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Saxet Gun Show - Aug. 2-3 - San Antonio --- We're doing it!

Started by Groundhog, July 05, 2008, 09:35:23 PM

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Groundhog

Alright,

This is the online place for organizing, chatting about, and asking questions for the upcoming Saxet Gun Show scheduled for the weekend of August 2 & 3.  Here's what I know so far.

1.  Table is reserved.
2.  We're not planning on having electricity since they want more money for that.
3.  We (as members of the RWVA Engineering Battalion) have a way around that.  Can you say car battery and an inverter?  Hooyaa!
4.  We're looking into banners.
5.  Didactic is coordinating with the national peeps on this.
6.  Groundhog is combat controller on scene, organizing all on site ops.
7.  3holepete is the XO for this op.
8.  Big D is manpower for Sunday and possible banner coordinator.
9.  Mobile Firebase Groundhog is available for up to 4 people in ridiculous luxury should more decide to try for the whole weekend.
10.  Groundhog is feeding this motley crew.
11.  A laptop computer will be available.  Internet access is being looked into.

That's what I know so far.  This will be clarified, adjusted, amended, changed, and otherwise reworked at whim...
Greg Miller

"You know what?...  Just shut up..."
Overheard at the Big Texan in Amarillo, became most used line at shoot...

Groundhog

We got some needs for this show.  Didactic (Dean) is going to ask the powers above about some of this but I'll put them here too.

1.  We need a banner.  Ideally 2.
2.  We need a way to display said banners.
3.  We need flyers to hand out.
4.  We need rifles to display.  Just about got this one covered (go figure).

Add thoughts here people.

I have some "Likes" I'd like to find out about too.

1.  I'd 'like' to be able to sign people up for shoots on the spot.
2.  I'd 'like' to be able to sign people up for RWVA membership on the spot.
3.  I'd 'like' to be able to sell appleseed stuff to try to recoup costs and above that just for donating to the cause.  Stuff like, t-shirts, bumper stickers, targets.  Not sure what else we could sell.

Input on if we can and how we can do this is desired.
Greg Miller

"You know what?...  Just shut up..."
Overheard at the Big Texan in Amarillo, became most used line at shoot...

didactic

I'll be there on Sunday, doggone day job thinks they want me there on Saturday.

I'll get needed stuff to Greg/Groundhog to set up on Saturday, including a minimalist LTR and a Garand with a sign that says "Buy my cousin for $445 + S & H".   I'll also be sending a prototype banner frame.

This needs to be looked into more, but as I understand it now, we can sell RWVA memberships and take shoot registrations, but if we SELL anything tangible we'll need to get a state sales tax number, etc.  This will be looked into, but will probably be a stretch to get that done by 1 August.

Anybody with current knowledge of Texas Sales Tax law and procedures FEEL FREE to chime in.  We're playin' this by ear.
"If not us, who?  If not now, when?"  Ronald W. Reagan

shunt

I'm available for Saturday (possibly part of Sunday). I'll coordinate with Didactic to bring down the banner frame and anything else he has. I can also offer a ride to one more from the Austin area if needed.

I'll pitch in $100 to cover banner or printing expenses but work has me too piled up to do the leg work.

I will have my FAL with me, so I don't mind it being on display if it helps.

Cheers,
   -shunt
"Well I see the truth, yes I've seen the light and I've changed my ways, and I'll be prepared when you're lonely and scared at the end of our days."   Ozzy Osbourne, After Forever

LabRat

I'm in for Saturday morning and at least early afternoon. Let me know if there is anything I can bring along.

John
Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.

Thomas Paine

didactic

PM sent to coordinate.

Anybody else within range of San Antonio, chime in here or by PM, to me or Groundhog.

We're going to see how well this will work, to produce signups for the upcoming shoots.  Besides Davilla, we have shoots in Amarillo, Yellville, Raton, and maybe soon Pecos and El Paso to promote.

Funfaler was right about two months ago, this program is poised to EXPLODE.

Carpe Diem!  Strike while the iron is hot!  Use whatever other cliche you want to use, but it's happening.  Don't be left behind!
"If not us, who?  If not now, when?"  Ronald W. Reagan

Groundhog

Day one of the show greatly exceeded my expectations.  Our table was at the very back of the show naturally.  This turned out to be a pretty good thing though.  Any of the high traffic areas get very congested and people feel a great deal of pressure to "move along" to the next booth.  About the only thing that stops them for any length of time there is purchasing something or looking over merchandise.  As we weren't selling items, I think this would have limited the time most people would have even looked at us.  Most people eventually filter their way to the back anyway and we got a chance to talk to a lot of them, some of them in depth.  Many, many people coming through had not heard of the program.  We were able to tell them about it, hand out flyers, schedules, and targets as well as some free 'Cheaper than Dirt' catalogs donated to us via Didactic's efforts.

