Registration is open 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. In the evening SCI Foundation holds its Conservation Leadership Award Gala, a paid add-on to a convention ticket.
2
Wednesday, January 20 — the floor opens
The exhibit halls are open 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and registration from 8:00 AM. SCI says it takes four days to see the whole floor. Seminars are free with a convention badge.
3
Thursday and Friday — the middle of the show
Show hours 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM both days. More than 20 live, silent, day, evening and online auctions run through the week, and evening entertainment begins when the halls close. SCI Foundation's SABLES Brunch is on Friday.
4
Saturday, January 23 — the last day
SCI Foundation's Veterans Breakfast opens the day. The floor is open 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM; registration closes at 3:00 PM.
The SCI Convention is members only: you need an active Safari Club International membership to attend. Advance prices, through December 1, 2026, are $155 for one day, $275 for two, $340 for three and $385 for all four. Banquets, auctions and evening entertainment are sold as further options. Seminars are free with a convention badge.
Children. Youth badges for ages 0 to 12 and 13 to 17 are free, added to a paid adult registration.
Add-ons. The SCI Foundation Conservation Leadership Award Gala (Tuesday evening), a Weatherby event and GSCO events are sold separately. GSCO's own events are on Sunday, January 24, 2027 at the Music City Center, from $195.
Registration hours. Tuesday, January 19, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM; Wednesday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM; Saturday, 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
SCI lists the only hotels it holds room blocks with, and asks you to book through its links and phone numbers to avoid scams. The Omni Nashville, a six-minute walk away, is sold out for 2027 with no waitlist.
Still on SCI's list, all within a ten-minute walk: the JW Marriott (about one minute), Embassy Suites (one minute), the Westin Nashville (three minutes), The Joseph and the Drury Plaza (four minutes each), Hilton Nashville Downtown (five minutes), Hyatt Place (about seven), the Grand Hyatt (nine) and the Renaissance (ten).
The Music City Center in downtown Nashville, from the northeast. Photo: Michael Rivera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fly into Nashville International Airport (BNA). Uber, Lyft and KreweCar pick up and drop off at the Ground Transportation Center on Level 1 of Terminal Garage 2: from Level 1, leave the main terminal, turn right, and follow the covered walkway. Rental car counters are on Level 1 of the main terminal, down the escalators from baggage claim.
The Music City Center is downtown, and every hotel on SCI's list is within a ten-minute walk of it.
Outfitters and hunting destinations take most of the floor, where hunters book guided hunts around the world. Around them are firearms and accessories, optics, ammunition, archery and apparel, plus fine art, outdoor-themed home furnishings, jewelry and taxidermy. SCI's own estimate is that it takes four days to see all of it.
More than 20 auctions run through the week, from live evening auctions to online ones, and the proceeds go to hunter advocacy and SCI Foundation's conservation and education work.
Exhibit space for 2027 is sold out, the fifth year in a row since the convention moved to Nashville. Booths are sold as 10-by-10s that can be combined: a standard booth is $3,650 and a prime booth $3,950, with $200 for a corner, $400 for an endcap or peninsula and $800 for an island. New exhibitors submit a Request to Participate and a donation form, and SCI reviews every company before it is placed.
Every exhibitor supports the auction program: donate an item by September 1, or SCI bills a minimum cash donation of $2,000 per 10-by-10 booth. Unpaid balances after October 15 carry a $200 late fee each month.
SCI does not sell or share its member or attendee lists, and says any offer to sell you one is a scam. The only list of who you met is the one you keep at your booth.
Dates tagged From the organizer come from the show's own site (click the tag for the page). The rest are our suggestions, counted back from the opening day. Download it as a PDF.
Check that everyone travelling has an active SCI membership; the convention is members only. Suggested
Book from SCI's hotel list only. The Omni is already sold out with no waitlist. Suggested
The buyers you meet at SCI Convention will meet dozens of other booths. The one whose email arrives first, with what they asked for, gets the reply. This is what that looks like in MeetDrop. The rest of the app is on one page.
