Tanner Gun Show Review

It seems like almost every month I see a billboard advertising the Tanner Gun Show in Denver Colorado. After seeing these signs for years, in February 2017, I decided to see what all the hoopla was about. I went to the show. The gun show is at the Denver Mart just Northeast of 58^th and I 25. Parking was free. I turned into the entrance off 58^th and pulled into the first parking space I found. That was a mistake. The Denver Mart is a huge property with several buildings and a hotel. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be able to find my way to the entrance until I finally found a sign pointing the way. The show is in a building way in back, quite a bit north of the 58^th Avenue entrance.

The show hours are Saturday from 9AM until 5 PM, and Sunday from 9AM until 4:00 PM. When I arrived around noon, there was no line to get in. I paid the $10 entrance fee, the lady that took my money stamped my wrist so I can get back in at a later time or the next day. I walked right in to the hall, no metal detectors. I don’t remember anyone asking if I was carrying but it was clear everyone was expected to declare their weapons.

The hall was packed with exhibitors and buyers. Wall to wall tables with all sorts of firearms, ammunition, accessories, holsters, knives, backpacks, food items, and other kinds of merchandise. The hall was quite crowded, but not so crowded that you couldn’t navigate between the tables, view and hold firearms, and interact with vendors. A few gun stores seemed to be represented but there were also quite a few independent vendors.

You are able to handle the firearms but only a limited amount because every gun in the show had a zip tie wrapped around the mechanism. Full handling such as racking the slide is not possible. You do not need to be an exhibitor to bring in your weapons, but non-exhibitors are also subject to the same zip-tie rule. No loaded weapons are allowed in the hall.

The people at the show were mostly white men but there was a fair share of women, blacks, and other minorities. The tables were staffed with mostly white men with a few women. There were a few women staffing the tables ranging from pretty young ladies that were clearly there to attract male customers along with a variety of women of varying ages and attractiveness.

I soon discovered that a gun show is an ideal place to make a firearm purchase. There was a wide variety of firearms. No one dealer can offer all the types of firearms that are available available at a gun show. If you don’t see what you are looking at one table, go to the next. Offerings ranged from the cheapest firearms to the most expensive. Most of the firearms were new, but used firearms were also available. Pricing varied from overpriced to very competitive. If you are price shopping and you know what you want, you can probably find several dealers offering the gun you are looking for. Peruse the tables, note the prices, and return to the dealer offering the best price for the firearm you want.

Holsters were available starting around $15.00.  Some holster vendors had replica handguns of various manufactures and models, so a buyer could try a holster with the exact kind of gun they intend to carry.

There is no “gun show loophole” in the state of Colorado. The corrupt and oppressive Federal and state governments illegally require all gun show firearm purchasers to  undergo a background check. One dealer told me he charges $6.00 for background checks because that’s what the state charges him. Background check approvals were taking less than 15 minutes. Another dealer told me if a purchaser was denied, he would charge a $50 restocking fee to take back the weapon.

In conclusion, the Tanner Gun show is a terrific place to purchase a firearm or other related items. Visiting the show makes it easy to comparison shop and view a wider variety of firearms that would be available at any one store.