Stopped by last night, around 4:30/5pm. Most of the crowd was going home. Plenty of room to walk. I've been hearing the attendance is down. Bussing works great. Don't be afraid to try it out.

ToddP

I just got back from the Show. I only spent a couple hours. I knew what I wanted to see and skirted most of the rest. It seemed a little less attended than other years... BUT NOT MUCH. I hit an old gas station across the railroad track on McClean St I believe it is that had parking for $5. It was a 2 minute walk to the door so can't comment on the buses. I did notice a couple things. The old owner/partner from &quot;Bowhunter Discount Warehouse&quot; was in the same booths that Bowhunters used to take. They changed the name but I figure the guy is back in business in some fashion. I wonder how he gets manufacturers to supply him? Probably COD. There was a new treestand that is almost the spitting image of the Buckshots except the seats and welds look a little cheaper. The guy said he'd been with Buckshot for 4 years and went out on his own. Buckshot was 2 booths down and across the isle. I bet that was strained. Buckshot has come out with a unique cable system that looks pretty cool. The fishing and boating barns did not have many customers at ALL.<img src=icon_smile_shock.gif border=0 align=middle> I bought a mad deer call(mine broke), some raffle tickets, a fish pole and reel, 3 Primos mouth turkey calls and nothing else. I've never gotten out of there that cheap. I got to get that new Buckshot Len. I just have to save my mad money. It's a little bigger than the old Buckshot.... which is still being made. The new ones have slats instead of the old grates but that's OK. Weighs 19 pounds. The Buckshot &quot;knock-off&quot; by disgruntled X-employee was dirt cheap but looked a little cheaper made.

I was there Tuesday, it was the least crowded I have ever seen. I parked in a dirt lot, took the bus, and didn't have to pay nothing. I'm going back on Sat. Talk about strained, Muzzy and Dan Fitzgerald were right next to one another. Remember Dan was with team Muzzy, now he backs Innerlok.

Went there this morning and came back with a Bear Vapor 300 complete all for under $300 including admission. YIPPPEE

Alright you talked me into in. If the weather's good the boy and I are going Sunday. I'm starting to drool already.

Yeh Midwest:... I noticed that. Old Dan is standing 5 feet from the Muzzy guys. He's got this piece of heavy plastic like material. He jabs a Muzzy at it at an angle and comments on how the Muzzy doesn't catch but bounces off. Then he does it with the Interlok and of course the much smaller interlok catches the stuff as the point hit first and not the blade. I used to be a salesman. Every company has got their hokus pokus pitch gimmicks. Dans is a piece of plastic which he claims is just like an arrow bouncing off a shoulder bone or RIB. He actually said that. I shook my head, and being the smart a$$ I am exclaimed, &quot;yeh.... sure it is&quot;. (Shaking my head) I walked on. I guess old Dan is whore and sold out to the highest bidder too. Seems like he'd had the decency to use Brand X.

Edited by - davidmil on 02/07/2002 17:57:24

David,
Not sure what the deal is with BDW guy.....the booth in question is &quot;Kinsey Archery&quot; which is a MAJOR supplier of equipment to all of PA(They have a huge supply warehouse business, and a beautiful showroom type store in Mt. Joy, PA)......As far as I know they've been in business for quite some time.
I know some of the guys who work at Kinsey's and they said they just took their spot since BDW folded......it's a good spot.
I don't think one has to do with the other.....maybe they just picked up the guy from BDW?

We went to the show as usual.....first day.....it's sort of a bang your head against the wall tradition.
Boy does that cement floor suck the life out of you after about 6 hours or so.....the foot massage lady came in handy on the second floor.

I am a vendor at the show, talk about a pain this year...The parking stunk..Anyhow, here's what they tell us about next year show... The folks who promote it will have the parking fixed, with a large parking facility so no more busing patrons in. ( lots of sales of large items were down since nobody wanted to carry a tree stand and such on the shuttle bus. Next years show will have all the different sections in the same area. Instead of a booth having hunting supplies, then the booth right next door selling beanie babies...pretty simple idea, I don't know why this wasn't done years back. My advice to anyone who visit's is to bring a pack, pack, your own lunch and drinks inside. Also, The best times to visit are Monday, Thursday, or the last Sunday...The weekends are full of kids and strollers.. Tues and Wed are the busiest days. All the serious Hunters/Buyers come...The last Sunday you can get great buys, since most vendors don't want to take their product back with them, ask if they will cut you a break or a 2-1 buy...I sold out of my product on Sat and I am now home..It was a good show. I love the Hunters/Outdoors type of folks, they are all down to earth and just great to talk with......

i thought the parking was great, for $5 you park and the bus takes you right to the front door. what more could you ask for?, except maybe a $5 beer<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
ARO

http://www.hunting-pictures.com/memb...hanesmith.html

My son and I went today and it wasn't that bad. We parked over at the college(for free) and rode the bus for a buck. The crowds weren't that bad either. I got a couple of dry bags for my canoe 1/2 off, but I couldn't find any good goose calls. Everyone I went to had sold out yesterday or first thing this morning. This was my boys first trip up and besides walking his legs off he had a great time.

My compliments to all the vendors there. Even though it's a long show, everyone was still smiling today and pleasant to speak with. When we left around 4PM we only saw a couple of booths that were breaking down or closed. I hate paying full price and see people packing up before the scheduled closing time.

Now I need to get started reading the 1001 flyers we got.