I have been to the last three now and have come back with something I desired each time. This time, I snagged a nice little Winchester 62a pump .22 made in 1954. I got one of these in 1958 for my 13th birthday. I loved that little pump and it was my "go to" plinking and small game rifles. Unfortunately, my old man sold it without my permission while I was Vietnam.
Anyway, there were several sellers with tables full of the original Browning designed Winchester model 1890 and its various iterations through the model 62--including commercial and the specifically made shooting gallery versions. One guy had at least 10 or so that were in original boxes from the 1940's and 50's. However, $4 and $5 grand is a bit more than I want to pay for a .22 rifle. Likewise, I don't want a gallery model that can only shoot shorts.
I spotted the one below at one table and when the seller told me in was produced in 1958 like my original, I knew it was coming home with me. It's in great condition with a mint bore and exterior finish close to 90% or better. When I got home and checked it turned out that the production date was actually 1954, but that didn't dampen the thrill of getting an old childhood sidekick back.
USPS had just delivered two new (old) 1920's Winchester tools I had picked up on eBay while I was in the process of taking a picture, so I threw them into the shot along with a couple of others I already had to balance out the shot. The transitional plane and the pipe wrench were the new additions while the scissors, hand saw, and safety razor were acquired since the first of the year. Winchester only made hardware from 1920 to 1930, so this stuff is quite collectable--especially in the condition of these examples. Except for some spotting from rust, the handsaw appears to never have been used.
The show has signs posted saying no photography. However, since almost everybody has a smartphone capable of great photos this is mostly ignored. However, I still use an old fashioned flip phone, but I did have a digital camera in my back pack. I just didn't want to look obvious, but I did snap a picture of the lower level from the upper level balcony. This represents about 1/3 of the total show. The lower level is a mix of firearms, but there seems to be more vintage and collectible in the mix than modern. The upper level is just the opposite.
Here's the lower again split into two shots
There is a cat walk or balcony over the upper section, but it was closed off, so I had no access. However, here is a publicly posted shot from 3 or 4 years ago of the upper section I found on the net. It's hard to tell, but this is almost double the size of the lower level.
If you've never been to this show, you owe to your self to go just once. Just get in shape by walking every day and bring good walking shoes. Also have some way to take notes of your location if you find something you want to revisit. Otherwise, you may never find it again.
Cheers