About 6,000 visit Show Me Center for weekend gun, knife show

An estimated 124 vendors with 400 tables filled the Show Me Center this past weekend to buy, sell and trade modern and antique weapons at the semiannual Missouri Gun and Knife Show.

Promoter J.D. King said that around 6,000 people attended the show, which took place from Friday to Sunday, with the biggest turnout on Saturday.

"I try to trade for and buy what I like," said vendor Bill Hovis, who had a variety of hunting rifles at his table. "I am more of a collector than I am anything else."

Despite his interest in hunting rifles, he said concealable handguns were among the best sellers at the show.

"People have the right to carry now," Hovis said.

Other collectors were on the customer side of the table.

Elden Barnes was one of them. He said he is more interested in antique weapons than modern weapons and collects items from the Civil War era.

"I have been coming to these for the biggest part of my life," Barnes said Saturday.

Vendor Jim Moffat came from Memphis, Tenn., to take part in the show for the second year in a row. His table was covered mostly by shotgun barrels and wooden stocks.

Moffat purchases guns for their parts and then refurbishes them to be sold.

"Some manufacturers haven't been making these parts for a hundred years," Moffat said.

Because of his collection of antique parts, Moffat has many customers who are interested in restoring family heirlooms.

"Our biggest customers are people who will want to fix grandpa's shotgun," Moffat said.

Guns and knives were not the only weapons at the show. Green Dragon Enterprises had weapons such as Roman-style and Japanese swords for sale.

Curtis Waggoner of Four Corners Archery demonstrated the use of an atlatl, a primitive hunting weapon, outside the Show Me Center.

"Sales have picked up since Missouri approved the use of it in hunting," Waggoner said.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources in 2007 approved the use of the atlatl for hunting small game. In 2010, Missouri became the second state in the nation to allow the atlatl to be used for deer hunting.

Four Corners Archery in Sedgewickville, Mo., sells various primitive weapons and traditional archery supplies. Waggoner said Four Corners sells a lot of custom-made wooden arrows.

King has been holding the Missouri Gun and Knife Show at the Show Me Center since 2002. He previously held gun shows at the Arena Building.

The next show will be Sept. 21 to 23 at the Show Me Center.

ajones@semissourian.com

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