53rd Annual Duluth Gun Show Returns to the DECC

DULUTH, Minn.– As more and more events return to Duluth this summer, Northland gun enthusiasts were happy to know that one of their favorite events was coming back to the DECC.

The 53rd annual Duluth Gun Show saw over 1,000 people make their way through over 200 tables of different guns and ammunition this weekend.

One of the 62 vendors there was Chuck Rathbone of Chuck’s Guns in Silver Bay. One of his favorite parts of the show is talking to plenty of longtime and first time gun owners.

“Not only explain the features of the gun. You can also name and talk about the safety of the firearms,” said Chuck Rathbone Owner of Chuck’s Guns in Silver Bay.

Rathbone was showing off his selection handguns, long guns, and shotguns that are popular along the North Shore. But his favorite part of the gun show is always.

“Haggling with people. Horse trading as i call it,” he laughed. “There’s no two customers the same. Some people don’t care what they pay for a gun and others want to haggle with prices. So you kinda walk on eggshells once in a while with a customer to make sure they’re happy.”

Other gun accessories were on display this weekend, including silencers being sold from silencer central, a company from South Dakota.

“We’re from Sioux Falls so just a six hour drive for us. So just a hop skip and a jump away,” said Silencer Central sales rep Brad Plaga.

The company tries to make it easier for people to buy a silencer by helping them through paperwork as travel through gun shows across the country from Texas to the Dakotas. And as gun enthusiasts make their way through the DECC, they say it’s great to see shows like in Duluth up and running again.

“Fantastic to be back at gun shows. We missed it a lot in 2020 and are excited to be back and help folks out face to face for sure,” said Plaga.

If you missed the Duluth Gun Show, organizers say they will be holding another one in the first weekend of December.