This one is much worse than the fingernails on a chalkboard sensation when these characters insist on shooting valuable antiques. In this one their firearms "expert" advises a customer to alter and probably ruin a unique antique.

The episode is titled "Chummobile": http://www.history.com/shows/p...ylists/full-episodes

A woman brings in a small, portable writing desk with a concealed gun built into a trap door in the desk front and a button trigger so a person seated in front of the desk would get shot when the button was pressed. It reminded me of way back when the army paid in cash and lieutenant pay officers and their drivers went well-armed on payday, as a large company's cash payroll was 200 grand when a LT made 300 a month, his driver 85, and when you lost something it really did come out of your pay. A Victorian-era, portable payroll desk custom built for a railroad, coal mine, or other business back when companies paid on the job site, the insurance industry was in its infancy and cash payrolls were prime criminal targets.

The gun was an antique, black-powder alarm gun like you find on old, 19th-Century catalogs. It looked like it was brass. They were made to screw to a window or door frame, were loaded with blanks, and were configured to trip when an intruder opened the window or door, frightening the intruder away. Most were percussion, but this one was a .22 or .32 rimfire clearly designed for blanks, as it had a chamber but no barrel. Loaded with a live round, however, it certainly would hit something only two feet away. The 22 rimfire cartridge dates to Flobert’s BB Cap in 1845.

Not only could our “expert” not identify the firearm, he advised the owner to take it to a gunsmith to be “deactivated”, as it was likely “not a pre-1898 antique” and additionally could be considered a “concealed weapon illegal to buy and sell without deactivation." Words can't describe what terrible advice that is on several levels. If he were a physician I'd apply to revoke his license.

The don't know shit about guns.

Sadly, those guys know little-to-nothing about everything. Add to that, their collective deficient mentalities and goober personalities....and you have a successful television show.

Hi Bob-

Thanks for the history!

You've piqued my interest.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.22_BB

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rimfire_ammunition

Per http://www.chuckhawks.com/history_rimfire_ammo.htm

The BB Cap was the first type of rimfire ammunition. BB stands for "bullet breech." It was invented in France around 1845, designed for the Flobert indoor target rifle. BB Caps were designed for shooting gallery use and are seldom encountered these days, as shooting galleries are now considered politically incorrect by socialists, tort lawyers, girly men, and liberal politicians.
The BB Cap fires a round lead projectile (ball) powered only by the priming compound in the rim of the case, which is very short as no powder is used. The case is just there to hold the priming compound and bullet together.

BB Caps were made in Europe and America until fairly recently. The last I saw were made in Germany by RWS who, I believe, still loads them today.

The successor to the BB Cap was the CB Cap. "CB" stands for "Conical Bullet." The CB cap uses a 29 grain round nose lead bullet and a tiny pinch of powder. This is also shooting gallery ammunition. CCI produces modern CB Cap loads in .22 Short and .22 Long cases (firearms chambered for the Long Rifle cartridge being far more common today) for gallery and indoor practice use. The MV of either is 710 fps.

I dunno how accurately the show depicts their real life behavior, but, assuming it is reasonably close, I like it and them. Rick seems to be an honorable guy running a successful business he learned from his father. No one accused them of being rocket scientists but they're not dummies either. Seems to me if they want to shoot their valuable antiques (probably mostly for the show IMO), that's their business.

I used to buy diamonds, jewelry, and watches from Vegas pawnshops for re-sale years back. I seem to recall visiting that shop but can't say for sure.

I have to admit that I watch it all the time with my 13 yr old son, it's his favorite show. Chumley is my favorite but I like them all. We like "American Pickers" and "Auction Hunters", too.

I have watched it a few times.

Gives one a good idea on why not to sell to a pawn shop.

They are in it to make money that is why they have to buy at 50 cents on the dollar.

If you have no idea what something is worth or how to find the best marget for it. Or if you want money fast

You well end up selling it for less then you could and to some one that knows what he is doing.

With just a little knowledge and internet axcess you can do a lot better.

