I get very annoyed with MWCA for having at least two, and often more, shows in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul each year. Whatever the admission cost of the show, or membership, you have to add on a big chunk of change for parking. And the justification for that is?

Here's the problem: Both cities have the stupid idea that cars are their enemy, so they make a point of tagging, and even towing, if you slip up and make the msitake of coming to their fair city and not parking at one of their handy, wildly overpriced, garages.

I've been a member of MWCA for most of the past decade, but I dropped it because I'm actually money ahead if I don't go to the downtown shows, and I don't anymore.

The fairgrounds shows make sense to me.

Anybody else find this double-charging annoying?

Yeah, I agree. The money one saves by going to a gunshow is often negated by the parking and admission fees. That's one of the many reasons I avoid the downtown areas. Personally, I think it's ridiculous to charge admission to these events. I've been to shows in Hastings and Albertville, and they were basically worthless. I did go to one show in St Paul three years ago. Getting there was the worst. Once in the show, it was ok, at best.

Yeah, what do they get for parking over at the Rivercentre, or however it's spelled, six bucks, eight bucks? Add those costs to the admission, and it starts to bite.

But mostly I just think it's ridiculous to play along with the city's own delusions of significance.

Face it, cities are dying from crime and overtaxing to be able to overspend on salaries for people who run programs for people you can see any night on "Cops," standing in their yards with their shirts off yelling at each other, and one of the things propping the whole rotten mess up is conventions and the like. I think all the sensible people should just pull out and let them sink of their own weight.

I worked in downtown Minneapolis for decades and I hate the dump.

it's $ 10.00

Maybe they're just trying to place the shows in different areas convenient to different people by having some in Minneapolis. St. Paul fairgrounds may not be convenient for everyone. Also, and I could be wrong about this, I've noticed that alot of these shows tend to be on weekends. There are places on the street you can park for free on weekends in Minneapolis. And I know for a fact there is a $4.00 lot next to the convention center. I have not belonged to gun organizations as long as many of you. When I did join a couple I did it because I knew it was a means for me, in my own way, to help support a hobby that means a great deal to me. It's expensive no matter how I look at it but I guess that goes with the territory. Maybe in a few years I'll feel the same way as some of you. Maybe things were a lot better before but ultimately we all have choices. Let the organizations know how we feel and if that doesn't work, vote with your wallet. I'd hate to see a lot of these gun organizations go the way of some of the other businesses in the twin cities though.

I've paid as much as $12 for the privelege of putting my car in the River Centre parking ramp.
It also irks me to have to pay admission to any of those "shows".
I equate it to charging admission to a mall. I have to pay just to have the privelege of spending more money once I'm inside?

Grrrrr.........

I'm with you on that!!!
[sarcasm]However, how else are the people going to recoup the money that is paid for renting the place??[/sarcasm]

[/quote]

I'm with you on that!!!
[sarcasm]However, how else are the people going to recoup the money that is paid for renting the place??[/sarcasm][/quote]


Good point. I suppose selling $1.50's worth of warm flat beer for $6.00, and diluted soda for for $4.00, etc... isn't going to do it

I'm interested in what people think they are saving money on at the gun show. I'll admit to looking at fairly pedestrian things there, but the pricing isn't really all that great from what I've seen.

Well, $4 gun rugs are alone worth the price of admission (if not parking).

The problem is, you need a location that has a lot of open square footage, and that is not too long of a drive for most of the people you're trying to bring in. The downtown areas have both of those things.

You could move outside of those areas a little bit. But if you go to somewhere like Bloomington, you turn the drive into a chore for people in Anoka. If you put it in Woodbury, nobody from Maple Grove is going to show up.

So the easy solution is to put it at the convention center or Rivercentre or somewhere else that's set up to handle these types of events. About the only place I can think of that might be able to handle the free parking and the volume of traffic is Canterbury Downs (not very centrally located).

You need: central location, lots of space, and free parking. If you've got a solution that hits all those points, I'll bet the gunshow promotors would love to hear about it.

I understand the central-location argument, and even agree with it to some extent . . . but not to a large enough extent that I'll pay double the money for it.

(As for the point about on-the-street parking, that's only on Sundays, and in any case I think both cities decree that parking meters near the big events are always active. In any case, those spaces go right away.)

There's always the fairgrounds: Plenty of parking and plenty of room. Since MWCA already has two shows a year there, I don't see why they don't have all of them there. Central location, no beady-eyed city authorities cruising slowly past, looking for vehicles to tow away.

As to driving long distances: When I'm already in the car and on the road, the difference for me (coming from north of Anoka) between Bloomington, Stillwater, or Hastings is not a factor. For obvious reasons I like the Anoka show, even though the building is tiny (like Hastings).

If all I was buying was new guns and ammo I wouldn't go, but for those of us who collect and shoot old military firearms and obscure calibers the shows are a necessity.

As for me, I shoot a couple of beltfeds and 50 BMG bolt actions. Most of the gunshops don't sell 50 and the one I saw selling it was charging $3.60 a round for Talon reloads which I can buy online or at Sportmans Guide (avoiding shipping) for $1.25 per round. I go through .308 in the beltfeds by the thousands and if I had to buy it at the stores I couldn't afford to shoot; I picked up two 640 round cans of Indian surplus for $65.00 per can at the last show.

Most of the stores don't carry much in antique or military weapons either.

I'm not fond of the downtown shows in either city because of the parking but it's a small thing compared with what I typically spend there.

If you want a great, heavy weapons, gunshow and shoot try the Knob Creek Machine gun shoot sometime. The next one is the weekend of April 8th. That one is a real threat to the checkbook!

Greg

I sell the 50 BMG on belt for 1.50 ea. I only have about 1500 rds left.

"Mail Call" did a special show about Knob Creek. It looks worthwhile if only for the night-time tracer shoot!