Chinook Rod & Gun Club put Together an Amazing Show
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The Chinook Rod & Gun Club held their 8th Annual Gun and Antique Show this past weekend at the Blaine County Fairground Commercial Building. This year's event coincided with the Fall Festival being held Saturday on Main Street in Chinook as well as the Chinook Sugarbeeters Homecoming football game Friday night. That being said, the show had plenty of questions heading into the weekend, the big one being, how will the COVID-19 pandemic affect turnout.
One common takeaway from the vendors was how much they enjoyed this gun show in particular, "I really like the hominess here," said Ed Timpano. "They treat us so well, breakfast every morning, lunch, I wouldn't miss it." Ed and his wife Jane are from Lewistown and have come to all eight shows. "They help us unload and load. The guys are all so friendly, it's really nice to be treated so well," said Jane.
The Chinook Rod & Gun Club's reputation for being an over the top friendly and fun group has no doubt helped the club secure its standing amongst vendors. Stewart Riding hails from Elk, Washington, north of Spokane and has been to Chinook the last seven shows, "I had a friend, Mike, that was at the first one and he spoke really high of it. That second year he gave me a call and said they were looking to fill some tables and asked if I wanted to go. I said sure and have been back every year since." The Chinook Rod and Gun Club takes the idea of being a good show to a whole new level, "Their reputation of being great hosts is well known to vendors all over."
Stewart and his wife Terry have become fixtures at the annual Gun and Antique show and are huge contributors to its success. "That first show we did, I really enjoyed it. I loved the community, everyone was so nice and hospitable, really nice," said Stewart. "I told my wife after the show that we were coming back next year. At first, I don't know how much she liked the idea, but now it's an annual show we look forward to attending."
Stewart loves the idea of family and kids especially getting involved in shooting sports, hunting and the great outdoors in general, "I think it's something too often overlooked. I like to see kids, the youth getting interested and involved. Learning about guns, gun safety and taking an interest in it. This club is all that and my wife and I want to help them grow," added Stewart.
Through the years Stewart has donated custom guns and been instrumental in helping the club raise funds. Terry has sold Kahlua Cakes every year at the show and they have become extremely popular. Terry's cakes are in constant demand and all the proceeds are donated back to the club and are being used to get the Chinook Rod & Gun Club Scholarship Foundation up and running.
This year's show impressed attendees from all over and representatives of the club itself were thrilled with the outcome, "We had 25 vendors at the show from Minnesota, Washington and Montana," said event organizer Keith Hanson. "We had 78 tables filled with guns of all kinds, knives and plenty of other goods to interest customers." Another organizer, Darin Hamilton added, "There was a ton of variety. From vintage old guns to brand new guns of all kinds."
"It was a tremendous show. The vendors have again been very happy with our show. Most the vendors here come back every year because they truly enjoy our community and the people," added Hanson. "Even the new vendors this year have commented on how much they are enjoying the show." Beyond the vendors those who paid admission to the show were upbeat as well, "I'd say about half of the people who came to the show this year were new faces and were very impressed with what we had," said Hamilton.
Bill RunningFisher from Fort Belknap was another vendor at the show and was excited to be a part of it, "It has that hometown environment. Lots of local people are here enjoying an opportunity for us to showcase our second amendment rights. They do a great job with the show, they are very professional, and I never worry about leaving my stuff overnight because their security is top notch." RunningFisher operates Eagle Child Consulting.
The vendors didn't isolate themselves to the Commercial Building, "It's really nice to have the show in conjunction with the Festival. We work well together and support each other," commented Hanson. "Several vendors took part in the Festival and supported that as well. They said they really enjoyed it and had a good time. It just makes for a great weekend for everyone."
"COVID has had an effect for sure, but overall we are very happy with our numbers and hope to see everyone back again next year," concluded Hanson. The COVID Pandemic has certainly put a strain on folks and for the most part has kept people bottled up, "A lot of shows didn't happen because of COVID, but we were able to put ours on and people really enjoyed it. They needed to get out and overall it was a very positive upbeat atmosphere," said Hamilton.
