My wife and I got to the show around 10 AM this morning. The crowd was light and some of the booths were not open. One booth still had not opened when we left in the early afternoon. We could not decide if they had sold all of their hunts or were suffering a hangover.

There was an assortment of stuff from jewelry and Kabota lawn tractors to what you would normally expect at a Safari show. Everyone we talked with was very nice. A couple of vendors said that the crowd was light all day Friday but there were a lot of buyers as opposed to tire kickers. All in all we enjoyed ourselves.

Parking was $10.00 and the show was $5.00 each. We had a little over an hour ride from our home to the show which was no problem. It was a fun way to kill a Saturday.

On the down side, there were no big names such as Boddington and Carter there.

On the other hand, and hopefully satisfying our more politically correct people on racial attendance, we saw three different black men there that were not seemingly known to each other.

I did not even know there was an Atlanta show. How many vendors? All hunting or includes a little of everything?

It was mostly outfitters and taxidermists plus a Dakota rifle vendor and a couple of guys from Duluth that build rifles.

I do not have a count of the vendors but not a very big show. Still worth the money especially if it is close to you.

I was there Fri. afternoon and Sat. The Georgia SCI state chapter had their auction next door and they combined the two. I have a lioness hunt booked with John Sharp in the BVC for 2014 and wanted to talk to him and get the latest FACTS on the availability of the tags. This is what he told me, as of Sat. they had not issued any lioness tags OR non-trophy ele bull tags on the BVC. The plan is right now to go on with the hunts BUT the lioness NOR the non-trophy ele bull will be exportable but will be had at a discounted rate. They still hope to work things out for this year, as far as my hunt in "14, who knows. He said hopefully by the shows next year they will have things worked out.

I also attended Friday and Saturday. No parking fees Friday so the $10 tab Saturday was a sour note.

I also visited with John Sharp. I hunted Zimbabwe in 2002 with an outfit that's no longer in business (thankfully) so if I had the wherewithall to go back, it would definitely be with Sharp. He's a class act.

I also spent some time with Jo and Ken Ball who own Shi-awela, an RSA hunting operation in the Limpopo Province. Fine folks--a friend of mine who posts here occasionallyand has 20+ safaris under his belt has hunted with them for the past several years, and gives the Balls high marks.

Visited with Darrel McMicken, d/b/a McMicken Taxidermy out of Cartersville, GA. Darrel is a second-generation taxidemist who did all my African trophies, as well as some North American animals. He just cannot be beat.

I talked to several African outfitters, and all said they were having a good show. Some were getting money-down bookings, while others had strong prospects.

Considering the cost ($5 pp entry plus $10 to park) it was a great chance to talk to some really nice folks, both from here and across the pond.