Shunt arrived a bit after I did and helped me get everything set up.  There we sat, bannerless until Labrat arrived just in the nick of time to give us a name!  Once we put up that banner on the frame Didactic made, we were looking good indeed.  As I sit here now it occurs to me that a picture might have been a worthy idea.  Maybe Dean can bring his camera tomorrow.  Shunt did a bang up job of introducing the program to people, occasionally asking someone out of the blue if they were a cook or a rilfeman.  A LOT of people showed a LOT of interest in what we had to say and many are interested in it coming closer to San Antonio.  One fella even mentioned he had some land near by, hmmm....

By the end of the day we had run out of Davilla fliers and given out a ton of SWAT article reprints and catalogs.  A couple of Appleseed alumni showed up unexpectedly to say hello too, Ken and Doug T.  We had evangelists spreading the word there we didn't even know about!  One fella in a wheel chair unexpectedly spread the word when he stuck an Appleseed flier in the pouch on the back.  Very nice touch.  Unfortunately for him, it was also right next to a paper that said "practice target".   :D :D :D  I still hope he made it home OK!

A huge thanks to Shunt and Labrat who made doing the whole show effortless and provided outstanding logistical support.  Didactics behind the scenes organization has also proved invaluable.

Didactic and Big D will be with me tomorrow as we wrap things up.  Didactic, Labrat and probably a few others have expressed the idea of a gun show kit we could assemble and ship from show to show.  This would be a major improvement over what we did here this time and an overall outstanding idea.  The only problem I see is Didactic would have to give up his Garand as it was probably the biggest draw we had and should therefore accompany any gun show kit around the country.  Something about a piece of history like that with a price tag of under $500 just gets a lot of conversations started!

Greg Miller

"You know what?...  Just shut up..."
Overheard at the Big Texan in Amarillo, became most used line at shoot...

didactic

I'll give up my Garand, when they pry my cold, dead fingers ...

Off to pick up Big-D and meet up with Groundhog in San Antonio.  'Nother report to follow.
"If not us, who?  If not now, when?"  Ronald W. Reagan

Groundhog

Day 2 has come and gone.  Didactic and Big D were awesome help.  Three people manning a booth is perfect for rotating and flexibility.  We ran into one fella who could hit man hole covers at 3000 yards.  Needless to say, he didn't need the help of the program.  Less people showed up Sunday but we still had a steady stream all day.  Pretty much the same story but different day.

I'd say having a booth at a gun show is all about spreading the word.  The more "cool" stuff you can have on the table to start conversations, the better, especially if it will get the question asked of "how much do you want for this?"  I remain surprised at the numbers of folks who have yet to hear about us.  We got lots of work to do out there.  Nice thing about this is it's low cost, low effort, and lots of seeds planted.

Now, who's gonna take out Dean... ;D ;D ;D
Greg Miller

"You know what?...  Just shut up..."
Overheard at the Big Texan in Amarillo, became most used line at shoot...

wcmartin1

Sounds like y'all done good.

Groundhog, I'm also surprised at the number of people who still haven't heard about us.

Lots of opportunity for growth out there.  ;)

Wish I could have helped, but work got in the way again.  :P

Congrats and thanks for your efforts.

Quote from: Groundhog on August 03, 2008, 09:26:04 PM
Now, who's gonna take out Dean... ;D ;D ;D

Might be tough.  He's a Rifleman after all and far more valuable to us alive and kickin' anyway.   ;D

"Unhappy it is, though, to reflect that a brother's sword has been sheathed in a brother's breast and that the once-happy and peaceful plains of America are either to be drenched with blood or inhabited by a race of slaves.  Sad alternative!  But can a virtuous man hesitate in his choice?" - George Washington - from a letter to a close friend after the events of April 19, 1775

"There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our (the United States) overthrow.  Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter.  From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence, I must confess that I do apprehend some danger.  I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants, and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men, and become the instruments of their own undoing." - Daniel Webster, June 1, 1837

Groundhog

ROFL.  Be too much durn paperwork to ship the silly rifle to all shows anyway... ;)
Greg Miller

"You know what?...  Just shut up..."
Overheard at the Big Texan in Amarillo, became most used line at shoot...

didactic

Thanks for the vote of confidence, wcmartin1.

