GSC Extortion!

T

ttj

Guest
It appears that Dennis Campbell and Grand Slam Club are hurting for money. My dad just received a certified notice from Grand Slam Club Ovis stating that if he doesn't either pay a $500 archive fee or join GSC as a life member, his Grand Slam #1002 will be lost.

If he doesn't pay he will "willingly give up my Grand Slam documentation number, and choose to no longer be considered as having a Grand Slam of North American Wild Sheep, which is a trademark owned solely by Grand Slam Club/Ovis".

What a joke.....just another reason not to support GSC.

Anyone else receive a similar letter?
 
That's crazy, but it doesn't surprise me. I'm still dumbfounded that Dennis filed a law suit against FNAWS (WSF) in the first place. What a waste of time and money that could have gone to sheep projects. If I had it to do over again I wouldn't apply for a Grand Slam number. I was hesitant to apply in the first place due to my anger about the lawsuit. I haven't been a member of GSC or attended a convention since receiving my number.

I haven't received a letter yet, but I'm sure it's coming. I will never support GSC again. If he wants my number back he can have it.
 
Wonder how all the early Grand Slammers that are deceased will be able to give the $500 necessary to keep their coveted low number?

The irony of this is how the past few years a lot of ink has been on their pages about how important it is that they are the main historians of N.A. sheep hunting. Guess that history is about to be re-interpreted by the almighty dollar.

Maybe if I wait around I could change my number from 1393 to a sub-1000. Most likely, I'll just be like one of those early slammers that never saw the need to be recognized.

I wonder if they send all my documentation back to me if I request it?
 
I was a member for a couple of years before I realized its for the uber wealthy - and all about the money!!!
The FNAWS lawsuit did it for me.
 
I have #1121 for sale. I'll sell the damn number for half what Dennis wants!

My ego isn't so out of control that I NEED that number! I killed the sheep, I did it because I love to hunt sheep and not so that I could read my name on a little line in a magazine. I hunt because I want to hunt, not so I can please others.

It would appear that the "official record keepers of mountain game" are only interested in the "official taking of money".

My suspicion is that Dennis wants some more money for one of those costly Asian sheep hunts that he always takes. PERIOD!

They can keep their little club!

Zeke
 
I don't have any sheep to my name but I was amember for a few years...dropped em when they filed suit and told them as much. I have little time for "conservation" groups that are nothing more than fronts for a clique of connected and/or weathly hunters to use public and/or member money to further their own personal hunting endeavors and egos (see SFW).

"Whatever you are, be a good one."
- Abraham Lincoln
 
Unbelievable!! Dennis even sent the letter by certified mail. It cost him $5.75 just to send the letter. Note the letter below states, ?I willingly give up my Grand Slam documentation number, and choose to no longer be considered as having a Grand Slam of North American Wild Sheep, which is a trademark owned solely by Grand Slam Club/Ovis.?

Does he really think that the use of the word ?Grand Slam? means anything. Nothing will change the fact that I took all four North American wild sheep. Since when did hunting start being about numbers instead of the experience. From here on out, I will indicate that I have reached the Full Curl so as not to be the subject of a law suit from Dennis Campbell. Better yet, I will just admit that I am addicted to hunting sheep, weather it be one or a hundred, dall, desert, rocky or stone.

If I want a Grand Slam I can go to Denny?s and get a ?Grand Slam? breakfast any day of the week, 24 hours a day, and for only $4.99. As for Grand Slam #1533, I guess it will be lost, I hope the guy who finds it is happy.


9532gsco.jpg
 
Hey sheepfever, maybe Denny Campbell should sue Denny's for their use of "grand slam".

Maybe he should sue MLB for their use of the term "grand slam".

It is originally, after all, a baseball term which Grancel Fitz used to describe the taking of all 4 sheep in NA. Bob started a little club but would roll over in his grave if he could see what Dennis has done with it (and all the negativity surrounding it)!

This hole shiite with GSO is out of control! It shows their true colors and it's a color which doesn't look good on me.

Zeke
 
How much does it cost to "archive" and "publish" a # ???? pure greed in my book



How to start an argument online:
1. Express an opinion
2. Wait
 
Yes, that is the letter in question. I agree, how much does it cost to archive a number? I haven't been to their convention and have declined membership to GSC, as the whole lawsuit with WSF really turned me off.

