In late February of 2020 I attended the Las Vegas Antique Arms show as I normally do. After coming home for a couple of weeks, COVID shut everything down. Last year’s show (2021) was cancelled because of the health risks, and it was finally scheduled again for January 21-23, 2022. While I was a bit nervous as to how well attended it would be, I purchased my plane tickets and flew out to setup my Bruneau & Co. table.
The show is held at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino. I’m not really a big fan of Las Vegas itself, but it is a good show during the winter to keep in the circuit and it normally has a good mixture of material for display or sale. Being on the west side of the country there can be a lot of Winchester lever action rifles and carbines, Colt revolvers, and a good bit of Civil War material. Looking around at the tables of arms and militaria, sometimes early items can be found sprinkled in with the other things. While I like and respect the later things, obviously the earlier stuff is most interesting to me personally.
As I arrived to setup in the hall, I could see that some dealers decided not to come as there were empty tables, but the organizers were good about spreading folks out a bit and giving them more room. They had also made more space between rows of tables which was not only good for distancing a bit, but it was actually a lot more comfortable than it normally would be pre-COVID. Normally we can be a little packed in with not a lot of room between us and the table behind.
One thing after two years without going to the show, it was great to see old friends again. During the day we all did our thing at our tables talking to clients and such and walking around checking things out, but the evening was a time to catch up with friends and see how they were doing and what had been going on with them over the past few years. Having never really left the hotel to go out for dinner in the past, I actually did this year. While as I mentioned, I am not a fan of Vegas itself, I did have some memorable meals a few nights I was there with friends.
All in all, a very good show and I look forward to next year! The next is the Baltimore Antique Arms show put on by the Maryland Arms Collectors Association on March 19-20 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, Maryland. If you are into antique arms and collectables, this is the show to go see! As with Vegas, this show has been postponed since March 2019, so it is sure to be filled with all sorts of goodies.
