Winston Publishing

portfolio • 49 Western Collectibles & Antique Gun Show Take a Step Back into the Untamed West western collectibles and antique gun show March 19 Show open 3-7pm March 20 Show open 9am-6pm March 21 Show open 9am-4pm Exhibition Hall at Montana ExpoPark 400 3rd Street NW Western Collectibles & Antique Gun Show Event Schedule f you're looking to experience true wild-west nostalgia, head on over to the 17th annual Western Collectibles & Antique Gun Show and check out all the Montana-style treasures they have to offer! It's more than a gun show – although there are plenty of those to go around as well. "We have a very broad appeal," says show organizer Bryan Gillette. "There are a lot of Western collectibles and Indian artifacts." You'll also find antique glassware, gambling items, edged weapons, western memorabilia, and a great selection of books for your collection. The Western Collectibles & Antique Gun Show is also the best place to check out the world's largest collection of Rudy Ruana knives. Ruana began handcrafting the now-world-famous blades after he relocated from North Dakota to Bonner in 1938. It was a skill he learned as a farrier in the calvary in the 1920s, but during the Great Depression, it became a way to help supplement his wages as a welder and mechanic. Some of his first customers were Native Americans who were looking for an improved way to skin horses. By 1952, Ruana's knives were so popular that he opened a small shop, Ruana Knife Works, on a full-time basis. Although Ruana passed away in 1986, the business is still carried on by his family to this day. The Ruana Knife Display that visitors will see at the show has taken over a half-century for Frank Towsley to put together. The ten-table spread consists of over 1,000 pieces handcrafted by Ruana himself, to include the largest knife he ever built. "They're one-of-a-kind," Gillette says of the impressive display. Towsley's collection is not for sale, but that doesn't mean astute collectors won't find genuine Ruana knives available at one of the other 190 tables throughout the Montana ExpoPark Exhibition Hall. As many as 90 vendors will be on hand with their quintessential western treasures. And of course, who can forget about all those antique and collectable firearms? "A lot of people dig out the old Winchesters and Colts," Gillette says. "There was a pistol there last year that sold for $75 grand." One vendor will even have one of CM Russell's old Colt pistols on display. I WESTERN COLLECTIBLES & ANTIQUE GUN SHOW WESTERN COLLECTIBLES & ANTIQUE GUN SHOW Great Falls MTGUNSHOWS.COM MT EXPOPARK Exhibition Hall MARCH 19th•20th•21st Hours: Thurs. 3pm-7pm Fri. 9am-6pm Sat. 9am-4pm Firearms, Knives, Books, Artwork, Indian Relics and Much More! For Full Listing INFO CALL 580-5458 Frank Towsley's Ruana Knife Display will be Featured!!! Admission: $5.00 (Weekend Pass) By Holly Matkin Entry is just $5 for adults, and $1 for children under 12.

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