Keith Hanson, former owner of the Big Sandy Mountaineer from Chinook, organized a gun show here for the third year in a row. There were 17 vendors and 50 tables, and the place was full.
All the vendors I talked to loved firearms. They sell more than guns, of course, with a wide variety of items. They also could purchase guns from private individuals. Some vendors have been in the gun show business for many years, while others just started two years ago.
It was fun to talk to an engraver from Hinsdale. Other vendors told me he was good.
Ron Otto still makes Little Sharps and has a table. He makes three to four guns a year. Ron just sold one to a guy from Baker who was sending someone to Big Sandy last weekend to pick it up.
A second-year vendor from Winifred was just starting to buy and sell guns and was enjoying making connections with all the old-timers.
A vendor from Great Falls told me, "I've got every gun I ever had; I've never gotten rid of one. My dad never got rid of a gun. I've got a lot more than my dad. He was just into the shotguns and stuff. I've got them, pistols, and all kinds of things; anything that strikes your interest?" He told me he has a gun hidden in a book and how to do that Using Elmer's glue and a used book. Cutting the book's inside out with a razor blade took a long time. "Every gun is dangerous. You have to believe that!"
Another vendor told me he loves coming to Big Sand. " I absolutely love it here in Big Sand. It's the people and the location. You can see the mountains from here, and I love Montana's history. There's a lot of history here, and it's big news. You've got a lot of really interesting entities. The people are wonderful here."
He had a glass jar with rattlesnake buttons. I asked him if he knew how many rattlesnakes he had killed. "I took a rough count here a couple of years ago, and it is over 11,00. I've got three big monster rattlers' dens in the basement right now, down in the corner. The guy with the Conrad gun show wants me to bring a live rattlesnake into the quarry. So, I will wake him up at the beginning of March and try to get him fed and ready. I'll take him over there to Conrad."
I'm the fifth generation in Great Fall. Some of these, like these ancient world artifacts, are some of those I did dig myself while studying archeology. I've got fossil shark teeth. I have a friend who's a salvage diver over on the East Coast; I got those from him. That's what they do with a lot of the. And the coins and things like that. I've been collecting all this stuff since I was in the second grade. My dad got me interested in everything: guns, knives, and hunting. I'm expanding my horizons. I don't get far from home anymore, but now I like Conrad, Chinook, Big Sandy, Lewistown, and Central Montan. I love getting to meet people. I like the people."
