If anyone is planning on attending the Charlotte NC show I would hope to see you there. My son and I are going down on Sat. 19th.
It is not Dallas but will help.

Ed

Ed, I live nearby and will be there. If I can be of any help with you or any others on AR with Logistics please let me know.

I will PM you details on how to reach me

i will be there and look forward to meeting you ....

To anyone coming, I live near Charlotte and if there is anyway I can be of help or assistance please contact me and let me know what I can do to help. I do not know anyone involved in the show but the fact that I live here would like to see the show grow to some prominence. -direct cell is 980-328-0204 but please wait until this Friday to call me.

Regards,

Larry

I will be there.

I will be there but only Friday...think I have to work a gun show in Raleigh Sat/Sun.

Why not try to get all of us together on Friday evening. Again, if I can help anyone with logistica I am glad to help. Call me at 980-328-0204

Just noticed Ed would not be there until Saturday. I will probably be there both days.

Look forward to seeing all the AR friends in Concord, NC (Charlotte) next week at the African Sporting Expo (ASE). Be sure to support and attend the Friends of the NRA North Carolina Banquet Friday January 19th that is being held in conjunction with the ASE show in Concord. We all need to support the NRA now more than ever!

I'll be there either Friday or Saturday. Hope to meet a couple of AR members.

I've finally retired from my "hard to plan ahead" job and so I can plan my first African trip. The missus will join me in NC...and, perhaps, we can sell her on a trip to Namibia.

Fantastic! Namibia is an incredible place! We look forward to having you at the show.

Ed -- I'd looked forward to meeting you but, alas, we will be there Friday spending the night at the Embassy Suites and returning to Greenville Saturday morning.

BigBBear -- I'm up for a drink Friday evening if folks would like to get together and put faces to names.

quote:

Originally posted by KSAFARIS:
Look forward to seeing all the AR friends in Concord, NC (Charlotte) next week at the African Sporting Expo (ASE). Be sure to support and attend the Friends of the NRA North Carolina Banquet Friday January 19th that is being held in conjunction with the ASE show in Concord. We all need to support the NRA now more than ever!

Let me echo the invitation from KSAFARIS to attend the Friends of the NRA banquet Friday night. They are a tax exempt NRA foundation that funds shooting ranges, youth shooting and hunting programs and a host of other worthwhile programs. I help with our local fnra show each year and hope the banquet goes well there.

Tom

Hi Guys - I will be exhibiting at the Charlotte Show - BOOTH 302 - So please come by and pay me a visit. Look forward to seeing you there!

Matt, I am good for the drink Friday night and as I just finished my trophy room you guys are welcome to come here for one as well. The Concord area is about 30+ minutes from my house depending on traffic. Why not pick a time and as Mark DeWet is an exhibitor lets meet at his booth or at Ivans. If we have the great weather again this weekend that we had last one we can even get out on the lake. It was 73 degrees here. My number is somewhere already on this thread so give me a cal lin advance and we can plan. For out of towners I am also willing to help with logistics, etc.

Larry

Larry - I'll give you a call Friday afternoon at the show.

Cheers,
Matt

Can anybody give feedback on the show , we exhibited 2 years ago but have not done so since , keen to hear how it went

Jeffh,flg767,Badgermatt, twoseventy and doj you guys are welcome to meet at my booth. The show is not large by any means as it is all in one hall, and you will be able to get by in an a couple of hours, depending on how much time you spend visiting. Would really like to meet my fellow AR members so please catch up with me at the booth - maybe we can find some common ground and discuss some hunting opportunities. Look forward to meeting you guys.

I did the show for two years, and was very dissapointed with the attendance and the fact that they change the venue every year. Coupled with the same money that goes into one of the big shows, I decided not to go this year. Some of my good friends signed up for three years, and I'm looking forward to their feedback.

I loved the city and the people though, and would go back in a heart beat if it changes!

Enjoy!

Charl, weren't you specifically asked not to come back? :-)

So that's why I couldn't find you today, Charl....you weren't there! Dang!

