I made my annual visit with my hunting buddy. It will probably be my last. This used to be somewhat informative but it gets worse every year. It's sad that deer hunting has become a social media promotion and more about the "pro staffers". Good for them for getting some free stuff from companies and trying to promote the hunting products, but what has happened to being about deer hunting? Way to commercialized for me anymore.
msauer933
Active Member
Same....
Made it down today at 10:30 out the door at 1:30. Crowds we not too bad. Thought there would be more equipment to check out other then knives. Seemed to be plenty of services offered type booths. Seeing the trophy racks is certainly the high point. Not a must see every year thing but it was nice to check it out for the first time.
Tim Hull
PMA Member
I think like everything is nowadays is that everything can be found online. Why drive to Des Moines and get a hotel and spend a couple hundred bucks on hotel, food and gas to get information that is easily available while sitting at home on your computer or phone? Half or more of the big deer that get harvested don't ever publicly get shown at the show. Just my opinion.
lovetohunt
Member
I didn't go. Seems in years past there is less and less equipment to look at and more and more pro-staffers. I did miss buying the Chili Dawgs jelly, checking out the women with tight shirts and pants, big racks and bad taxidermy.
StickersNKickers
Camo Up!
Didn't make it this year. Had some family to see and farm stuff to do. I checked out the list of vendors for any new products/companies, followed by a quick look at their websites. I'm sure there were some "deals" there, but I think I've only bought stuff there a couple times out of the many times I've been there (maybe around 10?). Think I've gone the last 3 years, and typically there are only a handful of new booths each year. Obviously some companies don't come every year due to schedules or not enough sales when they were there, but a lot of them are there every year with the same product/service. I agree that hunting is pretty commercialized, and lots of outfitters, services, prostaff/video stuff at the Classic. I typically walk right by those booths. In all the years I've gone, I've probably only stopped to talk with a couple of the hunting celebrities, and only been to a few of the seminars (typically just have time to go thru the vendors area). And I may be weird, but some years I haven't even walked thru the big buck contest. 
Would have liked to stop by the TBI booth this year to meet some IW guys tho!
Would have liked to stop by the TBI booth this year to meet some IW guys tho!
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Rut Nut
RUT_NUT
I thought I had seen everything but there was a blind vender out of Chariton ( Deer View Blinds) that had a good quality blind. There was a box on a pole about 3 feet above the blind and I ask what it was. Found out it it a motion detector to detect deer 100 to 200 yards away and sends a text to your phone alerting you of the deer near your blind. I guess I can just crawl in the blind and go to sleep till a deer shows. WTF will they think of next.
Fishbonker
Life Member
I talked with Moosehunter, saw Ironwood but I was busy trying to recruit a new IBA member so all I got was a handshake, saw Bowman and the whole family Bowman but something shiny must have caught their eye on the other side of the aisle, I saw an old IW t shirt but we were going in opposite directions and we both needed to get to where we were going so I don't know who that was. I was behind the tables at the TIP booth Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning and the IBA booth Sunday afternoon.
BDAHMS
Be here Now
I had the pleasure of meeting quite a few of you fellow IW members over the weekend- I appreciate you all stopping by the TBI booth and chatting for those who did. always great to put a face with the name! I had a great time at the event- pretty tired today- but well worth it. Talked to a ton of people and I have to say it was pretty awesome (for me) having a social hour late Saturday night in the marriott and T-bone and Larry Zach are both there chatting away. Great time!
lovetohunt
Member
Larry Zach is by far my favorite artist. My wife and I have several of his prints. I wondered how T-bone was, I was at an event last year and Waddell was there and he pretty busy messing with his phone all night and was kinda unsocial the whole night, even the M.C. had to call him out on it. Definitely not what I expected after seeing him on t.v. all the time.
TheMadCatter
Well-Known Member
Went Sunday afternoon, missed the sheds but still saw a lot of the big bucks! Met up with Brandon, Chris, and a few other people. Had a couple laughs, wish I would have been there sooner! Sounds like I missed a lot of IW people.
Deer&Ducks
PMA Member
When I left at 5:30 Sat evening I counted 13 deer that grossed over 200 that had been hung on the leaderboards. Based on the 8 or 9 years I've been attending last year was a slightly above average year for antler growth.