Among the scores of meandering collectors, hunters and bargain-seekers at the Bangor Gun Show, R.J. Tate worked his way through the aisles, a man on a mission.
OK. Make that a teenager on a mission.
“I’m looking for a .45 long Colt,” the energetic, polite 13-year-old eagerly explained Saturday afternoon. “I tried a fast-draw [demonstration]. Over there you can shoot these wax bullets and they have competitions in Blue Hill and Winterport.”
After channeling his inner cowboy and posting a speedy time, Tate adjourned to the main floor of the Bangor Auditorium and began shopping.
“They said after awhile you may want to own your own gun so you can get used to it,” he explained. “So I’m just looking around to see if I might want any one in particular when I get pretty good at it.”
By all accounts, Tate was already pretty good: His time topped all but one turned in by youth and adult shooters, he said.
And by all accounts, “after awhile” arrived quickly: As soon as he emerged from the fast-draw venue, he was already shopping, asking vendors in-depth technical questions and dreaming about owning his own six-shooter.
And he was perfectly willing to share his opinions on guns and the show with anyone who asked.
“I like to talk,” he admitted with a grin after granting an interview between visits to various vendor tables.
The show was the 32nd annual, and organizer Charlie Rumsey said that the Bangor event mirrored trends being seen at gun shows across the nation.
“I think that this year’s crowd, which is larger than it has been for the last two or three years, has been driven by some of the concerns and political climate in Maine,” Rumsey said. “There are various members of our current administration who appear and who have made statements that are terrifically anti-gun. I think people may have some concerns about that and maybe about availability in the future. It’s an issue of freedom. And I think that’s probably what has driven many people in to the gun shows. Gun shows across the country, the attendance has been way up.”
The Penobscot County Conservation Association sponsored and staged the show for the 16th straight year after Bangor Daily News Charities turned the event over to the group.
Rumsey said the event is a fundraiser for scholarships that the PCCA gives to University of Maine and Unity College students studying wildlife conservation and wildlife law enforcement.
Rumsey said the show offers something to a wide variety of outdoor and gun enthusiasts.
“When we add the collectors to the hunters and people concerned for their own personal protection there are firearms dealers here to [offer a] range in virtually every kind of gun you could imagine,” Rumsey said. “Rifles, pistols, shotguns, brand-new, old, antiques, it’s all here, and usually [there’s] somebody to sell parts for some of the older things that haven’t been seen for awhile.”
In addition, vendors offered military collectibles, books, leather goods, knives and swords.
Safety is a top priority at the show, and all firearms on the auditorium floor must be made inoperable with plastic slip ties. All dealers selling, buying or trading modern firearms must be federally licensed and all sales of those items must first be OK’d through the federal instant check system, Rumsey said.
Tate said he’d already purchased a sword and a knife, and admitted that even at age 13, he already had come to look forward to the yearly show.
“I’m a very big gun nut,” he said with a grin. “This is my fourth year [coming here]. I love this gun show.”
After visiting Dave Hanson’s Old Town Trading Post booth, Tate asked his father, David Tate, if they might get a chance to visit an off-premises gun shop over the weekend to look at their selection.
R.J. Tate had heard about another store from a gun show attendee, and was eager to check out its wares.
No such luck.
“We’re not going to Kittery tomorrow,” his father said with a grin.
That didn’t slow R.J. down. Not one bit.
Five minutes later, he was questioning another dealer. Five minutes after that, he’d worked his way all the way across the hall and was looking at still more .45 Colts.
For gun lovers like R.J. Tate, the show offered a chance to look at all kinds of weapons and accessories under one roof.
And he said wouldn’t miss the chance to do so.
“I come here every year. I told my dad earlier today, ‘I’ve been waiting all day [for the show],’ and then I said, ‘No. Let me change that. I’ve been waiting since last year’s gun show,’” R.J. Tate said.
And was this year’s show all he expected?
You bet it was.
He learned to shoot, fast-draw style. He thinks he has found a fun and competitive hobby for the future.
And he was still having fun shopping for the perfect six-gun.
“This has been the best year ever,” he said.
