DSC and SCI Your thoughts?

[Philip Glass]

Go to the shows. The first time for me was overwhelming. I spent three days touring the floor and accomplished nothing. The second I was focused, had my head in the game and met with and spent a lot of time learning about what should be important to me not just what I thought I knew.

The third time I took in a few seminars put on by selected outfitter speakers. One of the seminars was given by Marina Lamprecht, a true gentlelady by every sense and spirit of the words definition, and a true ambassador of hunting, conservation and Namibia.

Go. You will not regret it

But it's fun to get lost in all of it!

 

[Philip Glass]

Don’t forget SCI owns TTHA African show in Dallas in January
I’m not going to either Nashville or Atlanta, I think my money is better spent and 3x that $$$ on same with hunting partner and our wives ( hotel, food, airfare, ) on my safari,
When TTHA is going to Dallas 3.5 hours away from house

TTHA has become a fun show and I'll be there!

 

[Philip Glass]

I’m a long time DSC life member, and volunteered for many years at the DSC show…


I’ll be at TTHA this year if that says anything to anyone…

I know of numerous AH sponsors and members that will also be at TTHA..

I’m guessing the number of booths at TTHA grow by 50% this year and that the number of people that attend TTHA will be more than double that attend DSC… the more people I talk to, the more it looks like that’s how things will shake out for January 2026…

TTHA OX will be fun and different as the smaller outfitters will be able to get in Easier than SCI which has a long waiting list. It will feature some different faces for sure!

 

[Surgeon1]

TTHA will be my destination this year. I won't go back to Atlanta or DSC after years of going! I'll be headed back to Uganda so SCI is off this coming year as dates conflict. Western States Sportsman show in Salt Lake is a fun show too.

 

[mdwest]

TTHA will be my destination this year. I won't go back to Atlanta or DSC after years of going! I'll be headed back to Uganda so SCI is off this coming year as dates conflict. Western States Sportsman show in Salt Lake is a fun show too.

If you’re coming to TTHA, plan on attending the @Bos en Dal SAFARIS party that we’ll be throwing at our house… we’ve done it for the last 3 years.. always a great time..

I’m guessing we’ll have 60 guests this year… most of which will be AH members…

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

All new to this but was wandering what is the general consensus on joining or attending one of their shows.
I am still in the planning stages of trying to pick where I want to go and which outfitter to go with. Will joining either of these organizations help with this? I have been a long time member of the NWTF and a short time member of TFT. I know the good work both of these organizations do for the wild turkey but I also see the money grab and hunter/customer recruitment the NWTF has become in the last 20 years. I am considering attending the DSC summer event in Texas if this would help put me face to face with outfitters. But then I realize most are probably not in the states this time of year.

JB,

SCI NASHVILLE
I think the best known quantity for the shows early next year will be SCI in Nashville. SCI has been at this location now for I think 3 years and it's been nothing short of very successful for SCI. The one thing SCI had is lots of experience moving the shows to new locations and they did not skip a beat the first year in Nashville. In fact it was so successful that it changed SCI plans to keep the show there for quite awhile. It may move again sometime in the future, I can't remember off the top of my head what the future plans are. @Philip Glass I'm sure could tell us quickly, or perhaps a look at the SCI website. So for you being a first timer, I'd recommend SCI Nashville first. It is overwhelming if you walk into the SCI convention as a first timer if you don't do some planning in advance. Trust me I did that in 2011 in Reno, just walking into the hall for the first time was daunting. So if you decide to do this show, get on board early and make a plan for outfitters you wish to begin with. If financially possible I would plan on spending at least 3 days at the show. Two days is just not enough to take it all in when you're new to the shows. A fourth day may be more than necessary but can be useful if you want to nail down and finalize plans with an outfitter on that morning of the last day.

DSC ATLANTA
DSC is still a bit of a wildcard IMO. Quite frankly DSC by their own admission dropped the ball on their first show in Atlanta. I think this was exacerbated by DSC not having much experience in moving a show around, only within Dallas if I have my facts straight. Moving to a whole new city and a fair ways from Texas changed the logistical planning significantly and I don't think they were prepared. The weather in Atlanta, not by any stretch within DSC's control only served to kick the ball into further chaos. It's very easy to have been soured on DSC with everything that happened, and I include myself in being disappointed with what transpired. But, I believe DSC can and will recover, and I most certainly hope they do. However that remains to be seen and that puts them still as a wildcard. I would not expect the weather to be an issue again as it was this year and that will be a big net positive for DSC.

TTHA DALLAS
I was at this show this year covering for @JKO HUNTING SAFARIS while Jacques was in Atlanta that same weekend for DSC. It was a good first year for them at the DSC convention. But I would not say that it was what I would expect and experienced at SCI Nashville nor what I've come to expect from DSC when it was in Dallas. As such, this would not be the show I'd recommend you attend to get the full experience that both SCI and DSC provide. It will grow this year as mentioned by @mdwest, but I'm not sure yet that it will be a truly 3rd convention on par with what SCI and DSC offer.