All true, but one can sometimes find great deals in pawn shops. And, they buy at FAR less than 50 cents on dollar....one can often make lowball offer and buy VERY cheap.

True, they buy cheap and sell cheap. I recall buying one diamond for $800 in one and selling it wholesale for $6000. Of course, I also bought one for $9000 and sold it for $8000. Some days it's chicken, some days it's feathers.

BTW here's some free financial advice which is worth considerably more than I'm charging.

It doesn't matter what you're buying, art, antiques, stocks, collectibles, horses, coins, or real estate. If you've made a mistake, sell it for what you can as soon as you can and go on down the road to the next deal. THE FIRST LOSS IS THE BEST LOSS. Meaning, if you screwed up, time will rarely make it better and it can and often does get worse. A corollary to this is: If you miss a deal, don't worry, THERE'S ALWAYS ANOTHER DEAL.....as long as you keep the capital available to take advantage of the next one.

quote:

It doesn't matter what you're buying, art, antiques, stocks, collectibles, horses, coins, or real estate. If you've made a mistake, sell it for what you can as soon as you can and go on down the road to the next deal. THE FIRST LOSS IS THE BEST LOSS. Meaning, if you screwed up, time will rarely make it better and it can and does often get worse. A corollary to this is: If you miss a deal, don't worry, THERE'S ALWAYS ANOTHER DEAL.....as long as you keep the capital available to take advantage of the next one.

Gatogordo, thanks for posting that. Thru some recent events in my life those words ring true for me.

Pawn Stars don't have an FFL.
They are limited to antique guns pre 1899.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antique_gun

Under the United States Gun Control Act of 1968, any cartridge firearm made in or before 1898 ("pre-1899") is classified as an "antique", and is generally outside of Federal jurisdiction[3], as administered and enforced by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). The only exceptions to the Federal exemption are antique machineguns (such as the Maxim gun and Colt Model 1895 "Potato Digger") and antique cartridge rifles or shotguns firing shotgun shells that are classified as "short barreled" per the U.S. Gun Control Act of 1968, namely cartridge rifles with a barrel less than 16 inches long, or shotguns firing shotgun shells with a barrel less than 18 inches long, or either cartridge rifles or shotgun-shell firing shotguns with an overall length of less than 26 inches. Muzzleloading guns, as replicas of antique guns, are not subject to Federal jusisdiction and are essentially classified the same as an antique gun. Hence, a muzzleloading blackpowder shotgun is not subject to the short-barreled National Firearms Act of 1934 restrictions. Purchases of such modern-day manufactured replicas may be done outside of the normal Federal Firearms License (FFL) restrictions that otherwise exist when purchasing modern (post-1898) guns.[3] Replicas of cartridge firing rifles, however, are not classed the same as antiques, but must be purchased through FFL holders, although a true antique that was manufactured prior to 1899 firing the same cartridge as the replica would be legal for sale without the transfer being processed through an FFL. Furthermore, any rifle re-built on a receiver or frame that was manufactured prior to 1899 is considered antique, even if it has been re-barreled or even if every other part has been replaced.[3]

The following is an excerpt from the portion of the Gun Control Act of 1968 (which modified Title 18, U.S. Code) that exempted pre-1899 guns from the Federal Firearms License paperwork requirements administered by the BATFE:

18 USC 921 (a)(16). (A) any firearm (including any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system) manufactured in or before 1898; and (B) any replica of any firearm described in subparagraph (A) if such replica -- (i) is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition, or (ii) uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition which is no longer manufactured in the United States and which is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.

Within the United States, antique exemptions vary considerably from state to state.
[edit] Identifying pre-1899 antiques

The production of many cartridge firearms, such as the famous Winchester Model 1894 lever action rifle took place both before and after the December 31, 1898 cut-off date that delineates exempt antique status under U.S. law. Therefore, collectors rely on references such as The Pre-1899 Antique Guns FAQ by James Wesley Rawles[3] to determine if a particular gun's serial number falls within the range of "antique" (pre-1899) production. For example, a Winchester Model 1894 with serial number 147,685 had its frame (or "receiver") made in December 1898 and it is hence classified as an "antique", but records show that a Winchester Model 1894 with serial number 147,686 had its frame made in January, 1899 and it is hence classified as "modern" by the BATFE.

