Getting a little older and somewhat more skeptical of all things tagged "the best ever", "never before", "one size fits all"....

I have to ask myself, have you noticed that...

-when someone comes on AR and asks for the "best" place to hunt buffalo, you get the answers from the guys who have done it once or have read about it but have not real experience doing it?

-when someone asks what bullet to use, they get a bunch of answers but rarely does someone say, "it doesn't matter a whole lot as long as you put it in the right place'. A Bear Claw, a Triple Shock, a Partition or a A-Frame far surpass anything the guys used 20 years ago and they still killed a bunch of dangerous stuff.

- when someone asked about a gun for lion, the only guy that made a lot of sense in his response was Aaron Neilson, who had killed 11 lions on 14 hunts?

-when asking about a hunt in South Africa, the biggest concern is usually cost and not the experience?

-when asking if we had heard of a particular PH, that they had not really checked the references and asked a lot of questions of people who hunted with the guy.

-when we debate the merits of the Ruger .416 or the Rigby or the .416 Rem we really miss the point of putting the biggest bullet in the best spot on the critter and that all of the technical stuff is really no a big deal when you pull the trigger?

- when someone is buying or selling a gun on ARbay, that they whittle on the price - everytime? I quit worrying about the price so much as the ammo and the quality of the gun. Why do we hem and haw over $50 on a rifle we are taking on a $15,000 hunt?

- when someone asks about using a Trijicon or a Bushnell or a whatever scope for a DGR, then one of the experts says you reallly ought to look at Swarovski or Schmidt and Bender - then you hear the internet moaning of the price of real good optics - yet, those very optics will make or break your shot at that one critical moment?

Oh well, maybe it is just the winter or moon or something that pushed over to the dark side of the force today.

I just like to see the "real deal" or hear the "truth" on things. With the elections going on, seems 'truth' is in short supply these days..

Oh well....

We are kind of like a true democracy. A lot of yelling going on and it is up to the listener to separate the truth from the BS.
Caveat emptor!

You mean there some truth in there somewhere??? I must have missed that! :-)

I've learned the years that there are often multiple truths just as there are often various means to get to the same end.

Information is a good thing.

What's up dogcat?

Are you bucking for Andy Rooney's old job?

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
What's up dogcat?

Are you bucking for Andy Rooney's old job?

"Let's look at these bullets I've gathered on my desk here" LOL!

So, what you are saying is that when someone asks for an opinion, you don't want to hear it?

There are many different people here with experiences that have caused them to develop different opinions. No way to stop that! Concerning the guys who haven't really done it, well that's usually pretty easy to figure out over time.

But what I find is that often times, there are enough experiences reflected here to form a majority opinion. That's where I find value in the posts.

I guess after reading the first post I'm not qualified to post on here. Oops!! I just did.

quote:

Concerning the guys who haven't really done it, well that's usually pretty easy to figure out over time.

Then we have questions that are obvious attempts just to make a post.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
What's up dogcat?

Are you bucking for Andy Rooney's old job?

Mrlxma,
I feel like it sometimes. I had a guy tell me the other day all about his Africa trip and how dangerous it was and how the animals were everywhere and how the ranch he was on in South Africa was so wild....

I smiled and remembered when I felt the same way...

After going to Cameroon and seeing some really wild people and wierdness, I just smile and tell them, go - see- smell - then come back with a grin on your face that says, "yep, it was really an adventure"

quote:

Originally posted by Blacktailer:
We are kind of like a true democracy. A lot of yelling going on and it is up to the listener to separate the truth from the BS.
Caveat emptor!

A bit like 'phants mating. A lot of noise and a whole lot of fussing.

Thanks guys! I needed a good laugh today. Every post made me smile. Funny sh#t for sure!

Ski+3

My matter of fact answer is. " If you cant hit a cow in the ass with a snow shovel, it's academic. Accuracy is more important, Make the Shot"

dogcat (Rooney)

Amen Brother I'm with ya...must have come over me too.

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:

- when someone asks about using a Trijicon or a Bushnell or a whatever scope for a DGR, then one of the experts says you reallly ought to look at Swarovski or Schmidt and Bender - then you hear the internet moaning of the price of real good optics - yet, those very optics will make or break your shot at that one critical moment?

Dogcat,
I have good friend that was a riflesmith at the old Dakota. He looked at most of the rifles that came back for inaccuracy...which a lot of times turned out to be the scope.

The #1 scope they found that failed on the heavy recoiling rifles was Schmidt & Bender...the least was Leupold VX-III or better. Trijicon wasn't really in the market then.

So maybe folks come on AR to find out stuff like that before they spend $2K for a scope.

Personally...I learn a lot here. Yes...you may have to wade a bit to get through the minutia...but you usually do get the right answer.

Like my Dad always said: "you can hear anything you'll listen to."

I have been on AR for almost 10 years.

This is what I have learned.

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:

-when asking about a hunt in South Africa, the biggest concern is usually cost and not the experience?

