Lots of interesting little things.

1- we had some registration issues. Staff bent over backwards to help us. That is the polar opposite of prior years.

2-All the hotels suck. The Peppermill has made some interesting changes. They have hundreds of video screens showing clips from all over the world. It is beautiful and fascinating.

3- I saw some things that make me think security will be much greater than past years.

4- I stole the following picture from somewhere else. It is clearly a change from the past and recognition of one of SCI’s problems. The


image hosting sites

This seems like a step in the right direction and a likely explanation for the acquisition of Texas Trophy Hunters.

Definitely some changes. Mostly good.

I think the first day attendance is up by a pretty fair amount.

Generally exhibitors are happy as SCI is actually expressing an interest in the welfare of the exhibitors.

As in last year, it is difficult to find things out of the main hall.

They realigned the halls for some reason. They have a certain amount of short cross isles for whatever reason. This is problematic for several reasons. First and foremost, one cannot just walk down many isles any longer . These cross isles block you. It is very easy to walk right by someone one is looking to see.

They have a small fraction of the seating for those who are eating as compared to DSC.

The smoothies are fantastic.

All in all, I think it is much improved.

Larry
If this question is not politically incorrect how does SCI attendance, so far, compare to DSC ?

quote:

Generally exhibitors are happy as SCI is actually expressing an interest in the welfare of the exhibitors.

Interesting

Hi Larry,

Perhaps SCI has finally listened? As I told you at DSC, it was my wife and my first time. From my perspective, I saw/see no reason to attend the SCI show any longer...period.

I felt the staff to be much friendlier, Dallas is a much cleaner city and easier travel for most. We live in Phoenix so the travel is essentially the same.

The Hotels, the choices in dining, etc Dallas hands down.

The largest delta is the cost. You well know what a gigantic difference it is to attend each.

All the outfitters I feel the need to communicate with, attend both. So for me, DSC has won out. I say that without a single harsh word about SCI's policies and or operating principles.

Enjoy the show.

Steve

Steve, I wish I'd known you were at DSC.

Me too!

I'm at SCI now, doesn't seem to be near as busy as Dallas. They are much friendlier than last year, more accommodating to exhibitors. Even a free breakfast.

I'm not sure if it's busier than last year.....

https://www.ktvn.com/clip/1499...nternational-in-town

News clip concerning the convention, interview and video of show floor.

quote:

Originally posted by JTEX:
I'm at SCI now, doesn't seem to be near as busy as Dallas. They are much friendlier than last year, more accommodating to exhibitors. Even a free breakfast.

I'm not sure if it's busier than last year.....

The Reno folks are ALWAYS friendlier than the LV crowd.

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Williams:
Steve, I wish I'd known you were at DSC.

Todd, Lane

We were there Thursday-Saturday. Stayed at the Crescent Court. Really enjoyed Dallas, its people, restaurants and hospitality.

Take care fellas.

quote:

...All the outfitters I feel the need to communicate with, attend both. So for me, DSC has won out. I say that without a single harsh word about SCI's policies and or operating principles.

Enjoy the show.

Steve

One other thing is that because DSC is earlier the hunt one wants at a particular date might be sold out by the time the show rolls into SCI.

It is a great show as usual
No complains from me

Some of the comments are interesting. What does busy mean? DSC has a smaller venue. A smaller number of people in a smaller venue would make it more congested .

There are basically 5 different rooms at SCI. The venue is definitely larger. Makes it hard to judge .

A board member told me that pre-registrations were up 29% I think was the number. It was definitely 20something %. I was also told that the waiting list has shrunk considerably.

We are going to both regardless.

"I was also told that the waiting list has shrunk considerably."

Not a very good sign on the face of it.

Have they got a much larger area now to account for this?

Or are the exhibitors are finally getting fed up with SCI system of blackmail??

Both......

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
"I was also told that the waiting list has shrunk considerably."

Not a very good sign on the face of it.

Have they got a much larger area now to account for this?

Or are the exhibitors are finally getting fed up with SCI system of blackmail??

Definitely not a good sign.

quote:

Originally posted by Milo:
Been to vegas several times but my first time in Reno - my observations:

There was a lot of security but my wife and I were able to bypass all of it when we picked up our badges on Wednesday afternoon which were not valid until the following day.
Security by theatre?

Layout was goofy. Signage was poor.

People were friendly.

Stayed at an Airbnb walking distance to convention center. Better option over hotels.

I agree about the layout and the signage. I don’t think much could be done about the layout give the building . The signage is sorely lacking in certain respects.

While I do believe the first day was busier than last year, I cannot say the same about Thursday & Friday.

I talked to some exhibitors who were just killing it. I talked to others who had zero sales .

Lots of complaining about Reno.

quote:

larryshores

posted 08 February 2020 02:20 Hide Post
While I do believe the first day was busier than last year, I cannot say the same about Thursday & Friday.

I talked to some exhibitors who were just killing it. I talked to others who had zero sales .

Lots of complaining about Reno.

Possibly spotty reports.
One outfitter told me opening day was a non-event for them. They were quite concerned.
Friday totally turned around. A much better day than they expected and they were happy.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
While I do believe the first day was busier than last year, I cannot say the same about Thursday & Friday.

I talked to some exhibitors who were just killing it. I talked to others who had zero sales .

Lots of complaining about Reno.

