- NEW in 2011
Seven things to make the Expo bigger and better, keeping the event fresh and interesting. View Details ». - Core of the Expo
The three main support legs of the Expo, according to your responses on our survey cards. View Details ». - Contests
Trophy whitetail deer/black bear contest, trail camera photo contest and outdoor photo contest. View Details ». - Tech Information Center
Get your gear questions (archery, rifles, shotguns, muzzleloaders, hunting clothes/footwear, optics), deer questions and turkey questions answered by nationally-recognized experts. Plus food plot demo area of grains & grasses & plenty of solid info. Great face-time opportunity. Lots of hardware to inspect. See the binocular dunk tank. View Details ». - Events & Demonstrations
Five informative and entertaining events: 1) Byron Ferguson, renowned archery trick shot (Saturday & Sunday only); 2) venison butchering & processing demonstrations by professional butcher Bill Hesselgrave; 3) cooking venison & other wild foods, by Jason Coleman, a professional chef and enthusiastic hunter; 4) flint knapping demonstrations by Art Boehm; 5) Mountain Men Camp-out by Wisconsin Muzzle Loading Association.
View Details ». - Activities
Fun for kids of all ages – shooting ranges, bow tryout area (try before you buy), and Puppies & Kids Sunday, a new area that should be fun for everyone in the family. Puppies available for purchase, too. View Details ». - Displays
New-products display area near the main entrance; examine products without a sales person looking over your shoulder ... Forage crop pocket guide for anyone thinking food plots ... Several natural history displays, including live game animals & predators. View Details ». - Tell Your Friends...
ON-LINE EXPO PREVIEW magazine, with all Expo details, will be posted one month prior to the Expo. The PREVIEW also will contain a downloadable $2-off ticket discount coupon, among other coupons, on a new COUPONS PAGE. Exhibitor list is posted 45 days before Expo and updated weekly. View Details ».
- Women's Hunting Apparel & Related Gear
Female hunters are the only growing segment of the hunting community. Manufacturers now are paying attention with new hunting products and accessories designed for women, and not just in clothing. There will be 10-12 designated booths for clothing manufacturers, with plenty of other booth spaces nearby for related items. Each clothing booth will have its own fitting room for privacy and security. Women’s apparel booths are marked with a W on the floor plans. - Puppies & Kids Sunday
There will be a designated area Sunday for puppies and kids to congregate. The area will be easy to find due to the concentration of cages and dogs. Puppies can be for sale, of course. Upland bird dog species and waterfowl dog species welcome. There will be location banners for this area, and it will be noted on floor plans and the on-site Show Guide handout. - DVD Theater
DVDs are everywhere, it seems. This new theater will be a sampling area, a good place to get a good look at short versions of new DVDs. Maximum video length is 25 minutes. DVDs will be played every day, nearly all day long. Theater location will be noted on floor plans, in the Show Guide on-site handout, and at the theater entrance. - USSA Raffles, Sweepstakes & Sentry Program
An expanded version of our long-time support of the US Sportsmen’s Alliance and its work protecting our hunting privileges and conservation efforts. You will have opportunities to win all sorts of hunting gear and accessories, all to the benefit of a great cause. Stop at their booth and sign up.
Additionally, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation’s Trailblazer Adventure Program is the largest scale outdoor program of its kind. By working with groups like the Boy Scouts of America, Trailblazer will introduce its 1 millionth youth to the thrill of outdoor sports this year. - "Deer Answer Man" and "Turkey Answer Man" Added to Tech Info Center
‘Deer Hunting Answer Man’ and ‘Turkey Hunting Answer Man’ have been added to the hugely successful TECH INFO CENTER that debuted last year, to provide more one-on-one Q&A that today’s young buyers really like. (Average age of our attendees skews young.) Gary Sefton, a Tennessee-based champion caller and hugely successful turkey hunter will be Mr. Turkey. Dan Schmidt, editor of Deer & Deer Hunting magazine, hunts deer with firearm, bow and muzzleloader. If there were a rock-throwing season, he most likely would hunt then, too. - Tradeshow Sunday (dealers invited)
The Expo is open to the public, of course, but there's an addition. Tradeshow Friday is now TRADESHOW SUNDAY. Shops are closed or on short staff Sunday, so it is easier for dealers and staff members to attend that day, get new product and pricing info ... see new products ... talk to exhibiting manufacturers and decide which products they would like to stock in their shops during the upcoming sales season. Dealer are invited from throughout the Expo's multi-state market area.
