Having just completed the Reno SCI show , I was wondering how AR members felt about the show both from exhibitor and attendee point of view.
My opinion is that this was the slowest , least attended convention I have attended in 16 years.
There is a crisis , on the Saturday a senior member of SCI came to our booth and asked why we no longer donated to SCI and I think we were amongst the many outfitters who no longer donate, our reply was simple for many years we donated $50 000-00 all included elephant hunts , we now donate the compulsory !!!!! , yes the DONATION is compulsory , $600 per booth , and we receive no better or worse treatment from SCI , so as a major donor we received little or no benefit ( save from the obvious contribution to conservation ) . However as one of my fellow outfitters pointed out , we all contribute and pay membership fees yet there are a plethora of cocktail and award evenings held at our expence reserved for the select few .
Years of neglecting exhibitors is I
believe finally turning on them , everywhere I went heard either exhibitors or attendees complaining about SCI. The low attendance and the fact that many bookings were allready made at DSC speak volumes and we can only hope SCI will now stand up and pay attention, we can also hope that leadership will turn this ship with over crowded good old boys club, around before it sinks.
Make no mistake I support the concept of SCI it's vision and it's goals but the SCI show may just be falling to position number three behind DSC and the AFS.
That said I had dinner with Mark Harrison from NZ and they had a cracker of a show , but this was in the minority.
Am I off the mark ????

See Buzz's post on this thread. Sounds very similar.

http://forums.accuratereloadin...651009481#6651009481

Sorry folks just saw that that the thread who booked what at Reno is carrying the conversation on SCI show as well

I had a great time while in Reno. I saw a lot of people I know. Many of my friends in the business said the show was horrible for them.

I am not sure what this means? Are people:

a- Concerned about the economy?
b- Concerned about the looming tax increases?
c- Concerned Obama will do us even more damage?
d- Hate Reno?
e- Pissed off with SCI?
f- Already booked for the year?

I have no idea. All I know is that I saw some unhappy people that I have known a very long time.

a. Yes
b. Yes
c. Yes
d. Yes
e. Not really
f. Yes

Since my post, I have spoken to a long term friend of mine. He informs me that a very well known company that has a lot of exposure sold a grand total of 1 buffalo hunt in Reno.

From a simple hunters view on the matter-someone who is taking time off work and flying to a convention,I want to attend the most happening event.A convention with one third or less of the people doesn`t really interest me.The most attractive thing about SCI convention is that it is big,IMO.
As far as it being less busy than ones previously,well I get the feeling that these couple of past years are not the most exciting or happening ones.Everybody seems to be selling things for nothing to keep their customers but there is no money in the game.
Some things that I saw or liked at the convention were as follows.
1-Searcy doubles
2-Some Taxidermy
3-good food at the snack and lunch places
4-Macmillen stocks
5-Island bar at the Silver Legacy
6 the Grand Sierra Resort
7-the friday night dinner and Montgomery Gentry and the award recipients
8-the CMS booth and their video screen(saw the leopard footage from my hunt in the company of passer-bys)Buzz and Myles always there greeting evryone
9-meeting Marty Rabeno and Sam Welch at the engravers show(I said to Marty hey that floorplate is mine,also Sam showing me his engraved guitar
10-a very busy Heym booth with a very kind staff(saw Chris there)
11-the view of the mountains surrounding beautiful Reno
One dissapointment was the english double rifles.It could have been just me but Purdey and Holland and Holland doubles just did not seem that great in person.

I also met some PH`s.Leon Dupplessis stands out as a guy who really enjoys life(he was trying to set me up with the bar waitress,also he says to me-are you a strong guy? I say I try to be to back you up-he says I dontneed you to back me up I have him and him and him ).Gavin Rorke-a nice fellow too.
Another highlight was shaking hands with Todd Williams and meeting other CM clients.

compulsory donation- that's an interesting contradiction in terms. considering you have to join SCI( $75-100), then pay the exorbitant daily entry fee($300 or so) just to get in, you have spent $400 before you pay for airfare, hotel, food, etc... contrast that to what it costs to attend DSC. the answer speaks for itself. and i wouldn't hold my breath waiting on the good old boys club to right the ship. they are the ones sinking it.

