Dixons Gunmakers fair

[B.Habermehl]

Dixons gunmakers fair is this coming weekend. Always the last full weekend of July between Allentown and Hamburg Pa. Off I 78 three miles north on Pa. Rt 737. There will be assembled the finest custom muzzleloading guns and gunmakers in the north east. Plus seminars on gun building etc. see Dixons web sit for more info. Come visit my table at the bottom of the shop steps, I will be demonstrating one way to make sliding wood patch boxes.BJH

 

[Alden]

For those who've never been, make the pilgrimage after studying the seminars schedule. Be prepared to be there a full day and don't miss gawking at the items submitted for judging in the competitions!

For those who've been, I don't need to say any more.

For all of you: try to stay cool!

 

[BigBoreBLR]

The builder put extra wax on the stocks to repell the gawker's drool.

I got to check my inventory of stuff to see what I really need or don't really need.....

IT'll be my first one there. But, the 4th one I wish I went to.

 

[Ray-Vigo]

Going to this one for the first time. I have been trying to get a free weekend in July for it for years and this is the year.

 

[RonRC]

I've been out of the country every July-early August period for years.
But this year was going to be different. I was going to take the cross-country trip to the East and attend the fair.

What am I doing sitting here in Colorado instead? Waiting for the roofer to show to fix the leak that ruined the dining room ceiling.
Sigh!
Hope you all have a great time.
Ron

 

[Alden]

There's always next year. Organize other things around it.

 

[Ray-Vigo]

Well I did make it, and it was a fun event today. The Mrs and I went up Friday night after work and stayed over at a hotel over in Bethlehem. We got to Dixon's about 8:30 or so. There were lots of firearms, of course, but also lots of related items: parts, bags, knives, etc.

They had a few classes too, free of charge. The lock tuning was particularly interesting.

I ended up leaving with a 20 gauge lefty fowler as well as a nice octagonal piece of wood to make a walking stick. The Mrs was looking for a lefty matchlock with a very short length of pull, but no luck there.

 

[Alden]

Glad you found something nice if only for yourself. I have NEVER seen a lefty matchlock though I am proud of the Mrs.!!!

I think it wasn't so hot and dusty today as it usually is there. Did you have fresh squeezed lemonade from the truck? I presume you passed by all the gunmakers and sutlers at least once. And made it inside the store which is neat in and of itself. Get to see the blacksmiths and living history encampment with demos up on the hill? See the items submitted by craftsmen for ribbons?

 

[DanRum]

Made it there today the weather was hot but well worth it. If I only had lots of money.

 

[don hepler]

Never made it this year. I could spend an entire day, inside Dixon's store. It's nice to be able to hand pick flints, instead of ordering a "pig in a poke". We took a cooler and made a short trip down thru Amish county, to get fresh vegetables. Best corn I've ever had. Corn $2. a dozen and a basket of tomatoes for $2 or $3 dollars. First place on earth, that I didn't feel the need, for a concealed carry. Ephrata Pa, I think was the town, just south of Reading, Pa.

 

[Alden]

Sadly, Reading itself is now the exact opposite -- you do NOT go to the once-famous outlet mall (half the stores are shut now anyway) there unarmed, at least not the parking lot.

:_(

 

[don hepler]

I heard that!

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Reading itself is now mostly hispanic. The area just across the river was building into an urban yuppiedom when I was there last. The southern half of that county has no socially redeeming graces whatsoever.

Ephrata however in Lancaster County, has the Green Dragon. And Lou's Surplus was a great place to stock up on hand tools and abrasives.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

And just over the bridge in West Reading is a quaint town that borders Wyomissing (Taylor Swift's home town & current address of my son), also a really nice place to live, work & eat. Penn Avenue in W. Reading is a entirely different world: Coffee shops, upscale shopping, wine & whiskey bar, Craft Brewery & Pub, cheese & cracker joint, professional offices, etc.

Compared to Newark or Camden, parts of Reading are an urban utopia, lol!

 

[Ray-Vigo]

It is ironic that the areas that urbanized and got industry in the first part of the 20th century seemed to have modern advantages over the unelectrified, "rural" areas. When the industry went bust, the "backwaters" of the 20th century came to look absolutely civilized compared to some of these burned out areas in the northeastern cities.

 

[Alden]

There are other things around Dixon's worth visiting. Cabela's. A cigar place that I guess is actually a big pub. A wild-meats butcher shop. Fireworks places maybe...

But Dixon's stands alone and The Fair is worth a visit if you are in the region. Two friends I brought there for the first time four years ago now went again with another friend who hadn't been last year, and none of them even shoot historic arms.

 

[Captjoel]

I made it to Dixon's back in '05. It was my first trip to Pennsylvania. I always try to avoid major cities if at all possible. Got off the highway traveling east and enjoyed seeing a lot of small PA towns or Burgs as I believe they are called. There are some very old historic places along the way. I enjoyed Dixon's and the fair immensely. It was very hot and muggy and when it rained, it came down in buckets! I found that historic Allentown was a near nightmare to negotiate through and around driving a pretty good sized motor home! The one way streets going east and to find a way to get west was mind boggling! Crazy layout of roads and a city I will not go back to!

 

[jamesthomas]

Dixons is on my bucket list, maybe next year :surrender: .

 

[Alden]

Day trip -- worth it. An overnight/long weekend if you like to drive -- may be. Vacation destination -- not.