A friend told me last night that the SOF Convention wasn't coming to Las Vegas anymore.
Is it dead or just relocated?

I heard that last year was going to be the last SOF convention.

Me too but I just thought it was a bogus rumor.
My friend said his friend saw it in SOF magazine. I still wasnt it verified.
It was a great annual trek.

It´s alive and kicking but,the SOF Three Gun Match and Convention has been renamed the "SOF/Whittington Center World Championship Three Gun Tactical Response Benefit Match, Shoot Fest and Gun Show".

SOF now has a tactical shoot/conveention at the NRA's Whittington Center in NM.  

Check out their website at:
http://www.sofmag.com/

Michael Horne and the folks who put on the SOF 3-gun match in Vegas will still be doing so, it just won't be called the SOF match.  As far as many shooters are concerned, it's a good thing that Bob Brown and his folks decided to go elsewhere.  I don't know who will be running the match at the Whittington Center, but I doubt it will be as good as the match Horne and his people put on.  The SOF convention and expo was starting to really suck, the only good thing about it IMHO was the match.

Never having been to one of these SOF conventions, What sucked about them?

Why are shooters happy that Brown & his group are going elsewhere?

[red] p.r.k.

prk- At the SOF match/convention, there were basically two types of people.  One group were the shooters, who were there to bust caps with other good shooters and have a good time.  Competition was fierce, but mostly good-natured.  You had the usual professional shooters that run around and win every match, but also lots of street cops, soldiers and everyday joes that just like to shoot.  The other group were mostly mercenary wanna-be's who didn't have the stones to compete, so they went to the knife-fighting and 'how to cache ammo for the milennium' seminars while we were at the range.  The convention and the match went on at the same time, so you pretty much can't do both.  And the 'expo' was a combination of manufacturers showing off their stuff (fun, some good new stuff to look at) and mostly a$$hole gundealers there to fleece the stupid merc wannabe's.  Forget good deals, everyone wanted top dollar for their rusty used 'pre-ban' stuff.  Picture the worst gun show you've ever been to as far as attendees and multiply it by ten.

I think the match will be much better now that SOF isn't involved.  All they really did was lend their name to it anyway, which actually hurt the shooters in terms of people donating prizes.  Major gun and accessory manufacturers don't want to be associated with SOF in today's political climate.

Actually, SOF used to put money into it as prize money.  Quite a few people used to go to try to win the cash.  Lately SOF has put less and less money into it and now they are not putting any in.  I think it will be much less of a match now.

Thanks guys. I will miss the SOF in Las Vegas.

I went to just about every convention from 90 to 96, and then the 2000 convention.  The change was depressing.  It used to be THE event of the year.  This last time they didn't even bother to tell people that the first two or three days were held at a hotel somewhere.  There wasn't even a sign at the convention center to give you a heads-up.  There was no firepower demo, no pugil stick tournament at the pool, and few interesting things at the expo.  The seminars were okay, and I went to almost all of them.  I was not aware that it was the last convention in Vegas, but it doesn't surprise me.  The staff looked like they were in semi-retirement.  At least I got a pair of Billy Bob teeth.

All I got was a Austrian FAL parts kit from DSA. It was brand new. I couldn't pass it up for
$99.

You got a NEW kit for $99!?!  They charged me $99 a few months before for a well-used lower.  I would have got their RAS at the show, but they said it wasn't in production yet.  Their ad in Shotgun News doesn't quote a price for it.  It looked cool.