The compulsory donation is nothing new, that has been going on for many years. It has always been part of the game for getting a booth and in years gone by your chance increased with a 100% donation, etc., etc.

As an international exhibitor many of them routinely have $25 - $40,000 involved in doing the show by the time the dust settles. If you hardly book anything, it is a painful pill to swallow.

Then think about doing several big dollar shows and the money involved. These days it is a poor return on the dollar for many of the exhibitors.

The problems are not unique to SCI and actually it surprises me how many hunters just do not seem to understand what kind of stress the industry is under right now. It's nothing new as it has been in the toilet for several years, but it just now seems to be getting obvious enough that everyone is realizing there are big problems.

For the money, I would think going to DSC, then spending the difference on internet marketing would be a better way to spend the quid.

It is my understanding, and correct me if I am wrong, that DSC and SCI operate from the outfitter and member ends the same, ie pay dues and require donations to get in as an outfitter, pay dues to join as a member. Both have substantial waiting lists to get in to the show.

I think DSC will let show attendees in for a lot less money, and don't mandate membership, but that is really "how much money" it costs. I'm sure you could buy an SCI membership and a day pass at the gate and go in.

The DSC show has less overhead, but conversely gets told when they are having their show. How many folks on here were upset about missing their holiday/deer season because of when they put the show?

SCI, conversely tells Reno or LV (to some extent) when the show will be. They pay for that and also have a much larger paid staff presence to run things.

Nothing in life really is free, and as such SCI costs more. DSC has a lot more volunteer labor, but face it, Dallas is a much bigger place than Reno, and I think its quite a bit bigger than Lost Wages as well.

I will have to say that I didn't think the SCI show was that "lightly" attended. I tried to stop by and say Hi to Matt Graham, Aaron Nielson, Ivan Carter, and Buzz and company. Every time I went by, they were all busy or not there, and I was there for 3 days. Granted, I didn't spend all my time on the floor, but it shows if you are busy at the right time, you look very busy to some folks. I will also admit that I was never stuck behind some guy in his electric scooter while he jawboned with pals in the middle of the aisle like I was at LV last year.

To be honest, this was the first time that I actually put money down on a hunt at a show. Usually I was signed up before this point in the past. I think the economy and the election along with the unilateral action of the USG being proposed (a la Lion, Hippo in Moz) or the reports of what is happening in Zambia probably put a lot of brakes on as well. Why plunk down a deposit that by your holy terms and conditions states that it is nonrefundable if you cancel, and your big ticket item is likely to be revoked by an act of "force majure" (I know I didn't spell that right) that gives you no recourse, and even if you do sue, is likely to be a broke company anyhow?

We will see, but I suspect that if the political situation calms down a bit in the US, next year will be back to good sales (not great- that will take a real recovery as opposed to this thing we have now.)

jd - Just for grins, Reno costs me at least 1/3rd less to attend than DSC. I live in New Mexico so am actually a little closer to Dallas than Reno. When you add up airfare, hotel, food, transportation during the shows(shuttle to and from airport, rental cars or taxis to attend the show every day), entry fees as I said way less going to Reno as opposed to Dallas. I guess you are using the Obama method of calculating expenses, smoke, mirrors and lies to determine the bottom line? He obviously gets by with it so no surprise others are able to "fool the folks" with words and no real facts, huh? Since you live in Kalifornia, I could show you exactly how to do this, but you most likely wouldn't go to SCI anyway since it's on your list of things to bad mouth. Have a great day and keep dreaming the dream.