Were they offering the same types of hunts? Or were there specific hunts that got more traffic/interest?

These vendors were not all selling hunts. The silencer people were killing it for example .

Hard to say why some were not selling hunts . Location in the venue may have something to do with some but not all.

I don’t care what SCI says on attendance today (Friday) was a very, very slow day.

It was really nice for me. I was able to talk to a lot of different PHs and Outfitters that are normally very difficult to see at the shows.

The layout was terrible. Buzz and Myles were in a back corner on a disjointed row that started in one room and ended in another room.

I heard a lot of complaints on flights into Reno. I know my inbound flights were a pain in the ass.

I’ll be glad to see it back in Vegas.

quote:

The layout was terrible. Buzz and Myles were in a back corner on a disjointed row that started in one room and ended in another room.

They did not pay the required blackmail amount!

Vegas is a way to go

quote:

Originally posted by Texas Blue Devil:
...
I heard a lot of complaints on flights into Reno. I know my inbound flights were a pain in the ass.

I’ll be glad to see it back in Vegas.

At the last minute (a week prior) I wanted to go to SCI for a day. There were no available flights from anywhere in LA area.

Vegas I can just drive to from Southern CA.

This is my first time to the big SCI convention. I've enjoyed it. Seen some famous Outfitters/PH's here along with hunting celebrities. Put up a deposit on a hunt for 2021 and met two other Outfitters that I plan to book with in the future . Also met some regulars from Accurate Reloading. I'm overall pleased.

We have had a blast. The issues of travel to Reno are valid.

Could it be improved? Yes. Have they made some significant changes? Absolutely.

I see SCI being a much improved organization in the future.

We went to our second evening event in over 30 years of attending. It is absolutely shocking who attends. I sat not 20 feet from the mastermind of Trump’s last campaign.

Charlie Daniels basically said that he didn’t give a damn what anyone thought. He would play. Several big name country music artists are asking to play next year . One really big name says he will play for nothing .

I am sitting here thinking about it. It is interesting who is not at the show. For example, crossbow manufacturers. Safari Arms. Mokore Safaris. The list is long .

I think the traffic is down today.

Many outfitters I know had few sales. One had none. On the other hand, one I know had 17 sales of Safaris just yesterday. He said it was his best day at a convention ever.

People can say what they want. The travel issues are real. We have friends who wanted to stay tonight and fly out tomorrow instead. No flights available. We thought about leaving yesterday. No flights available.

SCI has made some monumental changes. More are coming. I think the changes are all positive/. Time will tell.

I just got a message from a friend. Their flight was oversold. They bumped 12 people who cannot get out until Monday.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I just got a message from a friend. Their flight was oversold. They bumped 12 people who cannot get out until Monday.

Tell them they should visit Lake Tahoe tomorrow. The roads up to the lake are all clear and dry right now, it’s a beautiful time of year to see the lake.

It was my first time attending the SCI show. Most outfitters I spoke with had little to nothing to show for their time spent there.

I should’ve paid attention to this forum while I was there. It would’ve been nice to put a face with some of the names.

I’ve been to DSC a couple of times and find their organizational skills and lay out give a more enjoyable experience. Plus it seems to be a little more family oriented in Dallas.

Foot around Reno seemed very easy to me. I stayed at the GSR and commuted on foot to the convention and to dinner. Never got some of the uneasy feelings that I’ve had around Dallas on foot.

Most of the guys I was talking with said it was actually pretty good as far as sales, although the foot traffic by booths was poor.

Of course, others said it was not so good.

One thing is the earlier convention will usually sell better than the later one. If you want certain dates, the earlier the better.

I wasn't really shopping this year as I was getting ready for Ethiopia this upcoming month and talking with Dave Rademeyer about that.

I don't disagree about the travel... they offered me considerable compensation for flying out monday instead of this afternoon. If they had said something about that earlier, maybe... but when you hear about it at the gate, well, not so much inclination. I really despise the overbooking of flights. The incoming weather probably played into folks wanting to get out earlier...

I agree with Larry that there seem to be some changes, and they look positive. The big thing will be to see how much continues on to Vegas next year.

Donald Trump Jr spoke Saturday night. The speech was incredible and very moving. Two donated hunts for Sitka blacktail and sea ducks in which DTJ and his son will also be going were sold. I think the total raised for both was $350,000.

I don’t look forward to the airport today.

I missed a major point. Aurelia Skipwith, the head of USFWS was there . Sat at our table actually. She also gave an incredible speech. She is very smart, she totally gets it and is on our side.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I missed a major point. Aurelia Skipwith, the head of USFWS was there . Sat at our table actually. She also gave an incredible speech. She is very smart, she totally gets it and is on our side.

She was at HSC too, not sure about DSC. Reading her Resume, she may "get it", but will she implement it.

https://auction.safariclub.org/item.aspx?i=35311827


Hunt with Donald Trump Jr. sold to floor for $150,000.

I had a blast
Didn’t book anything yet...but it’s coming
I love the show a meeting people
Get ideas about next hunt
Besides I drove...14 hrs and last night couple hours through blinding snowstorm...nothing like fun road trip

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:
https://auction.safariclub.org/item.aspx?i=35311827


Hunt with Donald Trump Jr. sold to floor for $150,000.

There were actually two hunts. I think the $150,000 was the second. I think the first went for $190,000.