Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Petzal

Is he really the pompous Azzhole he comes across as in both his writing and tv appearances?

I’ve wondered the same thing.

No. My brother and I shared camp with him a few seasons. He is a gentleman of the first order. Some might confuse his very dry sense of humor for arrogance. That would be a mistake.

He is also a wicked good position and field shooter.

I like him. He knows what he is talking about.
Like many of us old pharts, he occasionally gets a little thin skinned with some of the stupidity that surrounds us. That's just fun.
I've noticed that Mule Deer has joined this club, and seems to be enjoying the freedom to call some of this nonsense.
Petzel and Barsness are, by far, the 2 most credible writers we are privileged to have among us.
The next generation is gonna have a big problem replacing them.

Back around 2003, I met Dave Petzal at his fancy hook-and-bullet club, The Campfire Club of America. I was there as a guest of a friend, another member, who knows Petzal. My friend introduced us, and Dave was very nice. Somewhere I have a picture of us together. I look forward to his articles at Field and Stream.

I like his writing, he is a curmudgeon.
I am a curmudgeon.
My friends and acquaintances are mostly a little like this too. It sounds to me that Petzal knew Warren Page, I liked the very cranky Warren.
I questioned his western hunting skills, he lived in the east. There is only one way to be good at hunting game and that is to be immersed in it by living around it.
Hunting with Outfitter's teaches you little about the landscape and the species,and besides, the guides make all the decisions. I know this because I have work for many Guide Outfitter's as a BG guide.
I really believe you have to live, breath, see western game, hit a few with your truck or kick a few from your haystack yard to become good at hunting the species.
I digress, but , I like David's writing and haven't noticed much about the tactical side- that would turn me off
.

Used to watch him before I cut the cord. I really liked his dry humor and deadpan delivery. Some might take that as arrogance, I suppose, but I never did.

Long ago he wrote an article featuring his Custom Shop Weatherby 7mm with a classic stock. That's the only Weatherby that ever really wound my clock.

I like Petzal. He doesn’t mince words. Most of the truly knowledgeable writers can come across as arrogant. (And, frequently, the not-so-knowledgeable.) Keith, Askins, Cooper, O’Connor could all come across that way. They simply knew what they were talking about, had strong opinions, and weren’t shy about sharing them.

I have read some of his pieces in GUN DIGEST, etc. but don't read whatever publication he writes for. We were seated at the same table at a SHOT Show luncheon/ presentation about ten or so years ago. Certainly seemed a gentleman and generally pleasant person.

I have read Petzel's stuff and have seen him on TV. Seems quite credible and I like his sense of humor. I'd take him for a brother any day. I don't say that very often. Be Well, Rustyzipper.

I wish I had money when some of his rifles were auctioned off. I especially wanted his Ultra Light Arms rifle in a beautiful Stutzen stock in 257AI, I think. Several others too.

I've always enjoyed his writing, as well as his attitude. He's not one to suffer fools lightly, as the old saying goes. And is approach to hunting and rifles appeals to me. JB is in that category, too, all the way.

I enjoy his writings. To me he's not PC and tells it like he sees it.

JB may be a tad more diplomatic.

Both good writers.

DF

I have known Dave Petzal for over 40 years--personally, and as one of my bosses when I was a staff writer for FIELD & STREAM, and as a hunting companion. Apparently some people do not get his dry sense of humor, especially when reading his writing, but there are plenty of people without much sense of humor above a grade-school level. He is a curmudgeon, but also generous--and I learned a lot from him about writing over the years.

Dave is of the generation which believed in using larger rifle cartridges for hunting than many do now, probably because there weren't as many great bullets for everything from varmints to really big game as there are today. Consequently he's kind of stuck in the past in some ways, but that's his experience, and he's honest about it--though I believe he likes to exaggerate his opinions, because he also likes to tweak people.

I like his writing a lot, but for some reason or another he's not great at telling hunting stories. I know other gun writers with the same trait, so don't hold it against him.

Tejano--Dave sold the NULA Stutzen 7x57 a number of years ago. Like many of us, he's an absolute rifle (and other firearms) loony, and at the time he simply HAD to have a certain, very expensive European trap gun. So he sold some of his other guns (as I recall 2-3, but it may have been more) in order to buy the scattergun.

I like Petzal's writing and appreciate his sense of humor. He certainly has opinions, but isn't that what one would expect from a writer, especially one of such long experience?

I once contacted him wondering about one of his strongly-voiced opinions and received a very civil and well-thought-out reply.

He can't be too much of a curmudgeon, he likes the 6.5 CM.

My favorite writer, I thoroughly enjoy everything he writes. I get his sense of humor which is substantially more developed than mine. Miss his TV show.

Picked up much sound advice from his writings and TV show.

I met him a few times. He's a good writer, a smart guy with great sense of humor.