I had heard last week that Trop’s Gun Store had backed out of the show and thought “good”, this is what happens when companies/systems punish innocent people to be politically subservient to the weasels that occupy the various capitals. Been to Trops a few times and it is a decent shop but with them being located in Elizabethtown I don’t get there very often. They typically have 6-8 tables each year and I am sure it hurts the Eastern Outdoors Show a little to not have them there. Good for Trops backing out…
- Trust me, this isn’t a recent picture…
and now Cabelas has backed out too.
Cabela’s pulls out of Pa. show over gun flap
RON TODT Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Hunting and fishing retailer Cabela’s Inc. will not participate in what has been billed as Pennsylvania’s largest outdoor sports show next month following the decision to ban the display and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
Event organizer Reed Exhibitions imposed the ban at the Eastern Sports and Outdoors Show following the deadly Connecticut elementary school shooting that has prompted the ongoing gun control debate in Washington.
The event’s website says officials “strongly support the 2nd Amendment” but decided negative attention on such weapons “would distract from the strong focus on hunting and fishing at this family-oriented event and possibly disrupt the broader positive experience of our guests.”
The nine-day show is scheduled to open Feb. 2 at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg.
The National Rifle Association issued a statement calling upon Reed Exhibitions to reconsider, saying their future participation in the show would be determined by the response. The NRA also urged members to follow the organization’s lead by “voicing their displeasure.”
Several other companies earlier announced their intention to withdraw from the show. The (Lancaster) Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era said Kinsey’s Outdoors of Mount Joy, Lancaster Archery Supply and Trop Gun Shop of Elizabethtown had said they do not intend to participate.
Cabela’s Inc., of Sidney, Neb., currently has 40 outdoor gear and sporting goods stores across the United States and Canada.
Article HERE.
I applaud Cabelas for this, it is quite the blemish to have an outdoor show in PA but have Cabelas not there. They can’t legitimately proclaim they are hosting the largest Sports & Outdoor Show with the largest retailer in the market not supporting the event. Bravo.
KaD says:
Too bad the rest of the outfits don’t boycott it too until there’s nothing to open the show with. Maybe then the pinheads with decision making authority will get the hint.
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21st January 2013 at 10:45 pm
Hollow man says:
I am sure the socialist gun grabbers are fine with it. See there is room for agreement.
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21st January 2013 at 6:43 am
Makati1 says:
Such shows will disappear soon anyway. No money to spend or to even attend. I have not been to one there for over 20 years.
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21st January 2013 at 7:00 am
AKAnon says:
Hmmm, I wonder what Reed Exhibitions would think about the guy in Fbks, who always has a couple tables at every show, who brings his Ma Deuce as a conversation piece. (It’s not for sale, btw). Yep, an authentic, fully-functional, full auto, (registered) M2, with all the accessories. I’m glad I don’t have to pay to feed that bad boy. At $5 a round or so, that’s $thousands per minute of fun.
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21st January 2013 at 10:45 am
sangell says:
If you’ve got $75,000 a Houston gun dealer will sell you his twin mounted M-2 machineguns
You’re up there in Alaska. Got to be some old WW2 era crash sites that have never been recovered.
Find a P-47 and you’ve got 8 M-2′s. A B-24 or 17 and it could be 10! Some British expedition is over in Burma right now excavating a bunch of surplus Spitfires that were buried still in their shipping crates at wars end. First one they found was full of water but they hope some of the others are salvageable. Up in your neck of the woods I doubt there would be much more than a protective patina of rust on a WW2 gun
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21st January 2013 at 11:10 am
TeresaE says:
The Gun Show circuit is nearly dead, from what I see, anyway.
My old boss (owns a proprietary bow & gun sling manufacturing company) quit doing shows about five years ago because hunting is nearly a dead activity in this country. He makes enough slings (himself) to sell to Cabela’s and a couple other outfits. He has one guy that still sells slings in Minnesota, in the 90s he had half a dozen and was actively recruiting distributors nationwide.
A year ago, or so, we were catching up and talking about this. Our conclusions about the downturn in hunting are that it is a combination of three things. 1. People are so fat, lazy and allergic to ANY physical exertion that even hunting “families” no longer have many members going into the woods each year. 2. The liberals have managed to indoctrinate more of our population into believing hunting is evil and amoral (as is the “yucky” meat), but buying from factory farms is the “right” and “moral” thing to do. Fucking hypocrites. and finally, our personal favorite reason, #3, SNAP benefits.
Back during the tough economic times of the 70s and 80s, the working poor couldn’t get food stamps. So many supplemented their grocery budget with hunting and fishing. Now, so many people (percentage wise) no longer have to WORK for their food, they just slide their magic food card through the reader and *ta da!* instant food.
So, while I applaud these two, fine, American, companies for their taking a stand. My guess is that the economics of the show were waning for them anyway, this just provides a convenient excuse to no longer show up.
Oh the stories I could tell about the gun shows, but I won’t bore you, I don’t have time, tax season you know.
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21st January 2013 at 12:11 pm
Eddie says:
Hunting has gotten expensive. I think it’s just another sign of ecconomic hard times…
Gun shows here have gotten smaller over the past several years.
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21st January 2013 at 12:18 pm
Dorkus Maximus says:
Cabelas IS a gun show. They have incredible inventory. If you can’t find what you need there, then you are a very picky customer. they probably only go to these shows for publicity.
If gun shows are decreasing it may be because guns are no longer a niche product. There seems to be permanent demand that supports a year round retail over an occasional traveling show. I live in a sxity mile radius of three huge gun stores and numerous smaller ones.
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21st January 2013 at 3:27 pm
Eddie says:
I do shop at Cabela’s, but I’d much rather spend an afternoon walking through a good gun show. You never know what you might run across, and there are guys there who can actually do things…trigger work, custom holsters, etc.
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21st January 2013 at 4:29 pm