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Ft. Worth airgun show: Part 2

Posted on September 10, 2014 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 80 Comments

by Tom Gaylord, The Godfather of Airguns™
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

This report covers:

• Other dealers
• Rossi FAL trainer
• Other rare things
ª On the range
• Things I missed
• Something that found me

Back to the show report today. I was not expecting the level of interest the first report got, so I left out a lot of things. Today, I’ll rectify that.

Other dealers
In the first report I focused on the major dealers, but a show like this cannot prosper unless some of the key smaller dealers attend. Let’s start with Dennis Quackenbush. I know Dennis was busy all day, even though I scarcely got a chance to visit with him, because his table faced mine. Whenever I looked over, he had one or two people talking to him — and they wanted to buy guns! Dennis doesn’t usually have a lot of guns to sell at a show, because he builds to order; but he does bring a couple, and people were hounding him about them this time.

Ft. Worth Airgun Show: Part 1

Posted on September 8, 2014 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 73 Comments

by Tom Gaylord, The Godfather of Airguns™
Writing as B.B. Pelletier

This report covers:

• How big was it?
• Larry Hanusch exhibit
• My display
• Door prizes and raffles
• More to come

The Ft. Worth airgun show was held last Saturday. In my opinion and in the opinion of the club that put it on, the show was very successful. Of course, we’re biased, but I think the public was also impressed. At least, that’s what they were telling me all day.

How big was it?
There were 60 tables at this show. They filled the hall we were in. We had a second hall we could have also used, but it wasn’t necessary this time. Dealers set up from 6:30 to 9 a.m., and the public started coming in right at 9. We had a couple early buyers who paid the equivalent of a table fee to see what was in the show before the doors were finally opened. More than 400 people attended (including the dealers).

The 2010 Roanoke Airgun Expo – Day two

Posted on October 28, 2010 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 70 Comments

by B.B. Pelletier

Part 1

The airgun show continued on Saturday, and a firearms show opened in the same civic center complex. Paying admission to the firearms show also got you into the airgun show, so we saw several of those buyers walking in our aisles. It’s odd to see a guy carrying a firearm at an airgun show, but that’s what happens when two shows are run at the same time.

On this day, I got a first-time attendee’s appraisal of the show, which is always interesting. He said he came to the show with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised. I guess that about sums it up for most of us. If you came to buy just a Beeman R11 and didn’t find one, you might think the show was a bust despite being in the presence of some of the rarest, most collectible airguns ever assembled. If they didn’t have what you wanted, for you the show was bad.

The 2010 Roanoke Airgun Expo – Day one

Posted on October 27, 2010 by B.B. Pelletier ↓ 76 Comments

by B.B. Pelletier

Well, we all wondered a month ago whether the Roanoke show would run this year after the passing of the organizer, Fred Liady, but it did run exactly as planned. Fred’s widow, Dee, made sure that the show went off exactly as Fred would have wanted it, which was her memorial to his memory.

All of the attendees had Fred foremost in their minds as they set up in preparation for the doors to open. Dennis Quackenbush conducted a short but heartfelt ceremony a few minutes before the doors opened on Friday for all of the attendees to remember not only Fred but other noted airgunners who left the building this year. There weren’t many dry eyes in the crowd when Dennis finished his short eulogy in front of the Fred Liady memorial table at the front of the show hall. Then, everyone filed past Dee and told her how much they missed her husband. I was surprised she had the strength to stand there and greet over 100 people who’d known Fred for so many years. At the end of the ceremony, the mood in the room was one of quiet remembrance that lasted until the doors finally closed the next day.