Clusters of rugged individualists walked in a rhythm of their own as blue jeans and boots scuffed along the concrete and sloshed through the melting snow on their way through the doors of one of the biggest gun shows western South Dakota has ever seen.
When Lee Madison opened the doors of the east entrance to Rushmore Plaza Civic Center just after 9 a.m. Saturday, he was surprised to find hundreds of people looking back at him. Forced to walk nearly to the opposite end of the building and take his place in line, Madison said he was flabbergasted by the big crowd.
"I've been coming for several years, and I've never seen it this packed," the Rapid City man said. "It's bad when you're only 10 minutes late and the line is all the way to the other doors and three or four people deep."
The show opened at 9 a.m. with hundreds of people waiting to get inside, and by 11 a.m. at least 1,700 people had walked through the doors, according to gun show manager Sonny Pesicka.
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"We usually see about 2,400 people in a whole day, and we will see that by one or two this afternoon," he said Saturday morning.
In the midst of a national debate on gun control, gun owners said Saturday they are feeling uneasy about the future.
"This gun ban has really got everyone fired up. You can hear it all through these aisles," Madison said. "There is just an underlying fear that Obama and the administration are going to come up with some legislation that is really going to hurt gun owners."
The U.S. Senate did agree Thursday to move forward with a debate on gun legislation that could lead to the most significant change in nearly 20 years on the federal level. A bipartisan 68-31 vote rebuffed an effort to keep debate from starting, giving an early victory — and perhaps political momentum — to President Barack Obama and his gun control allies.
Four months after 20 first-graders and six staffers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., were killed, relatives watching the vote from a gallery overlooking the Senate floor dabbed at tears and clasped hands during last week’s debate at the nation’s capital.
Even so, few supporters of the legislation are confident of victory. Several weeks of emotional, unpredictable Senate debate lie ahead, and a mix of gun-rights amendments, opposition from the National Rifle Association and skepticism from House Republican leaders leave big questions about what will emerge from Congress. Foes of the proposed new restrictions say they would penalize law-abiding citizens and do nothing to curb gun violence.
The Senate's firearms bill would subject nearly all gun buyers to background checks, add muscle to federal laws barring illicit firearm sales and provide slightly more money for school safety measures.
Excluded and facing near-certain defeat in upcoming votes were proposals to ban military-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines — factors in the Newtown killings and other recent mass shootings. But keeping those provisions out of the current legislation is not mollifying critics.
"Expanding the background checks is just punishing the good and honest people," Madison said. "The criminals will pay no attention to that. They'll just start stealing them."
The proposed measure exempts from criminal background checks private transfers of firearms between family and friends, prompting criticism from gun-control advocates and gun enthusiasts alike. The loophole this creates covers a wide swath of people, Madison said.
"How unscrupulous is that? Heck, all these people in here are my friends,” Madison said while gesturing to the crowd at the gun show.
On Saturday, men, women and children mulled about the tables of more than 150 vendors from at least the five surrounding states who were selling everything from guns to furs to books. Shoppers paid a $5 entrance fee to the show organizer, Dakota Territory Gun Collectors Association, for the chance to get their hands on a good deal or a rare treasure.
That treasure now seems to be ammunition.
"The .22 shells are the hardest find," Bill Allen of Rapid City said, standing in front of a vendor specializing in ammunition. "People that had them for $20 a box are now putting $60 on them. With these, you're pretty much at whoever has them's mercy."
Prices on other items have declined recently. Semi-automatic weapons were priced lower, for example, according to one dealer at Saturday’s gun show.
"Prices are calming down on the semi-autos," said Dennis Hoffman of Denny’s Gun and Ammo shop in Burke. "But they are still way high, and you can't get ammo."
Matt Valentine came to the show hoping to capitalize on the semi-automatic price peak. The private seller walked through the show with an FN FAL .308 strapped to his back. He was asking $1,600 for it, which he said another gun show attendee told him was "a fair price."
Valentine said he paid $200 for the gun several years ago.
"I'm selling it because people are stupid and they'll buy it," he said.
The gun show continues today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Contact Jennifer Naylor Gesick at 394-8415 or jennifer.naylorgesick@rapidcityjournal.com.