And to the thread subject. Spent all four days at SCI, had a great time, saw lots of friends, enjoyed it to the max.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

PS - By the way you don't even have the entry fee to the SCI Show right.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
compulsory donation- that's an interesting contradiction in terms. considering you have to join SCI( $75-100), then pay the exorbitant daily entry fee($300 or so) just to get in, you have spent $400 before you pay for airfare, hotel, food, etc... contrast that to what it costs to attend DSC. the answer speaks for itself. and i wouldn't hold my breath waiting on the good old boys club to right the ship. they are the ones sinking it.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
Are people:

a- Concerned about the economy?
b- Concerned about the looming tax increases?
c- Concerned Obama will do us even more damage?
d- Hate Reno?
e- Pissed off with SCI?
f- Already booked for the year?

Ok, I'll take a stab at this.
a. Concerned about the economy? Yes, very much so.
b. Concerned about the looming tax increases? Absolutely. Heard one guy state this as his reason for not booking.
c. Concerned Obama will do us even more damage? Yep, how could you not be scared.
d. Hate Reno? No. People have been pouring into Reno for years spending money like it's going out of style. They will go where SCI goes.
e. Pissed off with SCI? No. Attendees to the show enjoy it, or they wouldn't come. It is geared 100% toward the attendees. Taxidermy, Auctions, Dinners, Parties, etc. Even if they were PO'd, they would still buy hunts.
f. Already booked for the year? Some, yes. Guys. DSC is getting bigger. Most of us had at least a decent showing at DSC. Could it be the "booking" crowd is choosing DSC over SCI now?

In the end, it is probably a combination of reasons with economy and taxes in the top two positions. Fear of the future is running a close third place.

Anyone who has a better theory, I'm open to hear it. As usual ... my $.02

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
By the way you don't even have the entry fee to the SCI Show right.

I thought it was $300 for a full 4 day pass to SCI? Is it more this year? Just curious. Not an SCI bashing.

By the way, is it just me, or is this crowd getting older? I swear I saw more electric scooters here than I think I have ever seen!

One of the real old time legends in this industry said to me at the show that most of his clients are getting too old to hunt, or are 6' under.

From an attendee's perspective it did seem very slow this year. The upside is that I rarely had to wait for someone to walk through when taking photo's of the taxidermy, and there was zero wait time at any of the booths I visited...nobody had line ups.
I will be looking at Dallas next year as it won't feel like extortion when paying to get in...that and Vegas wants $21 for a beer and a hotdog.

On a another note: a number of exhibitors mentioned that they were in Canada for shows this year. I hope that this trend picks up steam! See you guys in Calgary in 2014.

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:

I will have to say that I didn't think the SCI show was that "lightly" attended. I tried to stop by and say Hi to Matt Graham, Aaron Nielson, Ivan Carter, and Buzz and company. Every time I went by, they were all busy or not there, and I was there for 3 days. Granted, I didn't spend all my time on the floor, but it shows if you are busy at the right time, you look very busy to some folks.

Sorry I missed you mate!! I guess I was actually 'busy' about 2/3 of the time at the show, maybe a bit more.

Wendell - It's less than $300, $260 in fact. Just pointing out that some like "jd" babble on with their own personal statements with made up figures instead of facts. I agree with your assesment of the Show. Not quite to the point of toooooo old to hunt but getting there. Yea, lot of scooters but still plenty of hooters.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
By the way you don't even have the entry fee to the SCI Show right.

I thought it was $300 for a full 4 day pass to SCI? Is it more this year? Just curious. Not an SCI bashing.

By the way, is it just me, or is this crowd getting older? I swear I saw more electric scooters here than I think I have ever seen!

One of the real old time legends in this industry said to me at the show that most of his clients are getting too old to hunt, or are 6' under.

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:

By the way, is it just me, or is this crowd getting older? I swear I saw more electric scooters here than I think I have ever seen!

Joyce remarked on this very point Wendell. You don't see teens, or early 20 folks very much.

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
jd - Just for grins, Reno costs me at least 1/3rd less to attend than DSC. I live in New Mexico so am actually a little closer to Dallas than Reno. When you add up airfare, hotel, food, transportation during the shows(shuttle to and from airport, rental cars or taxis to attend the show every day), entry fees as I said way less going to Reno as opposed to Dallas. I guess you are using the Obama method of calculating expenses, smoke, mirrors and lies to determine the bottom line? He obviously gets by with it so no surprise others are able to "fool the folks" with words and no real facts, huh? Since you live in Kalifornia, I could show you exactly how to do this, but you most likely wouldn't go to SCI anyway since it's on your list of things to bad mouth. Have a great day and keep dreaming the dream.

