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I have gone to the show for many years. The first time I went it was in the basement of the Reno Hilton. I have a lot of observations about the show as follows: 1- The increase in the number of high fence whitetail outfitters is astounding. There are a hell of a lot of them now. 2-The increase in quality of the fish taxidermy is astounding to me. There seems to be a drastic increase in quality. 3- Who buys some of these massive sculptures? 4- The taxidermy has always been incredible. I think some took the cake this year. Some of the mounts were absolutely massive. Anyone see the mount of the big 5 plus croc & hippo? 5- A lot of people got sick at the show. Some had to be hospitalized. Either dehydration (drinking at night, altitude and no water during the day) or the flu. I have pictures of one PH that he probably doesn't want published. 6- I never see anyone buying these painting or sculptures yet I see these same people there every year. Some of theme have LARGE displays. 7- It is interesting to see how some of the long time exhibitors have aged over the years. Makes me wonder how well I have aged. 8- The age of the participants seems to have gotten a lot higher to me. 9- I found some of the aisles a little odd. They were not consistent. One row went front to back in the building when the next went side to side. 10- I almost missed the area near the entrance. It was not well marked. 11- I am not sure if this is the first year or not but SCI had an app that was quite useful. 12- The exhibit halls get vacated when the auctions are going on. 13- I went to my first auction in years. I didn't stay long. I just don't see the entertainment value of sitting through 3-4 hours of auctions. 14- I had a dinner party for about 30 at the Peppermill Wednesday night. We had a bunch of my friends, some PH's and even a non-hunting client. We had a blast. Lots of people left that were a bit tipsy. I had a hell of a lot of fun although this was clearly not the best show SCI ever had.I have a friend on the Board. I e mailed him about some SCI issues. We are going to discuss next week. Am I going to back? Absolutely! | ||
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I agree. There are more and more whitetail fenced hunts each year. I always look at the price of some guns and they cost more than my house. Wow. The taxidermy is always amazing but yes. The fish taxidermy was better than ever. Seemed this year that booths were full or empty of potential clients. No middle ground. The food like all conventions was not great and way over priced. Fastest check in line ever. The bus drivers were clueless. Went a different scenic or ghetto route everyday. Weird. Loved the show. Met several new people and met up with several friends. My favorite show of the year. | |||
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I too enjoyed the show, but still prefer the DSC show due to the lower cost, informality and all my AR friends. Will I go to SCI again? You bet. While we didn't book a hunt, we commissioned a pendant for my wife out my leopard floating bones and my wife bought a Barlow sable sculpture at the Sables lunchen. I also have a good lead on a Chineese Water Deer and Muntjac hunt. Having said that, we enjoyed one of the best restaurants we've ever had the pleasure of visiting at Rapscallion ( http://www.rapscallion.com/ ) Try it, you'll love it. I also love the "pulled pork macaroni and cheese" available in the food court. "There are worse memorials to a life well-lived than a pair of elephant tusks." Robert Ruark | |||
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This was my first show and I had a damn good time. 1- I was also surprised by the high-fence stuff... I always thought that was more of a wink and a nod type thing but I was kind of disgusted by it. The one that was near the Kynoch booth was absolutely stuffed with people, sad. 2 - I guess I missed the fish taxidermy... 3- Don't know who buys the big sculptures, I was more interested in seeing how they were made...the two guys on the horses were amazing. 4- The African taxidermy was damn nice...the big elephant and the Lord Derby eland were my favorite, eland are hella impressive! SOOO big! 5- I toted around a small bottle of hand sanitizer and used it like mad after I touched anyone or anything...I did not get sick but heard quite a number of people hacking. 6- The big paintings all kind of started to look alike after a while...my favorite is the one by Banovich, the defensive line one SCI used on the brochure a while ago. There was the one gal standing by the Beretta booth who did the painting while people walked around...that was worth seeing come together. 