I just got home late last night from the Safari Club International Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. Can't say I was particularly crazy about Vegas but the show was awesome.
This is one of the largest hunting and sporting shows in the country, if not the world. Attendance was somewhere around 25,000 people. The show was held in the Mandalay Convention center and took up both convention floors. As a whole, the show is pretty overwhelming.
This show more than any other show is truly international. The show is compromised of vendors, outfitters and taxidermists from around the world. Basically, any hunt that you have ever wanted to go on can be investigated here. That is one of the coolest parts of the show. Rarely does one get the opportunity to discuss Spanish Ibex hunting with a Spanish outfitter or South American dorado fishing with a local dorado guide, etc. ( I spent a while discussing dorado fishing with a few of the outfitters in attendance). Even if you are not planning an adventure, it's pretty neat just to be able to talk to local authorities.
The taxidermy is pretty amazing. Some of the most talented taxidermists in the world feature their works at this show. No matter how you feel about it, it is pretty hard not to admire their work.
Whether you are a shotgun aficionado or a rifle nut, the guns at this show will leave you speechless. To give you bit of an idea what can be seen here -Blaser, Fausti, Holland & Holland, Boss & Co., Griffin & Howe, Krieghoff, Beretta, James Purdey & Sons, Heym, Thompson/Center, and Smith & Wesson are just a few of the companies in attendance. There are many custom and semi-custom makers as well.
I was pretty impressed with the Heym double rifles. As double rifles go, theirs were meant to be used and priced the same. Most of the rifles they had at the show ranged from about $8,000 to $17,000 which although unbelievable to the casual shooter seems like a bargain after looking at most of the other double at the show that range in price from $25,000 to well over $100,000. Holding one of those rifles makes it easy to pretend you are heading over to Zimbabwe's Zambezi Valley for an elephant or Cape buffalo safari.
I also had a pretty soft spot for a Ruger No. 1 that had been rebarreled and reworked as a 20 gauge slug gun. It had the same weight and feel as a standard Ruger No. 1 would. I couldn't help but think how cool it would be to deer hunt in Ohio with that gun. Here are a few of my other favorites.
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| Krieghoff shotguns |
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| Blaser Rifles |
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| A bit beyond my price range |
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| You could buy a few houses with the value of these guns |
I also got to stop by and talk to friends at Beretta, Mountain Khaki's and others. I spent some time drooling over Schnee's boots and Russel Moccasin boots. Anything a hunter could ever need is at this show. You could get completely outfitted for a trip anywhere in the world while here. In addition to all this, the show displays some of the best sporting art around. There is just so much to see. Here are a few more things that caught my attention:
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| Beretta Shooting Tweeds |
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| Beretta Shooting jackets |
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| Russel Moccasin Co. Boots |
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| Knives of Alaska steak knife set and carving set |
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| Some pretty cool cufflinks |
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| Sporting Ties |
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| Sporting Tweed |
It was a great trip and an amazing opportunity. If you'd like to learn more about the SCI show, you can visit them here:
Safari Club International
-Luke
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