Since it is the date of manufacture of the receiver that is relevant to identifying a gun as antique or modern, it is possible to have a weapon with date marks post-1898 but still be considered an antique gun. For example, some Finnish M39 (Ukko-Pekka) Mosin-Nagant rifles with hexagonal profile receivers are considered antique because some were built on receivers dated pre-1899, even though the rifle itself was adopted in 1939. Many of these were assembled using a mix of old round and "hex" receivers from then on, until as late as the 1970s. To be identified as pre-1899, however, Mosin-Nagants that have been re-barreled must be disassembled to see the date stamps on their tangs.[3]. A similar situation exists for 7.65mm Mauser Turkish Model 1893 bolt actions, most of which were re-arsenalized at the Ankara arsenal in the 1940s, and rechambered to 8x57mm Mauser. Despite this re-arsenalization and rechambering, they are still considered antiques under US law as all rifles of that model were manufactured between 1893 and 1896.[3] Likewise, all firearms produced by Ludwig Loewe & Co. A.G., which are marked "Ludwig Loewe" or "Loewe, Berlin", are antiques. This is because Ludwig Loewe was merged into Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken in 1897, and the Loewe name was no longer used after the merger.[3]

quote:

Originally posted by conifer:
All true, but one can sometimes find great deals in pawn shops. And, they buy at FAR less than 50 cents on dollar....one can often make lowball offer and buy VERY cheap.

This is very true. I watch Pawn Stars quite often, for what reason I don't know. I always find it interesting that people go in there knowing how they buy, then act all offended when the item they didn't pay a dime for doesn't bring them the full retail price!

I frequent the two pawn shops in Paris TN quite often. It's amazing what you can find there. I've bought some almost brand new power tools for less than half of what I can get them for at the local box stores.

AND, if they do handle firearms, quite often you can get some great deals as well. A friend of mine bought a Remington Nylon 77 for $110.00 and sold it the next day at a gun show for $400.00!!!

But, while I'm willing to take advantage of their pricing, I'd never sell anything to a pawn shop because of how they do business.

Thee's a pawn shop in a certain place in Montana that's got a small fortune of incredibly collectible bows. The owner won't entertain a sale of any kind he just says "he likes them old bows." I dont think he has an inkling of what he's got, kind of the reverse of the pawn star guys.

They have bought a few firearms that are considered "modern" firearms, I recall a post turn of the century Colt SAA.

You occasionally have a camera flash past a scoped rifle on a counter being sold into the shop.

But something like that desk... if not positively identified as pre-1898 they really don't want it there...


they simply don't feature "modern" firearms on the show.

quote:

Originally posted by COOL:
Pawn Stars don't have an FFL.
They are limited to antique guns pre 1899.

quote:

Originally posted by Cane Rat:
I have to admit that I watch it all the time with my 13 yr old son, it's his favorite show. Chumley is my favorite but I like them all. We like "American Pickers" and "Auction Hunters", too.

Three of my favorites!!!!!

First off, there is a difference between a pawn shop and a second hand store, both legally and in how they purchase and sell. The business licenses are also different. In many states you can operate a second hand store without a specific license for that, IF you have a pawn shop license.

But the reverse is not necessarily true. In most states, you cannot do pawns with just a license for a second hand shop.

Some states have a third cetegory which is called "buy back" stores, but in many states "buy backs" are completely illegal. A "buy back" is where the customer sells the item to the store, but the store agrees not to sell it to anyone else for 30 days
and sets a higher price that it will sell back for, anytime within the 30 days.

After that, the customer can still buy it back, but anyone else buy it too, both at whatever price the store wants to charge then.

Most pawn shops are NOT primarily in business to buy the items customers bring in. They are in business to LOAN MONEY at interest rates generally around 3% per month, compounded monthly. The items you pawn are collateral for the loan, and the value of the collateral determines the maximum they are willing to loan you.

