Pennsylvania Gun Shows: The 2026–2027 Circuit by City, Venue and Promoter

Pennsylvania's gun show calendar looks full until you try to plan a weekend around it. The listings bunch into one October-heavy stretch, a single convention center outside Pittsburgh carries almost a third of them, and dates move after they are published. This guide reads the state circuit from our calendar data (verified against official promoter schedules, snapshot of Sep 29, 2026), then adds what the promoters and the Pennsylvania State Police say before you drive.

Pennsylvania's share: 22 listings, 5.6% of the national calendar

Our calendar data holds 22 upcoming Pennsylvania listings, running from October 3, 2026 to November 27, 2027. The same snapshot has 394 upcoming listings across 42 states, so Pennsylvania is 5.6% of the national total. All 22 are classified as gun shows.

Read the count as a floor. The listings were verified against promoter sources between July 25 and August 31, 2026, and reflect what promoters had published by then, not every show that will happen. C&E Gun Shows' Harrisburg page already lists four 2027 weekends that are not in the snapshot.

Where the shows are: Monroeville, then everyone else

Twelve cities, twelve venues, one venue per city. The Monroeville Convention Center, which Showmasters bills as its Pittsburgh Gun Show, carries 7 of the 22 listings, about 32%. Matamoras has 3, Oaks and Harrisburg 2 each, and eight towns one apiece. Near Pittsburgh, the calendar is simple. Anywhere else, you are choosing among single weekends from different promoters.

Pennsylvania isn't a fairground state or a convention-center state. It is a little of everything, including a resort. Grouped by venue type:

Repeat business belongs to the big halls and one hotel. Split Rock Resort bills itself as a Poconos resort with suites, villas and lodge rooms that overlook Lake Harmony. If you want a gun show that comes with a lake, that is the one.

Five promoters, and what each one runs here

Each promoter's own site is the final word on dates, prices and rules.

• Eastern Gun Expo: 9 listings in 8 cities, the widest footprint in the state. Its site menu also has pages for Indiana, Morgantown and Trevose, Pa., none with a dated listing in the snapshot.
• Showmasters Gun Shows: 7 listings, all at Monroeville. The rest of its schedule is mostly Virginia, plus Morgantown and Fairmont, W.Va.
• Westchester Collectors, Inc.: 3 listings, all in Matamoras, published under the Northeast Gun Shows name alongside shows in Middletown, N.Y. Its about page traces the operation to a first show in November 1984 under the Westchester Collectors name.
• C&E Gun Shows: 2 listings at the Farm Show Complex. Its schedule page tells readers to "Double check ALL dates before traveling."
• Appalachian Promotions: 1 listing, at York Fairgrounds. The company lists a Carlisle, Pa., address.

Eastern and Showmasters account for 16 of the 22 listings, so two websites cover almost three-quarters of the state's calendar.

The month rhythm: October does the heavy lifting

October 2026 has 8 listings, more than any other month. November has 4, December 3 and January 2. After that the snapshot thins to one listing each in March, April, August, October and November 2027.

The fall crush doubles up weekends. October 31–November 1 had three shows: Bloomsburg, Harrisburg and York. Then a date moved. C&E now shows the fall Harrisburg show on November 7–8, flagged "DATE CHANGE," the same weekend as Eastern's Quarryville show.

The 2027 gap is a publishing gap. Every 2027 listing in the data comes from Showmasters' Monroeville schedule or the Matamoras schedule, while C&E's page now lists Harrisburg dates in March, August, November and December 2027.

Two days, Saturday first, doors at 9

Twenty of the 22 listings are two-day shows. The two three-day events are both at Oaks, where Eastern adds a Friday session from 1 to 7 p.m. Nineteen listings start on a Saturday and two on a Friday.

That leaves one listing, and it deserves a phone call. Showmasters publishes its October 2027 Monroeville show as October 10–11, which in 2027 falls on a Sunday and a Monday. It may be right, or it may be this year's Saturday-Sunday dates carried forward. Confirm before you book around it.

In our data, all eight listings with a published Saturday time open at 9 a.m., and eight of nine published Sunday closings are 4 p.m. The promoters' pages fit: Eastern, Showmasters and C&E list Saturday 9 to 5 and Sunday 9 to 4. Matamoras, per its event page, closes at 3 p.m. Sunday.

C&E's Harrisburg page says Saturday admission is good for Sunday with a hand stamp. Our data lists parking as free for 7 listings and unknown for the other 15, and pet policy as unknown for all 22. Showmasters' Monroeville page explains its free parking with admirable bluntness: "Plenty of parking with all the closed stores around."

