How do you guys handle the know it alls?

[Buckfever]

I've always taken an approach to this hunting passion of that of a student. Maintaining humility and always open to learning. But in the fullness of time, there are some truths that are rather indisputable. And those truths care not a thing for what the general consensus is regarding those truths. Perhaps moreso than anywhere else there is a lot of widespread misinformed group think, in archery and bowhunting, such that there are so many widely held, strong beliefs based on nothing more than heresay.

It's not so hard for me to discard such utter nonsense, regarding what I hold to be true, but it is getting harder for me to "let it go" when such dogmatic untruths are promoted and represented as gospel and IMO have potentially damaging implications for the archery experience.

How do you guys pick and choose your battles? There is just so much Horseschit out there, it aint funny.

[Twanger]

It's so hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way! ;D

I tend to get sucked into battles more than I should.
A good example would be the .308 bashing that a certain member of another board started a few weeks ago.
This person was convinced that the 308 cartridge was intrinsically bad no matter what load, bullet, or gun.
This opinion was based on poor hits and no recovery on a couple of deer. It couldn't possibly have been HIM that was to blame.
Furthermore he would attack your character if you disagreed with him.
Of course, this only made me go after him more. Nothing fires me up more than misplaced arrogance and basic disrespect.
We all know that the powder load, bullet design, and accuracy of the gun have everything to do with firearm performance. The wrong choice for the job is the users fault. Kinda like blaming your hammer for the nail not going in straight.

Anyhoo...

I should just stay out of the religious and political forums. I try to be reasonable, and those are places that are so polarized that any reasonable approach is attacked immediately, and there really is no sense in even talking about things. When there's no middle ground, and no reason, there is little hope.

Like you, I would like to think that I am very open to new ideas. Just show me. Reason with me. I'll observe and learn. Things that are useful and make sense I'll adopt. Things that are not, or that don't matter, will be discarded.

So... long story short. I don't know how to pick my battles either.

[Buckfever]

I guess the things that really disturb me are when guys are speaking like they're experts, expressing opinions that are clearly wrong, and vehemently arguing with someone who based on experience knows that they not only wrong but flat out ignorant.

When I hear guys giving advise that will potentially lead to disaster in the field, that just really bothers me because they are putting their egos ahead of, respect for the game that they hunt.

Another example is the 3 arrow group. A guy like Bowman and many others here who are proficient archers will shoot 3 arrow groups to improve their shooting for a number of reasons, such as avoiding the psychological barrier of ruining arrows, not allowing fatigue to set in and for bad habits to develop etc....

The reason that I don't like 3 arrow groups and have developed a habit of shooting larger groups, used to be 12 arrow groups, especially if I'm going to snap pictures, is because you get these hacks that take advantage of the, "3 arrow group concept". They'll take pictures of their best 3 arrow groups and portray them as indicative of how they shoot. And alright if you want to fool me, I don't have an issue with it, but these guys actually believe the lie themselves and don't prepare adequately, wound animals repeatedly and really hurt our interests.

I'll tell you for years, I thought I sucked as an archer based on what folks were saying about their shooting "skills", until I got out there and shot against and with these guys.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'm good, it takes me a lot of work to get ready for the field, but a lot of these guys saying they're such great shots, not only do they really suck, they have no business in the field, given their lack of proficiency.
Hell when you're adequately prepared, it still ain't easy, but to a man, in their mind, they can't miss. Like it's going to happen by some Divine intervention.

And then they'll get to talking about fixed broadhead flight and adequate arrow spine and making recommendations that are absolutely worse than horseschit. It's just so stupid!!!

[freedomrules3]

My Grandfather always said " when your done learning in life, your life is surely done " . hunting like life is always a learning experience , an open mind is a good thing.

ussually about the time i think i have everything down pat i shoot a set that makes me get humbled again . confidence is a good thing overconfidence is a killer .

i tend to listen and learn from everyone. believe it or not even the worse of the worse come up with something now and again that is worth listening to. i have learned through past experiences what to let roll of my back and what not to. now and again everyone says something that simply doesnt make sense to even try. as i get older i have learned better what battles to fight and what ones i should just bite my tongue and let it go . i tend to avoid conflict simply because it isnt worth it.

after 30 years of hunting i still feel i am an apprentice (especially with trophy hunting and technical data about bows) and have lots to learn about the sport we all love so well.

[ncboman]

Since I'm a knowitall, I can't give advice on how to handle me. ;D

Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'm good, it takes me a lot of work to get ready for the field,

Buckfever, if you don't think you're good, you need to go back to school and relearn the definition of good.

[Buckfever]

I think that everyone has touched on the points here that I'm finding challenging. I know that to continue to grow as a hunter and beleive me every year I'm still growning by leaps and bounds, it is essential to maintain my humility. But at the same time, as I have grown and become more knowledgable, I feel more of a responsibility, to set misinformation straight. It is just such a daunting task, when facing ignorance so certain of it's own validity.

I guess I just need to learn to be more gracious and help where I can and not sweat it so much.

[BillCartwright]

I always find it hard to keep my dog out of a fight when I know without a doubt, 100% that I'm right or what the person is talking about is wrong. I don't look for confrontation, but sometimes you just have to call BS on something. It doesn't take a know-it-all to do that.

If you truely hunt, you learn or see something new every day. Even if it is a fresh rub, you learned it was there. Hunting can surely keep a man humble, which is one of the aspects I enjoy about it. You are presented many challenges that you must overcome to be successful, while enjoying everything along the way.

[campkingmd]

I take the old aproach

If it looks like poop,smells like poop and tastes like poop. It probably is.

I try to walk around it because if not it will leave a bad taste in your mouth.

JMO