Today (Friday) rather quiet - not too many people through the door - hoping tomorrow will pick up. Did however manage to meet up Badgermatt and BigBBear for a drink after the show - thanks guys for coming by for a visit - much appreciated. Looking forward to a better day tomorrow - and catching up with a few more AR members !

Hey MarK, not much going on this side!
Do you have any gin in your booth!
John

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ftg767:
So that's why I couldn't find you today, Charl....you weren't there! Dang![/QUOTE

Fred, I thought I mentioned it to you that I decided not to do the show again? I contemplated visiting my good friend Willie Roux's booth, but I got bussy up here in Iowa!

Biebs, you do not know how they begged me to come back!

My wife and I had a nice time at the show. It was great to meet Die Ou Jagter and BigBBear as well as talk with Mark Dewet, Marina Lamprecht (Hunters Namibia), Louis & Carien van Bergen (Spiral Horn Safaris), and Steve Turner (Travel with Guns)...and a few other outfits.

I'll post a few more impressions tomorrow, but everyone did a great job helping convince my "I really hate flying" wife she shouldn't miss the opportunity to accompany me to Africa.

Went to the show today. Small, but a nice layout. Very light traffic-

Spent a good half hour with Ivan and Jofie Lamprecht. Ivan could not have been more gracious. He was a real pleasure to meet and get to know. He is an excellent ambassador for hunting. I will definitely hunt with him! Unfortunately I believe he is all booked up for this year and just a few openings for next year.

We talked about a few different hunts, the state of hunting, our families...

Chatted with a Namibian outfit (Pro Guiding) who had an ele hunt on communal lands for $19,500. Also spent some time with Spiral Horn Safaris- Louis was very impressive and I thought he would be a good man to hunt with.

I wish we could show our African guests a better turnout! Keep the show in mind for next year, and consider attending in addition to or as an alternative to the big shows. Much quieter and easier to meet and chat with PHs.

There were people selling hunts for Spain, NZ, quite a few Namibians, Coutada 10 in Mozambique, and I think only 1 or 2 US hunting outfitters. Kreighoff was there as well as a shooting school in Texas.

Best of luck to all exhibitors and again consider going next year!

I met one other AR member deeremachinist and his wife. They were a pleasure to chat with as well.

Last- this would be a great show for a first timer. It is a very laid back and low key atmosphere and you can really get to know the PHs as opposed to say SCI where lots of the booths are 3-4 deep and you have to wait to talk to an outfitter, and with limited time.

Ivan is the good looking one in the photo and Jofie is in thebackground wearing the hat:

Just got back from second day at the show. Sorry I did not meet 404 but I did see Badger Matt and wife, Mark DeWet, Die O jaeger and son who I have all corresponded with on AR. Had a good chat with Ivan and show organizers about next year and talked a lot about our PH relief fund and getting organized. Lots of good ideas and more to come on that. I agree in general with 404. Definately a great show for first timers. I saw some old friends such as Conroe Taxidermy, Steve Turner, Sanctuary, Deweys pawn shop, and met some great new people. For example, and I guess none of us knew but KSafaris is the wife of one of the show organizers and a pretty lady as well. She is one of the marketing minds behind the show. I am of course a sucker for the girls and I also got to know Marina Lamprecht who was great to talk to well as her son Jofie. She wants to get on AR more and I encouraged her to do so and told her you were all a bunch of first class guys. Really is a show that can grow and the crowd today was fairly steady. It is a small show of course and you can see it in about a couple of hours but it will get better. Next year I think we can plan more of an AR get together.

Had nice half day at the show, I say that because you could basically take all in in a half a day. I don't want real big show but it would be nice to see other parts of the world represented. Personally I think the name of the show reduces the visitors as most people think it is for African outfitters only and only for people interested in African hunting. I am not saying this is bad in and of its self but does limit the appeal to hunters. I really would have liked to seen more European outfitters (Mark you know I will always return to Africa) for varity. I did stop by the Hunting Cons. and got lit about Liberia - little guys you know!

It was good meeting Big Bear and Matt (you got to hunt with Mark) sorry I missed other AR's. Son had a good time - maybe he will fly to Africa some day soon.

All in all it was a good trip.