If one joins SCI, will they be able to attend the convention for free? I have been trying to see if there is an admission ticket but can't find this info. Thanks.

You will pay another $100-200 per day. I have been a member a couple of times, the convention is full on ass rape.

Considering a lot of other shows are like $20-30 per day.

One has to pay. I would hate to swear what the cost would be. It varies depending on what one wants to attend. More days cost more money. Attendance at the evening events has an additional cost.

Thank you very much. Certainly not paying that.

Nor I.

In fairness to SCI, it is enormously expensive to put on a show.

Join DSC, their show is only $20 a day, less if buy more days.

everybody should go at least once.

I think I paid $275 for the four day pass.

Only SCI members can attend, whereas DSC is open to anyone.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
In fairness to SCI, it is enormously expensive to put on a show.

Very true and how much of that cost is subsidized by the exhibitors? - I know the rates for a booth (floor space) are not cheap and more according to its location; furniture and fittings are all extra.
I would say its a bit of a rip-off to impose such a high entrance fee to its members and if non-members were to be granted access I wonder how much they would charge?
The SCI Convention is nothing more than an expensive pie, with a number of players getting their fair share!

I've taken my daughters and neighbor kids to dozens of regional Outdoor/Sportsman's shows. Its great to see whole families enjoying all the different exhibits and even a fishing pond. However, once a year, my wife and I go to the SCI show. It's our get-away to attend the largest and most exclusive hunters convention in the world. Yes, it's expensive, but about the time SCI drops the price and allows non-members and whole families with babies in strollers to attend, that will probably be about it for us. We are there to book a trip, attend seminars, catch up on political, environmental and conservation issues. We take it pretty serious and don't want to compete with families that spent $100 on entrance fees for a day of entertainment.

Just speaking from our point of view and opinion.

Honestly, the cost doesn't phase me. It is a unique experience that cannot be had anywhere else. Given what we pay for these trips, the cost to attend is a drop in the bucket.

The comments are not intended to disparage DSC. I love that show. We go every year. SCI is different, certainly larger.

Second to Larry
It's worth it just to see everything

Folks,

I have to agree with Larry. There isn't anything that quite compares to the SCI show. If the SCI show is just not in the budget please do go to DSC but DSC is just not the show that SCI is. Even if I was not in the business I'd still go to the SCI show instead of DSC.

Mark

It's a tradeshow, just like any other tradeshow in America. Charging $100.00 to get in is ludicrous. They do it 'cause there's enough suckers (they think they're big shots) that'll pay it.

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Folks,

I have to agree with Larry. There isn't anything that quite compares to the SCI show. If the SCI show is just not in the budget please do go to DSC but DSC is just not the show that SCI is. Even if I was not in the business I'd still go to the SCI show instead of DSC.

Mark

Mark,

I obviously love DSC and it's in my backyard. One of these days, I will attend SCI. It may be only to see what you say. I'm not really a "bigger is better" guy, but it might be worth it.

DCS,

If I was an attendee and lived in Dallas I probably would not come out to SCI either. If I had to travel anyway and I was only going to one show it would be SCI although its moving back to Reno makes it a little less appealing to me.

Mark

Not only is it not free, you can not come in to the SCI show without becoming a member.

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:
Not only is it not free, you can not come in to the SCI show without becoming a member.

If I was an outfitter I would prefer that. At least you know the people walking by your booth already has some interest in hunting (being an member) and not just someone trying to kill an afternoon and have no interest in booking a hunt. I call that a target rich environment.

quote:

Originally posted by jeff32:

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:
Not only is it not free, you can not come in to the SCI show without becoming a member.

If I was an outfitter I would prefer that. At least you know the people walking by your booth already has some interest in hunting (being an member) and not just someone trying to kill an afternoon and have no interest in booking a hunt. I call that a target rich environment.

Curious, why would you want to limit your audience? Personally I think SCI does it intentionally because they do not want the convention to be a family event . . . same reason they hold the convention in Reno and Las Vegas. Again, seems shortsighted to me to be excluding other potential members, children that represent the future of the sport, etc. . . . but then again so much of what SCI does seems shortsighted to me.