Because they are hoping you repay the loan and pay the interest (their profit), they do not want you to default and not repay the loan. They don't want the goods, which they would have to store, and protect for 60 days (30 days pawn, and 30 more days legally required "grace" period) before they can even try to sell it to get their money back and maybe make something on it.

If you do default and they end up with the merchandise after the 60 days expires, then they still have to display, and sell it if they want their money back. If you pay the money and interest, they can re-loan it almost instantly and keep the money compounding.

Because most pawn shops don't want the goods, they will only loan up to about 15% of its value. If they loan much more, the customer is more likely not to "redeem" the pawned goods, and to just walk away from the deal.

If the customer does that, then the pawn shop has just bought something it didn't necessarily want in the first place. And it has taken 60 days for them to find that out...during which time they could have loaned both the money and the interest out two more times.

Second hand stores, on the other hand, DO want the goods if they are the sort of stuff there is a good local walk-in market for, or a good national market for, and if the national market goods are easily packaged & shipped (things like gold, diamonds, etc.).

Second hand stores often pay up to 50% of current value for the items bought, and usually put them up for sale instantly thereafter at 70 to 80% of new value. If there is a good local market, they can make a good profit that way because they do not have to hold the items until the pawn period expires, nor for the additional 30 days after that expiration which most state's pawn regulations require.

There is more to it than this, but that gives a general idea of why the prices pawn shops offer are so low compared to the prices paid by second hand stores.

First the show is entirely scripted. It's as real as the Simpsons. Example: One time they bought one of the latest model Hoyt bows, with the seller wearing a Hoyt shirt and paying close to what you could buy the bow for in a store. Can you say "product placement"?

2nd it is entertainment aimed at a male audience, The items they feature are meant to appeal to guys. Guys want to see machines work, guns shot, cars driven.

3rd I've seen them fire some of the real old guns and question if there is anything in them besides a little BP and a wad.

I watch it some and enjoy it for what it is. One thing is they usually show guns in a positive light.

The bowling ball morter was sure cool.

quote:

Originally posted by Shof:

I always find it interesting that people go in there knowing how they buy, then act all offended when the item they didn't pay a dime for doesn't bring them the full retail price!

Like Ohiosam said, a lot of that is for appearances' sake. They have to have enough material to do so many shows per season and if enough interesting stuff and people don't wander in during shooting (which is on a strict schedule and budget), they "arrange" for things to come through the front door. Like Antiques Roadshow, they'll advertise that they're shooting episodes and folks come in just to be on TV and/or show off their prized possesion with no real intention of selling.

All these TV reality shows are predicated on having enough losers (real or contrived) on display to let the audience feel good about themselves and their situations.

I watch the show to see what folks are going to bring in. They couldn't care less about their GG grandfathers Confederate saber they JUST want money to go gamble with.

quote:

I watch the show to see what folks are going to bring in. They couldn't care less about their GG grandfathers Confederate saber they JUST want money to go gamble with.

And that's why the Old Man is a Genius!!!

Where else would people be willing to sell their family history so cheap.

quote:

I watch the show to see what folks are going to bring in. They couldn't care less about their GG grandfathers Confederate saber they JUST want money to go gamble with.

Which is also why almost all medium to large cities have "pawn shop details" in their police departments. Pawn shop regulations/ordinances usually require all loans and purchases to be reported to the local police at the close of business every day. Those reports are routinely reviewed by the pawn shop detail officers the next morning and compared against general theft, burglary, and robbery reports. It is amazing the amount of stolen goods sold to both pawn shops and second hand stores.

What is even more amazing is that many, many times the thefts are done by young relatives of the rightful owners. The kids are pretty safe doing that, as the goods need not be returned by the purchaser unless an official theft complaint is filed with the police. Many owners do not want their young relatives arrested and/or jailed, and therefore simply walk away swearing at the pawn shop staff rather than do the right thing.

I know in our shops we would simply point out that if there is no theft complaint on record, there are no demonstrably stolen goods.

If the original owner wants the goods back, he has to file a complaint with the police and follow up on those charges in good faith.