I don't know what is worse, extorting monies from your membership or suing another conservation organization...it really does show their true colors, in my opinion. Piss poor at best! I guess when I finally harvest a desert, it will be to compete my full curl, as I really have no need for a breakfast entree any more!

TJ
 
This stuff is unreal, unbelievable, they should be ashamed.
They must be having some serious financial problems to stoop this low.
Definitely not a classy move.
 
Yes it is...

I guess we all have an ego, to a point, but I feel a need to balance my ego with my wallet and conscience. The wallet wins, Full Curl and WSF win big, gsco and their over-blown egos lose forever! They will have to take my number through default since I have no inclination to reply to their letter.

Zeke
 
I was a member when the law suit came out. I immediately called and canceled my membership. Dennis actually called me back himself and begged me to not cancel, but now I know it was just because they were going to lose my money, not that he actually wanted me to be a member!
Nothing would surprise me with that group!!!

I will never have a number, and that doesn't bother me one bit!
What a bunch of jerks!
 
It is my understanding that they have been shopping GSC to anyone who will cover their debts, and that SCI turned them down flat.
I am a life member of both WSF and GSC. I attend the WSF convention, but won't attend GSC. The lawsuit against WSF lost my support for GSC. And this latest letter is pure BS. GSC directors... have you no shame?I
 
What are their dbts from?? The moronic lawsuit? Does their convention lose money, even with all the deep pockets they have as members?

They always evoke Jack O'Connor's name...he'd be ashamed of that organization if he were alive today.


"Whatever you are, be a good one."
- Abraham Lincoln
 
The last of their three choices on that form is unreal! It's like if you don't pay them their money it would mean you haven't killed your sheep, LOL!
 
I'd be willing to bet that those extensive costs include a gross over-estimated plan of how many hunters would fork over a $100 a month to join the super slam side of gsc/ovis.

I still find it ironic that Dennis Campbell has stated many times how it was a sad deal that some members lost their low slam numbers when Bob Householder purged an earlier list over concerns about poaching sheep in Mexico. Looks like he's not really too worried about re-writing the history of the GSC again. I wonder how it will be explained in future historical reviews? "Our club had to purge the slam list in 2012, not due to illegal actvity, but because certain members elected not to pay the required archive fee."

That letter is a prime example of why I don't join conservation orgs as a life member.
 
When I joined GSC as a life member over ten years ago, it was partily to contribute to the conservation of wild sheep and support for the sheep hunting community, but it was also with the expectation of receiving the magazine, newsletter or whatever, for the rest of my "life". It would be a darn shame if the capital raised from my life membership fee, along with that from many others, has been squandered on money-losing conventions, excessive overhead, elaborate self-aggrandizing "awards" or the promotion of yet another "SLAM".

Frankly, I find it more than a bit off-putting when I visit the GSC website and see the link to "What is a Grand Slam?", only to learn that the answer is essentially that a Grand Slam is only a Grand Slam when GSC (i.e. Dennis) says so... because some homer judge in Mississippi declared that they have the exclusive trademark. That's pathetic. And I am still upset that millions were wasted on needless litigation which seemed to have much less to do with the importance of defending a "mark" and much more to do with fatally wounding FNAWS.

This latest letter reeks of financial desperation. I believe the board of directors of GSC owes it to its members to come up with an immediate explanation. Or is the board just another rubber-stamp?

Are there no supporters of Dennis and GSC to come onto the MM forum to defend and explain this latest move? Where are you?

HT
 
Well put HornedToad!....I have always wondered why Dennis Campbell has never gone after "Major Leage Baseball" in reqards to everytime the term "Grand Slam" is used in the commentary in broadcasts, and in the "Record Books" and "Hall of Frame"

Maybe it's because he knows he would get his "Ass" handed to him in court....

I have heard that their convention has been a losing proposition since the lawsuit with FNAWS...and this year was the worst!
 
A Grand Slam of North American Sheep, I grew up reading and dreaming about someday accomplishing that feat. 35 years after my first ram, I finally accomplished it. I was a proud member of FNAWS and GSC and enjoyed the conventions with fellow sheep hunters. Then along comes Ovis and I'm now in GSCO and I didn't really like that happening to GSC. Then came the lawsuit with FNAWS over a fricken name, what a waste of money and resources that was and it was the end of my convention attendance.

