The South Alabama Gun Club’s 30th annual Gun & Knife Show comes at a time of increased interest in firearms, the group’s president, Ab St. John, said.

“The Knife and Gun Show has grown every year for the last 30 years,” St. John said. “This has been a very successful event, and a very safe event. We encourage families to come out.”

St. John said there is lots of misinformation about gun shows.

“People think you can go in and, come back out with automatic weapons,” he said. “That is not the case.”

Dealers are required to do background checks with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms before selling guns, he said.

St. John said vendors have booked 172 tables, including 103 tables of pistols and long guns, five tables of collectible guns, 12 tables of custom knives, 17 tables of ammunition, five tables of accessories like optics, scopes and sights, and 29 tables of miscellaneous items.

Many are return vendors who come every year.

“Covington County is a county where there is a fairly high percentage of individuals who own firearms,” St. John said. “They own them for hunting purposes, and for protection.

“Our people enjoy the shooting sports,” he said. “They enjoy shooting clays, they enjoy skeet shooting, they enjoy the competition of pistol shooting, the competition of rifle shooting. Many are hunters.”

St. John said he is personally a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to bear arms.

“I believe in the Second Amendment because it protects the First Amendment and all other amendments,” he said. “We are not a violent group of people, we are a conservative and realistic group of people.”

The show is open to the public from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, and from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Admission is $5 per person. Admission is free to children under 12 who are accompanied by an adult.