Otherwise we have made a valid legal purchase in good faith and are protected by "innocent third party" law.

If the rightful owner has filed or does file a formal complaint with the police, we would give the item(s) back at no cost to the injured owner, after the thief has had their day in court. But we want to see the little bastard is charged with and punished for the crime he or she has committed before we give anyone goods we have paid for and will not likely be reimbursed for afterward.

We do give the rightful original owner the option of repaying us the entire amount we paid his/her thieving relative for the goods and we will give them the goods at that point whether or not they follow through on their police complaint.

Then THEY can worry about whether to pursue justice or to try to collect the money from the thief.

Naturally the law requires (and any prudent pawn shop owner obeys it) that anyone pawning an item or making a sale to the pawn shop produce valid, unexpired, state-issued picture ID (like a Driver's License) before the pawn is made.

I saw the episode with the desk. I thought the "gun experts" advice was bad

Chumley and the son are both worthless idiots, guess that makes good TV though. That car restoration guy they have on once in awhile is an idiot too

I like American Picker. They should show more clips of them getting the door slamed in their face, yelled at, and kicked off peoples property

Have you seen the show about the dudes that go to storage unit auctions, crapy show


.

I've got to chime in here. I have family who have been in the pawn business for years, and am familiar with their store, and through them, a lot of the other pawns in their area. What is presented on Pawn Stars (accurate or not) makes them the fairy godmother of the pawn businss. I have been floored for years that states go after Payday check cashing places and don't blink an eye at pawn shops. What goes on in pawn shops is normally the bottom of the financial barrel. Very few people come into pawn shops to sell items; their business is 90% pawn. Why buy something at 50% on the dollar (really about 20% in the true world) when you can pawn it at 10% on the dollar, recieve an interest rate over 100%/year, and get it anyway when they are a day late? Most people are desparate when they go to a pawn shop, but really don't want to sell due to sentimental attachment. I know of an instance where some people pawned a nice set of their dad's mechanics tools (worth $500 to 600) for $150, then paid $15/month for two years and were still going, because they couldn't afford the $150. They still didn't want to give up dads tools, so they kept paying.
I suspect that Pawn Stars is produced simply as an entertainment show. When they find something interesting, they script a good story, wheel in an expert (ala any of the antique cable shows) and then run with it. There is obviously access to some big auction houses in Vegas. Who would go into a pawn shop to sell and item, find out it would bring $5000 at auction from a consultant who has come from across town, and then agree to take $1500 for it, knowing they could consign it to an auction? For that matter, who would call in an outside consultant to appraise an item, while likely paying for the appraisel, then do it in front of the "victim"? That's ludicrous.

Also, I have haunted pawn shops for 30 years all over my area, and have found very few decent buys. My experience is that, with guns, they generally have terrible prices. I know most of the owners, and they make no bones that they price them at super premium levels to have a good position for tradeins, which is what most of their deals are. They do very few outright sales on guns. Only if something is so odd that they don't anticipate any interest do they deal, which is where I have picked up most of my few bargains. They all periodically clean out the stock they build up through an auction house. Oddluy enough, this applys pretty much to guns. Everything else seems to be priced to move out, since it is mostly straight sales.

If you want to see the real world of pawn, watch Hardcore Pawn, the show about the shop on 8 Mile Road in Detroit. That matches my observations of the many hours I have actually hung around my cousins shop and seen the daily business. It isn't pretty.

Pawn shops in Las Vegas -- obvious combination. People need fast cash so they can put down a bet on something capricious.

There was a pawn shop around the corner here from the local Indian casino. The obvious move was to roll into the parking lot about 30 minutes before opening and ask the people in their cars what they had and how much cash they needed.

I got chased off a couple times by the owner -- but nailed a few good deals in the process.

Some of my best gun deals have been out of pawn shops. Cash, no trade . . .

