. The abundance of Lugers, P38s, and other various guns were VERY common today. Easily, over 100 Lugers. + P38's, Nambu, mausers, etc... The prices on the items were actually 'reasonable' for a gunshow, or even internet pricing too. One fellow had a table of about 30 Lugers (all 100% matching, original), with good prices ranging from $800+. Some of the prized items were:

Black Widows, Portugeuse Lugers, Hungarian, Kriegs, Banner, Swiss, Simson, lots of lugers with the 'grip' safety, tons of DWM import marked (around $500), 3rd Reich era (tons), etc.. Had one in the case with the buttstock (artillery model). It was quite beautiful!

I think a lot of the dealers at this show were from out of state, cause I've never seen them at other guns shows before. And I've been attending the GA shows for the past 10 years or so. All in all, it was an excellent day! I was tempted to trade my Sig P-210 in for a Luger (simson). If anyone here on the board wants to take me up on that, lemme know

I ended up with a Walther PP-22 1940 pistol, vet bringback. OK condition, full WA's, etc... $500 paid. If I knew this show was going to be Luger Mania, I would have been more prepared. doh! Anyways, just wanted to let you all know what happened today. I've been quite busy lately, but I still lurk on the board...

BILL · 12-16-2001, 07:55 PM

That is interesting. I have really never seen a time period that I could relate to anything specific that I could associate with more Lugers being for sale. I used to be of the mind that when times were tough financially that people got rid of their collections. Lately I have found the opposite to be true. Many owners of Lugers believe that what they have invested in is equal to it's weight in diamonds and since they are not mass producing the Luger any more then it automatically will soar upwards in value. This philosophy causes a lot of people who need the money worse than the guns to hold out for double their original investment. Like anything, the harder you have your heels dug in the stronger are your convictions. I do believe that if one selects and purchases Lugers wisely they should be able to get their money back out of them. This doesn't usually happen over night, however. For someone to think they can double their investment in a few years is not a reasonable thought. It sounds like maybe there are some reasonable folks parting with some of their collections in Atlanta, GA. There was an interesting time period in the mid seventies when I saw more Luger trading than actually selling and buying. I don't know what spawned it but it was a nice time to remember because it had a tendency to bring the Luger community closer together. Sometimes today it seems like there are a lot of sharks in the pool. It doesn't seem like that long ago when, during a trade, someone would say "Here, I found these two magazines that are correct for that pistol, you might as well have them". Today, if you are lucky, the person you buy a pistol from might offer to sell you the holster, the takedown tool, and the spare clip (but that is going to be equal to the price of the pistol). Maybe it's a simple matter of knowing if you are a collector or a dealer (land owner or developer).

Big Norm · 12-16-2001, 10:43 PM

I started collecting Luger in early 89.When I went to my first gun show at the Ohio Gun Collectors Assn I felt like a kid in a candy store. But oh my, the prices. Who in their right mind would pay $650 for an excellent military Luger. Gad Zooks! A thousand for an artillery! I didn't dare look at the navy Lugers. I should have because you can't find navy Lugers anymore. Gun List magazine had lots of different Lugers for sale. Now you have to hunt page by page to find one. Of course the internet has something to do with that. If I could only undo some of my purchases and sales.

Big Norm

Jim Van Eldik · 12-16-2001, 11:06 PM

Wombat,

Where was the show exactly? I live in Peachtree City south of Atlanta and in fact bought my first Luger a month ago at a show in Marietta. The dealer was "Cactus"Jack from RayJack - Luger/Mauser dealers from Kennesaw, GA. They had a great selection all moderately priced. By the way, Kennesaw still has a law on the books REQUIRING ALL CITIZENS TO OWN A GUN.

Jim

dave_j · 12-17-2001, 02:04 PM

Wombat is probably talking about the Eastmen gunshow in Gwinnett Co. at the GA North Atlanta Trade Center (formerly the Elco Building). Now, wish I had gone. Where is "Cactus"Jack from RayJack located? Does he have a website?

Wombat · 12-18-2001, 04:12 AM

Yes. the one at the N. Atlanta trade center, off of Indian Trail/I-85. It was MASSIVE! I had a friend go on Saturday (as i didn't know a gun show was in town), and he bought a bunch of neat stuff. So, I knew I had to go the next day. They had anything and everything there. It was a TRUE bonafide gun-show. I had a friend that is a frequent dealer at shows, and talked with him a bit there. He said this is the biggest gun show in Georgia (perhaps the Southeast), and people come out of the woodwork to buy/sell at this thing. It's one of the shows that gets regional attention, and dealers. Lots of parts, custom, shotguns, Lugers, Walthers, WW2 stuff, AR-15, preban, some Class-3 dealers, etc... You name it, it was there to find. Although, they didn't have a couple odd-ball items i was looking for (Keltec sub9 rifle). Anyways, be sure not to miss the next one... whenever that is. Eastman BY FAR but on the best gun shows. the GA mountain shows are terrible.

