Free Booze and Food! January 9th, 2027 (6th year in a row!)

mdwest said:

NZ COUNTRY - Hunting Guides New Zealand - Experience the Wild

Experience expert-guided hunting tours across New Zealand's South Island. Explore pristine landscapes and hunt premium game species with safety and expertise.

www.nzcountry.guide

BIG DAY for the door prizes / drawing pile.. My good friend, Mark Lupi @ NZ Country just confirmed the hunt his company is donating..

Up to a 380 SCI Score Red Stag plus 3 days of accomidation.. trophy fees on this hunt alone would normally be just under $9K..

If you dont know Mark (he was at the party last year), he's a great guy.. a stellar hunter.. a stellar guide.. and he's got a great team assembled around him.. my wife and I are trying to work out the details to return to NZ in either 2027 or 2028 to hunt tahr with him.. @Goopy is hunting with him in April of 2027 I believe.. I believe @roverandbrew has also been talking with him about possibly booking a hunt sometime in the near future..

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Yep- April 2027 for us!
Mark is a great guy and we are looking forward to the trip.

Hi Dave. I booked a room and planning to be there. I’ll be a newbie to this party so hoping there’s no tortuous initiation other than indulging in fine bourbon. Look forward to meeting folks. Sounds like you know how to throw a party!

Looking forward to meet you @TXbuff I will make sure the initiation is kept to a minimum

swashington said:

Hello all, coming to the TTHA convention for the first time this year and very excited to meet everyone. My wife and I went to SA last year on our honeymoon and had the time of our lives. I am coming to plan my first DG hunt. The discount on the room is incredible. Just booked it.

Can't wait for January!

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Looking forward in meeting you both, we can discuss that DG hunt you are planning

mdwest said:

More to follow after I get back home (I’m typing this from a deer blind on my phone lol)… but SUPER EXCITING news…

We do a ton of door prizes every year.. custom knives.. artwork.. optics, etc that are donated… the grand prize of the evening is always a @Bos en Dal SAFARIS hunt that some lucky party goer wins..

This year there will be THREE FREE HUNTS given away.. one in South Africa, one in Zambia, and one in New Zealand…

things just got interesting!

And since I’m ineligible for obvious reasons… I’m suddenly jealous as hell lol…

More to folllow Monday …

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WOW!

The wife and I will be attending. Thank you! I look forward to meeting everyone.

Hell yeah- just booked for the Bos en Dal Blowout! Unfortunately, I was unable to sign up for the @roversandbrew package which included liederhosen and a chicken mask. Is there some sort of costume party attached to this?

Mark told me that he’s doing some blowout pricing for the event. I sent him my wish list to see what he can do. If you’re looking to get a deal at the party, this is the time to send him your list.

Speaking of Mark..

He just let me know this morning that R&M Firearms is donating this to the door prize / drawing pile of goodies:



That scope retails for $1200 at your big box retailers like Scheels, Cabelas, etc..

We're SUPER GRATEFUL for the support R&M has given us every year with this party.. they have been on board since the very first one.. and every time we step things up a bit and try to do something a little bigger and better, they step up right beside us...

As always, I ask people attending the party, please support the people that support us.. Once a year we get several dozen AH members in the same room and have a great time.. We couldnt do it without the support of folks like the good people at R&M.

Like @LimbNoMo mentioned above.. Mark is arranging some stellar pricing for folks attending the party... if youre in the market for an optic or binos or anything else hunting or firearms related, reach out to him via PM and let him know in advance what youre looking for and he might be able to bring it to you in January (no 4473 items).. Or.. just bring your credit cards.. He'll be set up to sell you lots of goodies on the spot as well

https://www.marriott.com/event-rese...NSy0qysxLj08qyi8vTi2ydc4oys9NBQDbC2mcYQAAAA==

Just making sure I continue to pepper the hotel link throughout the thread so no one misses it..