And to the thread subject. Spent all four days at SCI, had a great time, saw lots of friends, enjoyed it to the max.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

PS - By the way you don't even have the entry fee to the SCI Show right.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
compulsory donation- that's an interesting contradiction in terms. considering you have to join SCI( $75-100), then pay the exorbitant daily entry fee($300 or so) just to get in, you have spent $400 before you pay for airfare, hotel, food, etc... contrast that to what it costs to attend DSC. the answer speaks for itself. and i wouldn't hold my breath waiting on the good old boys club to right the ship. they are the ones sinking it.

i attended the SCI for almost 20 years until i finally had a belly full of the their huge lack of ethics( do the names Mike Simpson, Dan Duncan, Kevin Anderson, AoA Adventerous Safaris, shooting game from helicopters in Russia, rhino poaching RING A BELL??). to attend SCI, a chapter membership is $100 and a national membership is $75. cost for 4 days convention admission- $300. so $375/400 to get in the door. cost to get in the door at Dallas for 4 days- $75 IIRC and no membership required. hotel room at the Silver Legacy when i was there 4 years ago- $175/night averaged over 4 days( less on Wed, Thurs, more Fri/Sat). cost per night at the Comfort Inn in Dallas 3 weeks ago- $100/night. don't know about airfare to Reno, as i always drove but round trip air from Fresno to Dallas was $450. i imagine it cost at least that much in diesel/ wear and tear for my F 350 truck to Reno( 800 miles total trip). since Dallas has a BIT better air service than Reno, i find it a bit hard to believe most people can fly to Reno cheaper than they can fly to Dallas. your mileage may vary..no rental car needed as there were plenty of people at the Comfort Inn to get a ride with. no smoke and mirrors- just cold hard dollar and cents facts..SO NO- YOU CAN'T SHOW ME A DAMN THING ABOUT HOW SCI IS CHEAPER

quote:

Originally posted by Safaris Botswana Bound:
However as one of my fellow outfitters pointed out , we all contribute and pay membership fees yet there are a plethora of cocktail and award evenings held at our expence reserved for the select few .

I have to agree on that, I used to go every year and take my wife. For a while, you could buy a full ticket and go to most everything; my wife even got to go to the ladies lunch,full ticket included a breakfast and auction, there was a cocktail party where you got to meet all the taxidermists who exibited and look at their mounts, you go to all the nightly shows, etc. Then it went to where you pay for each event you want to go to, and some you could only attend if you were inner circle, diamond level, life member, etc. Now I just go to DSC.

As an exhibitor...business was way down and so was the attendance.
DSC was the best ever for me.

jd - -At least try to get the numbers right if you are going to try and compare costs to Reno as opposed to Dallas. First off you DO NOT have to be a Chapter Member of SCI to attend the convention, so that's $100 deducted from your claimed total. The 4-day pass is $260 not $300. Airfare and 4nights lodging from Albuquerque to Reno $326 total. No other transportation costs to attend Reno period. I don't moooooch rides with folks to anywhere, but if you do in Dallas, oh well. Food costs approximately $200 in Reno for the entire trip. I don't drink and am a bit conservative on eating, try and keep my weight under control while at convention. The SCI Membership $75 covers a bit more than just entry to the Show. Safari magazine (best out there by far), Safari Times each month, etc, but we will add it in for your sake. My total cost for Reno $863.

Airfare Albuquerque to Dallas $485; 4 nights at your Comfort Inn $400: Airport tranfers $35; Rental car or taxi 4 days, $265; food $200 (most likely higher in Dallas); show entry $75. My total for DSC/Dallas $1,460. Actually that's closer to 41% less and I thought is was a 33% savings.

