My favorite gun show of the year

My favorite gun show of the year is happening this coming weekend at the Big Lake Lions Club facility in Big Lake. The hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday, May 3 and 4 .

There are several reasons I like this show. First, the location is within about a mile of where I live, so I don’t have to drive across the Valley or into Anchorage to attend. I usually help the Mt. McKinley Mountainmen man their tables and, depending on the theme the club has for the show, can sometimes supply display items to further the theme image. I also appreciate the variety of vendors attending the show.

Along with the display tables the blackpowder club has, they also usually have one table set aside for members to sell items. I’ve sold three or four personal firearms at this show over the years, along with other stuff like bunnie boots, shotgun scabbards, and other assorted gear. The club charges a percentage of the proceeds of a member’s sales to cover the rental cost of the sale table (a good example of “user pays”), so the club isn’t subsidizing members’ private sales.

In addition to the stuff I’ve sold, I have also bought items too (as fast as the money comes in, I turn around and send it out!). One vendor who usually attends lives in Big Lake and is an avid blackpowder shooter and builder with his own set of tables. I’ve bought a “period” knife and drooled over a couple of his rifles and other muzzleloading period gear laid out on his tables.

Several years ago, I bought a 10-gauge reloading setup at another gun show. I found a separate resizing “press” at the Big Lake show to aid in the reloading effort for these large shells. I’ve also found empty cases for my 38-55 blackpowder cartridge rifle and frontier style lanterns and blackpowder books, among other things, at this show.

Buying and selling happens at every gun show, but visiting with folks is something I really enjoy at the Big Lake show. The comradery with the other guys manning the tables is always fun when things are slow because we solve the problems of the world between chatting with folks as they go by the tables. Plus, being a Big Lake resident, I usually see a lot of folks at this show that don’t attend the other area shows, so it’s a good chance to catch up on doings since the last time we saw each other.

To sum up, it’s the atmosphere of this show that appeals to me. Several of the other guys have said the same.

Shifting gears here, I’ve been reading how the surf fishing is picking up down on the Kenai Peninsula. Apparently, the halibut have started moving back in closer to the beaches, probably following the returning hooligan, and fishing off the end of Homer’s Spit has been good for cod, skates, Irish lords, and other species. My understanding is that Homer Spit is not a great place for halibut, but for other species, it’s doing just fine. I’ve also read that the sharks (dogfish) have not returned in numbers along the beaches yet, but they’re on the way.

Like I mentioned in my “to do” column, I still must get my rod holder finished and mounted on my six-wheeler and get the six-wheeler serviced and ready for fishing. Something else I’ve been thinking about doing is replacing all the lines on my saltwater fishing reels with braided, heavier test strength line. I’ve got three or four large reels spooled with 20-pound test monofilament right now because that was the recommended line when I was last able to go surf fishing.

However, I’ve read where folks are using braided lines with good success. I can replace the 20-pound test mono line with braided line in the 40- to 60-pound test weights and the lines will be similar in diameter, allowing the same lengths of line per reel. I’m also considering that, since I’m a novice at casting for surf fishing, I might not loose as much terminal gear to breakoffs if I screw up a cast. Those 8- to 12-ounce weights will put a real strain on the line if things foul up while casting.

Now if I could just get this shoulder surgery done!