as you get ready for the hunting shows

people ,
just thought i would put a few thoughts out there as you get ready for the hunting shows in january -
its overwhelming entering a hall with thousands of operators , all with the "deal" of the century , world class camps the highest scoring animals in africa- here are a few things to remember/consider as you plan ..

if you are going to book a hunt start looking now through websites and hunts so you arrive with a pretty clear list of what you want , perhaps who you want and what the going price and conditions are for what you want

dont be sucked in by the "well we have just this one left and they may never be available again" there is a once in a lifetime deal out there almost every day , if one slips you by , dont worry another will be coming shortly.

dont ask about the biggest one shot last year , ask about the average - if someone took a 100 pounder in their area guess what - that one is dead and there probably werent two of them

most of all , have fun , meet some new friends , enjoy the atmosphere , artwork , gunmakers and other offerings - its a great opportunity to just mix with some likeminded people -

i will be at both dallas and reno and would welcome the opportunity to meet some of you while you are there ,

best wishes for the christmas season ,
imc

Some sound advice Ivan, just finished reading your article about Magical Maasailand, once again an awesome bit of writing!!!!

thank you patrick i appreciate the compliment ..

Ivan - Real, useful advice that that carries value for all. Your post, TV shows and articles offer a balance of entertainment, information and education. As always it is a pleasure.

Ivan,
Your show is tops with us!
Having been doing the shows as observers for over 10 years now there will always be another "deal of the century"!
People need to follow your comments here as they are right on.
The wife and I are going up against Craig B. with our seminar "Africa-What's Stopping You?" Hope he has enough overflow to fill our room :-) We feel like David against Goliath right now :-)

Good advice Ivan, and while a good product might not always be the cheapest, it often sells itself.....

My best always.

yes jaco you are dead right , if you base your decision on price alone better br9ing a firesuit because you will likely be burned - people prepared to pay a little more end up often getting a LOT more experience , trust me , the guy who has key permits available in june for that same year may be the only one who believes his area is the best ! yes there are cancellations , yes stuff happens but on the whole top operators with great areas get full price on their offerings .

thanks for the kind words stretch , and cliffy dont worry i am sure you will have great attendance , i feel the same way at seminars and always find myself wondering what i will do if only one or two people show up ! Sometimes outdoor channel and others have signings at their booths and its always a little stressful wondering if anyone will come !

Excellent points. There is nothing wrong with looking for a less expensive outfitter when hunting. However, if something sounds too good to be true, it often is. Often times, for a little bit of extra money, you get a significantly better overall experience.

Ivan

You have some good points.

I do like to look at the different vendors and pick up a brochure from a few different ones. And maybe sign up for there e mail offers, if i think at the time they are offering something i am looking for.

When i go to a Show in 2013, i will be looking at booking for 2014 and not 2013. This allow me the time to ask for references and try and book favorable time to go for the species that i am looking for. See what opening that they have available for the year i am looking. This provided time to trade e mails to work out the details, prior to putting a deposit down.

Plus this gives me a chance to look at locations that i have never been before. Like different country, and areas in a country.

Things that i look at are travel from the airport to the hunting concession. Weather it be road or charter flight. Other things to do prior or after the time in the bush.

I basically try to put a total cost on the safari package prior to booking the safari.

i think ivan may have talked me into returning to africa in 2014. i had a less than pleasurable experience this year and it left a bad taste in my mouth. however i remember my safari of 2011 where i took my 2 yr old, 4yr old, 14yr old and my wife. that has to be the most memorable hunt ive ever been on. my wife is a little tired of the sci banquet so we sre going to try dsc this year and possibly try talking with you ivan on ideas to make our family safari even better than last time. i was just curious to get your input on one last subject. there were rumors on this forum about arnold payne working with the zim govnmt to take one of the save properties from its long time owners at gun point. now im seeing that craig boddington has a hunt in the auction catalog for sci in reno this year. it states its a new concession to the owner and that mike payne will be the guide and that craig will be filming the hunt for his new tv show. is this mike any relation to arnold? have you heard of the rumors that arnold was in some sort of land take over deal? i talked to a guy on facebook who hunted that exact property and he said arnold payne and his parents treTed him great last year and that he had a great hunt. you know an awful lot of the goings on in africa so i would appreciate any advice you have on this as it is definitely supported by sci and i was shocked to see this in the sci auction guide just 1 hr prior to writing this.

Ivan,

Next to safari, the DSC and SCI shows are my favorite activities. There are not many things that will make me give up a weekend of duck hunting.

Katherine and I will arrive on Jan 2nd and leave at closing on Sunday. Looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones.

Tap,

Mike and Arnold are not connected.

I did not see in the SCI auction that the hunt you referenced was a new concession. Maybe I missed it. It did mention that Craig's show is new. Save Safaris has been on the Save for over 10 years if I am not mistaken.

Arnold Payne, Tiki and Ken Drummond are marketing hunts on Savuli, which was illegally taken over by Shuvai Mahofa from Terry Anders and others.

I've been to SCI Reno, but never to Big D. I'm planning on being in Dallas on Friday and Saturday. i was very impressed with the show itself in Reno, but not very impressed with the masses. Seems most of the participants were stuffed shirt types who tried to impress people with how wealthy they are. I't was pretty pathetic really but fits the SCI mold IMO. I hope the DSC crowd is different.