Gun Show Draws Thousands to Del Mar Fairgrounds

The Crossroads of the West gun show opened at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on Saturday, attracting thousands of people willing to wait in line for hours for a chance to see and buy firearms of all kinds—and the ammunition that goes with them.

People arrived hours before the doors opened at 9 a.m., forming a line that snaked across the fairgrounds. The long lines to enter the show lasted through the afternoon and attendance for the two-day event was expected to top 22,000, said Linda Zweig, spokeswoman for the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

“Largest crowd ever,” Zweig said. “They started lining up in the wee hours of the morning.”

People buying guns inside the show have to wait until a 10-day waiting period ends to take them home, but gun owners weren’t leaving empty handed. Ammunition is available at the show, a rare find as many gun stores have run out of ammo recently. With gun control a front-burner issue in 2013, some gun owners are stockpiling bullets in anticipation of tighter controls on guns and ammunition.

“People here are on a mission,” Zweig said. “Most of the people here are for ammunition, because there is no ammunition anywhere but here at the Crossroads of the West gun show.”

People leaving the show walked to the parking lots carrying stocked ammunition boxes, some pulling carts weighted down by ammo.

“Bob Templeton, who owns Crossroads of the West gun show, has plenty of ammunition to be bought,” Zweig said.

The Crossroads of the West gun show continues on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.