The Great Western Show!

By Dan Shea

Every Spring and Fall there is a massive gathering of the “Gun Culture” at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona California. This has been going on for over thirty years now, and it is not an experience to be missed.

*These two Old West characters are a good example of the costumed fun to be seen at the Great Western.*

Essentially, there are seven buildings full of tables- and tables are spread out in between the buildings out in the California sunshine as well. This amounts to between 5300 and 5600 8 foot tables, which works out to around 8 miles of tables! There is a somewhat chaotic quality to the show, because of its shear massiveness, and the fact that it is not all gun related. There are a certain amount of “Flea market” type tables present, but the vast majority are of interest to many of us.

*A dummy 1919A6 suspended over the Birds of Paradise as it sits on its jeep mount in the military vehicle collector’s area.*

One of the highlights of the show is the contest for the best costume. As you wander through the show, you are apt to meet anyone from Marshall Dillon to a squad of World War II British soldiers; a Russian general, a fantasy warrior, conquistadors, Indian scouts, German paratroopers- the list goes on. It’s people having fun with their hobbies- and getting to show off their collections and uniforms is part of that fun.

*Each contestant gets a moment to describe who he or she is, and then the costumes are all judged and trophies awarded.*

*Viento de Los Andes plays South American music in the courtyard.*

*Omega Weapons Systems has quite a collection of machine gun parts sets, tripods, and accessories available.*

*1944 Willy’s GPW jeep in the process of restoration at the WWII military vehicles display.*

This is a good show for machine gunners, even though California has very restrictive gun laws. Beta C-mags abound, as do all sorts of rare parts. I was amazed years ago when I first wandered through the Great Western, and felt like I was at a Knob Creek re-union. Many well-known class 3 people are there, either with tables, or wandering around looking for parts.

*Building 22 is just one of seven buildings full of gun show fun.*

*No trip to the Great Western would be complete without their signature Tacos Carne Asada- the best there is!*

All things considered, this is a great show. Bands like the Shirelles and the Box Tops frequently play in the main areas, good fair type food is readily available, and there are three solid days to wander through the seven buildings. It is an exhausting show to do, and you have to be very careful what items you bring because of the California laws, but dealers get an extra day to set up, so it is a four day gun festival. The tens of thousands of people that come through the show have a diversity of interests, but that one thing in common- we are all gun people!

*Valerie Johnson of Valkyrie Arms had an impressive display of semi automatic belt feds and other items, including a dummy 81mm mortar.*

*BAR display in the military vehicle section.*

*Jack Stearns helps a customer at one of J&T Surplus’ two displays.*

*Jenny from Dennis Todd’s straightens the display of exotic AR-15/ M-16 parts they brought from Pennsylvania.*

*Big Dan Robinson and the crew from Toniís Surplus in Virginia with their large assortment of machine gun parts and military surplus have a popular display in bldg 6.*

SAR sets up in building 6, in the back area. See us there in the Spring and the Fall!

*E&L Mfg has a nice assortment of brass catchers, mag holders, and their American 180 parts.*

*1880’s “Protector” palm pistol was one of the many interesting items found at the Great Western.*

*Greg Needham from STG Supply has one of the best assortments of HK parts I have ever seen at a show. He is an HK dealer, and had a good quantity of the pistols on hand as well.*

Show Dates:

October 30,31, November 1 1998 (Dealer setup is on Thursday October 29) this is one of the 5600 table shows.
December 11, 12, 13 1998 (3000 table show)
April 30, May 1, 2 1999 (5600 table show)

John Bush from Arm & Merchant tries to telepathically influence the readers of SAR into buying this tool/ accessory pouch for a … what was that again, John? A Madsen? A Bren? You’re not coming in too clear…

Show hours:

Friday 12 noon to 8 pm
Saturday 9 am to 8 pm
Sunday 9 am to 5 pm
Admission is $7 adult, $1.50 child under 12

*Well known author Tom Nelson (World’s SMG’s, World’s Assault Rifles, etc) displays his latest trophy- he is importing the new book on Kalashnikov arms.*

Show location: The Los Angeles County Fairground is the “Fairplex” where the 210 and the 10 meet in Pomona. There are a number of ways of getting there, but the best is to get onto White Avenue off of McKinley Ave, and go to Gate 14 for parking. Parking is $4 for regular, $6 for preferred (Which gets you closer to the show).