7- n/a 8 - n/a 9 - The Kynoch aisle (2400) was one of the oddballs, I found it confusing to walk around for about half a day till I got my feet under me. 10 - I also almost missed the exhibits by the entrance...found them only because I wanted to see the Heyms and looked them up. 11 - Blackberry user... N/A for the rest... I will say after seeing the bus lines I was glad I picked a 'loner' hotel. I was waiting for my van and Mark Remnant from Rigby came up and we started talking...he thought I was in a taxi line and asked if I was going ot the Peppermill..when I showed him the real taxi and bus line he said "Bloody hell" and went to get into line. As a newbie it was nice to see how accessible the PH's were and at least the ones I met were very generous with their time. To be able to meet John Sharp and Alan Vincent was a treat. The tops was Luke Samaras though... a very nice guy who took some time to chat and seemed genuinely happy to be there and meet new people. I met a few AR guys there and some people just out of the blue and thought most folks were just plain nice. The booty show kind of got old and the 80/20 club was well represented but overall I'm glad I finally got to go. My complaints are few but generally I thought the food pathetic and way overpriced. I mean $3.75 for a regular coke? Once I found the machines I ended up using them and just snacked throughout the day, to hell with a 9 dollar crappy caesar wrap with a coke for 12 bucks...I would love to see a fleet of these new street-food vendors who sell top quality fresh food pull up outside about 11am. It would be nice to have some variety. | |||
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I don't know why you guys are surprised by the high-fence whitetail hunting... I mean how many US states offer it legally, plus Saskatchewan, Mexico ... and just look at the HUGE demand for big whitetail. I don't see it as something unique to SCI either... look at how many TV shows feature it. Granted some of those TV shows and magazine articles don't care to mention the high-fence. A day spent in the bush is a day added to your life Hunt Australia - Website Hunt Australia - Facebook Hunt Australia - TV | |||
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This was my 6th show. I wish they would bring the entrance price down so more people could afford to go. i thought it was more comfortable to walk the show at Vegas; better grade of carpet i think. Overall I like the show in Reno; it is closer for me to drive to and the other costs like lodging and food are better. My favorite part was the stock maker at the Rigby booth. He was fascinating to watch. I talked to him for awhile, on Saturday, and his nerves were about shot; trying to do the checkering in the lighting and with all the interruptions! Tremendous craftsman! | |||
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I went to a high-fenced place for a meat hunt a while back; obviously, it was a shoot more than a hunt, and I filled my freezer as expected. The thought of paying **many** thousands** to shoot a deer under those conditions amuses me, to be perfectly honest, but many judge a hunt by the inch rather than by more subtle means ... To each his own. I don't tell people what sized soda they can buy, nor would I prohibit them from paying ridiculous money for an insignificant experience. Many years ago, a much older gentleman with whom I worked offered me these pearls of wisdom, "there's an a** for every seat". analog_peninsula ----------------------- It takes character to withstand the rigors of indolence. | |||
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Matt artificial deer. Inbred freaks and next will come immune problems with the deer. Mike | |||
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A guy bought a hunt at the auction for a hundred thousand dollars for a huge elk in an area just an hour north of here.It is funny that there are no wild elk in Quebec and that area was famous for skiing and drinking beer.I personnaly felt sorry for the guy but it seems he wanted the biggest rack on his wall at any cost. | |||
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It's already an issue Mike. According to Dr. James Kroll, who is heavily involved in high fence and AI operations, most of the deer involved in AI have some form of CWD. It's one of the reasons why AI deer cannot be released onto low fenced ranches in Texas. At least that is what he reported when he spoke at our chapter SCI meeting nearly 2 years ago now. Some of the guys here who are more up on the issue might be able to shed some light on that subject. I like the way A_P put it concerning the high fence whitetail ranches: "paying ridiculous money for an insignificant experience". I'd say that sums up the way I feel about it, although the guys doing it seem to be getting something out of the experience. But can you imagine spending the type of money on a penned whitetail deer that would buy you a "real" wilderness hunt for a bull elephant? Crazy what whitetails will do to people. I think I can speak for all in attendance Larry, we enjoyed the dinner very much. Thank you for the invite. | |||
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Yeah mate - I know. I was only just commenting that they seem to be everywhere in much of the USA. A day spent in the bush is a day added to your life Hunt Australia - Website Hunt Australia - Facebook Hunt Australia - TV | |||