Dittos to what Groundhog said.  A FEW passers-by said they had read Fred's columns and knew something about Appleseed, but the overwhelming majority said they had never heard of us at all.

Many took flyers, reprints, catalogs.  They said they'd look into it and come see us.  A percentage actually will.

Will we get "enough" to make the trouble and expense worthwhile?  I don't know.  It's just that I don't know any better way.  And I know we'll see some of those faces again.  I found it discouraging and encouraging at the same time.

The Garand with the sign, "Buy my cousin for $445 + S & H" did make a lot of folks stop long enough to be talked at.

Keep preaching the gospel of Appleseed.  Keep grinding.  Erosion is a powerful force.  Just look at the Grand Canyon.

"If not us, who?  If not now, when?"  Ronald W. Reagan

metalbot

If I could get a couple of people to commit to helping me, I'd consider doing this (and springing for the cost of the table) at the Austin Saxet gun show.  It's probably too short of notice for me to do this next weekend, but we could target the October show.
Davilla 1108

didactic

Double-check, I think that Austin show is the same weekend as the October Davilla shoot.

But the November Austin show should be the weekend AFTER the Davilla RBC/Appleseed, I could help you man that one!

And I can have my frame and LabRat's banner back by then.  Smle's using them at the Mountain Home, AR gun show 27-28 September.
"If not us, who?  If not now, when?"  Ronald W. Reagan

metalbot

I've got an Email out to Saxet asking if we can get a discounted table in November since we're a non-profit.

If that doesn't work out, I'll take care of renting us a regular table.

No urgency now, but next month we'll need to get commitments from some other volunteers to man the booths.
Davilla 1108

metalbot

We're booked for the November show in Austin. 

I'll start a thread as we get closer to the date calling for volunteers to help me man the booth. 


Davilla 1108

Scout

The November Applesed/Boot camp is set for Nov. 2-9. If the show is after that, you can have all the Rev War stuff for your booth. The clothing, bayonet, bulllets, toys maps etc. I can send them to you after the APpleseed for the show, or you can pick them up when you bring a bunch of new friends to the Nov 8-9 APpleseed ;D

I can leave all the extra stuff you might need for it at the Oct. Appleseed. I can leave you a box with targets, Fred's Guides, T-shirts, literature, SWAT handouts, CTD catalogs etc. If you don't have a Garand, I will polish mine up and you can take it with you to push the RWVA-CMP connection.
BattleRoadUSA.com

"Who wants Ice Cream?" Fred

Sixty seconds is way too long for a minute, I am cutting it down to thirty seven seconds- SoM

"You can shout it, you can preach it, but no matter how many times you repeat it, NEVER believe your own bullSh*t." (as told to me by Grin Reaper)

voortrekker

Quote from: metalbot on September 29, 2008, 07:28:16 PM
We're booked for the November show in Austin. 

I'll start a thread as we get closer to the date calling for volunteers to help me man the booth. 





metalbot,

You can count me in on being there and helping out.

Thank you VERY much for getting up, going out and making this happen.

I can bring a couple of nice M1A's to show off too.(not(never) for sale though ;))

PM me for anything I may help out with.


brett out.
If YOU are thinking, WE are winning.

didactic

I should have the banner and frame back by then.

I don't yet know what my work hours will be that weekend, but I'll be there at least some of the time to help out.

I've got an M-1 and an LTR to display, those with Brett's M-1A will make a good start at an attractive assortment.

Metalbot, also my thanks for stepping up, go ahead and open the new thread with the right date, sooner rather than later.  Ideal manning (personing?  It'd be good if we had females there, as Appleseed is female-friendly.) is three or four people, from open to close.

Do I have it right that the dates are 15-16 November?  That's one weekend AFTER the November Davilla Appleseed.
"If not us, who?  If not now, when?"  Ronald W. Reagan

Grunt Medic

If it's the weekend of the 15th, I can commit to a 4-hr. shift, whichever day needs it.  I can also bring an LTR 10/22 (with tech-sights and flash hider for MBR approximation) for display/handling, along with a sign I have in mind -

Ruger 10/22 -           185.00
2 spare mags -          49.00
Sling & hardware -     25.00
Brick of ammo -         20.00
Exercise of freedom - PRICELESS!

I MAY be able to bring an AR-15 in .22, as well - upper is still on order.  If it's in my hands, it's on offer for display.

didactic

The November show has its own thread now.

http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=4000.0

PM metalbot with your ideas and schedule, he's the Squad Leader / chief scheduler.
"If not us, who?  If not now, when?"  Ronald W. Reagan