Manassas Gun Show

MBtGE invited me to a gun show near his house in Virginia.

This isn't the BIG ONE that is at the Dulles Expo Center. This was a Virginia Gun Collectors Association event. Lots of Military Surplus weapons, which is fine by me. I went to look for an extra barrel from my Remington Model 11 shotgun (they didn't have one), magazines for a Colt 1908 pocket hammerless (bupkis) and ammo (bought some South African .308 at a good price). Mainly the purpose was to walk around and drool.

What did I drool on? Well there were Rock Island Arsenal M1911 style .45s for about $400. Cheapest I've seen. I'm wondering what is wrong with them, actually. Sure it's a Phillipin made gun, and it is a bare bones .45, but still. It's $400. If I was lucky and got a decent one right out of the box I might never need another one. I better put this on the list for .45s. There is a review from a fan of RIA here.

Speaking of .45s, MBtGE got his Glock 21 on this trip. He loves Glock, and nothing I say will ever dissuade him. Plus he already has a lot of the accoutrements that go with Glock and can fit on any model. The flashlight mount is his favorite. I think he paid $500? Maybe 6. Don't remember, and I'm too lazy to pick up the phone and call his big behind. They through in 2 extra mags with it, too.

But I drooled the most on the Springfield M1As. I always thought I'd want to get the SOCOM II, which is a M1A with a synthetic stock, short barrel, and extensive rail system to mount all sorts of accessroies. But the weight feels all wrong. The rails shift the center of gravity forward too much. And this with a rifle WITHOUT any accesories. Better to get the simpler SOCOM 16 or Scout Squad, the only difference being barrel lenth. Or the Super Scout from Fulton Armory.

I'd show pics of the Springfield offerings, but their site is all flash animations. But here is the Fulton one, and it has a nicer rail than the Springfield offering:

See? More than enough rails to hang stuff on, 2 extra inches of barrel is fine. I'd live to try some 3rd generation night vision on a platform like this.