Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game What is the most valuable thing that you have learned from hunting forums

............that just a click away, there are hundreds of people who love this great sport of hunting as much as I do.....and that's priceless!

What I have learned on the internet is how little I will learn about the heritage of hunting in the time I have left. I will not be a expert on hunting except on ho w=much I love it. But I know that I will set my boys on the right path with where to acquire their knowledge.<P>Greenhorn [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img] <P>JJHack you're post is the best post I have read on any message board yet.

This is a very deep subject and a very good thread. It is sure to spark conflicting opinion and that is where the value lies.<P>I'm of the opinion,that it is much easier to share concrete info,regarding gear,rather than tactics. The reasaon being,animals become acclimated,to their surroundings. BUT,gear either works,or it doesn't.<P>I think it is easier to share that constant(gear),rather than to try and dispell that myth(critter habits). We could(and do),endlessly debate tactics. Some of that,would apply in a broad sense,to many posters here. A share of that info,would be useless to some. That is zero fault of the guy who drummed up the post,nor those who chimed in. It just simply reinforces our diversity.<P>My thoughts,are this.... Rain will get your azz wet. Snow will make you cold. The heat will make you thirsty. High/rugged mountains,require better boots than a pasture. A backpack suited to tending a tree-stand,may not excel at toting heavy loads,over great distances. The sleeping bag you opt to use,is dependant upon it being employed in either a Motel 6,or a high alpine ridgetop. The list of comparisons,are endless. <P>That diversity,is the strength of this forum,in my opinion. It would seem foolhardy to me,to purchase something that 90% of the guys here,state as being JUNK. I very much weigh the thoughts of others,regarding gear selection.<P>However,techniques I'm not sooooo trusting. Not because someone is trying to slip false info,but how many are hunting my intended destination? My guess,would be .01%. So without being there AND seeing it,how can someone else weigh in,on the merits of my tactics?<P> A broad approach can be applied,to ALL Hunts....Keep the wind in your face,the sun to your back,your powder dry and eyes open. But what help is that? <P>Who's gonna tell me what ridge to cross in the fog,in order to get me where I want to be? Someone please tell me,where the biggest Buck of this coming season,will be found?! What is my Goat gonna score?<P>That is largely the reason,I prefer and am interested in,GEAR. It is tangible. If the wind swirls,I KNOW I goofed. BUT,if I'm caught shivering to death in a Snoopy Tent,I was WARNED(by you all).........

Hey JJ... This is Pick...<P>I have been a long time away.. I do have ONE thing that I learned on these boards, and it has always stuck with me.. It came from Ol' Sarge from the shooters.com days.. It was a write up on how to get a scope set up correctly on a rifle. It covered from the time you took the scope out of its box to the moment you sent the lead down the barrel..<P>Well if there was ever a PhD. write up on proper scope handling and mounting that was it. I have used it and it works..<P>That one stands out head and shoulders above the rest.. but I have picked up bits from just about all posters at one time or another. I forget who mentioned this but the one of keeping a small plastic pump bottle with hydergen peroxide in it. You use it when the blood trail gets iffy and lite. just mist the ground with the spray and any amount of fresh blood will bubble... I knew that stuff had to be good something besides torturing people to clean a wound.<P>...Pick..

What have I learned....hmmmm, let me think, there are so many. <P>1. Read more and sleep on my reply when my hackles are up.<P>2. Leupold dual dove tail rings rock (as apposed to what I use to use...thank you Big Stick).<P>3. I have to keep waders handy to wade through the B.S. that accumulates around here some days. <P>4. The best part is meeting and learning from guys that are just like me. I have had some great hunting experiences with guys from the forum and look forward to many more. Good post JJ. Flinch

I've only recently began using these forums and I've been amazed just how fast you can get expert opinions on everything from gear to tactics. All you have to do is read posts from people and you can see if they know what they're talking about. Its been a great help to me as I get back into hunting seriously. I've spent 11k in the past year alone just upgradeing.... Man, I don't want to figure how many burgers that would buy! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif" border="0[/img]

The biggest thing I have learned is to believe Half of what you see and None of what you read. Everyone is an expert after they have hunted something one time. THe reloaders know it all about reloading. The guides know it all about guiding, its a place where truth and reality seldom cross each others paths. Although SOMETIMES you read a real good topic, and everynow and then you run into some real good people on the net. Those that are themselves and not trying to sell something on the worldwide net I seem to trust alot more than the rest of them. I have met several good folks off the internet, and I am not putting anybody down so dont even start, but the truth is this.....There is so much BS that goes on since talk boards began it isnt even funny. [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] Got to admit I am hooked on it to a point, but just because I am rolling on the floor laughing my arse off most of the time...... Greenhorn, you should register as Cornholio over here and see how everyone here takes to your new identity. I think it would be funny to watch. But then I get a kick out of people making arses of themselves on the worldwide net. [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] A wise old man once told me "You can fool all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but ya cant fool me" .....One thing about the Hunting forums there is NEVER a dull moment.....WHether its BS or not.... [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] bcat

Bcat, I'll make you a deal. I'll change my name to Cornholio here if you pay for some advertising, like you do on the other site. Fair enough? haha.

