I used to love going to gun shows when they were in town. It was always fun to find new items and technologies that moved the needle further to the right in terms of capabilities and function. I used to go for basic hunting rifle and defensive pistol information, and there were many good vendors that catered to my interests.
Fast forward to today and the landscape has drastically changed. The shows don't seem to cater to traditional sportsman anymore, because the bulk of advertising and marketing I saw this week catered to tactical para-military/prepper types. I can't recall how many attendees and vendors were talking about the new 300AAC Blackout (7.62x35mm) ammunition and new AR-15 rifles designed to shoot that round; it was everywhere. In general, the AR-15 and AK platforms seemed to dominate the entire venue. There were only a few tables at the show that actually had any traditional "wood furniture" hunting rifles for display and sale -- not good!
Whether is was AR/AK style rifles, AR-styled pistol caliber carbines, tactical accessories, bulk SHTF/WORL ammo, food, water, storage solutions; EMERGENCY preparedness seemed to dominate the whole show. Which begs the question -- what freakin' EMERGENCY are we preparing for? Life is good -- we heard yesterday that we have a 3.2% GDP growth rate, we have a 2nd Amendment friendly administration, and we have an unemployment rate so low that we have to go back to the 1960s to find similar low numbers. Given all that, the vibe of the show seemed to suggest that we have to prepare for the worst -- arm, stockpile, train, hoard, and develop "action" plans (whatever that means).
I can't figure it out! Maybe it's the news media and the Democrat/Republican political divide, or maybe it's the new socialist/progressive movement that's currently dominating the news. Whatever it is, the gun shows have mostly become a waste of time for traditional sportsmen. What I did see a lot of was "operator" types with caps, beards and tattoos walking the floor. I doubt that there are that many "genuine" current/former special forces guys out walking the gun show floors, and if they are, odds are that they wouldn't be dressed in their field "operator" BDUs.
I'm over it -- no more of this nonsense for this old guy!