"Since 1955, the Indian Territory Gun Collectors Association has sponsored two shows, typically in April & October, every year. In 1968, Joe Wanenmacher was elected secretary treasurer of the club. One of his responsibilities of treasurer was to produce the show. It was a tiny 100 table show when he took over, but under his leadership, it grew to be the biggest and best gun show in the world! I.T.G.C.A. no longer sponsors the show, but we're excited to be sponsored by the Tulsa Arms Collectors Association," the official website says.

"When you come to a Wanenmacher's Gun Show, you see a gun show full of guns, knives, ammo and some military artifacts. You WON'T see lots of non-gun related stuff or flea market garbage. Not that they don't want to come, We won't let them. Our show could be 5 times bigger than it is if we let in all the exhibitors who really don't belong in a gun show. (candy dealers, spa salesmen, car dealers, etc...)

"We limit non-related items to just 2% of the entire show. The building is still packed - both levels - with top quality gun show merchandise. Many of the best antique dealers come to Tulsa, bringing excellent, hard to find antique firearms. (once again, not antique furniture or magazines, but antique guns and related items.) Our antique firearms section is getting bigger every year."

"The Tulsa Arms Show is the largest gun show in the world with over 4,200 tables inside one gigantic 11 acre air conditioned and heated room. The Arms Show features antique and modern guns with very few non-gun/knife vendors," the Gun Show Trader says.

"There is something for everyone at this show! You do not want to miss it!

"The Tulsa Arms show is sponsored by the Tulsa Arms Collectors Association and features the Ruger Collectors Association."

"The show was started over sixty years ago by the Indian Territory Gun Collectors Association as a way to display and trade their collections of modern and antique weapons. Around fifty years ago, the current president of the show, Joe Wanemacher, was elected as the overseer of the gun show and has run it ever since," the Daily Egyptian says.

"The event is two days long and there are two levels in the show packed with tables to stop by. The majority of sellers are located in the tables or booths, however, there are also private sellers that can be spotted walking through the show with their weapons for sale. They had their information pinned or taped to their shirts with the type of weapon and price, advertising their sale.

"There were handmade items such as knives, guns and cannons that demonstrate craftsmanship or build-your-own items that come at a percentage of average costs. Scattered among the weapons for sale, were also booths of t-shirts with political cartoons or messages on them, jewelry stands with hand crafted accessories, and tables of artwork from across the country. There are also tables with antique coins or animal furs and skins."

"Joe Wanenmacher runs the world's largest gun show twice a year in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It's a show he and his family have run for decades and it's considered a "must attend" show among the circles of serious and casual gun collectors. With regulars like Hank Williams Jr, the late Dan Hagerty (Grizzly Adams) and scores of other celebrities, the Tulsa Show is the center of the gun collecting universe here in the United States," the NRA Blog says.

"Joe himself is as remarkable a person as his show is spectacular. At 81 he has survived heart attacks and bone cancer just within the last year and yet was still present at the Baltimore Antique Arms Show last month, handing out his famous Wanenmacher show pens and soliciting business for his next Tulsa show.

"Joe is a particular friend of the NRA and the NRA Museums. He has given generously, not only financially but from his own collection (A 16th Century Wheelock with a very rare firing mechanism) and has hosted the NRA National Gun Collectors Show twice. Joe has been proud to serve as a judge for the NRA National Gun Collectors Committee Awards program at the NRA Annual Meetings and his knowledge of early wheelocks and ancient firing designs is one of the most respected in the country."

"Wanenmacher's Tulsa Arms Show, the largest of its kind in the world, began with a small group of collectors getting together in the old armory building in Tulsa in 1955. Joe Wanenmacher spoke with KRMG as some 8,000 vendors and their support staff worked to get the big show ready for this weekend," the KRMG says.

"An estimated 35,000 attendees will pump some $16 million into Tulsa's economy, Wanenmacher said. The show began small, 19 tables set up at the old armory as a club project for the Indian Territory Gun Collectors.

"When Wanenmacher took over in 1968, he says he had 217 tables. This year, the show features some 4,000 tables, totaling nearly six miles of exhibits."