Most valuable? (Didn't we discuss this a few months ago?)<BR>Well, it has to do with flat point bullets, at top speeds, in a Marlin levergun, and how it relates to tube explosions. I've read about this stuff before, but how a 45-70 may cause this problem with heavy loads in a Marlin was new to me.<P>You can skip over this next part if you want, it's very long, or read on for further education on this matter.<P>We had this discussion over at Marlin Talk last year, with both Randy Garrett of Garrett Ammo, and Tim Sundles of Buffalo Bore Ammo, amoung other posters.<BR>Well, concerning the 45-70 in a Marlin, the cartridge sits at the loading gate, most times cock-eyed due to the tube bulge offering extra space for the nose of the round to shift leftward. Because the bullet is flat, its meplat edge(either large or small, depending on the design), touches the primer of the cartridge in front(when it sits cock-eyed), and under heavy recoil, may cause a discharge(several have been reported recently with strong loads).<BR>This problem may be caused mainly by the tube bulge, or heavily suspected to be caused by it, and depending which theory you believe, either a large or small meplat will prevent this discharge due to how the meplat edge touches the primer of the round in front, as it sits cock-eyed in the gate area of the tube.<BR>With a very large meplat, it's large edge will "penatrate" less in the primer area, and enact less pounding on the primer. If the cases were in straight-line, the meplat will smack against the case bottom, and the meplat will surround the primer and not even touch it. Garrett uses a large meplat to prevent this problem.<BR>On the other hand, a smaller meplat may allow the smaller edge to sit on the other side of a primer of a cock-eyed case and may miss the primer all together. Buffalo Bore supports the smaller meplat for this reason. But a smaller meplat may enact more pounding due to more of it sits against the primer. A 45-70 case does not always sit off-center, it may shift under recoil. Because of this this, I like a large meplat.<BR>Whichever theory you support is your business, and it was the most valuable thing I've learned on the Net, so far. <BR>BTW Starline is producing new 45-70 brass with a small primer pocket, and Buffalo Bore also now uses a less-sensitive small primer in their ammo(with the new Starline brass), which should by all means eliminate this problem. Garrett's ammo will use this same brass in the near furture, too. ~~~Suluuq

Greenhorn--Why would either one of us want to make a deal like that? [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] I bet Rick would accept my advertizing money alot easier than he would accept the handle "CORNHOLIO" on this forum. I have no plans to advertise as I dont need to. The only reason i did at Moosies, was to help him get going a little. I have told him many times if he needs the space for someone who needs the advertisinf space to feel free to take mine off. I am glad you changed your handle back to Greenhorn over at Moosies, Kurt. Now if you would dump the Bu==head Icon and the "CHINESE PROVERB" at the bottom , ........ [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] J/K Kurt. bcat

JJ,<BR>You seem to have a knack for asking interesting questions.<BR>I've been Bummin'around these Places for over a year,now.I learned a LOT.Probably the most important thing, is that I can get an answer for ANY question that I have,just by placing it here,or on some other Site.Every answer may not be applicable,but I never got any bad advice.Everyone who responded,did his best to help,and every question was eventually answered.

I have learned that no matter what my experience or opinion,some one will disagree with it .Often with merit. I have been exposed to opinions and expeiences from all over the country that go against what I had always thought to be true. I no longer blithely assume that what I think is always correct. It has been an eye opener.

Information,no where else can you gather the width and depth.things like the history of my Eddystone'17 or my Husqvarna,some very helpful people give directions on where to find or advice on headspace('17)or hand -loading problems.Product reviews, moderators hate these,who'd a thought,Remington 760 are better rifles than Weatherbys [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] or a paper on terminal ballistics.We need to laugh at our selves more. [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img]

The greatest thing gained in talking on these boards is "food for thought" I have never listened to a person talk on a subject, without learning something, either on that particular subject, or maybe I just learned something about that person [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img] . EllieMae, Big Stick, regarding the constant being gear as opposed to tecnique, I would liken it to sex, " we all have our own habits in regards to foreplay, with the focus on the same old end result..Bang...shoot that beaver..one shot,one kill! [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img] [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img] I have been helped by many on these boards, in the way of information, and in the way of an extended hand, so to speak.