Most of the show is all about ratings, this stuff gets ratings. You are not forced to sell at their offer and if you need to pawn for cash,it's something of your making. They offer a price you either take it or leave it. Call them what you will , they are the ones willing to sit on it until it fetches a price. The people carrying it in want cash now and are not willing to sit on it to sells. My wife recognized a local Pa resident on the show, a kid who went to Vegas with his buddies that bought some junk from a Sallies out there and went in there and tried to pass it as a heirloom just to get on tv. He made it thru the screening no problem. College kid games his dad said. Its just TV folks.

quote:

Originally posted by Art S.:
I've got to chime in here. I have family who have been in the pawn business for years, and am familiar with their store, and through them, a lot of the other pawns in their area. What is presented on Pawn Stars (accurate or not) makes them the fairy godmother of the pawn businss. I have been floored for years that states go after Payday check cashing places and don't blink an eye at pawn shops. What goes on in pawn shops is normally the bottom of the financial barrel. Very few people come into pawn shops to sell items; their business is 90% pawn. Why buy something at 50% on the dollar (really about 20% in the true world) when you can pawn it at 10% on the dollar, recieve an interest rate over 100%/year, and get it anyway when they are a day late? Most people are desparate when they go to a pawn shop, but really don't want to sell due to sentimental attachment. I know of an instance where some people pawned a nice set of their dad's mechanics tools (worth $500 to 600) for $150, then paid $15/month for two years and were still going, because they couldn't afford the $150. They still didn't want to give up dads tools, so they kept paying.
I suspect that Pawn Stars is produced simply as an entertainment show. When they find something interesting, they script a good story, wheel in an expert (ala any of the antique cable shows) and then run with it. There is obviously access to some big auction houses in Vegas. Who would go into a pawn shop to sell and item, find out it would bring $5000 at auction from a consultant who has come from across town, and then agree to take $1500 for it, knowing they could consign it to an auction? For that matter, who would call in an outside consultant to appraise an item, while likely paying for the appraisel, then do it in front of the "victim"? That's ludicrous.

Also, I have haunted pawn shops for 30 years all over my area, and have found very few decent buys. My experience is that, with guns, they generally have terrible prices. I know most of the owners, and they make no bones that they price them at super premium levels to have a good position for tradeins, which is what most of their deals are. They do very few outright sales on guns. Only if something is so odd that they don't anticipate any interest do they deal, which is where I have picked up most of my few bargains. They all periodically clean out the stock they build up through an auction house. Oddluy enough, this applys pretty much to guns. Everything else seems to be priced to move out, since it is mostly straight sales.

If you want to see the real world of pawn, watch Hardcore Pawn, the show about the shop on 8 Mile Road in Detroit. That matches my observations of the many hours I have actually hung around my cousins shop and seen the daily business. It isn't pretty.

Well, that's an interesting script of yours, too, and may be true in Kentucky. But, it is NOT true in Oregon or Arizona - that I know for sure.

For one thing, when the item pawned is due to be reclaimed, in Oregon & Arizona the pawn shop owner can't sell it the next day. He has to give the person who pawned it notice that it is now "out of pawn", and that they have another 30 days to pay the money to get it back or THEN it can be sold.


For another thing, virtually no pawn shop I've ever seen pays for appraisals. People who are in the business of pawning, or buying and selling second hand (two different businesses) all have their own fields of expertise. One guy is an expert on gem stones, the next may be sharp on civil war memorabilia. A third may be quite knowledgeable about guns, while with a fourth it is exotic cars. They all help each other out, gratis, because it helps all of them to do so.

They do not normally get appraisals in front of the customer. Usually it is done by phone and is very approximate. They learn by getting burned for too much money, which is a great incentive. Many of their customers have been coming in for years with different items, and with those, they may ask the person to leave it for an appraisal, but it is not a common practice otherwise.

With some of the people who pawn things, it would be a very bad idea. Why? Because they would then sometimes try to claim the item had been damaged while in the pawn shop's possession, and demand payment for the damage and then with money in hand not pawn it there.

It is a tough business, though a person with their head screwed on right and willing to learn a lot about the value of things can make a good living at it...if they don't get robbed at gunpoint too often. And, you would NOT believe the number of outright fakes folks try to foist off on pawn shops. They'll swear to God their great-grandmother had the item shipped around the horn to her in 1888, which an experenced pawn shop employee or owner can tell at a glance was actually made in occupied Japan in about 1949 as a rip-off of a popular earlier item.

