[MidNight Rider]

What a day! Went to the Saxton Gun show today with my neighbor. We got there when the place opened up. About 2 1/2 hours into the show, things were good, nice crowd, deals being made, collectors chatting and then BANG!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeap somebody discharged a handgun in the building!!!!!!!! Nobody got hurt from what I heard, but I heard that it was Gun dealers that discharge the weapon, but he got away! Ran out the place before he could be apprehended! This is all I heard, especially the last part that came from the mouth of APD! The policeman said this was the second time this year that had happened. I just cannot understand how dumb and irresponsible people can be. You are in a building where men, women and little children are walking around having a nice day, when you decided to pull the trigger on a gun! I pick up guns at shows all the time, but I never put my finger on the trigger, why would you, to hear it click? All I can say is I hope they catch him and give him the max punishment. Stuff like this A. ruins your day, and B. will close places like these up!

 

[Denny]

Glad everone is okay. I wonder what will happen with his stuff? Denny

 

[MidNight Rider]

we was thinking the same thing. i do not know why he ran, it was either C. he was running a table and did not wanted to get caught (i could not find out) or D. he brought a gun in and wanted to show something about it (a patron not vendor). i just did not wanted to go on that side of the building. like i said, we went to take some ammo we bought out to the car and we over heard APD saying that the gun man had ran out and that this was the second time this year.

 

[chasdev]

I believe it was a 45 discharged straight down into a box of CD's.
The round did not go through the box.
It was a table holder's carry pistol that had the mag removed but retained a round in the chamber.
The table holder (seller of herbal stuff,I think?) was showing off his carry piece and the shopper "dry fired" it.
Another GOOD reason not to dry fire.
In these cases the offending table holder is evicted and banned from ALL shows everywhere.
Rumor is that there is a list of banned folks that circulates amoung promoters...
I had tables here the last time a dealer's carry gun went off too, lucky me.
Talk about instant SILENCE....other than the sound of swiveling necks that is.

 

[cpw]

If the guy was a table hlder, why run? His name and address will be available from the show promoter.

 

[MidNight Rider]

Tell me about it, I just froze in my tracks. I just could not believe it, I told my friend to give me a couple of minutes to get myself together. I use to go to gun shows in South Carolina, and about 2 hours into the show at the front door there was a pickle jar next to the check in table. It would be half full of ammo removed from guns being checked in! I am just so glad nobody got hurt.
The only thing I noticed is they show does not push the issue of a zip tie on the hammer for pistols and zip tie the bolt open. I found several rifles with no zip ties and pistols with the zip tie down the barrel just sticking out the end not connected to nothing.
When you go to the ones up here in bell county they have 2 to 3 PD officers walking the show checking each table and making on the spot corrections letting the dealer know to keep them zipped! And also no ammo allowed inside the building.

 

[Rifleman]

"And also no ammo allowed inside the building."


You mean a gunshow where you can't buy ammo?That's not right!!What's a gunshow without ammo?

 

[MidNight Rider]

all ammo is sold outside under a tent. no ammo allowed inside or allowed to be brought in by the dealers. all ammo is outside

 

[Pawnshop]

I saw the vendor that did it, a big guy in a maroon shirt on a table with a big sign selling "gun videos", he did not run away and WAS ejected from the show. The vendor was not displaying any firearms, I had already passed by his table and had made a mental note to go back and see what his videos were about but never got the chance. I heard scuttlebutt that it was a customers gun and if that was the case then that would explain what you overheard the police talking about. If the customer had it concealed and did not declare it at the door, 30.06 signs ARE posted at the door (that means no legal concealed carry) and then decided to show it to the vendor who obviously did not check it before he pulled the trigger, I can see why he would have run away, because he would have been arrested on the spot for violating 30.06. Another bit of scuttlebutt I heard was that the vendor who pulled the trigger is a CHL instructor, I don't know that for a fact.

Ammo is allowed in the SAXET shows and that was NOT a factor in the three NDs I have witnessed in the 20 years I have been going to gunshows. One was a vendors personal carry gun, one was a gun a vendor was unpacking to display on his table and this one looks like it may have been a combination of customer/vendor. There was a local one I was not present for that was a CHL holder's pistol, that resulted in an injury and the 30.06 signs bieng posted. Typicaly the no ammo policy is put in place by the property owners and not gunshow management.