Admission: right at the national median, kids free

Nine of the 22 listings in our data publish an adult price: $12 for Showmasters at Monroeville and $13 for C&E at Harrisburg. The median is $12, identical to the national median across 156 priced listings. Our look at 2026 admission prices covers the national picture.

All nine priced listings have a free-child tier: Showmasters admits children under 12 free with a supervising adult, and C&E admits children 12 and under. None of the 22 shows a military or veteran discount, which means no promoter source published one, not that none exists.

Eastern Gun Expo's show list and its second page now carry prices that weren't in the snapshot. At the time of writing (September 29, 2026) it shows $9 at Quarryville; $10 at Split Rock, Bloomsburg and Gettysburg; $11 at Lebanon and Allentown; and $18 at Oaks, where the event page says kids 12 and under are free. A Pennsylvania adult ticket runs $9 to $18, depending on the building.

Upcoming Pennsylvania listings as of September 29, 2026

The next eight listings in our calendar data, with what each promoter's own page showed on September 29.

Deer season runs straight through the fall shows

The Pennsylvania Game Commission's 2026–27 seasons put statewide archery deer at October 3 to November 20, then December 26 to January 24, 2027. Antlerless muzzleloader runs October 17 to 25, and the regular firearms deer season November 28 to December 13.

The overlaps are exact. Split Rock opens on the same Saturday as statewide archery. The October Oaks and Matamoras shows overlap muzzleloader week. Monroeville's November 28–29 show lands on firearms opening weekend, with Gettysburg and the December Harrisburg show inside the season. Our fall hunting season shopping guide covers what to buy at a show before opening day and what to buy new.

Pennsylvania rules to know before you buy

A short orientation from official sources, not legal advice. Confirm with the sources below.

PICS. The Pennsylvania State Police describe the Pennsylvania Instant Check System as the system dealers use to verify who can legally buy a firearm; it began July 1, 1998. The PSP fee for a PICS check on a purchase or transfer is $2, and dealers may add their own fee.

Private sales. The PSP purchaser brochure (SP 4-135) says "Handgun transfers must be completed at a licensed firearm dealer's place of business." The statute behind that rule, 18 Pa.C.S. § 6111(c), also allows the transfer at a county sheriff's office, and PSP lists county sheriffs among the offices that contact PICS, so ask yours; Allegheny County's firearms FAQ sends private buyers and sellers to a dealer. The brochure says one Pennsylvania resident can transfer a long gun to another if the recipient is not prohibited, and a private transfer of any firearm to another state's resident goes through a dealer in the buyer's state. Our private sale vs. FFL guide compares states.

License to Carry Firearms. PSP says applicants must be 21 or older and apply to their county sheriff, or the chief of police in Philadelphia. The license lasts five years. Carry concealed, or carry in a vehicle, without a license and away from your home or fixed place of business, and PSP says the charge is a third-degree felony, or a first-degree misdemeanor in narrower cases; the exceptions are listed in 18 Pa.C.S. § 6106(b). Our guide to transporting firearms to gun shows covers the trip. Pennsylvania may license nonresidents with a valid home-state permit, though some sheriffs won't.

At the table in Pennsylvania

1. Ask whether the seller is a licensed dealer or a private seller.
2. For a private-party handgun, agree first on which licensed dealer or county sheriff's office will run the transfer, and get its fee.
3. Bring a valid photo driver's license or ID card.
4. Price the whole deal: asking price, dealer fee and the $2 PICS fee.
5. If buyer and seller live in different states, route it through a dealer in the buyer's state.
6. Get a written receipt with make, model and serial number.
7. Plan the ride home before you pay. Our what to bring checklist covers the kit.

Buying new instead: what to look for online or at a dealer

A show is good for browsing, used guns and handling models side by side. For a current-production firearm you've already chosen, a local gun shop, a sporting goods chain or an online firearms retailer may be the better route. Compare these before you pay.

• The exact configuration. Match model number, caliber, barrel length, sights, finish and magazine count.
• The real total. An online order from another state ships to a licensed dealer in your state, since federal rules generally bar an unlicensed buyer from receiving at home a firearm bought outside their state (27 CFR 478.29). Add shipping, the receiving dealer's fee and the $2 PICS fee; PSP adds a $3 surcharge on a "firearm subject to tax."
• Warranty terms. Who handles claims, whether the original receipt is required, and whether coverage follows a later owner.
• Returns and refusals. Read the written return policy, including restocking fees, and ask the receiving dealer what happens if the gun arrives damaged.
• Delays. PSP says PICS completes most checks in minutes, but a result can come back denied or undetermined. Ask which fees are refundable if it does.