Dallas Safari Club Convention Summary

[Doug3006]

I’m headed back from Atlanta with @Jeff505 at the wheel and thought I’d share my opinions about the DSC convention. It was great to meet up with PHs I’d hunted with and talk to outfitters that I’ll hopefully hunt with in the future. Same as Dallas.

The downsides include:

1. The elephant in the room….the weather sucked! Nothing DSC could do about this, but it snowed then sleeted all day Saturday. As a result, attendance was minimal. I’m not exaggerating when I say the total was less than 1000. It was like having the place to ourselves. My PH friends say it wasn’t any better on Friday when the sun was shining.
2. Atlanta traffic did not disappoint…it was slow moving hell. It took 2 hours to drive the last 20 miles into downtown Atlanta via I75. Admittedly in the afternoon rush.
3. The folks working the ticket counter were clueless. It took the 3 of us 30 minutes to get our admission badges…and we were the only people in line! If they had the number of attendees as in Dallas, they’d have crashed and burned.
4. Based on talking with quite a number of exhibitors, DSC may have a rebellion on their hands. Everyone we talked to said that DSC made the decision without asking for any input. They all complained about the lack of promotion/ advertising. They all feel handcuffed because if they drop out until the event gets moved elsewhere, they’ll lose their their coveted booth locations for the future.

I wouldn’t say to avoid the show next year. The weather most likely won’t be a factor and DSC will learn and make adjustments in how they promote and administer the show. I will say to those who skipped this year….well played!

 

[Trophyhunter01]

Thanks for the write up, glad I stayed out this year.

 

[375Fox]

I think you have your days a little wrong. Thursday was clear and Friday snowed/sleeted all day. I had a great time attending the show on Thursday because it was very empty, but I thought it was very concerning for outfitters. If anyone wanted chance really talk to outfitters and book a hunt Thursday was the day because you could spend all the time talking you’d like. I’m told Friday was a little busier even with the snow. I had my badge issued very quickly, maybe a minute.

I think it’s difficult to judge because of the severe weather. One PH told me on Friday they were unable to make it to show until 2 hours late because they couldn’t get an Uber but they had to get out and push the uber a few times at stops due to snow. I had planned to attend most of Friday too but changed my flight to try and avoid the weather and reach airport before roads possibly shut down. Ultimately with delays and cancellations it took me 27 hours to get home. Thousands of flights were cancelled Friday due to weather in Atlanta and elsewhere, so very unfortunate timing for the show.

 

[K-man]

thanks for posting! I hope others will join in and tell about their experiences as well. Reminds me of some of the SCI conventions at Reno when there was snow and the airport shut down.

 

[Rare Breed]

The outfitters did a great job and were awesome with great setups! I agree about security being clueless helping people get around.
To be clear not because I am an Atlanta homer the once in 10 year weather at the same time of the convention is the main problem at least for the first year

 

[Tra3]

@375er and I were just texting about the show and attendance. Too bad that the weather had a big impact. I’m sure snow down south really slowed down local interest.

I picked Nashville for this year, so maybe I got lucky, although we will see if the crowd pushes there instead.

I’m curious to hear other’s input. Either DSC or SCI are the pinnacle of a shopping center for my interests!

 

[Northern Shooter]

Any new rifles on display this year?

 

[TheGrayRider]

Thanks for the writeup and information. Very unfortunate about the weather in Atlanta. I am driving to Nashville for the SCI Convention in less than 2 weeks and have already started to watch the weather.

I wonder if DSC will return to Texas before the five years is up?? Safe travels to all.

Happy hunting, TheGrayRider a/k/a Tom.

 

[dogcat1]

Matt Roberts, MNR Custom Guns, has some stunning guns.... There are others but he was a standout for me.