Now I see this letter sent to a fellow slammer and I can't believe Dennis has made me ashamed to be a GSC member and would taint the meaning of what it meant to have accomplished a Grand Slam. Now you have to pay this extortion or as they call it a maintenance fee to keep your number, what a crock! The purge of 2012 as fellow slammer DWalton called it. Dennis can pick up his toys and go home as I don't want to be in that sandbox anymore. A bunch of elite a$$holes! I am now even prouder to be a member of FNAWS.
 
Yukonjacko,
We had about the same sheep-path. My first ram was 32 years ago and well before that time the topic that was in the front of my mind was the romance of sheep hunting and the prospect that some day I'd take a "grandslam" (trademarked).
This latest deal with GSCO has tainted the experience but I will not let it take away from the utter enjoyment of days on the mountain and the hunting of wild sheep.
I prefer to hold-fast to the romance of the hunt and the satisfaction of the kill and in the end that's why I've hunted wild sheep.
I don't need a "club" to tell me I've had some great adventures!
I feel sorry for what once was and what is now.
Zeke
 
Yukonjacko and Zeke...Your exactly right!. When I received my "Full Curl" award last year I remember stating to the crowd "that what I will always cherish about my sheep hunts, wasn't the Rams, but the friendships and memories that I made along the way in this incredible journey!"...There's not a "number" or "Dollar Value" that can ever replace that!

I really don't think guys like Dennis Campbell or the likes, will ever understand!

Formally "Grand Slam #1605"

KP
 
Perhaps it would help if a group of us contacted Butch and Dale and some of the other GSC directors to see if they could turn around this knuckleheaded move.
 
HornedToad---I would think you would get the point across better by telling them to stick it where the sun don't shine. If they haven't figured out that doing what they're doing is ridiculous, if you go the other route and try to make them think it's important to you it may be counterproductive. Just a thought!
 
I too have been a lifemember for a long time and have supported them through all that has gone on, AND I took alot of heat for it. If I could I attended the conventions also. My user name is even my number and while everyone here is right about it being about the memories and experiance that number has meant something to me up until now. What I do not get is they want to be the documenting authority(and I was ok with that,One list and all)but now it will only be documented if you pay?

I am fully aware of what it takes to run an organization and to put on a show. I am also aware of what the costs are and while everyone wants freebies and giveaways those things cost money and lots of it. Same as all the mailings. Our group spends more on mailings than almost any other facet of advertising. Plus throw in a tough economy and I can see trying to raise extra money. But to alienate any portion of your membership is just a mistake and a big one at that. Hopefully someone see's the light and realizes this is the wrong approach.
 
I'm with Zeke and Topgun, I have no intention of wasting my time replying to the letter. They lost my support after the lawsuit against FNAWs, and I guess this is Dennis' way of getting back at me for not paying my dues. I wonder if the guys with 6 or 7 slams are going to have to pay $500 for each slam, we all know how expensive it is to keep track of names and numbers in an Excel spreadsheet.
 
I enjoyed the conventions and meeting some of the sheep hunting legends at them and they would talk to you, most even dressed like you! Meeting common hunters that just talked sheep hunting. That all changed after GSC felt like they needed to break away from FNAWS, after signing up most of their members on FNAWS's dime, only to turn on them and bite the hand that fed them.

The common sheep hunter became un-common with that crowd, it became more of a money thing to me. Sure the common person is there, but probably more so to win a 3/4 draw or they joined to register thier accomplishment as you had to be a member to register it. Now you have to pay to keep the spread sheet populated, ha ha What a joke, but that seems to me what they slowly have turned the romance of accomplishing a Grand Slam into.

I enjoy reading the story of how someone finally accomplished a Grand Slam after years of trying and scratching and saving to do so. It's just not the same reading about someone doing it in a year or two or buying all the auction tags to get the biggest slam possible.

The accomplishment got too easy for them and killing the ram was just something they needed to do in order to get that notch in the belt and move on to the next round of competition. It got so boring hunting North American sheep that Ovis had to be formed to cater to the ego's and money that GSCO had become.

