Bill Johnson sees them at every gun show. They are the collectors who spot that Colt 1851 Navy Revolver in excellent shape, maybe with a serial number lower than the one they already own.

"They get a glazed look in their eye," said Johnson, who runs shows in Arizona and Nevada. "They just start drooling from them."

Johnson works in the marketplace of guns that are half-curios and half-weapons. Truth be told, a good number of the guns that change hands at his Western Collectibles and Firearms Shows might never be fired.

Arizona gun culture portraits

Those are what he calls "wall hangers."

"Guys want them for barbecue-restaurant decorations," he said. "They're never going to shoot them."

Those who collect guns are fueled by the same passion and fervor as those who collect cars, baseball cards or nearly anything else.

Except that no one calls for tighter regulations on transactions at those collectors' events. They do on this one, even giving it a name: the gun-show loophole. Some lawmakers want to make private transactions subject to the same background checks and registry requirements as dealer sales.

But Johnson doesn't believe he is adding to criminals' arsenals with his show. He doesn't think many smugglers or drug runners are using an old Hammer shotgun, popularized by vintage cowboy movies. If they did, they might be easier to spot.

"You pick one up in your hand, and you just start talking like John Wayne," he said.

Just before the doors opened at Tim's Toyota Center in Prescott Valley, Johnson got on a microphone and addressed the vendors.

"We want all you vendors to double-check your weapons and make sure they are unarmed," he said. "We don't want any discharges at the show."

It was a precaution but not a real worry. Most of these guns are never loaded. Ed Boyle, a rancher from Santa Susana, Calif., said some of the Old West guns he prizes use ammunition that has been discontinued.

He searches for guns with character.

"I have pictures of my great-grandfolks, and I look at the weapons they had," he said. He still lives on the land his family has ranched for 130 years and says there is something that feels right about using a Bird's Head Colt or Schofield rifle.

"I like to use what (my great-grandparents) were using," he said. "For no good reason."

Don Rossko of Mesa was walking around the show with two rare rifles. One was a 1903 Mannlicher Schoenauer. The other was a 1908 Mauser. He had cardboard price tags dangling from both, looking to sell them.

The Mauser, he said, was the real prize.

"When I saw this," he said of the time he spotted the Mauser at another gun show, "I said, 'My gosh, all the numbers match.' "

He meant the serial numbers on the parts. Some older weapons, like older cars, will see major parts swapped out. But this one was intact.

A potential customer walked up to Rossko and asked him how much. Rossko didn't answer right away, instead ticking off the attributes of the rifle. The gun was made in Germany for the Brazilian army, he said, pointing out an emblem in the stock and the Brazilian crest etched on the receiver.

He even showed off a flaw. "Notice the butt plate doesn't fit as good as it should," he said. The customer said it looked like the wood underneath had been sanded.

Rossko was looking for about $500 for it. The potential buyer walked away at that price, but Rossko figured he might circle back later in the show. Rossko would also speak with dealers, looking to trade for a Colt .45, his weapon of choice, both in collecting and shooting.

"You say Colt .45, that's the best in handguns," he said. "Just like when you say Mauser, that's the best in rifles." He emphasized that last part as if he were pitching to any passing customers.

John Fitzen, a knifesmith from Razors Edge in Salt Lake City, was selling the opposite of a vintage Old West weapon. He displayed ultra-modern and tricked-out guns.

One was decorated with chrome skulls and had "Vaya con Dios," Spanish for "Go with God," stenciled on one side. Two words were etched on the edge of the barrel, legible to someone who might be looking down into it. The message tells the person he is in a fix, but a more profane word was used.

"We do fun things," he said.

He had a display of AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifles in camouflage and black. A shotgun is a better weapon for home protection, he said, but the AR-15 is simply a hoot to shoot.

"It's the cool factor that sells it," he said.

"I can have a Volkswagen. That'll do me. Or I can have the Cadillac."

The collectors seemed overwhelmingly male. Linda Betz, 64, of Dewey, proffered the theory that there were fewer women into guns and those who were bought them for sport or self-defense.

Collecting is way too expensive, said Betz, who was shopping for ammunition, holsters and other accessories. She didn't see the point of owning a gun she wouldn't shoot.

"If I'm getting a gun, I'm not getting it to look at and say, 'Ooh, isn't that pretty?' " she said.

Johnson, a former pro wrestler known as Mr. Pain before he started putting on gun shows, feels the same way.

His home in Oklahoma was burglarized years ago, he said, and his collection of guns was taken, including family heirlooms.

Johnson still buys and sells but hasn't rebuilt a collection.

"Everything has a value," he said, "and don't get too attached."

For home protection, Johnson said he would not try to impress a potential intruder with antiques.

"I'm going to use a modern .45 automatic," he said, "and blow a great big hole in you."