For the past four years, hunting brands, content creators, and everyday hunters have gathered in early August at Wildwood Farm for a weekend of celebrating the outdoor lifestyle, especially deer hunting.
The festival has seen its share of changes throughout the years as the industry develops. Trends shift, content teams come and go, experts rise and then fade away, but the thread that keeps folks coming back year after year is the same: to connect with other hunters in a fun, laidback atmosphere.
Vendors lined the rows both inside the barn, under the canopy stage tent, and outside along the grass.
Jake Hart, who owns hunting lifestyle apparel brand Bowminded, said this year was his best yet in the festival’s history.
“It was our third year out in Massachusetts for Huntstock and each year gets better and better,” he said. “In fact, this past weekend was the best three-day show we have ever had.”
Throughout the years of tweaking and learning, organizers have seen it make a difference in the quality of the event.
“We also made big strides on the 3D archery course, with rave reviews, and people who regularly shoot 3D saying it was the best course they'd ever shot, comparing it to TAC and other professionally designed courses,” Guyette said. “It was really encouraging to see nearly double the number of kids and women in attendance this year. Our audience continues to diversify as we are building a show for all sportsmen, women, and children.”
This year saw some changeovers in brands represented at the show. Big names included Vortex, Sig Sauer, Ruger, Stone Glacier, and Tactacam at the event this year, but some of the other brands who have attended in previous years, such as Moultrie Mobile, Bowtech, Hoyt, Prime, Xpedition, KUIU, Quietkat, and Mossberg were absent. According to Guyette, a lot of this was due to the tariffs creating an unpredictable market and brands having to cut event budgets. But, for many of those that exhibited, the feedback was positive.
“Huntstock is more than a tradeshow, it’s a gathering of those who have a deep sense of passion for the outdoors, hunting and conservation,” Jillian LaPlante, Senior NPI Manager at Sig Sauer, said. “It’s an outlet for education, tradition, and meaningful conversations that often result in sales. However, it is the non-tangible transactions that make Huntstock truly unique.”
The weather this year was hot and sunny, a stark change from the rainy muddy weekend that 2024 handed out. Festival owners Pat Guyette and Pat Burns enthusiastically told the crowd during Saturday evening’s raffle giveaways that this year saw the largest crowd so far.
According to Guyette, Huntstock 2025 had 4,454 total attendees from Thursday to Sunday, which was a 76% increase from 2024.
This year’s biggest raffle prize was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, a weekend with hunting legends Lanny Benoit, Dan Infalt, and Rick Labbe this upcoming December. The winner, Steven Pereira was ecstatic when his name was called.
“I won the dream hunt Saturday,” he said. “I am beyond excited for this opportunity. Learning on your own is tough so getting this chance means everything to me.”
Festival organizers are already looking forward to next year’s event.
“What I'm most excited about is the constructive feedback we received on how we can make the show better,” he said. “We're looking forward to tackling those challenged with an action plan to make sure we are constantly evolving and improving. Our goal to produce best show possible for the community means that we can never be complacent and must take continuous action on feedback.”