This extortion will be getting rid of the very people I joined to be with and without them the list will become meaningless, like GSCO is becoming. That letter hits a nerve with me,I haven't wrote this much in years, ha ha. That really pi$$es me off that the board would be OK with this, bunch of elite a'holes.
Jack

The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel to fast and you miss all you are traveling for. -Louis Lamour-
 
Another chapter in what I call the sheep hunting game. I think some of us have lost track of why we like to hunt sheep ie the country, the company, the challenge, and of course the sheep. The older you get the more you realize these are the things that are important.
 
LAST EDITED ON Apr-13-12 AT 01:44PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Apr-13-12 AT 01:16?PM (MST)

I am a life member of WSF(FNAWS) and was a subscriber to GSCO until my subscription expired and have not renewed in a couple years, I even entered their draws for hunts and spent thousands.

No More will Dennis and his Sorority get another dime from me, especially with this extortion going on, as matter of fact I wont support any outfitters that will continue to advertise with this clownville. This will hurt GSCO further by advertisement dollars leaving their pocket. If these Outfitters leave GSCO they will increase their chance of me picking them to hunt with.


NMBIGHORN


EDIT: We as hunters have a voice in all things too, after all, we work hard for the money we give them.
 
Is any one stupid enough to pay this?? I bet he is sitting by the mail box waiting for all the letters to return. I bet he has a long wait.
 
$500 x 2000 slams is $1 million. If he gets 25% participation then is $250K. The backlash is fast and furious. Predictable. Break the bond of trust with hunters and there is heck to pay.

Merchandise builds loyalty if is nice quality. Offer official merchandise personalized to Slam members. A nice bronze desk paperweight or a larger bronze of 4 sheep heads along with the Slam name and # could be sold at 3x cost and the only customization needed is the plate with the name and number. Do a special price if pre-order and you can fund the inventory purchase of the items you then have made and ship.

Oh well, too late to shut the gate now the sheep has left the barnyard.
 
If the person was a member in good standing (paying dues), would this letter have been sent? It sure sounds tacky, but why would you want a number if you didn't even support the organization?
 
Here's the way I understand it. If you've been paying dues all along you will probably not receive the letter (but I don't know this for a fact). If you were not paying dues, but have been a member in the past and have been assigned an OFFICIAL number since they are the OFFICIAL record keepers, then you will receive the letter.

If you've received the letter and do not pay up then your number, previously an OFFICIAL permanent number, will be lost. Who would have thunk that these permanent and OFFICIAL numbers are not so permanent and that the official record keepers are only interested in those who continue to pay, and now pay big?

Being part of the "club" and receiving the magazine were part of the perks for paying dues. Having a registered permanent OFFICIAL number (and wearing the expensive, personalized, numbered ring and palque on the wall) was not previously tied to continued payment of dues. Once a nummber always a number. This has now changed to the point where just renewing the membership isn't quite good enough to "save" your number from being recycled by the official record keepers.

I understand that Dennis has the "legal" right to do whatever he wants and even though I whine about it, I respect the law. He should NOT tout himself or his club as the OFFICIAL record keepers since the records will be totally incomplete from now on.

They may take my permanent official number and re-assign it to another person as a permanent official number to them..... as long as they keep paying because it costs so much to keep a number in a computer.

Yes, you are totally right and I'll quit biotching now!

Proud FULL CURL member,
Zeke
 
Wow

I think I am going after #1127 right now!

Oh, wait... I still have to kill a desert and a stone!

Crap...now I will never get a "Dennis the Menace" Grand Salome(I don't want to get sued for saying the wrong word) bragging number!
 
LAST EDITED ON Apr-20-12 AT 12:14PM (MST)[p]You can have #1121. It's much better than #1127.
LBH, do you want my ring too? LOL
 
DANG!
I was off by 6 digits, but I if you are offering, I will take your ring. I could possibly pawn it for a couple of dollars, which is more than what Dennis' letter has made it worth. LOL

I used to covet your # but now I will look to some day get a nice ram head from full curl.
(I am told on Sundays that coveting is a bad thing anyway-so it is all good)
 
It looks like #1393 is available; got my letter today. I was a member for over a decade. In 2011 I dropped my membership, as with 3 young kids any further sheep hunting pursuits would have to be put on hold.