Pawn shops are targets of all kinds of evil-doers and scams because they HAVE to have cash on hand to be able to do business. Nobody pawns their property in exchange for checks.

We sold lots of things at auction, but almost never guns. As a matter of fact our best sales days for guns were when a gun auction was being held somewhere else in town. Folks would go to the auction, see the prices things were being bid up to, then come to us to buy because our prices were much lower than what the same models of guns were bringing in the auction. Too many auction bidders let their competitive instincts overwhelm their common sense.

Like any other business, there are good, honest & helpful pawn brokers, and there are crooks who make pawns too. The same is true in carpet sales, window repair shops, air conditioner servicing, stock brokers, and everything else.

An acquaintance in the gun buying business was at the Las Vegas gun show, last January, and stopped in at their shop. He talked to Rick and they were taping a show while he was there. He indicated to me that customers are alloted 15 minutes in the shop at a time due to the heavy volumn.

Anyway, Rick and a producer of the show asked the acquaintance if he had anything unusual he would like to bring to the shop and be filmed attempting to sell it to Rick. Totally scripted and the shop was much smaller than it appears on tv. My friend declined. Noted their prices were way too high on the guns for sale in the shop.


Dutch

quote:

Originally posted by Dutch44:
Anyway, Rick and a producer of the show asked the acquaintance if he had anything unusual he would like to bring to the shop and be filmed attempting to sell it to Rick. Totally scripted and the shop was much smaller than it appears on tv. My friend declined. Noted their prices were way too high on the guns for sale in the shop.


Dutch

Gee, and this surprised you how? Remember, this is television, not real life. And I don't care if they do call it "Reality TV," it's not....

I remember a lot more Vegas Pawn shops had guns in the late 90's. Now very few Vegas pawn shops carry any guns. There is one in NW vegas. The guns are in a caged room.

When we were down for the SCI show, this year in Vegas, we drove by the Pawn Stars shop to take a look.

There was a line half a block long to get in! We did not want to take a look that bad.

Is there anything real in Las Vegas? It's all for TV and a quick buck.When they do buy a firearm or artillery piece why don't you see anyone else at the range? It may be a safety issue, sorry, I answered my own question. ---- former Las Vegas resident.
If you watch this program regularly you may have too much free time on your hands.

Ever:

Yes, there are real things in Las Vegas: innumberable "real" silicon DD's.

I have been lucky in dealing with pawn shops for the most part. One of the biggest and best lessons I learned over the years was that the more business you did with them, no matter how small, and the more often you stopped in to visit and look at stuff, the more likely you were to get into sort of the inner circle, and once they figured out the type of guns you were interested in, they would make some really good deals. I bought a Mark V Weatherby Deluxe in .300 Weatherby Mag. topped with a 2.5 to 7 Weatherby Premier scope for $500.00 from a shop I had been dealing with for a couple of years.

Deals at pawn shops is a matter of probabilities.
Being the lazy analytical sort one slow day at work after the internet came along, but before phone books went away I found and listed 28 pawn shops in town. Then I grouped them by location. The obvious dogs I threw out. The remaining shops where then organized by a great circle route as best I could and off I went. During my Saturday rounds I found a few more dogs and cut them out of the route.
Eventually I found some terrific deals. Being an engineer and too cheap to hire anyone to do anything thing I have an auto AC servicing certificate that allowed me to buy R-12 long after the usual shade tree mechanic was barred.
One of my finds was a very expensive Robinair vacuum pump used to evacuate auto AC systems.
That coupled with a high vacuum scientific laboratory pump found during a dumpster dive at work and a home made manifold resulted in a vacuum system that was far better than any used by any mechanic or dealership.
To say that I had cold dependable ACs on my cars and trucks was an understatement.
Other great finds were freon leak detectors, industrial quality impact wrenches, air rachets, specialty micrometers and other precision measuring instruments. But NO rifles ever.