The three-day Cortez Gun and Sportsman Show ran through Sunday afternoon at the Montezuma County Fairgrounds.
According to Gayel Alexander, manager of the show for four years, the event has been well attended, but she did not yet have final numbers. About 2,300 people attended in 2017, Alexander said, and she expected a similar or better turnout this year.
This year’s show hosted about 120 vendor tables.
This show is also the only gun show sponsored by the Four Corners Rifle and Pistol Club, according the club’s president, Kelly Ellis.
“We are a traditional gun show,” Alexander said.
The majority of the proceeds of the show – “several thousand dollars” – goes to the Four Corners Rifle and Pistol Club’s Junior Shooters program, Ellis said.
“The club is very heavily into the Junior Shooters, educating them on how to shoot, the proper way to shoot, the safety, and they extend it on to women,” Alexander said. “Their whole thing is about educating the public on safety and not being a victim, learning your surroundings, being smart like that, very proactive – that is their main community outreach.”
The Four Corners Rifle and Pistol Club also supports the local National Rifle Association’s Women on Target program.
“We are nonpolitical. We seek participation by everyone,” Ellis said.
Through the Junior Shooters program, the club also supports shooting competitions. “There is target shooting, and it is a discipline sport,” Ellis said.
The Cortez Gun and Sportsman Show ran through 3 p.m. Sunday.