If you have other issues with SCI so be it, that's your choice, but no way is it cheaper to do DSC/Dallas than SCI/Reno from Albuquerque, NM. Maybe I can't show you a damm thing, but this comes pretty close, huh? Caps stuck again on your keyboard?

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
jd - Just for grins, Reno costs me at least 1/3rd less to attend than DSC. I live in New Mexico so am actually a little closer to Dallas than Reno. When you add up airfare, hotel, food, transportation during the shows(shuttle to and from airport, rental cars or taxis to attend the show every day), entry fees as I said way less going to Reno as opposed to Dallas. I guess you are using the Obama method of calculating expenses, smoke, mirrors and lies to determine the bottom line? He obviously gets by with it so no surprise others are able to "fool the folks" with words and no real facts, huh? Since you live in Kalifornia, I could show you exactly how to do this, but you most likely wouldn't go to SCI anyway since it's on your list of things to bad mouth. Have a great day and keep dreaming the dream.

And to the thread subject. Spent all four days at SCI, had a great time, saw lots of friends, enjoyed it to the max.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

PS - By the way you don't even have the entry fee to the SCI Show right.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
compulsory donation- that's an interesting contradiction in terms. considering you have to join SCI( $75-100), then pay the exorbitant daily entry fee($300 or so) just to get in, you have spent $400 before you pay for airfare, hotel, food, etc... contrast that to what it costs to attend DSC. the answer speaks for itself. and i wouldn't hold my breath waiting on the good old boys club to right the ship. they are the ones sinking it.

i attended the SCI for almost 20 years until i finally had a belly full of the their huge lack of ethics( do the names Mike Simpson, Dan Duncan, Kevin Anderson, AoA Adventerous Safaris, shooting game from helicopters in Russia, rhino poaching RING A BELL??). to attend SCI, a chapter membership is $100 and a national membership is $75. cost for 4 days convention admission- $300. so $375/400 to get in the door. cost to get in the door at Dallas for 4 days- $75 IIRC and no membership required. hotel room at the Silver Legacy when i was there 4 years ago- $175/night averaged over 4 days( less on Wed, Thurs, more Fri/Sat). cost per night at the Comfort Inn in Dallas 3 weeks ago- $100/night. don't know about airfare to Reno, as i always drove but round trip air from Fresno to Dallas was $450. i imagine it cost at least that much in diesel/ wear and tear for my F 350 truck to Reno( 800 miles total trip). since Dallas has a BIT better air service than Reno, i find it a bit hard to believe most people can fly to Reno cheaper than they can fly to Dallas. your mileage may vary..no rental car needed as there were plenty of people at the Comfort Inn to get a ride with. no smoke and mirrors- just cold hard dollar and cents facts..SO NO- YOU CAN'T SHOW ME A DAMN THING ABOUT HOW SCI IS CHEAPER

Off point, but noted: It is a 9-hour drive to Dallas from ABQ, 15 hours to Reno. The airfare difference in flying to Nevada destinations may well have to do with the fact that this is the life blood of the casinos. I am surprised that lodging would be a lot less in Dallas, but it is a much, much bigger metropolis.

quote:

Originally posted by Frostbit:

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:

By the way, is it just me, or is this crowd getting older? I swear I saw more electric scooters here than I think I have ever seen!

Joyce remarked on this very point Wendell. You don't see teens, or early 20 folks very much.

I am 25, and went last year. I enjoyed it, but time and money can be better spent on other endeavors. Not to mention, most people won't give a young guy the time of day.

I am only an attendee and cannot comment on how the exhibitors are treated. The convention has always been fun and will hopefully be so in the future. The lower attendance was very noticible, especially Friday and Saturday. As far as the reasons for this, I can only offer my opinion. Speaking with other people, one recurring item is the horrible economy and the threat of additional money being taken out of our pockets due to increased/new taxes. As far as the location , Reno or Las Vegas, I prefer Reno due to less hustling by the locals (hotels, pimps, bums, etc.). I need to go next year but I'll shorten my stay to the minimum.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I had a great time while in Reno. I saw a lot of people I know. Many of my friends in the business said the show was horrible for them.

