Fudd Friday: Escape From SHOT – Las Vegas Antique Arms Show 2026

January 30, 2026
8:00 am

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Escape from the neon-lit frenzy of SHOT Show 2026 felt like a tactical retreat to the real frontlines of firearm history. While the convention center pulsed with polymer-framed wonders and AI-enhanced optics—impressive, sure, but mostly prototypes destined for sticker shock—our intrepid narrator ditched the hype for an Uber ride across Vegas to the Las Vegas Antique Arms Show. Smart move. SHOT's milsurp cameos from Navy Arms and Zastava are appetizers; the Antique Arms Show is the full feast of patinaed steel, where Colt Single Actions whisper tales of the Old West, Mausers bear the scars of forgotten wars, and Winchester lever-actions command prices that make modern safe queens look like impulse buys. For the used-gun-rack aficionado, it's paradise: no NFA paperwork nightmares, just tangible links to the 2A lineage that birthed our rights. This pilgrimage underscores a deeper truth for the 2A community: amid the industry's obsession with innovation (read: planned obsolescence), the antique market is our unyielding bunker against regulatory erosion. These relics—pre-1968 imports, pre-ban curios—slip through ATF cracks that tighten daily on new production, preserving heirloom affordability when factory-fresh ARs hit four figures. It's Fudd wisdom at its finest: while tactical bros chase the next red-dot fad, the savvy collector stocks history that's grandfathered into eternity, immune to bump-stock bans or future mag limits. The implications? Diversify your safe beyond the black rifle; a $2,000 1911 from the trenches holds value (monetary and cultural) that no 3D-printed ghost gun can match, hedging against the day when assault weapon hysteria claims the shiny new toys. SHOT's final-day exodus to antiques isn't rebellion—it's strategy. As Vegas's gun mecca juxtaposes flash with substance, it reminds us that 2A's soul thrives in the racks of the past, not the booths of tomorrow. Next year, skip the lines at the main show and Uber over; your wallet, history knowledge, and future-proof collection will thank you. Fudd Friday scores another win.

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This pilgrimage underscores a deeper truth for the 2A community: amid the industry’s obsession with innovation (read: planned obsolescence), the antique market is our unyielding bunker against regulatory erosion. These relics—pre-1968 imports, pre-ban curios—slip through ATF cracks that tighten daily on new production, preserving heirloom affordability when factory-fresh ARs hit four figures. It’s Fudd wisdom at its finest: while tactical bros chase the next red-dot fad, the savvy collector stocks history that’s grandfathered into eternity, immune to bump-stock bans or future mag limits. The implications? Diversify your safe beyond the black rifle; a $2,000 1911 from the trenches holds value (monetary and cultural) that no 3D-printed ghost gun can match, hedging against the day when assault weapon hysteria claims the shiny new toys.

SHOT’s final-day exodus to antiques isn’t rebellion—it’s strategy. As Vegas’s gun mecca juxtaposes flash with substance, it reminds us that 2A’s soul thrives in the racks of the past, not the booths of tomorrow. Next year, skip the lines at the main show and Uber over; your wallet, history knowledge, and future-proof collection will thank you. Fudd Friday scores another win.

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