If youre needing a place to stay, the Marriott in Allen, TX (north DFW) is providing rooms at $89 a night for anyone attending the party.. they are extending this rate for the entire period of TTHA (Wed - Sun) so that people arriving early all the way through the end can get the rate for as many nights as they need.. If youre planning on coming to the party and need a place, this hotel is normally $205-$365 a night depending on the time of year, how booked they are, and whats going on in the city.. $89 is an outrageously good deal..

How is parking at the convention center? Have never been to Dallas and it looks like renting a vehicle is the smart choice while staying at the Marriott.

There is parking on site. Last I recall it was about $20 a day. You can hit the meters on the street if you’re lucky. Parking also available at the Omni, but I believe the bridge to the convention center will be closed this year.

Parking at the Marriott is easy and is free for people attending the party.. they normally charge $25 a night at the Marriott but waived it for anyone booking using the party link.. they have a large 4 story parking garage attached to the back of the hotel.

At the Kay Bailey Convention Center parking can be a bitch.. but I dont think it will be terrible for TTHA.. it will be crowded, but there should be plenty of spots... when huge events like the World Cup are in town its insanity down there..

If you get to the show early theres a parking lot right across from the convention center, literally 100 yards from the doors.. its about $20 a day I think.. but its not a big lot.. it will be full by 9AM Im sure..

If not, there are several other lots within reasonable walking distance..

swashington said:

How is parking at the convention center? Have never been to Dallas and it looks like renting a vehicle is the smart choice while staying at the Marriott.

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Uber isn't a bad option either. Save the hassle of driving, navigating and parking fees.

Seems Uber would be quite a bit from the hotel and back. Any experience on the cost?

Uber and Lyft have a weird laddered cost/rate they use in Dallas depending on the time of day and the location.. for example a ride from the airport to Allen (where the hotel is) can be as cheap as $40.. but Ive also seen them go as high as $90 for the exact same ride..

My guess is from the Marriott to Kay Bailey would be pretty similar.. its roughly the same distance as the airport (slightly closer to Kay Baily, just in a different direction), but again youre dealing with a location that Im sure their algorhytm and AI will know has a major event going on, etc..

All of that said, I dont see TTHA being a huge Uber type event.. so their rates MIGHT stay reasonable (call it $80 a day for round trip.. which would probably be cheaper than a rental car plus parking plus fuel).. they really stick it to people going to major concerts at American Airlines Arena, the airport during peak hours, etc.. because they know they can.. 90% of everyone attending TTHA is either going to be local, or staying at hotels downtown.. So I dont know that Uber will really see an opportunity to break it off in you..

All of that said.. last year we probably had 20+ people that attended the party all stay at the Marriott.. this year the crowd will likely be significantly bigger (I think 35 or 40 room nights are already booked).. guys staying at the Marriott all coordinated and car pooled and/or shared Ubers.. which kept the costs way down..

Thanks, that answers that, Uber it is!

swashington said:

Thanks, that answers that, Uber it is!

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I just checked Uber.. if I called for UberX right now from my house to Kay Bailey Hutchenson Convention Center, its $56... Im 3 miles further out than the hotel.. so I think $50 each way is probably about right... $100 a day round trip..

My recommendation would be to coordinate with all the other guys that are staying at the Marriott (several have already posted in the thread.. several more will as we get closer to the party happening) and see about sharing Ubers or riding with someone that brought their car.. you should be able to cut that number in half or even to 1/3 pretty easily..

Talked with the babysitters (a.k.a. my folks) and we’ll book a room for the night. Can’t beat the rate and it saves us the 90 mile drive home.

FYI on the subject of parking at the convention center, like Dave said, the primo parking is the small lot 100 yards from the door. We were lucky two years in a row and found someone leaving and grabbed their spot. The other two times, I parked in the federal lot (a couple of blocks down) and another municipal lot (a couple of blocks down by the only log cabin still standing in metro Dallas), neither was more than $25…for those of you coming from big cities like NYC, Chicago or LA, parking by the convention center is going to seem like a breeze.
With the amount of AH folks staying at the Marriott bacchanalia, group riding makes sense- maybe I should’ve phrased it “group ride sharing” as opposed to “group riding”…