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Gun show returns to fairgrounds this weekend

Gun show returns to fairgrounds this weekend
Charles City area hunters, sportsmen and collectors will get a chance to browse, buy or just hang out this weekend at a gun show at the Floyd County Youth Enrichment Center at the fairgrounds in Charles City. (Press file photo James Grob.)
By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

Handguns, rifles, shotguns, knives, antique firearms, other outdoors equipment and accessories — you name it, it’ll probably be there.

Charles City area hunters, sportsmen and collectors will get a chance to browse, buy or just hang out this weekend at a gun show at the Floyd County Youth Enrichment Center at the fairgrounds in Charles City.

The gun show, hosted by Marv Kraus Promotions, will take place Friday through Sunday. The event will run 4-9 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. The event is open to the public, and a large selection of new and used guns and ammunition will be on display.

“We have a pretty good selection of rifles, shotguns and handguns — both new and used — and we have all kinds of accessories, such as clothing, knives and holsters,” said Andrew Kraus, of Marv Kraus Promotions, who said he hopes the threat of bad weather this weekend doesn’t diminish turnout. He said he plans for the show to go on regardless of weather conditions.

“You can’t really predict the weather,” Kraus said. “We’ve advertised a lot in the area for this show, so we hope people will show up. Rain, snow or shine, we’re going to put on our show.”

Shop owners from all over the state will set up inventory, and Kraus Promotions covers expenses such as advertising and liability insurance. Most of the dealers will take trades, and all the dealers are required to have federal background checks.

All federal, state and local firearm laws and ordinances must be followed.

About half of the gun dealers setting up at the show travel from show to show, and the rest of the tables are filled with local and regional gun and outdoors dealers. Many of the dealers also offer free appraisals and accept trade-ins of old shotguns or rifles.

This is the third year Kraus Promotions has held a show in Charles City. Promoter Kraus started the gun shows nearly 30 years ago at the fairgrounds in Waverly, and they grew.

Last year, local dealers included Matt Ross at Ross’s Guns & Ammo and Bob Kellogg at BKS Gun & Ammo, both in Charles City, as well as a couple of dealers from the Mason City area. Kraus said that both Kellogg and Ross will display their wares again this year, and that Ross might have the most tables of any dealer.

“We’ll also have a few different dealers setting up from Mason City,” Kraus said. “We have a good reputation for putting on quality gun shows, so we hope to get some local support and beat the weather.”

Kellogg had four tables full of military gear and collectibles last year. He said that people dropping by were looking for a variety.

“Some people are buying, some people are just looking — we’re getting a little bit of everything,” he said last year. “There are always a few coming in to trade — it’s a great outlet for people to bring in a gun and legally transfer it to a dealer.”

Kellogg said that he’d put on some gun shows himself in the past, and he was pleased to have one back in town.

“It’s a pretty neat thing for Charles City,” he said. “I put one on in the early 1990s. I did a couple at the armory and one at the old Spurgeon’s building in the mall.”

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