12-16-2001, 05:41 PM	#1
Wombat User Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 89 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Crazy-gun show in ATL. Well, just got back from one of the gun-shows here in Atlanta. The biggest one in GA, happened to be this weekend. It was an excellent show, probably the biggest I've ever been to before. The abundance of Lugers, P38s, and other various guns were VERY common today. Easily, over 100 Lugers. + P38's, Nambu, mausers, etc... The prices on the items were actually 'reasonable' for a gunshow, or even internet pricing too. One fellow had a table of about 30 Lugers (all 100% matching, original), with good prices ranging from $800+. Some of the prized items were: Black Widows, Portugeuse Lugers, Hungarian, Kriegs, Banner, Swiss, Simson, lots of lugers with the 'grip' safety, tons of DWM import marked (around $500), 3rd Reich era (tons), etc.. Had one in the case with the buttstock (artillery model). It was quite beautiful! I think a lot of the dealers at this show were from out of state, cause I've never seen them at other guns shows before. And I've been attending the GA shows for the past 10 years or so. All in all, it was an excellent day! I was tempted to trade my Sig P-210 in for a Luger (simson). If anyone here on the board wants to take me up on that, lemme know I ended up with a Walther PP-22 1940 pistol, vet bringback. OK condition, full WA's, etc... $500 paid. If I knew this show was going to be Luger Mania, I would have been more prepared. doh! Anyways, just wanted to let you all know what happened today. I've been quite busy lately, but I still lurk on the board...

12-16-2001, 07:55 PM	#2
BILL User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Western Washington Posts: 826 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Crazy-gun show in ATL. That is interesting. I have really never seen a time period that I could relate to anything specific that I could associate with more Lugers being for sale. I used to be of the mind that when times were tough financially that people got rid of their collections. Lately I have found the opposite to be true. Many owners of Lugers believe that what they have invested in is equal to it's weight in diamonds and since they are not mass producing the Luger any more then it automatically will soar upwards in value. This philosophy causes a lot of people who need the money worse than the guns to hold out for double their original investment. Like anything, the harder you have your heels dug in the stronger are your convictions. I do believe that if one selects and purchases Lugers wisely they should be able to get their money back out of them. This doesn't usually happen over night, however. For someone to think they can double their investment in a few years is not a reasonable thought. It sounds like maybe there are some reasonable folks parting with some of their collections in Atlanta, GA. There was an interesting time period in the mid seventies when I saw more Luger trading than actually selling and buying. I don't know what spawned it but it was a nice time to remember because it had a tendency to bring the Luger community closer together. Sometimes today it seems like there are a lot of sharks in the pool. It doesn't seem like that long ago when, during a trade, someone would say "Here, I found these two magazines that are correct for that pistol, you might as well have them". Today, if you are lucky, the person you buy a pistol from might offer to sell you the holster, the takedown tool, and the spare clip (but that is going to be equal to the price of the pistol). Maybe it's a simple matter of knowing if you are a collector or a dealer (land owner or developer).

12-16-2001, 10:43 PM	#3
Big Norm RIP Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: SE Michigan Posts: 1,864 Thanks: 1 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts	I will second that. I started collecting Luger in early 89.When I went to my first gun show at the Ohio Gun Collectors Assn I felt like a kid in a candy store. But oh my, the prices. Who in their right mind would pay $650 for an excellent military Luger. Gad Zooks! A thousand for an artillery! I didn't dare look at the navy Lugers. I should have because you can't find navy Lugers anymore. Gun List magazine had lots of different Lugers for sale. Now you have to hunt page by page to find one. Of course the internet has something to do with that. If I could only undo some of my purchases and sales. Big Norm

12-16-2001, 11:06 PM	#4
Jim Van Eldik User Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 76 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Crazy-gun show in ATL. Wombat, Where was the show exactly? I live in Peachtree City south of Atlanta and in fact bought my first Luger a month ago at a show in Marietta. The dealer was "Cactus"Jack from RayJack - Luger/Mauser dealers from Kennesaw, GA. They had a great selection all moderately priced. By the way, Kennesaw still has a law on the books REQUIRING ALL CITIZENS TO OWN A GUN. Jim

12-17-2001, 02:04 PM	#5
dave_j User Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 33 Thanks: 1 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Crazy-gun show in ATL. Wombat is probably talking about the Eastmen gunshow in Gwinnett Co. at the GA North Atlanta Trade Center (formerly the Elco Building). Now, wish I had gone. Where is "Cactus"Jack from RayJack located? Does he have a website?

12-18-2001, 04:12 AM	#6
Wombat User Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 89 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Crazy-gun show in ATL. Yes. the one at the N. Atlanta trade center, off of Indian Trail/I-85. It was MASSIVE! I had a friend go on Saturday (as i didn't know a gun show was in town), and he bought a bunch of neat stuff. So, I knew I had to go the next day. They had anything and everything there. It was a TRUE bonafide gun-show. I had a friend that is a frequent dealer at shows, and talked with him a bit there. He said this is the biggest gun show in Georgia (perhaps the Southeast), and people come out of the woodwork to buy/sell at this thing. It's one of the shows that gets regional attention, and dealers. Lots of parts, custom, shotguns, Lugers, Walthers, WW2 stuff, AR-15, preban, some Class-3 dealers, etc... You name it, it was there to find. Although, they didn't have a couple odd-ball items i was looking for (Keltec sub9 rifle). Anyways, be sure not to miss the next one... whenever that is. Eastman BY FAR but on the best gun shows. the GA mountain shows are terrible.