From what I had heard so far about Huntfest I had quite high expectations. There were not as many exhibitors in attendance as I had hoped for but I had expected that given that this was their first event in British Columbia. The atmosphere was friendly throughout and it started right at the entrance to the building: a polite event staff attended to the visitors and everybody we talked to- both visitors and exhibitors alike- seemed to be having a good time.
I was not able to check out all the seminars but the list of speakers was impressive. Among many others the seminar stage featured my good friend and moose-hunting expert John McDowell (Johnny Mac). Linda Cline from Someday Retrievers was there with her excellent gun dog demonstration and lots of good tips on training our four legged hunting partners. Cody Robbins from the Canadian hunting TV show “Live 2 Hunt” talked about his show and, of course, the world record mule deer buck that he shot last year. Then there was Eva Shockey, daughter of hunting celebrity and outfitter Jim Shockey, talking about her own hunting show and the experiences she has made as an accomplished hunter.
Visiting hunting trade shows is for me always a bit like a class reunion of sorts; seeing friends that I rarely see at other times. Ray from Ray Wiens Taxidermy had an impressive booth with his first class trophy mounts. Glenn Fallis, President of Grouse River Outfitters, Ken Sward, proprietor of Sasquatch Fabrications and professional game caller champion Jim Walker rounded out the group of people I always look forward to meet at these events.
All in all Huntfest had a lot to offer for everyone and was a highly appreciated venue for hunters. The common consensus from everybody I talked to can be summed up as “Great show, hopefully Huntfest will become a annual event in British Columbia” That is my hope too.
For more Huntfest information and dates across Canada visit there website.
Heidi admiring a beautiful full body black bear mount. Only one of many excellent taxidermy exeamples at the Huntfest.
There were many new products hunters could test at the Huntfest, like this Summit Treestand.
Me standing under a huge polar bear for size comparison of this enormous critter.
Meeting up with old friends like here with
fellow seminar speaker and expert moose hunter John McDowel from the
Shake Rattle and Paddle company.
There was some of the best taxidermy work I've ever seen on display at the Huntfest.
Talking
to Cody Robbins, owner and presenter of the TV show "Live 2 Hunt" about
his World Record mule deer buck he tagged last year.
No
hunting show would be complete without several displays of firearms.
Savage Arms - my favorite gun maker - was at the Huntfest with a great
selection of their hunting and target rifles.
Images curtsey of Heidi Koehler Photography
4 comments:
The photographs are very good considering the environment. It’s difficult to photograph shows and conventions. I had pictures from hunting and an ice fishing conventions that were mostly unusable. I’m still trying to figure out what goes wrong with cameras at shows.
It can be tricky to photograph indoors but a professional photographer like my wife Heidi knows how to deal with it. Perhaps you should contact her to photograph your next event.
-ov-
Great post indeed! Thanks a lot for the share.
Looks great! Thanks for sharing the post.
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