GAT Guns 2008 Factory Shoot
It's that time of year again for the GAT Guns Annual Factory Shoot. The past several years I've attended this event with Dave but with him moving to E-Town, I headed over to GAT alone. Though I was surprised when Barry showed up shortly after myself.
I got there early Saturday and was among the first to get in at 9:30am.
The Factory shoot essentially is GAT's largest event of the year. Reps from many gun manufacturers come out with their guns and you can test shoot them for a small ammo fee. (more expensive than last year but ammo IS on the rise!)
Saturday was more crowded than Sunday but I was able to test shoot 13 different handguns between the time I was there both days. I love the factory shoot... I just wish it was more than just annual.
Here's what I shot...
Saturday
1. Springfield XD 9 Tactical (9mm)
2. Ruger SR-9 (9mm)
3. Ruger Super Redhawk 7 1/2" Revolver (.480 Ruger)
4. Desert Eagle (.50 AE)
5. Glock 37 (.45 GAP)
6. Springfield XD 45 Tactical (.45 ACP)
Barry made me greatly jealous on Saturday when he bought his second gun. A Springfield XD 9mm Service model. I'm probably the largest Springfield XD fan that doesn't actually own one. It was #1 on my list to buy in 2007 but sadly I didn't buy a single gun last year. He wanted his first centerfire handgun to be 9mm. He shot the SR-9, Glock 17, XD9 Tactical, XD9 Service and in the end decided to pull the trigger on his purchase. They had a great deal at $499 with a free Tactical light and accessory kit ($150 value) The people at Springfield also threw in a hat, gun mat and a large banner (which I traded him for... it is now in my garage). I left GAT around 1:15pm happy that Barry finally made the jump into a personal defense gun.
Having not shot enough on Saturday I decided to go back Sunday morning with a list of guns I wanted to shoot. I got there at the same time and again they opened the doors at 9:30am. I was the first shooter and was able to shoot the first 4 guns with no waiting. Nice.
Sunday
7. FN Five-seveN (5.7x28)
8. S&W 629 Classic (.44 Spl & .44 Mag)
9. Sig Mosquito Sport (.22 LR)
10. Taurus 1911 (.45 ACP)
11. Para Ordinance PXT 1911 SSP (.38 Super)
12. Beretta Neos w/ Red Dot (.22 LR)
13. Ruger Charger w/ Red Dot (.22 LR)
After shooting on Sunday I noticed a great deal on the new Sig Sauer Mosquito Sport at the gun counter. Sig's promo included 10 of them at a dealer cost. $299. GAT's normal price for this gun is $409.99. I didn't go there with the intention of buying a new gun. Frankly after spending $1300+ on fixing the blazer my extra $$$ was pissed away. And buying a gun right before the mortgage is due does not make sense so I headed home.
After a talk with Valerie she told me I should put $50 down on it since it was such a good deal and pay the balance after the mortgage (GAT allows 30 days to pay the balance) Since the Mosquito is on my "Wish List" and is a great size for the kids to shoot as well... armed with $50 from her, I headed back to GAT to buy the Mosquito Sport. Not the Springfield XD 9 Tactical I want but they didn't have a good deal on that one anyway.
I look forward to their 21st Annual next year.
