Great American Outdoor Show
The Great American Outdoor Show is one of the largest shows east of the Mississippi River. Each year the Harrisburg Farm Show Grounds hold this wonderful event. This year the event opened on Saturday, February 4th, and will run until Sunday, February 12th. Over 200,000 people will attend the nine-day show and walk through nine halls filled with vendors and celebrities. The economic impact for Harrisburg is estimated at over $70 million dollars.
On the eve of the opening of the outdoor show, I traveled with two friends, Scott and David Spaid, to Harrisburg. On the way, we stopped for dinner at Denny's Beer Barrel Pub for dinner. The burgers were amazing, and the sweet potato fries were the best I have eaten. After a filling dinner, we drove the rest of the way to our hotel and checked in for the night. I recommend using the show website to locate a hotel close to the Farm Show Grounds.
We were all excited to attend the show. None of us had ever been to the show on the first day, and we expected a large crowd. When we arrived at the Farm Show Complex before 9 am, the crowd was huge. One change from previous years is that all the parking lots are now only accepting credit cards. Be ready to use some plastic to park! If you want to avoid parking on site the show offers a shuttle service. Use the link to learn about parking and shuttles.
One of the first vendors I wanted to visit was in booth 257. Verdict ammunition has shotgun ammo for turkey hunting. Their hand loaded rounds of 410, 20, and 12 gauge in TSS have earned a great reputation. I couldn't wait to talk to the people at the booth. After learning that Verdict Ammunition works with Rectifire Chokes, I knew I had to walk to booth 365. Luck for me, the booths were back to back and I easily found the Recitifire Booth. I can't wait to put this combo together for my spring turkey hunts with my Mossberg SA-410. Here are links to both companies websites.
After seeing all the vendors in the main hall, I went directly to the Achery Hall. This hall always hold some of my favorite items. Lancater Archery has a huge booth full of products and there is a range for hunters to try new bows and crossbows. There were two particular companies I wanted to visit in the Archery Hall and I was excited to see them. The first company is in booth 1111 and that company was Painted Arrow Outdoors. Painted Arrow Outdoors is a new company that has introduced an affordable and reliable way to video hunts with your bow or crossbow. Nate and Cole had their Mag-Pro Plus, Mag- Pro X, and Go-Mag on display. Hunters were shocked at the simplicity of their magnetic cell phone holders and how well they worked. I spent time talking with the owners and creators and they were generous enough to do a short video. I highly recommend their products after using them in 2022 to film my hunts.
Booth 912 was my next stop to see Deception Scents. I was introduced to the company in 2022 and decided to use their products. Needless to say, their scent killer work fantastic for me. New for 2023, Deception Scents created a new body wash. This scent killing body wash has a moisturizer in it so your skin doesn't dry out. There are a few other improvements to their 2023 line that the owner tells us in this short video. If you are looking for a new scent killer to try, this is a product to investigate!
If you enjoy shed hunting or gathering morel mushrooms, you need to stop at booth 3908 and check out the Fungeyes Glasses. I got a pair of Funguyes glasses early last year and used them when I went out looking for shed. Using the glasses made the sheds easier to see. I found 13 sheds in 2022 and that is the most sheds I have ever fund in a year. I spent time at the Fungeyes booth giving testimonials to people who had questions. I even watched some of my Youtube videos on the Fungeyes TV display. Check out the video about the glasses and watch for my video testimonial.
If you own any mounts or European mounts you have to stop by booth 4305 and see the products from Velvet Antler Technologies. The products produced by this company helps you maintain your mounts or even do European mounts. If you are going on a velvet hunt, you will want to ensure that you have some of their Velva Lock. Spraying this product on you velvet buck antlers will ensure the velvet stay fresh and soft. The product I am anxious to try is their TrophyKlean. TrophyKlean is designed to help clean your mounts and keep bugs from destroying them. Check out the video for an explanation of the other products.
The Great American Outdoor Show is worth the trip. Whether you take the family or go with a bunch of friends, prepare for a long day. The amount of outfitters and exhibitors there will take time to really enjoy. If you like milkshakes make sure to find the milkshare booth in the main food court. There are numerous seminars to attend and celebrities to meet. On Saturday, February 11th, Brantley Gilbert will be performing a concert. You will need to purchase tickets for that performance before attending. If you have the time, head to the show in Harrisburg and enjoy all it has to offer.
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