MeetDrop
Filing under SCI Convention 2027 · change
Their business card read
Tom Becker
Hunter, SCI member
Becker Construction, Bozeman MT
Company found
Commercial builder · Bozeman, Montana
What you said
“Tom Becker from Bozeman. Plains game for him and his son, June 2028, two hunters and one observer. Wants the ten-day package and asked about the rifle import permit.”
Saved · 0:09
On the floorTheir card for the spelling, one sentence for the rest. About ten seconds, then back to the aisle.
MeetDrop
What Tom gets
Your ten-day plains game hunt, June 2028
Hi Tom,
Good to talk at the booth. Here is the ten-day plains game package for two hunters and one observer, with the June 2028 dates we discussed.
The rifle import permit takes about eight weeks. The form is attached, with what we need from you.
Shall I hold the June dates for a week while you talk it over?
Sam
EditSend
Before they reach the next boothThe email Tom gets is written from what you said. It waits for your OK, or goes on its own if you switch that on.
MeetDrop
SCI Convention 2027
Leads by show day
Wed20Thu21Fri22Sat23
Call them today
Tom BeckerBozeman, MT · 2 hunters93
Lisa MarquezAustin, TX · elk, 202784
Ray DunnTulsa, OK · first safari71
The recap you fly home withLeads by show day, on SCI Convention's own days, and who to call first.
Example screens. Tom and the companies are invented; the show name and its days are SCI Convention’s own.
5 facts about Safari Club International Convention, each with where it came from.
Exhibit space for the 2027 SCI Convention sold out, the fifth consecutive sellout since the Convention moved to Nashville.source
SCI Foundation schedules a Conservation Leadership Award Gala on Tuesday, January 19, 2027, a SABLES Brunch on Friday, January 22, 2027, and a Veterans Breakfast on Saturday, January 23, 2027 around the Convention.source
The 2027 Convention runs January 20-23, 2027 in Nashville per SCI's own site banner.source
The 2027 event is described as marking SCI's 55th year, with a floor dominated by outfitters and destinations where hunters book guided hunts worldwide.source
A third-party directory reports, citing organizer figures, 18,000+ attendees from 114+ countries, 950+ exhibitors and 50+ seminars, with tickets starting at $155 and a members-only requirement.source
SCI Convention 2027: questions people ask
When and where is the 2027 SCI Convention?
January 20 – 23, 2027, at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Show hours: Wed–Sat 9:00 AM–5:00 PM. Registration opens the day before, Tuesday, from 10:00 AM.
Do I need to be an SCI member to attend?
Yes. The SCI Convention is members only, and you need an active Safari Club International membership. Advance tickets, through December 1, 2026, run from $155 for one day to $385 for all four.
Can I bring my children?
Yes. Youth badges for ages 0 to 12 and 13 to 17 are free, but only added to a paid adult registration.
Where should I stay for the SCI Convention?
At one of the hotels on SCI's own list, booked through SCI's links to avoid scams. The Omni Nashville is sold out with no waitlist; the JW Marriott, Embassy Suites, Westin and others on the list are all within a ten-minute walk of the Music City Center.
How do I get from the airport?
Uber, Lyft and KreweCar use the Ground Transportation Center on Level 1 of Terminal Garage 2 at Nashville International Airport; rental car counters are on Level 1 of the main terminal.
How big is the SCI Convention?
More than 950 exhibitors and over 18,000 attendees from 114-plus countries, with 50-plus seminars and more than 20 auctions. SCI says it takes four days to see the whole floor.
Does SCI sell attendee lists to exhibitors?
No. SCI does not sell or share its member or attendee lists, and says any offer to sell one is a scam.
How should outfitters follow up after the SCI Convention?
With a quote that answers exactly what the hunter asked, while they are still in Nashville. Hunters compare several outfitters for the same species; the clearest quote that arrives first is the one they call back. MeetDrop writes that email from one sentence you say after they walk away, and it waits for your OK.