It's unfortunate that Mr. Campbell has decided to re-write the history of the Grand Slam Club. The one thing that Mr. Campbell has seemed to lose sight of is sheep hunting should be more than just another award for the hunter. What matters to me is I've been on the mountains, shared sheep ribs with some of the finest people in the world, and was lucky enough to take 4 beautiful rams. No "official" number can change that.
 
LAST EDITED ON Apr-20-12 AT 11:07PM (MST)[p]I just don't understand how the GSCO board can sit there and let history be deleted or re-wrote and be OK with these letters being sent out.

I still remember giving you and your wife a ride in Dease Lake that time Dave, seems like yesterday. Great people and time spent there with the Bradfords. I sure hate to see the way GSCO is going forward with this. It seems like they could have tried to raise money a different way and not by extorting documented slammers.

The list won't mean much once numbers start to change or names are dropped from it.

Jack
#1289

The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel to fast and you miss all you are traveling for.
-Louis Lamour-
 
Another thought; If you have a P&Y or B&C record book animal, and they have record of it, I have not seen them send out a BILL for recordkeeping!!!!!!!!!

I agree with some of you about your thoughts on the future value of the "official record". It just won't be very valid, true complete or correct and this situation will forever leave a poop-stain on the club.

Ok, I'm through venting end reventing.

Zeke
 
I'm sitting here looking at my GSC/OVIS document, stating my name, Grand Slam number and date of achievement.

Does that mean if I fail to keep my membership current someone will come and rip it off the wall ?

from the "Heartland of Wyoming"
 
If you keep your membership maybe you'll get a new, lower number. Then again, those lower numbers might be reserved for those who bid the highest.

A couple of years ago, it was found that a guy illegally killed a stone ram; claiming to be a B.C. resident. Dennis Campbell ranted on and on about the integrity and historical significance of the list ( the number assigned to this guy was listed as revoked from there on out). I guess Campbell has changed his mind on the definition of integrity and historical significance.

To think I supported Dennis during the lawsuit makes me nauseated.
 
Sad that hunters feel the need to get a number or an inch to satisfy their desire of accomplishment. If a guy is fortunate enough to kill 4 species of sheep he has done it and doesn't need a number to prove it. LB's buck is his buck and isn't made any better (or any worse) by having some guy with a tape measure tell him so. GSCO is a scam and should have been out of the game long ago, if only the ants would have stopped feeding the queen.
 
i just looked at the GSCO website and reviewed the grand slam registration form. It isn't stated anywhere on the form that you must be a member or pay a archive fee. I would think that there is a legal issue with them eliminating the grand slam number if the registration form didn't state it. It would be interesting to see what a letter from an attorney would do and what the response would be.

I really hope WSF buys GSCO and brings this all under one roof again like it should be for the good of our sheep hunting future.
 
MJ. I really don't want GSC to profit from this but it would be a great kick in the balls if WSF was legally able to use the the term grand slam.
After going to the GSC convention this year I can't imagine they are doing that well. You could walk through the entire show in about 10 minutes. I had to go around 3 times to waste a half hour of my life. There is nothing there that wasn't at the WSF show with the WSF show being much more fun and more to see.
 
LAST EDITED ON Apr-30-12 AT 10:35AM (MST)[p]WOW!!! GSCO sent me a "Second Notice" that my membership has expired! If I don't renew now the membership price is going to go up. Oh no! He also states that they had their most successful convention ever in Reno, Nevada this year. What a crock, who is he trying to fool. I guess he forgot that he sent me an extortion letter last month. At this rate, I don't see GSCO lasting another year.

I have my Full Curl, no number required. I would much rather give Full Curl $100 a year with nothing in return then give GSCO a dime. For those of you that have attended the Full Curl Society the last few years, you understand the excitement of seeing fellow hunters get a chance to pursue their dream of hunting sheep, no strings attached.
 
LAST EDITED ON May-01-12 AT 09:31PM (MST)[p]Does anybody know why the Utah slammers were the only ones targeted? Regardless I will call tomorrow and if I do not get the answers I am looking for they have received their last dime from me.
 

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