As for guns not tied up, these guys are very good about making sure ties are in place but there are always a few vendors who are lazy about re-tying after a customer has handled one, I bet that would stop if they start ejecting vendors with untied guns!

It took a bit for me to calm down, if anyone heard someone reflexively yell "G**Dammit!", that was me....

 

[NavyGunner]

I'm glad that no one got hurt in the incident. Some shows here only allow ammo sales outside in tents. I wonder how many people had to change their pants after that?

Most shows around here require banding and magazine removal which is strickly enforced and vendors aren't allowed to carry loaded firearms. I seen some of the worst gun handling at gun shows and shops, idiots forgetting the rules of gun handling all the time.

I've been in 2 shows where there were ND's over the years. One was a idiot who supposedly worked at the Colt custom shop who was showing off a throating job on a Colt .45 pistol using live HP's because he didn't have any dummy rounds. That one buried itself in a display case on his table. He was ejected and banned from futher shows and the police confiscated all his firearms until he could arrange for someone else to pick them up. The other incident involved teenagers going around a show with shotgun shells loading shotguns on dealers tables as a joke. Of course some dimwit shoulders one of the shotguns and pulls the trigger. One woman was hit with a couple of birdshot pellets. The kids were caught but I don't know what happened to them.

 

[MidNight Rider]

I have to agree with you on the "eject vendors for untied guns". I mean, I think some peoples brains are "out to lunch" it's just common sense, treat each gun as if it is loaded, never pull the trigger unless you plan on shooting something (or some one). To pull the trigger in a room full of people is just plain stupid!

 

[Pawnshop]

Those kids should have been drawn and quartered, and the pieces publicly displayed.

 

[combat32]

I used to attend that show on a pretty regular basis when I was stationed at Ft. Hood, used to be some good bargains there as well.Any good deals to still had there?I was near the AD at Tulsa last October, it ain't a cool thing.

 

[seinen]

Most shows around here require banding and magazine removal which is strickly enforced and vendors aren't allowed to carry loaded firearms. I seen some of the worst gun handling at gun shows and shops, idiots forgetting the rules of gun handling all the time.

Do you ever attend any of the Springfield Shows at the Big E? The ammunition policy there is pretty strict: no live ammunition in the buildings and all longarms must have the bolts tied down or the actions otherwise immobilized. All ammunition sales are relegated to tents located outside the main building.

C/

 

[MidNight Rider]

I agree, it is shenanigans like those kids and idiots just pulling the trigger in a room full of people will put an end to shows around the area! Insurance is going to go up, the price of admission will go up to cover the high cost of insurance. All because of dumb people.

 

[NavyGunner]

Seinen,

The incident with the teenagers and the shotshells happened at the West Springfield, MA Big E show back in the early 90's. That's when the promoters started requiring all firearms actions being tied. The ammo rule was due to Fire Dept regulations. I regularly attend the shows there. The other incident was at a GOAL show in Marlboro.

 

[seinen]

Seinen,

The incident with the teenagers and the shotshells happened at the West Springfield, MA Big E show back in the early 90's. That's when the promoters started requiring all firearms actions being tied. The other incident was at a GOAL show in Marlboro.

I see. I've been attending the Big E shows since the mid-80s and always wondered what the impetus was for separating the ammunition sales from the main venue.

C/

 

[Farmall]

Seems like the Austin gun show is where someone got shot in the hip 10 or 20 years ago back when they had it in that old nasty auditorium that used to be in between Lamar and the big auditorium with the green roof...

 

[Randy45]

It was a very unnerving experience....I have only been to about six gunshows in Austin and to have someone discharge a gun...still gives me a queezy feelin when I think about it....

 

[Pawnshop]

Me as well, this is my third SD (Stupid Discharge) at a gunshow.

I was able to confirm, though a buddy who has a table at the Austin show and is good friends with the promoter, that the pistol was owned by the dealer and that there were no customers involved in any way. The dealer WAS a CHL instructor and apparently felt that he was exempt from the 30.06 signs posted on the property. He WAS arrested and charged so he is no longer a CHL holder or instructor.