SLC Western Hunting Expo.
Contributors to this thread:General Topic
From: bighorn
13-Feb-18
Anyone go to the SLC Western Hunting Expo? How was it?
From: YZF-88
13-Feb-18
I did not go. I stopped going a few years ago and spend the $$ on Wyoming raffle tickets...but that didn't quite work out this year! It was always cool to see the solid taxidermy...especially the general season bucks.
From: MPN
13-Feb-18
Antelope Island Mulie auction tag only went for 290k...
From: HDE
13-Feb-18
^^^ Either the egos weren't big enough or liqueur wasn't strong enough.
From: IdyllwildArcher
13-Feb-18
I considered going. But to stand outside with a placard protesting the commercialization and profiteering of wildlife, not to go inside and fuel the beast.
From: Julius Koenig
13-Feb-18
Ike, can you elaborate more?
From: Native Okie
13-Feb-18
I went on Sunday, it’s a great show.
From: Dikndirt
13-Feb-18
I attended the circus.... it was the same as it has been in the past...lots of spectacular taxidermy and booth after booth of vendors pitching their overpriced products. Lots of the SFW and MDF garbage being spewed also. When you look at all the public tags being auctioned and raffled to benefit Utah wildlife we should be overrun with bounteous herds of deer, elk, sheep, goats, moose,pronghorn, and bison. If they would put even just the henry deer tag back in the n/r pool it would double your chances to draw. I visited every Kansas whitetail outfitter booth and everyone boasted 100 percent opportunity at 140" or better bucks over the last few years. What Barnum said was right !! I am only 25 miles away so I go every year and it has gotten worse every year.
From: Dikndirt
13-Feb-18
Okie it is a great show if you are strictly talking entertainment value. If you realize that 200 raffle permits and double that many premium public tags are auctioned off every year and your opportunity to have access to those tags in public drawings as both resident and non resident are gone you might not think it such a great idea.
From: Dikndirt
13-Feb-18
From: Dikndirt
13-Feb-18
From: Dotman
13-Feb-18
Ike, I completely agree!
From: Trial153
13-Feb-18
I find the Utah model deplorable. Unfortunately I think you have no small contingency of hunters in this country that would happy sell every tag to the highest bidder.
From: Native Okie
13-Feb-18
Dikndirt (great handle by the way) - I enjoyed the show, in no way agree with the tag utilization in Utah.
From: sticksender
13-Feb-18
Went last year to try it once. I'd definitely go every year if we lived closer. Odds to randomly win one of the convention permits, as long as you buy $5 chances for all of the decent ones, are good enough to make it worthwhile. Probably better than our chances in the regular draw. Unfortunately the $5 convention permit entry fees is the only cheap part. It's the spending of about 2000.00+ for my son & I to fly out and attend every year that's cost prohibitive. Along with being away from work for about 5 days.I don't spin my wheels fretting over the screwed up system. We already known for years that no amount of internet bitching or protesting will ever change anything with that system, or it would've already.
From: YZF-88
13-Feb-18
Your right. No internet complaining will change anything. It would take a reputable organization to put in an offer that would illustrate transparency AND return 100% of the tag fees to conservation with a history of executing other large scale conventions. If only such an organization would step up! Wait a minute....oh nevermind. Unfortunately, croney corruption prevails in Utah.
From: OFFHNTN
14-Feb-18
I was there all weekend. Went mainly to try to win one of the sheep hunts, but nadda. Figured the $250 in tickets was a decent investment to win one of the 8 hunts. A LOT of people, I think they were saying close to 60,000 went through this year. The amount of money spent at the auctions both Friday and Saturday night was mind blowing. As MPN said, antelope island mule deer tag for $290k! Dozens of Utah and Arizona permits went for $80k-$140k. Crazy. Teddy the mule sold for $18k! That's an expensive piece of @ss!
From: Topgun 30-06
14-Feb-18
From: OFFHNTN 14-Feb-18 I was there all weekend. Went mainly to try to win one of the sheep hunts, but nadda. Figured the $250 in tickets was a decent investment to win one of the 8 hunts. A LOT of people, I think they were saying close to 60,000 went through this year. The amount of money spent at the auctions both Friday and Saturday night was mind blowing. As MPN said, antelope island mule deer tag for $290k! Dozens of Utah and Arizona permits went for $80k-$140k. Crazy. Teddy the mule sold for $18k! That's an expensive piece of @ss!
True on that last comment, LOL! Don't know why you said nadda, as the raffle ticket winners aren't announced for a couple days yet.
From: HDE
14-Feb-18
The Antelope Island mule deer went for over $400k one year...
From: NoWiser
14-Feb-18
There's no way I could attend that show with a clean conscience.
From: Dikndirt
14-Feb-18
Sticksender, You are looking at odds of 1in 800 for the henrys archery deer in the regular draw and 1 in 10,000 at the expo for the henrys tag. For a five dollar chance I guess it is worth a try. Believe me ever since the current regime gained control of the Utah Wildlife Board and the DWR the bowhunters in this state have been getting the shaft [no pun] . Any weapons hunts get a significantly higher percentage of limited entry tags and also get the choice dates for hunting, especially for the glamour species "Elk" I know this sounds like internet bitching which it is. YZF is right on though...if a respected organization like the RMEF cant make inroads what the heck can you do other than enlighten others to the plight we have and sound a voice of warning to other states sportsman.
From: OFFHNTN
14-Feb-18
TopGun - You are thinking of the $5 HuntExpo permits. I was referring to the 8 sheep hunts the Full Curl Society was selling/giving at their banquet from 11-1pm on Saturday. But YES, I still have the $5 permits to come through! Supposed to have them posted by Friday. Did you get any?
From: WRO
14-Feb-18
Did anyone not get bingo who attended?
From: YZF-88
14-Feb-18
That bingo is awesome! I'd say half of those are technically Free spaces though.
