By David DiBenedetto

By none

Editor’s Note: As part of our annual coverage from the SHOT show, the outdoor industry’s biggest convention, we always run a photo gallery of “Booth Babes,” those voluptuous women companies employ to get men to stop and take a closer look at their goods.  We always get a good chuckle out of this practice when we’re at the show (and we freely admit that sometimes we do stop to admire the view), so we started this gallery so readers could share in the fun. It’s become very popular, but it’s not without its critics. There are many smart and valid criticisms in the comments section of the gallery, but we thought they deserved a larger platform. After coming across a particularly compelling argument on the blog norcalcazadora.com, we asked the author, Holly A. Heyser, a female hunter and writer from Northern California, to start the discussion here.

I’ve got to start this by saying I’m not a prude, and I don’t hate men because they love looking at bodacious babes. I’ve even started watching “Manswers” on Spike with my boyfriend because, seriously, it’s pretty over-the-top funny.
 
But I had a real problem with F&S posting its 2010 SHOT Show Booth Babe Roundup on this website Wednesday.

One of the many reasons to visit the SCI convention is the taxidermy, which ranges from marvelous to astounding. (As Wayne van Zwoll says, it’s worth the price of a plane ticket all by itself.) You just don’t see work of such scope, imagination, and artistry anywhere else.

This is a mount of a critter that you can’t hunt because it went extinct about 10,000 years ago. Popularly known as the sabretooth tiger, Smilodon evolved into several subspecies, the largest of which grew to 880 pounds, which is some big kitty.

This is awful. Undignafied. Wrong, wrong, wrong! But you have to admit, it is kind of funny.

From the Calgary Herald:

An American animal-rights activist, unhappy with Canada's seal hunt, was arrested Monday after striking Fisheries Minister Gail Shea in the face with a pie moments after she began speaking at an event in Burlington, Ont.