Core of the WISCONSIN Deer & Turkey Expo
1. SEMINAR SPEAKERS / TOPICS
- All seminars are FREE once you have purchased your admission ticket.
- Most speakers and topics change every year. The food plot topic is one of the few that have become continuous because of its popularity, but even here we vary the specific subject matter within the broad food plot field. (No pun intended.)
- 2011 Wisconsin seminar schedule will be posted late summer or early fall.
2. Exhibit Booths
-- See NEW PRODUCTS and talk face-to-face with factory reps. More than 590 booths in all. An alphabetical list of exhibitors will be published 45 days before the Expo and updated weekly.
Many companies exhibit on a rotating basis, exhibiting on alternating years so they can reach a wider market over a two-year or three-year span. Those you missed last year may be back this year.
- Centerfire firearms, black powder and bowhunting gear.
- Accessories - scopes, binoculars, game and bird calls, tree stands, GPS, scents and lures, hunting blinds, deer feeds, knives, camouflage and other hunting clothing, footwear ...and a lot more.
- Guides and outfitters from throughout the United States, Canada and South Africa for all types of big game.
- Wildlife art and artists, book and magazine publishers, video producers.
- Wild game cooking items and seasonings, cooking equipment and supplies, jerky and sausage.
- Outdoor lifestyle and home decorating items and ideas. Anyone who enjoys the outdoors will like these items for home, office, den, cabin or lodge. Products include food seasonings, clothing, cooking gear (kitchen & camp), carved and painted wildlife art, log homes and furniture, antler art, hats/purses/leather goods, etc. These exhibit booths are distributed randomly among all booths.
3. Miller Lite Trophy Deer & Black Bear Contest
- See details in CONTESTS page.
- See last year's winners in TROPHY DEER/BEAR CONTEST WINNERS page.
Miller Lite WHITETAIL DEER & BLACK BEAR TROPHY CONTEST
Nearly 325 Wisconsin whitetail deer and black bear trophy contest entries are expected. Measuring and scoring by members of the Wisconsin Buck & Bear Club. Boone & Crockett / Pope & Young scoring system is used. Contest fee is $20; in return, you get a three-day pass to the Expo.
See the Contests Page for all rules on contest trophy entries and 'measure only' non-contest trophies.
See Wisconsin Whitetail Deer Photo Gallery.
Trail Camera Photo Contest
Trail cameras see some strange things among wildlife populations -- and some big antlers -- when no humans are around. More than 225 photos are expected.
See the Contests Page for details and rules, and last year's winning photos.
See Wisconsin Trail Camera Photo Gallery.
Outdoor Photo Contest
Photos of good times in the outdoors make good memories. Show those memories, and your photography skill, by entering this contest. More than 225 photos are expected.
See the Contests Page for details and rules, and last year's winning photos.
See Wisconsin Outdoor Photo Gallery.
Want to go one-on-one with experts to get your questions answered?- Want solid advice on gearing up the best way possible within your budget for the animals and birds you plan to hunt?
- Want to see what food plot grasses, grains and vegetables look like at various growth stages ... and which might work best for you?
The Tech Information Center offers all this, with the attending experts giving you straight, unbiased answers. There are five equipment specialists, one food plot demo area, and two additions for 2011 – the Deer Hunting Answer Man and Turkey Hunting Answer Man. All are recognized experts in their topical areas. Some of the topics also will be seminar subjects. Check the seminar schedule for details.
| The Tech Centers – (click here for bio info on all T.I.C. specialists) | ||
| Firearms Answer Man | Ron Spomer | |
| Archery Answer Man | Larry Wise | |
| Muzzleloader & Slug Guns Answer Man | Dave Henderson | |
| Optics (Scopes & Binoculars) | Spomer & Henderson | |
| Hunting Clothes & Footwear | Mike Faw | |
| Food Plots | Judy Helgeland | |
| Deer Hunting Answer Man (NEW) | Dan Schmidt | |
| Turkey Hunting Answer Man (NEW) | Gary Sefton | |
Byron Ferguson, Archery Trick Shot
Byron Ferguson and his entertaining archery trick shooting is an annual event. He is fun to see and his shots are awesome. Your entire family will enjoy his performance.
