# Hunt expo breaks records



## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

Are we shooting ourselves in the foot?

http://outdoorchannel.com/article.a...ern-hunting--conservation-expo-breaks-records

The hunt expo could be an amazing thig for our state and wildlife here in Utah, but we've gotta get it right


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

And this statement:

“We can’t do our part for our nation’s wildlife resources without the support of the hunters who come to Expo to buy the hunt of a lifetime in our auction,” commented Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife CEO, Jon Larson. “We are so thankful for their generosity and wish them all the best of luck on their hunts this year.”


Shows to me who SFW gives credit to. He didn't give the credit to the 40,000 general hunter attendees, he gave credit to the millionaire buying there way to the front.


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## wileywapati (Sep 9, 2007)

good to see a few finally getting their heads out of their
@sses.


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## gmanhunter (Dec 27, 2007)

#1DEER 1-I said:


> And this statement:
> He didn't give the credit to the 40,000 general hunter attendees, he gave credit to the millionaire buying there way to the front.


I posted this in another post, and will say it again. Some of these tags are a tax write off for some of these big boys. Its great that the money goes here instead of obama, but its does seem fair to use it as a tax write off for the wealthy.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

gmanhunter said:


> I posted this in another post, and will say it again. Some of these tags are a tax write off for some of these big boys. Its great that the money goes here instead of obama, but its does seem fair to use it as a tax write off for the wealthy.


Who cares if it is a tax write off or not.

There isn't a member on here that wouldn't do the same thing if they could afford to do it. It is just that there are very few that can afford to write out a check for $300,000 for a deer hunt or any other type of hunt that is offered out there.


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## Dunkem (May 8, 2012)

Critter said:


> Who cares if it is a tax write off or not.
> 
> There isn't a member on here that wouldn't do the same thing if they could afford to do it. It is just that there are very few that can afford to write out a check for $300,000 for a deer hunt or any other type of hunt that is offered out there.


If I could afford a 300,000 dollar check I would be off to Ireland,Scotland,etc for fishing and golfing.(and maybe a new Harley):mrgreen:


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## silversurfer (Oct 30, 2011)

One thing is for sure if we don't put the brakes on some of these events, the only one that will be able to hunt are the rich. The cost for tags is nuts today, Guess that is I have a hard time supporting some of these type of event. The state manages for the $$ and that's it.


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## Iron Bear (Nov 19, 2008)

^^^ I'd take my 300k check to Alton and negotiate lifetime hunting rights.


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## MuscleWhitefish (Jan 13, 2015)

Critter said:


> Who cares if it is a tax write off or not.
> 
> There isn't a member on here that wouldn't do the same thing if they could afford to do it. It is just that there are very few that can afford to write out a check for $300,000 for a deer hunt or any other type of hunt that is offered out there.


I'm an Outlier.

I wouldn't buy the deer, but I would buy the sheep hunts though ~ roughly 120k.


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## gmanhunter (Dec 27, 2007)

Critter, do you really think the tags would go for as much as they are going for, if there wasnt another benifit besides going on that hunt? Even if I had that much money, I could spend a lot less on a hunt and still come away with a trophy animal. I personal know a guy who spent a lot of money last year. All a tax write off. He has a certain amount he spends every year that needs to total up to a certain amount to write off on taxes to counter react what he owes at the end of the year.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

gmanhunter said:


> Critter, do you really think the tags would go for as much as they are going for, if there wasnt another benifit besides going on that hunt? Even if I had that much money, I could spend a lot less on a hunt and still come away with a trophy animal. I personal know a guy who spent a lot of money last year. All a tax write off. He has a certain amount he spends every year that needs to total up to a certain amount to write off on taxes to counter react what he owes at the end of the year.


Yes, I do. There actually are people out there that would spend that type of money even if they didn't get that tax break and I actually know some of them. They may do it not understanding just where the money is going as in the Expo dollars but they would do it thinking that they are helping in a way that a lot of other sportsmen can't.

As for tax write offs there are a lot of other ways to do it out there that would give them a lot more return than a animal to hang on the wall.


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## robiland (Jan 20, 2008)

Maybe the 39,000 other average Joes should stop going to the expo and see what really happens. Now that would be interesting. 

On of the only reasons I went inside this year was to support a friend and the Extreme Archery Challenge. Other than that, its all over hyped FOR ME!!! Thats just how I feel.