I am not sure what this means? Are people:

a- Concerned about the economy?
b- Concerned about the looming tax increases?
c- Concerned Obama will do us even more damage?
d- Hate Reno?
e- Pissed off with SCI?
f- Already booked for the year?

I have no idea. All I know is that I saw some unhappy people that I have known a very long time.

a- defintely concerned about the economy. I think even folks with the disposable income are in a wait and see mode.

b- have a couple of hunts on hold just becaise of the client's concerns about taxes.

c- Obama just is no good for any off us.

d- I hate Reno and a lot of my clients don't like it either.

e- I don't get from my clients that they hate SCI.

f- A lot of hunters do book in Dallas. No reason not to as most of the major players are at the DSC show as well as SCI.

The SCI show was by far not as well attended as in Reno this year as it was in Vegas last year. Considering my new business venture and my even newer business venture in '12 and lack of a real booth I did pretty well but without question floor traffic was was way off.

The PG hunts seemed to be down. Folks are on hold for lions with the US,F&G possibility of upgrading to an Endangered classification a possibility. Elephants are in demand with the Bots closure and leopard plus buff choices are down with Zambia closing for '13.

Looks like Zim is still a top choice for '13-'14 and if the SAVE comes back on line.......

Mark

Why is everyone down on Reno ?? I like it there. I hate big cities like Dallas and Vegas!
I enjoyed the show and the weather this year very much.

I hate big cities but Dallas is a pretty cool place - At least you don't feel like disinfecting yourself and going to confession every day - like I do in Las Vegas.

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Graham:
At least you don't feel like disinfecting yourself and going to confession every day - like I do in Las Vegas.

Gee Matt, what exactly are you doing in Vegas?

No kidding! I live here in Vegas and I feel like a Saint! What in the hell are you doing?! By the way, we have more churchs and horses per capita than anywhere in the States, so that should tell you something. Matt: I'll line you up with some religion when you arrive in 2014 and get you straightened out!

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
By the way, we have more churchs and horses per capita than anywhere in the States, so that should tell you something.

Wedding Chapels aren't exactly churches.

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
jd - -At least try to get the numbers right if you are going to try and compare costs to Reno as opposed to Dallas. First off you DO NOT have to be a Chapter Member of SCI to attend the convention, so that's $100 deducted from your claimed total. The 4-day pass is $260 not $300. Airfare and 4nights lodging from Albuquerque to Reno $326 total. No other transportation costs to attend Reno period. I don't moooooch rides with folks to anywhere, but if you do in Dallas, oh well. Food costs approximately $200 in Reno for the entire trip. I don't drink and am a bit conservative on eating, try and keep my weight under control while at convention. The SCI Membership $75 covers a bit more than just entry to the Show. Safari magazine (best out there by far), Safari Times each month, etc, but we will add it in for your sake. My total cost for Reno $863.

Airfare Albuquerque to Dallas $485; 4 nights at your Comfort Inn $400: Airport tranfers $35; Rental car or taxi 4 days, $265; food $200 (most likely higher in Dallas); show entry $75. My total for DSC/Dallas $1,460. Actually that's closer to 41% less and I thought is was a 33% savings.

If you have other issues with SCI so be it, that's your choice, but no way is it cheaper to do DSC/Dallas than SCI/Reno from Albuquerque, NM. Maybe I can't show you a damm thing, but this comes pretty close, huh? Caps stuck again on your keyboard?

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
jd - Just for grins, Reno costs me at least 1/3rd less to attend than DSC. I live in New Mexico so am actually a little closer to Dallas than Reno. When you add up airfare, hotel, food, transportation during the shows(shuttle to and from airport, rental cars or taxis to attend the show every day), entry fees as I said way less going to Reno as opposed to Dallas. I guess you are using the Obama method of calculating expenses, smoke, mirrors and lies to determine the bottom line? He obviously gets by with it so no surprise others are able to "fool the folks" with words and no real facts, huh? Since you live in Kalifornia, I could show you exactly how to do this, but you most likely wouldn't go to SCI anyway since it's on your list of things to bad mouth. Have a great day and keep dreaming the dream.