 

[Russ16]

JB,

SCI NASHVILLE
I think the best known quantity for the shows early next year will be SCI in Nashville. SCI has been at this location now for I think 3 years and it's been nothing short of very successful for SCI. The one thing SCI had is lots of experience moving the shows to new locations and they did not skip a beat the first year in Nashville. In fact it was so successful that it changed SCI plans to keep the show there for quite awhile. It may move again sometime in the future, I can't remember off the top of my head what the future plans are. @Philip Glass I'm sure could tell us quickly, or perhaps a look at the SCI website. So for you being a first timer, I'd recommend SCI Nashville first. It is overwhelming if you walk into the SCI convention as a first timer if you don't do some planning in advance. Trust me I did that in 2011 in Reno, just walking into the hall for the first time was daunting. So if you decide to do this show, get on board early and make a plan for outfitters you wish to begin with. If financially possible I would plan on spending at least 3 days at the show. Two days is just not enough to take it all in when you're new to the shows. A fourth day may be more than necessary but can be useful if you want to nail down and finalize plans with an outfitter on that morning of the last day.

DSC ATLANTA
DSC is still a bit of a wildcard IMO. Quite frankly DSC by their own admission dropped the ball on their first show in Atlanta. I think this was exacerbated by DSC not having much experience in moving a show around, only within Dallas if I have my facts straight. Moving to a whole new city and a fair ways from Texas changed the logistical planning significantly and I don't think they were prepared. The weather in Atlanta, not by any stretch within DSC's control only served to kick the ball into further chaos. It's very easy to have been soured on DSC with everything that happened, and I include myself in being disappointed with what transpired. But, I believe DSC can and will recover, and I most certainly hope they do. However that remains to be seen and that puts them still as a wildcard. I would not expect the weather to be an issue again as it was this year and that will be a big net positive for DSC.

TTHA DALLAS
I was at this show this year covering for @JKO HUNTING SAFARIS while Jacques was in Atlanta that same weekend for DSC. It was a good first year for them at the DSC convention. But I would not say that it was what I would expect and experienced at SCI Nashville nor what I've come to expect from DSC when it was in Dallas. As such, this would not be the show I'd recommend you attend to get the full experience that both SCI and DSC provide. It will grow this year as mentioned by @mdwest, but I'm not sure yet that it will be a truly 3rd convention on par with what SCI and DSC offer.

I would caveat this by saying that even though attendance at DSC in Atlanta was down I had a great show. As I said earlier fewer people meant more time with the outfitters. I attended DSC and SCI last year and enjoyed DSC a great bit more due to the smaller crowd.

I understand the small crowd isn’t sustainable when it comes to keeping quality exhibitors but it was great for one year.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

I would caveat this by saying that even though attendance at DSC in Atlanta was down I had a great show. As I said earlier fewer people meant more time with the outfitters. I attended DSC and SCI last year and enjoyed DSC a great bit more due to the smaller crowd.

I understand the small crowd isn’t sustainable when it comes to keeping quality exhibitors but it was great for one year.

Good point and I was going to mention that about being in some ways better not having to fight the crowds. My concern for this upcoming year is not so much the number of attendees as much as if outfitters have dropped out. I can say JKO Safaris will be present and I hope to make it to Atlanta myself. But I know there were a lot of outfitters at threatening to pull out, I hope that ultimately that will not be the case.

 

[Tanks]

I am still in the planning stages of trying to pick where I want to go and which outfitter to go with.

DSC show comes first. So, if you are thinking of booking at the show, I'd recommend DSC as you will have more options. At SCI outfitters would have sold the choice dates already. Same goes for ordering firearms. Wesley Richards had sold of two years' worth of production at DSC a couple of years ago and when I went to them at SCI I was out of luck and looking at a 6+ years of waiting.

 

[Muskox]

I think there is a lot of shadows and darkness in the shows. I ended up booking with a guy that wasn't at the show, and I booked with a couple of guys at the show.

So far the guy that wasn't at the show has been 100% better than the guys at the big shows.

Celebrity hunter endorsements are just paid endorsements. So view that with a grain of salt. I have hunted with two outfitters that are American celebrity gun writer endorsed. Neither one has delivered the goods.

 

[lhook7]

Good point and I was going to mention that about being in some ways better not having to fight the crowds. My concern for this upcoming year is not so much the number of attendees as much as if outfitters have dropped out. I can say JKO Safaris will be present and I hope to make it to Atlanta myself. But I know there were a lot of outfitters at threatening to pull out, I hope that ultimately that will not be the case.

I was told by a couple of exhibitors that there were about 800 attendees at DSC.