I like to go to gun shows. I have never purchased a gun at a gun show, but I get the chance to look around see what's out there. Pretty much I pass up the giant displays of new pistols. There are so many of them that it is hard to look at them all. I sense that a good many are produced to have a certain look (you know, mean and manly) but you never know how they are going to shoot. I have a bunch of pistols and they all shoot very well.

One particular type of firearm that I would love to get is an M-1 Garand rifle. It was the workhorse of WW2. It is a gas operated, eight shot, clip fed rifle which fires the .30-06 cartridge, the same as the Springfield bolt action workhorse of WW1. These tend to be pricey if you want one that is a shooter rather than a looker. Weapons that have actually been issued to the military (of many different countries) tend to have shot out barrels. I definitely want a shooter, so I looked around quite a bit. One fella had about 8 of them on show. They had been re-barreled and restocked. I asked how they shot and all he could say is that in his two round test, they functioned as expected. I decided that wasn't enough to plunk $1200-$1600 for one of them.

While I was wandering around, Ginny called from Oregon. We chatted for a while then she asked where I was. I told her the Pasadena gun show. There were a few moments of silence on the other end of the line. She knows what can happen when I am out and about. I assured her that I wasn't going to buy anything, and I could feel the relief on the other end of the line.