- when someone asks about using a Trijicon or a Bushnell or a whatever scope for a DGR, then one of the experts says you reallly ought to look at Swarovski or Schmidt and Bender - then you hear the internet moaning of the price of real good optics - yet, those very optics will make or break your shot at that one critical moment?

Very few people headed to SA are interested in a "real" experience.

And, as far as scopes, I have killed far to many animals with a "cheap" Leupold to believe that I need a scope costing 4 times as much.

Dogcat, I usually like your thoughts, but today I think you need to relax.

Well stated dogcat...on 7 of your 8 points. But when it comes to scopes, really aren't they all the same. Does a Leupold kill it any better than a Simmons or Bushnell? On everything else I'm totally in agreement with you.

But come on dawg! It's social media. People wanna feel relevant. People wanna feel like they can command responses from others. Some would rather seek out the opinions of this board than draw their own conclusions from independent research.

And finally remember, on AR, everybody is a know it all. Or perhaps just a lot of expert non-experts.

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana Moja:
Well stated dogcat...on 7 of your 8 points. But when it comes to scopes, really aren't they all the same. Does a Leupold kill it any better than a Simmons or Bushnell? On everything else I'm totally in agreement with you.

But come on dawg! It's social media. People wanna feel relevant. People wanna feel like they can command responses from others. Some would rather seek out the opinions of this board than draw their own conclusions from independent research.

And finally remember, on AR, everybody is a know it all. Or perhaps just a lot of expert non-experts.

Wow, a self proving post!!

I agree with ya on that one Frosty..."expert non-expert?" Definitely myself included!

You and I are probably the only two people still up, on the Western side of the country!

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana Moja:
Well stated dogcat...on 7 of your 8 points. But when it comes to scopes, really aren't they all the same. Does a Leupold kill it any better than a Simmons or Bushnell? On everything else I'm totally in agreement with you.

But come on dawg! It's social media. People wanna feel relevant. People wanna feel like they can command responses from others. Some would rather seek out the opinions of this board than draw their own conclusions from independent research.

In reverse order: few of us have the resources to conduct meaningful independent research. Hence all the "which one is best" questions.

And as far as scopes, all of them are better than any iron sight for distance shooting. And just like rifles, a mid priced scope will do 99.9% of what the ones costing 20 times more will do.

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana Moja:
You and I are probably the only two people still up, on the Western side of the country!

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana Moja:
I agree with ya on that one Frosty..."expert non-expert?" Definitely myself included!

So Dawg!! I'm heading to bed and should probably already be there but here's my take.

I read most everything on this forum. Why? Because folks with the name and the "knowhow" sometimes post here but also the "little guy" that went a few times or maybe only once posts of his/her experience.

I live in Alaska. It's a beautiful place and after 20 + years sometimes you get used to it until you have a visitor that reminds you why you live here because of their enthusiasm displayed in their visit.

I have learned lots from the knowledgable like yourself and even dogcat. But I have also learned a lot from the one time bwanas. Let's cut them some slack shall we.

The only man you can't learn from is the one you refuse to listen to.

Cheers
Jim

Amen! and Goodnight to that. I'm gonna get a couple hours sleep and then drive to Las Vegas...Good morning Jason! You comin' to SCI?

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana Moja:
Good morning Jason! You comin' to SCI?

Not this year. Maybe I will see you in Reno next year.

Do you have a booth this year?

Maybe we should just make AR a one forum website, named “ Frequently asked questions on all subjects and all countries!” with all questions answered by DOGCAT, Final answer, no others need reply!

The band width would be drastically reduced, saving Saeed a lot of money for the website.
………………………………………………………………

Don’t worry guys, Dog is just a bored old fart! He’ll get over it once he does a little hunting this year!

I don't really worry about this stuff. I keep saying nice things about A-Square bullets and U.S. Optics glass..vox clemartis in deserto.

I do appreciate the opinions of those who have done what I have not, though.

Good hunting.

quote:

Originally posted by MacD37:
Maybe we should just make AR a one forum website, named “ Frequently asked questions on all subjects and all countries!” with all questions answered by DOGCAT, Final answer, no others need reply!

The band width would be drastically reduced, saving Saeed a lot of money for the website.
………………………………………………………………

Don’t worry guys, Dog is just a bored old fart! He’ll get over it once he does a little hunting this year!

Mac,
I wish I had the answers! But I do not. I have learned to learn from those who have been there before me however.

Your complaining about people talking about their interest in African hunting on an African hunting forum?
As for money, well, money is always important.
I am not going to get into the scope snobbery thing as I shoot iron sights and can safely ignore it all.

quote:

- when someone asks about using a Trijicon or a Bushnell or a whatever scope for a DGR, then one of the experts says you reallly ought to look at Swarovski or Schmidt and Bender - then you hear the internet moaning of the price of real good optics - yet, those very optics will make or break your shot at that one critical moment?

I've seen a bunch of shooters with ol' 700's sporting a low dollar old luepold put down quite a few animals with one well placed shot.......and some others with rifles and scopes that cost quite a bit more have to chase wounded animals around trying to finish them off.

Solid equipment is a must but the highest dollar equipt. doesn't make you a marksman......


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