Children are free at SCI up to the age of 17. I take a number of my grandchildren every year. Others take their own children. This year there were a number of elementary school children's groups and at least one high school group of students there as well.

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
Children are free at SCI up to the age of 17. I take a number of my grandchildren every year. Others take their own children. This year there were a number of elementary school children's groups and at least one high school group of students there as well.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Personally I think SCI does it intentionally because they do not want the convention to be a family event . . . same reason they hold the convention in Reno and Las Vegas. Again, seems shortsighted to me to be excluding other potential members, children that represent the future of the sport, etc. . . . but then again so much of what SCI does seems shortsighted to me.

. . . I did not say that they do not tolerate children . . . I said they do not structure the event to encourage attendance by children. You see a much younger crowd at DSC than you do at SCI.

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:
Not only is it not free, you can not come in to the SCI show without becoming a member.

I always thought this was to keep the antis out.

Actually, the members-only policy was founder C.J. McElroy's idea and has been in effect ever since the club's first convention. As for "limiting the audience," that hasn't seemed to be a problem. In the 28 years I attended, the aisles were crowded and it was tough to get around the halls on peak days.

Bill Quimby

I saw what looked like a school field trip at SCI convention this year.It was good to see that.

A cup of coffee is $5! Said organic coffee!

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:

quote:

Originally posted by jeff32:

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:
Not only is it not free, you can not come in to the SCI show without becoming a member.

If I was an outfitter I would prefer that. At least you know the people walking by your booth already has some interest in hunting (being an member) and not just someone trying to kill an afternoon and have no interest in booking a hunt. I call that a target rich environment.

Curious, why would you want to limit your audience? Personally I think SCI does it intentionally because they do not want the convention to be a family event . . . same reason they hold the convention in Reno and Las Vegas. Again, seems shortsighted to me to be excluding other potential members, children that represent the future of the sport, etc. . . . but then again so much of what SCI does seems shortsighted to me.

I would rather have a smaller, more concentrated group vs a larger, more diluted group walking by my booth knowing they're interested in hunting and in my opinion more likely to book a hunt compared to random Joe or Jane walking by and window shopping.

It is a little dishearting to see every kid with his bag picking up those $5.00 brochures, and some adults are as bad, then you see the trash cans being filled with those bags as the "prospective clients" walk out!! but such is life in the big city!

quote:

Originally posted by jeff32:

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:

quote:

Originally posted by jeff32:

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:
Not only is it not free, you can not come in to the SCI show without becoming a member.

If I was an outfitter I would prefer that. At least you know the people walking by your booth already has some interest in hunting (being an member) and not just someone trying to kill an afternoon and have no interest in booking a hunt. I call that a target rich environment.

Curious, why would you want to limit your audience? Personally I think SCI does it intentionally because they do not want the convention to be a family event . . . same reason they hold the convention in Reno and Las Vegas. Again, seems shortsighted to me to be excluding other potential members, children that represent the future of the sport, etc. . . . but then again so much of what SCI does seems shortsighted to me.

I would rather have a smaller, more concentrated group vs a larger, more diluted group walking by my booth knowing they're interested in hunting and in my opinion more likely to book a hunt compared to random Joe or Jane walking by and window shopping.

. . sort of hard to grow the congregation just preaching to the choir.

Maybe more members should be encouraged to bring their children and grandchildren. Free is free. Not sure what SCI could further do to encourage attendance by children than to let them in for free with a member. Mine that come with me and my wife love every minute of it! And, the outfitters and others there, for the most part, seem to be very hospitable to the kids. Moreover, SCI always has their semi trailer with the Safari Sensory there too.

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
Maybe more members should be encouraged to bring their children and grandchildren. Free is free. Not sure what SCI could further do to encourage attendance by children than to let them in for free with a member. Mine that come with me and my wife love every minute of it! And, the outfitters and others there, for the most part, seem to be very hospitable to the kids. Moreover, SCI always has their semi trailer with the Safari Sensory there too.

I brought my son to the SCI convention for the first time this year. It is not easy to bring a child unless you let them skip school. The show ends on Saturday. We flew out of Houston Friday evening, after school. So we only had one day at the show. We had fun, but definitely could have used another day.

