'King of the gun show' on The Murfreesboro Post

Sidebar Ads

'King of the gun show'

Related Articles

Eagles soar at Spring Fling

Spring Fling brings out best in Murfreesboro

Rutherford County SpringFling results

Patriots make state tennis tournament

Duck River beckons day trippers to Normandy

SPORTS: Thank you to those who make BlueCross Spring Fling possible

Blue Raiders fight for seed in Sun Belt tournament

Hershey’s track meet celebrates 35 years

Stars shine in district semis

SPORTS: Lacrosse scores with fast-paced excitement

View All

By: By JOSH EZZELL, Post sports editor

Posted: Sunday, July 20, 2008 9:20 am

TMP Photo by Kelly Hite.

For more than 20 years when people have heard the words gun show in Tennessee they have thought of Smyrna native Bob Pope.

In January 1985, Pope, a 1967 Smyrna graduate who’s been in the gun business since 1975 when he opened Gun World in La Vergne, decided to give gun shows a shot. It didn’t take long for Pope to become the king of gun shows in Tennessee.

At his shows people can purchase a variety of firearms from antique guns to glocks. If you want it, he’s got it.

According to Pope, who runs the biggest gun show in Tennessee, between 150-200 venders set up tables at gun shows, and dealers have sold as many as 100 guns at shows. He says that several thousand people attend with the largest crowds coming during the winter months because people go on vacation during the summer.

“Gun shows are like a giant gun shop if you do it right,” he says.

He likes to do only a few shows every year because he thinks gun shows aren’t as special if there’s one all the time.

“If there was nobody else in the area I’d only do two shows a year,” he says. “It’d be a tremendous thing.”

FINDING HIS CALLING
Pope remembers when he found his calling.

He attended a gun show and wondered if he could put on a gun show. He talked to some people and asked them if they would attend a gun show if he organized one in Nashville.

People said they would attend, so he decided to go for it.

“I said, ‘I’m gonna do one,’” says Pope, who credits TGCA founder Hume Parks with helping him get his start in gun shows. “My mother was living at that time. I asked her if she could get one of her girlfriends to help me sell tickets.

“The first gun show I did until 3 o’clock I had them lined up down to Wedgewood Avenue,” says Parks, who graduated from MTSU with a marketing degree. “I went and did like I was taught at MTSU — advertise. I put some ads on television. I put full-page ads in Sunday Showcase.”

Pope was on to something.

“I had a show in January,” Pope says. “The boys told me, ‘Bobby, you’ve got something coming.’ The dealers set up from 8-9, and the show opened at 9. I looked out the door, and it went all the way to Wedgewood Avenue.

“I was not set up for it,” he adds. “The fire marshal came in and shut it down. They were in there like sardines in a can.”

He remembers charging $3 at the door.

“I don’t know how many came in free,” he recollects. “We were up all night counting money. They were just stuffing it in bags. My mother said, “Good golly, I didn’t know I was biting this off.’

“I said, ‘I didn’t either, but boy ain’t it great.’ I said, ‘I found my profession.’”

His next show was also successful. He charged $5 instead of $3 because it’s easier to make change. He held it at $5 when other gun shows charged $7 or $8.

“I’ve got it refined after 24 years,” he says. “I’ve figured it out.”

He now puts on a few shows a year. The next Bob Pope Gun Show will be Aug. 22-24 at the Williamson County Agriculture Expo. There’s also a gun show Oct. 10-12 at the same location, and there’s one Dec. 12-14.

All Tennessee Gun Collector’s Association members enter for free.

Beginning in October people will have three options regarding tickets. Option one: If you’re a TGCA member you get in free. You can stand in line and pay $10. You can go online — www.bobpopegunshows.com — and purchase a ticket.

Next year Pope plans to hold gun shows in February, April, October and December.

SECOND AMENDMENT
Pope is a supporter of the Republican Party and firmly supports the Second Amendment, which states: “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

“We get gun rights, Second Amendment,” he says. “We get a little political.

“Modern-day lawyers say, ‘Militia. Militia is National Guard.’ No, National Guard was established in 1901.”

LOVE FOR GUNS
As a kid he got his hair cut at Waldron’s Barber Shop in North Rutherford County. He remembers going to the barber shop and seeing antique guns and gun racks on the wall.

“My dad would take me in there to get that 50-cent haircut,” he recalls. “Mr. John (Waldron) and I would talk about guns. I’d buy gun books to try to keep up with Mr. John. I surpassed Mr. John. I got where my knowledge was a little bit better than Mr. John’s. I had no money, but I had all the time in the world to read.”

He’s taken that knowledge and become a successful professional in the firearms community.

“A gun show is a special event,” he says. “I do make my living doing this, but I am sincerely concerned about my dealers. And I’m concerned about the public coming and getting a good show.”

People would agree that gun shows are his calling.

Tagged under PEOPLE, SPORTS

Member Opinions:

By: snook on 7/23/08
You wouldn't believe the crowds at gun shows. People wander around and browse and strike up conversdations. It's a totally different atmosphere than a regular retail environment. At gun shows people are polite, friendly, and considerate. I can't stand to go to a regular retail environment where people are rude, inconsiderate, and sometimes downright mean. Gun show crowds are different. They're fun and friendly.