TAMPA, Fla. — Thousands were expected to attend this weekend’s gun show at the Florida State Fairgrounds. When all is said and done, organizers estimate that between 8,000 and 10,000 people will have attended.

What You Need To Know

Thousands were expected to attend the Tampa gun show at the Florida State Fairgrounds

The increase in attendance is partly due to changes in Florida’s open carry law and a tax exemption on firearms and accessories

Firearm instructors stress the importance of safety and proper training for gun owners

Organizers said the increase in number is partly due to recent changes to Florida’s open carry law as well as the Second Amendment Sales Tax Exemption on firearms, ammunition and accessories that runs through the end of the year.

“I’m a numbers guy. Tax-free is huge because if you’re taxing something for $1000, $2000, $3000, you’re basically saving $100, $200, $300 on just one item. Saving that much money is huge,” Naim Smith said.

As a gun owner for nearly five years, Smith said it is exciting to see all the new firearms and cool accessories on display, but the foundation of gun ownership is rooted in safety and skill.

“It’s the knowledge people have behind the gun,” he said. “You have to learn first … it’s the most important thing. In order to have a gun, you must have training. I think that’s the most important thing.”

Firearm instructor John Helmes couldn’t agree more. With more than 25 years of experience working in law enforcement, Helmes, owner of Bulldog Tactical Group, was tasked with teaching students all the facets of responsible gun ownership.

“Training is gonna be very important,” he said. “One — to stay familiar with your firearm because when you actually have to use it to defend yourself, you’re not gonna spend any time thinking about it. You’re actually just going to fall back to what your training was, and that’s why we wanna have good quality training because if your training is poor, you’re gonna respond poorly.”

Another part of training, he said, is knowing the law.

“We have to bear in mind that every year the legislature goes in the session, and they make changes to the laws and if you don’t know … you’re gonna wind up in trouble,” he said.

As far as the new open carry law is concerned, Helmes said it’s imperative that gun owners know where they can and cannot carry.

“Know where you can and can’t carry. There’s really not a lot of difference between that and the carry laws with concealed weapons,” he said.