There are lots of direct flights to Vegas so it was doable. Reno is not viable, no direct flights. Not worth it, for such a short trip.

quote:

Originally posted by Texas Blue Devil:

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
Maybe more members should be encouraged to bring their children and grandchildren. Free is free. Not sure what SCI could further do to encourage attendance by children than to let them in for free with a member. Mine that come with me and my wife love every minute of it! And, the outfitters and others there, for the most part, seem to be very hospitable to the kids. Moreover, SCI always has their semi trailer with the Safari Sensory there too.

I brought my son to the SCI convention for the first time this year. It is not easy to bring a child unless you let them skip school. The show ends on Saturday. We flew out of Houston Friday evening, after school. So we only had one day at the show. We had fun, but definitely could have used another day.

There are lots of direct flights to Vegas so it was doable. Reno is not viable, no direct flights. Not worth it, for such a short trip.

Thinking about it, I don't recall seeing many children at SCI.

. . . Reno and Las Vegas are such "kid friendly" venues as well . . .

What's the matter, Mike?

Don't you think the kids enjoy that walk from the hotel room through the casino every morning - past the seedy gamblers still pounding back hard liquor and feeding the slots at the break of dawn, through the nicotine haze and the random drunks?

I have taken both my boys in years past.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
. . . Reno and Las Vegas are such "kid friendly" venues as well . . .

It was no big deal. For us, it wasn't much different than Dallas. After the show, we walked over to our room. A little later we jumped in a cab over to Forum Shops and had dinner at Joe's Steak and Stone Crab. We walked around the mall a bit, then back to the room.

I recently went to a Houston Rocket game. The walk from my parking garage on Main Street to the Toyota Center was wayyyyyyyyyyyyy worse than any of our walks in Vegas.

Vegas is easy from a logistics standpoint. Lots of direct flights. Good weather, minimal flight delays.

I can't figure out why you charge members $300-400 to get into a place where people are selling things they want to buy. Attendees HAVE to be a member( $75)to even get in AFTER they pay the outrageous entry. Take your wife and you spend almost $900 to get in the door. Unless your are local, it's $3-4000 to go. At least DSC allows anyone to come in for 1/4 the fee, no membership requirement and easy flight access.

Must be something about Las Vegas being 'kid friendly'as we have the 5th largest school district in the US, plenty of churches, a myriad of horse properties, a Community College system, a well established University, including a dental school, law school, medical school, engineering school, physical therapy school, etc, a ski/snowboard resort, the largest man-made lake in North America for recreation, a cutting edge state of the art cultural venue, plenty of children's museums, the NFR/Cowboy Christmas, a first class world shooting park, RMEF Christmas, tons of conventions, world class entertainment and food, world class concert venues and a number of the largest master planned communities in the US. By the way, for all you self-righteous naysayers, there's nothing in Vegas that you don't already have in your own lovely little home towns. Been there and done that, having lived in plenty of other places and having seen it all for myself. Take a look around. And no, we don't all live in hotels on the strip. We just have to put up with all of you out of state convention assholes coming to 'live it up'.

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
Must be something about Las Vegas being 'kid friendly'as we have the 5th largest school district in the US, plenty of churches, a myriad of horse properties, a well established University, a-Community College system, a ski resort, the largest man-made lake in North America for recreation, a cutting edge state of the art cultural venue, plenty of children's museums, the NFR/Cowboy Christmas, a first class world shooting park, RMEF Christmas, tons of conventions, world class entertainment and food, world class concert venues and a number of the largest master planned communities in the US. By the way, for all you self-righteous naysayers, there's nothing in Vegas that you don't already have in your own lovely little home towns. Been there and done that, having lived in plenty of other places and having seen it all for myself. Take a look around. And no, we don't all live in hotels on the strip. We just have to put up with all of you out of state assholes coming to 'live it up'.

You're the asshole. If it wasn't for "out of sate assholes" gambling, Las Vegas wouldn't have a damn gas station, much less a city. Oh wait, they would probably have changed the laws and had a whore house.

That's state, not sate. And you sir, can kiss my ass. Carrying on, there's also Nellis Air Force Base, the Las Vegas Speedway, etc, etc. You get the point.