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## Mr Muleskinner (Feb 14, 2012)

to extent Gman. Taxes and write offs are rarely a 1:1 ratio.

Business expenses and write offs are very rarely worth doing unless it is something that is necessary such as a new truck, piece of equipment, a plane at times versus commercial flights. Those are things that can be depreciated along with the business expense and can make them a viable write off.


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## jahan (Sep 7, 2007)

If you have money you can hunt every year, the problem is these same folks are trying to manage the whole state as a trophy unit, which in turn also makes for less opportunity for the average joe.


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## WasatchOutdoors (Sep 26, 2007)

Critter said:


> Who cares if it is a tax write off or not.
> 
> There isn't a member on here that wouldn't do the same thing if they could afford to do it. It is just that there are very few that can afford to write out a check for $300,000 for a deer hunt or any other type of hunt that is offered out there.


I wouldn't... So, there's one member.

You know, if they didn't recommend cutting tags given to the general public every stinkin' year in the regular drawing, I probably wouldn't care. But the truth is, the people who buy these tags every year at the auction do so at the expense of several thousand more tags cut from the general pool every year.

And there's a huge portion of the millions of dollars of revenue that get eaten up in "administrative fees". One of the best things I could probably do to further my career is go work for a non profit... they have to get rid of the profit somewhere and ridiculous salaries are a great place to start.

And that the drawing for the public drawing is somehow less than random. Has anyone else noticed how many times John Bair (their auctioneer) has drawn a tag over the years? The odds of that happening by chance are astronomical.


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## Mr Muleskinner (Feb 14, 2012)

WasatchOutdoors said:


> I wouldn't... So, there's one member.
> 
> You know, if they didn't recommend cutting tags given to the general public every stinkin' year in the regular drawing, I probably wouldn't care. But the truth is, the people who buy these tags every year at the auction do so at the expense of several thousand more tags cut from the general pool every year.
> 
> ...


If I had that kind of money I couldn't say for sure what I would do with it. I doubt buying a $300k tag would be first on my list but I doubt it was first on his either. It was probably waaaayyyyyy down on his list of to do's. I assume anyhow. It takes a LOT of money to be able to justify doing something like that. Not many people could ever say whether they would or wouldn't. It is a complete different reality that man lives in.


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## Watcher (Dec 31, 2008)

*I think I'm done with SFW*



#1DEER 1-I said:


> And this statement:
> 
> "We can't do our part for our nation's wildlife resources without the support of the hunters who come to Expo to buy the hunt of a lifetime in our auction," commented Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife CEO, Jon Larson. "We are so thankful for their generosity and wish them all the best of luck on their hunts this year."
> 
> Shows to me who SFW gives credit to. He didn't give the credit to the 40,000 general hunter attendees, he gave credit to the millionaire buying there way to the front.


So I looked at the numbers from the 2015 lottery they run.
I actually thought gambling and lotteries were illegal in Utah but obviously everyone turns the other cheek on this one. 
Us poor suckers (people) bought 228,530 chances to win (buy) a tag at $5.00 a chance. 
We contributed $1,142,650 to support wildlife and conservation in Utah. Did you get a thank you for your generosity?

This whole SFW collusion is making me physically ill. I'm done with them.


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

Watcher said:


> So I looked at the numbers from the 2015 lottery they run.
> I actually thought gambling and lotteries were illegal in Utah but obviously everyone turns the other cheek on this one.
> Us poor suckers (people) bought 228,530 chances to win (buy) a tag at $5.00 a chance.
> We contributed $1,142,650 to support wildlife and conservation in Utah. Did you get a thank you for your generosity?
> ...


Yeah but who really knows what we contributed to. Of these $5 fees there are no audits, or proof of where that money goes. SFW has such power because it looks like they have so much support, and we keep feeding them millions to better their causes. My advice is boycott the expo as long as they are involved from here on out , attend none of their banquets, and do not donate or join them. They got to keep that 1.1 million off app fees, entry fees which were at least $10 a person $20 without a coupon, and 10% off of the auction tags. Not bad for saling a public resource and letting the average hunter pay for their agendas. They are literally letting us dog our own grave, and it's time to stop SFW's none sense and the state of Utahs nonsense with ruining our natural resources in this state for political an economical reasons.


