27th-annual event is traditional kickoff for hunting season
The excitement that comes with the annual Mississippi Wildlife Extravaganza is quickly building, with the annual event at the Trade Mart in Jackson now just a week away.
And it’s not just the myriad of opportunities the ’Ganza offers that gets the outdoor juices flowing, either.
Mainly, it’s because the Mississippi Wildlife Federation’s main fundraising event serves as the traditional start of hunting season. Since it is held each year on the first weekend in August, it sets the mood for hunters, who can begin shooting things in September.
“No doubt, that’s what it means to us, my wife and me and our two sons,” said Keith Thomas of Terry. “We go and see all the new equipment offered by the vendors, and we always buy a thing or two, and we always go and look at the big bucks on display from last year.
“What we like most about it is that we always run into at least 10 or 12 people we know from past hunting and fishing experiences, either old camp members or something similar. You put all that together, and from the time you walk through the door and later leave, your mood changes.”
About 30,000 visitors are expected to attend the 27th-annual Extravaganza Aug. 2-4. Show hours are 3 to 9 p.m. on Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 6-12, and admission is free for children 5 and under. Friday is Kids Day so all children aged 12 and under get in free. Weekend passes are $20 for adults, and are free with an entry into the annual Big Buck Contest.
It is the display of the big bucks that garners the most attention, and this year those aisles should be crowded. On the heels of one of the most productive deer seasons in Mississippi history, several book-bucks should be included.
“Ought to be something,” said Chad Dacus, the newly named director of wildlife and the longtime deer program coordinator at the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. He made that prediction in March, in the middle of the scoring period for bucks reaching the end of the mandatory 60-day drying process. “Remember that year we had about four or five years ago when we had 10 Boone & Crockett qualifiers, well I think this one was even better.
“In addition to another run on book bucks, we had so many that grossed extremely high but couldn’t net out as qualifiers. We scored so many that grossed 170 and 180. What’s interesting each year to me is that we keep hearing about more of those big bucks all the way to the Extravaganza and we’ll get one or two we’ve only heard rumor about.”
The biggest question each year is which bucks will show up at the Trade Mart. For instance, last season produced a new state archery record for typical bucks and a new No. 2 non-typical by gun, but both of those deer would require journeys to the Trade Mart.
* The 173 2/8-inch bow record was taken in DeSoto County by Kevin Medlin of Olive Branch.
Used to be, when bucks of that magnitude were killed, they could dissuade hunters from bringing good, but smaller bucks to the Extravaganza. That’s no longer a concern.
In addition to the Big Buck Contest, the Extravaganza, the chief fundraising project of the Mississippi Wildlife Federation, serves as the largest scoring event for the Magnolia Records Program each year.
“The thing people need to remember about the Extravaganza is that only deer killed last year can be entered in the contest, but any buck, regardless of the season killed, can be brought and scored for Magnolia Records,” said Rick Dillard, a biologist with the U.S. Forest Service and a co-founder of Magnolia Records. “We encourage anyone who has an old mount of a buck, maybe from their dad or grandfather, to bring it in and have it scored.”
The Magnolia Records database now has over 7,000 deer. The antler scoring system is identical to that used by the Boone & Crockett and Pope & Young Clubs. To be listed, the minimum scores for Magnolia Records are 125 for typical antlers and 155 for non-typical.
“I am looking forward to the Extravaganza to see how many of the bucks we’ve scored come in,” said Dillard, who officially scored Medlin’s record in January. “I’m also interested to see if we get any old bucks for Magnolia Records entry. You never know what you are going to get.
“I know this, that back room of the Trade Mart where we display the bucks ought to be filled with antlers all the way down the aisle on both sides.”
Obviously, there is more to the Extravaganza than big bucks, or else the event would never be able to maintain an annual average attendance of nearly 30,000 over the three-day weekend.
The Trade Mart will be filled wall-to-wall with about 200 exhibitors from all over the U.S. and Canada, selling everything from hunting and fishing trips to equipment and accessories. It is a consumer show, and sales are brisk. Many local and national conservation groups and wildlife agencies also have booths to promote their programs.
Kids are always a targeted audience with a plethora of hands-on events to grab their attention — hand-grabbing for catfish, an archery range, a bowfishing pool, a trout pool, calling demonstrations and much more. There’s even a Cutest Camo Kid contest on Sunday, for children aged 1-8 dressed in camouflage.
Demonstrations and seminars are conducted daily for all ages. The headliners this year are Greg and Jake Miller of the Outdoor Channel’s In Pursuit TV.
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