And to the thread subject. Spent all four days at SCI, had a great time, saw lots of friends, enjoyed it to the max.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

PS - By the way you don't even have the entry fee to the SCI Show right.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
compulsory donation- that's an interesting contradiction in terms. considering you have to join SCI( $75-100), then pay the exorbitant daily entry fee($300 or so) just to get in, you have spent $400 before you pay for airfare, hotel, food, etc... contrast that to what it costs to attend DSC. the answer speaks for itself. and i wouldn't hold my breath waiting on the good old boys club to right the ship. they are the ones sinking it.

i attended the SCI for almost 20 years until i finally had a belly full of the their huge lack of ethics( do the names Mike Simpson, Dan Duncan, Kevin Anderson, AoA Adventerous Safaris, shooting game from helicopters in Russia, rhino poaching RING A BELL??). to attend SCI, a chapter membership is $100 and a national membership is $75. cost for 4 days convention admission- $300. so $375/400 to get in the door. cost to get in the door at Dallas for 4 days- $75 IIRC and no membership required. hotel room at the Silver Legacy when i was there 4 years ago- $175/night averaged over 4 days( less on Wed, Thurs, more Fri/Sat). cost per night at the Comfort Inn in Dallas 3 weeks ago- $100/night. don't know about airfare to Reno, as i always drove but round trip air from Fresno to Dallas was $450. i imagine it cost at least that much in diesel/ wear and tear for my F 350 truck to Reno( 800 miles total trip). since Dallas has a BIT better air service than Reno, i find it a bit hard to believe most people can fly to Reno cheaper than they can fly to Dallas. your mileage may vary..no rental car needed as there were plenty of people at the Comfort Inn to get a ride with. no smoke and mirrors- just cold hard dollar and cents facts..SO NO- YOU CAN'T SHOW ME A DAMN THING ABOUT HOW SCI IS CHEAPER

my apologies. when i dropped out of SCI 3 years ago, you were required to be a chapter($100) or a national member($75) to attend the convention. 4 day admission was $300. obviously that has changed.i am amazed you could get airfare AND 4 day accommodation for $326. where did you stay in case i decide to return( since it must have been about $50/night or less)? as far as mooching rides, i simply placed a post here about needing a ride and a member kindly offered( thanks again Max). different stokes for different folks but the general tone of posts here is that DSC is on the ascendency and SCI is on the decline, both with exhibitors and visitors. sorry if that upsets you( and if you think i am wrong, just read the comments)>>>>

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
... we have more churchs and horses per capita than anywhere in the States ...

Oh my gosh. I know he wasn't going to church, so that leaves ... horses?

Matt, you are one sick man!

Thats it.
I'm hangin with Matt Graham next year in Vegas.

horses are too tall. sheep are closer to the ground- and probably more familiar to people from down under!

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
horses are too tall. sheep are closer to the ground- and probably more familiar to people from down under!

That's Kiwis you are thinking of.

An Aussie bloke was trekking in the New Zealand countryside and he came across a local chap having his way with sheep pushed up against a fence. The Aussie scratched his head and said "Geez mate, that's a bloody odd thing to be doing... we prefer to shear our back home in Straya." - to which the Kiwi chap replied "Fuck that, we Kiwis dont share our sheep with anyone!!"

quote:

Originally posted by StormsGSP:
Not to mention, most people won't give a young guy the time of day.

I got that as well from a few outfitters. I can spend my money on double rifles and hunts with someone else who takes me seriously.......no problem!

Brett

I'm looking for feedback from exhibitors. Please go to this thread and respond.

http://forums.accuratereloadin...471069481#1471069481

Brett

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Graham:
At least you don't feel like disinfecting yourself and going to confession every day - like I do in Las Vegas.

Gee Matt, what exactly are you doing in Vegas?

Wendell,
what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!