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And S. Africa - close neighbours are also catching on.  | |||
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For those of you complaining about the food, try the Atlantis. The breakfast buffet is pretty good, and the oyster bar has some very good seafood cocktails that are a meal in themselves. Unless you are physically challenged, the walk is neither far or difficult. Cheers, Tim | |||
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There you go - a bit of lateral thinking!! I just have a big breakfast and dinner and miss lunch at the convention altogether... A Bloody Mary around 4.00pm tides me over - that HAS to be good for you eh?? A day spent in the bush is a day added to your life Hunt Australia - Website Hunt Australia - Facebook Hunt Australia - TV | |||
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As for food, the Manhattan Grill in the Atlantis has great salads or sandwiches for about the same price as the show, but much better quality. We also enjoy meeting up with the wives over there. Early breakfast setsthe tone for the day, and then everyone splits and does their thing. As long as spouses are charged the same entry fee (too much), our wives will never go again and prefer to donate to the leisure spa of their choosing. Convention season during the winter always seems to bring out the colds and flu. This year was no different, and four of the six of us got sick on the return home. I do enjoy the nicer weather in Vegas for that aspect. Had a couple great dinner parties for 15-20 people at both Johnny's Ristorante and the Macaroni grill. Many enjoyable stories from our PH friends too. I try not to be rude at the show, but when carny barkers are trying to pull me in to the steroid WT booths, I don't even acknowledge them and keep right on walking. Friends in Texas are getting into it more and more, and are culling off bucks that don't break 200" as two year olds! Sad! The taxidermy is always fantastic; thank goodness for digital cameras.  Got a little jewelry, some books and video, and a little TV time in a booth being convinced I needed to go to Costa Rica.Looking forward to next year already. | |||
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GO- 3 weeks from today i will enjoying dinner at Crocodile Bay after a( hopefully) good day of fishing. 6 trip to CR and more to come... Vote Trump- Putin’s best friend… | |||
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Is that what some of the WT guys do at the show? I havent seen it... wouldn't surprise me but they aren't allowed to do that really. A day spent in the bush is a day added to your life Hunt Australia - Website Hunt Australia - Facebook Hunt Australia - TV | |||
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JD - The wife is really smiling a lot while reading the Croc Bay info and Tropic Star stuff. That's looking a lot like permission to go to me! Matt - To say some of them were "pushy" would be cutting them slack. Most are not, and I appreciate that, but once someone shows distain for your wares its time to back up. | |||
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Hunted whitetail in the South Texas brush country quite a bit in the early 80's. There was not much high fencing, nutritional supplements or food plots back then. 160 class free range deer did not grow on trees. To each their own; I would take a a nice +160 10 point free range buck over a pet pen raised, genetically engineered, force fed 300 class deer any day. | |||
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 I wouldn't pay a plug nickel for one of those freaks. There isn't anything special about them. But a 160" class truly wild WT IS special just about anywhere. | |||
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Agree 100%. Big mule deer really turn my crank though. | |||
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And there is a very small chance that they are manipulated!A day spent in the bush is a day added to your life Hunt Australia - Website Hunt Australia - Facebook Hunt Australia - TV | |||
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your wife would probably really like the spa at Crocodile Bay- herbal wraps, mud baths, massages, etc. gotta admit too, a nice massage after an all day workout pulling on big fish REALLY feels good. the resort caters to the whole family with lots of stuff other than fishing- and it's American owned and run- no mañana attitude if a problem arises... Vote Trump- Putin’s best friend… | |||
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Yeah mate - like I said, a small chance!! I believe there are already some big ranches in Mex where they run them sucessfully. My understanding is that mule deer don't do so well behind wire. That's a good thing - that there are quite a few species in NA that will never be messed-with to any great extent - and every hunt you buy (within reason) is going to be a wild hunt. A day spent in the bush is a day added to your life Hunt Australia - Website Hunt Australia - Facebook Hunt Australia - TV | |||
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