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## Muley73 (Nov 20, 2010)

One eye,
How much of that money goes to MDF? You do understand that the convention contract is with the Mule Deer Foundation not with the SFW, they are just a pardoner in the convention.


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

Muley73 said:


> One eye,
> How much of that money goes to MDF? You do understand that the convention contract is with the Mule Deer Foundation not with the SFW, they are just a pardoner in the convention.


SFW runs the draw on the 200 tags. They are both contracted on the expo. I'm sure entry fees are split up between the two and other money gained through the expo, but SFW is in charge of the draw of the 200 tags from everything ive read and seen. The mule deer foundation is a lot like SFW so I won't be standing up for them either. SFW is neck deep in the expo not just toes in the water.


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## Muley73 (Nov 20, 2010)

Didn't ask say anything about sticking up for them, just interesting that you only brought up SFW and not a word of the MDF.........typical. LOL


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

Muley73 said:


> Didn't ask say anything about sticking up for them, just interesting that you only brought up SFW and not a word of the MDF.........typical. LOL


MDF is not much better, but SFW is much more in bed with our legislature and the implementation of failed policies within our state, typical. MDF and SFW are really one in the same, but SFWs grasp far out reaches the MDF in Utah.


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## Watcher (Dec 31, 2008)

*Dixie chapter's endorsement*

Reguarding SFW, I didn't think I had much of a horse in the race until the Dixie Chapter officially endorsed the land grab. That's when I started reading up on them. The more I read the more distasteful they became. I don't even know where to start -who does a person write to to voice concern and displeasure?


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

Watcher said:


> Reguarding SFW, I didn't think I had much of a horse in the race until the Dixie Chapter officially endorsed the land grab. That's when I started reading up on them. The more I read the more distasteful they became. I don't even know where to start -who does a person write to to voice concern and displeasure?


SFW themself, maybe the governer, the DWR, and just don't support them, including the hunt expo. Them losing support is the biggest thing that will hurt them.


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## justanotherjoe (Mar 14, 2015)

*just another joe*

Do any of you know who Miles Morriety is? What Utah entity he ran before he became MDF pres? 
Check his resume and use the dates of employment to find how he and Don Peay are tied up.


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

justanotherjoe said:


> Do any of you know who Miles Morriety is? What Utah entity he ran before he became MDF pres?
> Check his resume and use the dates of employment to find how he and Don Peay are tied up.


Yeah the two groups are closely tied together. SFW has more members I believe here in Utah. They both stand for the same thing, which is a pity because the MDF should have the best of mule deer in mind, well I guess they both should. MDF definetly doesn't make it as apparent as SFW what their motives are but both groups should make a sportsmen sick on a lot of the hidden agendas they have. We may as well bring face value to the MDF in this thread as well.


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## justanotherjoe (Mar 14, 2015)

*justanotherjoe*

So, who is Miles Morriety and what organization was he running before he became Utahs MDF spokesman?


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

He was the deputy Director of the Utah DWR, before that he was a regional supervisor for the DWR, and before that a DWR biologist. The ties run deep and yes Miles has been affiliated with the DWR for a long time. I scratch your back you scratch mine here in the good old state of Utah.


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## quakeycrazy (Sep 18, 2007)

For every 1 person that gets the facts of the what the expo actually is, there are 6 more that go just for the hope they will draw a tag. It won't change anytime soon. My friends go every year, drop about 50-100 bucks each time, then complain when the hunt they were so sure to draw goes to someone else.... SFW has done a better job of not giving themselves so many tags that can be traced back to them, but when certain families draw tags each year, and multiple tags at that, someone should start scratching their heads...


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## Finnegan (Sep 7, 2007)

When you get involved in the public process, one of the first things you notice is apathy. Citizen participation is key to the process, so when citizens don't participate, it corrupts into something completely different.


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## MuscleWhitefish (Jan 13, 2015)

I'll go every year.

It's just to have another shot at drawing a species that I probably won't draw in my lifetime.

I will also put in for super tags, dream tags, super hunts, etc; because there is a chance at drawing the tag of a lifetime.


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## Groganite (Nov 14, 2012)

If I had 300k and i wanted it to go towards utah wildlife.....well id simply donate it or create an organization/wildlife program. Not buy a tag and pat myself on the back when over half of that money goes to the expo and not to the dwr....:-?


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