The Gun Show Returns to Abilene in November

Oct. 27 – The Abilene Gun Show returns early next month after being absent for a few years. The Abilene Gun Show will return November 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and continue the following day November 6 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The gun show will be hosted by American Legion Post 1969 and VFW Post 3279 and will be held at Sterhl Hall here in Abilene.

The Abilene Gun Show has been in operation since approximately 1987. The show will include guns, coins and military surplus for purchase. Admission is $3 for adults and will be free for children 12 and under. They must be accompanied by an adult. At the show, you can view and ponder various rifles, handguns, and shotguns to find the firearm that suits your needs. Eight-foot tables are available for vendors. Of these, 103 out of 105 tables were sold, with 35 different vendors making an appearance at the show.

As with many activities, the COVID-19 pandemic that emerged in 2020 brought the Abilene Gun Show to a halt.

So why bring it back?

“So Rip Daniels started the gun show in 1987 and decided he was done with it. He then approached the Legion and the VFW and asked if we wanted to take over for him, so after few meetings, we decided we wanted to move on and move forward with that,” said Legion member Megan Armstrong.

She said she felt it was an honor to host such a classic event.

“We have a few people in our group who enjoyed the gun show and were excited to bring it back,” said Legion member Chris Armstrong.

The Armstrongs have done a lot of leg work to bring back one of Abilene’s oldest traditions.

What action plan are the Armstrongs putting in place to revive the gun show and make it more relevant to people who don’t know what it is?

Simple word of mouth, they said.

“There was already a lot of excitement about the return of the gun show, so what we’re doing right now is word of mouth. You know, get people talking and we have also spoken with other companies and people as well I think it’s also helpful to know that you don’t have to just own guns to go out because those are also parts of collection and military surplus at the show,” said Megan Armstrong.

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