He will give two performances Saturday, April 2, and two performances Sunday, April 3.
Byron has videos and book titled "Become The Arrow" to help you learn his shooting system.
Cooking Venison & Other Wild Foods
Cooking demos, plus venison handling, freezing, thawing, seasoning and serving tips will be given as regular seminars. See the seminar schedule for time and place. Be ready to sample great flavors. Come prepared to take notes. Venison and wild food cookbooks will be available.
Venison Butchering & Processing
Bill Hesselgrave and his venison butchering and processing demonstrations return annually. First-timers want to see how to do it right, and returning folks like to review Bill's demonstrations to be sure they heard right and remembered right when it came time to do their own venison butchering.
Shooting Ranges
- Laser
- Airgun
- Archery (FREE shooting instruction)
Airgun and archery ranges are operated under the watchful eyes of adult range masters for best learning and safe operation. One laser range has big game video footage complete with sound; one has video game-type action. Shooting and safety equipment is provided. Members of the Wisconsin Hunter Education Instructors Association (WHEIA) operate the airgun range. The archery range is operated by the Wisconsin Bowhunters Association.
Bow Tryout Area
"Try before you buy" is an old, and very good, adage. This is the place to find out whether the handle fits your hand, or the draw is as smooth as you like, or...
PUPPIES & KIDS SUNDAY (New)
Put some puppies and kids together, and let them interact, and you definitely have an Activity on your hands. Of course, puppies and people of any age can, and often do, create an activity. If puppies and/or kids could hold still a while, this might have been labeled an Event, but you know how it is...
Enjoy!
New Products Special Display Area
New 2011 hunting products and accessories from exhibiting manufacturers are displayed together in one area near the exhibit floor entrance. All products are identified by exhibitor name and booth number.
Many people don't want a sales person hanging on their elbow when they first look at a new product. This is the perfect opportunity to examine new products on your own.
Forage Crop Pocket Guide
This 52-page, info-packed guide book will be vailable at the Food Plot Demo Area. There's more good info per page in this little booklet than you'll find in any other book. It's affordable ... only $3.
See Forage Crop Pocket Guide on Bookstore Page for details
Natural History Displays
You and your family will enjoy these.
Complete whitetail deer skeleton in a glass case. Artwork of the skeleton identifies every bone. This will help you figure out best aiming point-of-impact for quickest results, where to shoot and where not to shoot.- Flint-knapping demonstrations -- See stone arrowheads, spear points, knives and axes made the same as they were thousands of years ago. Stone work by Art Boehm, Conrath.
- Mountain Man Camp -- Members of the Wisconsin Muzzleloaders Association have a weekend camp-out on the north lawn of Exhibition Hall. They have cooking fires, a blacksmith forge, tents and tipis, and they dress in mid-1800s period costume.
Live Game Animals & Predators -- Cougar, wolf, black bear, grizzly bear, bobcat, coyote.- "Wall of Shame" -- Illegally taken Wisconsin whitetail deer trophies displayed at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources booth.
- Mammals of Wisconsin -- Hides, furs, pelts and full mounts of fur-bearers, predators and other Wisconsin mammals. People are startled by the "Please Touch" invitational signs; it’s the opposite of what they’re accustomed to seeing on displays. Display assembled and operated by Gen Ebert and her staff. hey await your questions and comments.
- Our Twitter and Facebook addresses will have news/information items added regularly. The addresses are:
Twitter -- http://twitter.com/deerinfo
Facebook -- http://www.facebook.com/deerinfo
YouTube -- http://www.youtube.com/deerinfo
Our YouTube will have videos added from time to time – expo videos and in-the-field videos. - Information POSTERS and FLYERS are available FREE.
- Flyers include the $2-off ticket discount coupon.
Contact us if you want free posters and/or flyers to give to friends, companies, stores and organizations that cater to the hunter and outdoorsman. - ON-LINE EXPO PREVIEW magazine, with all Expo details, will be posted one month prior to the Expo. It also will contain a downloadable $2-off ticket discount coupons.
