KEMPTON - By the time the muzzleloader craze hit for the Nation's Bi-Centennial in 1976, the Dixon family had already been selling everything gun builders needed from locks, to stocks, to barrels and more and both custom and commercial rifles for five years from its shop near the tiny village of Eckville.

As the popularity of hunting with muzzleloaders grew, Chuck Dixon moved the family business to its present location off Kunkel's Mill Road, north of Exit 40 on Interstate 78 between Krumsville and Kempton. Today, the Dixon Muzzleloader Shop is recognized for being the largest walk-in muzzleloader shop in the country and has been written about in national publications.Along the way, however, it has become known most not as a retail outlet, but rather as the muzzleloader capitol of the country on the final full weekend in July when the Dixon Gunmakers Fair is held. It began 32 years ago as an informal, two-day weekend event where gun builders could exchange ideas and continue the traditions dating back to the pre-1700s before what became known as the "Golden Age of Muzzle Loading," and has now expanded into a three-day event.This year the Gunmakers Fair will be held Friday-Sunday, July 25-27, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. each day. During its first 31 years the Gunmakers Fair has attracted visitors and exhibitors from all 50 states and eight foreign countries, including Great Britain, Lebanon and Australia.That any event related to firearms can not only survive so long, but actually continue to grow, is seen by many as a testament to importance people place on these historic firearms. It is also worth noting that the emphasis of the Gunmakers Fair is as an educational event and not as a commercial enterprise, with no admission charge.With Chuck Dixon now retired, but a presence at the shop, his son Greg Dixon and his wife Brenda run the day-to-day business and now oversee the Gunmakers Fair. Their goal is for it to continue to grow and serve the needs of those who enjoy all aspects of traditional muzzleloader firearms."Dad always says that if anyone wants to give him credit for anything, it's for providing a venue to hold the Gunmakers Fair when he was first approached years ago," Greg Dixon said. "In the beginning all that was intended was simply putting up a few tents for seminars on Saturday and Sunday."As time went on people wanted to do living history presentations as far back as pre-Colonial Williamsburg through the Civil War, camp and do cooking demonstrations. As more gun builders from further away heard about it, people were coming to us and said if they were going to travel, we should begin things Friday afternoon."From the outset this event was for the people, so if they wanted Friday afternoon, Dad said they could have it. Now, there are events going on all day Friday, and it's become one of our most popular days because people come wanting to be the first to pick and choose items the craftsmen and exhibitors have to offer."Activities conclude Sunday, beginning at 2:30 p.m., with the award ceremonies that recognizes the best of the best for the hundreds of entries. As always, the highlight is the award ceremony for the muzzle loading firearms - including rifles, smoothbores and pistols - and accessories that include hunting bags, knives and tomahawks."We never count how many people we get, but Dad says he's counted plenty of smiles," Dixon said. "No matter what, people keep coming no matter how hot the weather has been, and there have been years when we've had so much rain we had to pull cars out of the field, and the next day we had even more people."Again this year we're fortunate to have some of the leading authorities in the country coming to participate in the Gunmakers Fair. Most satisfying for us is that the event has become almost like an annual reunion that keeps people coming back."For information about the 32nd annual Gunmakers Fair, contact the Dixon Muzzleloader Shop at 610-756-6271, and for a complete list of seminars and schedule of activities access the website at

www.dixonmuzzleloading.com.