Ackley Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 carrying on from a post which got locked,for reasons is beyond me that only the thread starter got in too deep and started to make afool of himself who uses the internet to gain invaluable knowledge on hunting,reloading,shooting tecniques,gun maintanance,details of the quarry your hunting breeding cycles,habitat,feeding ect ect. basically anything to do with shooting,or do you listen to the grumpy old man proping up the counter in your local gunshop telling the "old ways" that you should be doing as thats all he knows. Iam sure we have all met the type "nay you canny do that lad no need to go over 100 yards,listen to me Ive been shooting 50 years" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beretta28g Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) I do use the internet but i do cross reference all of what i read with other internet sites and where possible someone with physical experience. Edited March 15, 2012 by Beretta28g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedwards1966 Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 I try to learn from everything - be it an old timer, someone new to it all, the chap in a gun shop, and the internet. I can then pick what I feel to be best for a particular element of shooting. Nobody knows everything, the internet has many good pieces of information and advice, however there are people on it who come out with utter rubbish about things they know nothing about - but it isn't just limited to the internet. The internet has it's uses, of course going out there and actually doing things is the best way to learn most things, with the internet there to fill in a few gaps and help as needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 You can learn a lot from the internet as far as ideas and details are concerned. Nothing beats getting out there and doing it though. Without the internet I doubt I would be shooting in the first place but once I got started I was keen to learn from the people around me. I find gun shops the worst places to get info unless you pick your sources carefully! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendersons Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 I've gained loads of knowledge from the net, local gun shop and those who I shoot with, but I've learnt the most from keeping my eyes, ears and nose open while being out in the fields and woods with or without gun in hand. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 I use the internet for gaining information. The learning comes in by putting it into practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silpig5 Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 whilst in principle i agree with the question , i do find it unnessasary to ridicule other topics , who as i have found out can shoot well beyond most peoples abilities . but yes the internet is a good learning tool but as dave has said its doing it that counts . what i feel is left short from learning from the net is the guidance of another who is there in real life watching and giving pointers . the net to me is invaluable for my work and hobbies but its also a hindrance when its wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR1960 Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 whilst in principle i agree with the question, i do find it unnecessary to ridicule other topics, who, as i have found out, can shoot well beyond most people's abilities. Yes the internet is a good learning tool but as Dave has said its doing it that counts . what i feel is left short from learning from the net is the guidance of another who is there in real life watching and giving pointers. the net to me is invaluable for my work and hobbies but its also a hindrance when its wrong That must be a first :lol: Speaking as a grumpy old man who learnt from grumpy old men, but also uses the net a lot for research for work and play, I don't see the need to ridicule the old boys who learnt from generations of experience, nor do i see a problem in using the net to gain additional knowledge. The problem lies, as with the original post, when inexperienced shooters are misled by those with more internet than practical experience, when they don't have the experience to spot them. As with so many aspects of life, there's nothing wrong with reading to gain knowledge but without the practical experience to back it up you're just p******* in the wind. As for Harnser, he has a wealth of experience that a lot of people on here could learn from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrispti Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 Trial and error for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedd-wyn Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 I think for a newby, that doesn't have any friends, family who are into the sport or familiar with the sport the internet can be an useful tool. All in all, learning about gun fit, decoy patterns ect is all well and good. But i would think twice before taking on board information about, gun reloading, legality of quarry and what not off someone on a forum or off the internet, unless it was off a reliable source like the BASC website and so on. It's a double edged sword really, you can get bad advice off the internet, and I have also been badly advised by certain business men.... Sorry, gun dealers as well. Trick is not to be naive, if if you are seeking information about guns you should square it out with the FLO, mostly anything other than that a quick call to BASC should put you on the right track. Heddwch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 other than that a quick call to BASC should put you on the right track. Heddwch Bear in mind that BASC is not the only option nor is it the be all and end all or font of all knowledge. If you're going to post down that route why not just say "your shooting organisation"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huffhuff Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 You can use the Internet to gain knowledge (always taken with a pinch of salt) but you cannot use the Internet to gain experience. Get out there and shoot. As long as you're doing things legally, the best way is to play! I use this forum more for the social aspect and having a laugh with like-minded people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Essex Hunter Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 carrying on from a post which got locked,for reasons is beyond me that only the thread starter got in too deep and started to make afool of himself who uses the internet to gain invaluable knowledge on hunting,reloading,shooting tecniques,gun maintanance,details of the quarry your hunting breeding cycles,habitat,feeding ect ect. basically anything to do with shooting,or do you listen to the grumpy old man proping up the counter in your local gunshop telling the "old ways" that you should be doing as thats all he knows. Iam sure we have all met the type "nay you canny do that lad no need to go over 100 yards,listen to me Ive been shooting 50 years" From the posts that I read on here there is a vast number of first generation shooters, to that end they have no knowledge past down on from a family member or shooting friend. As I have mention before, spending time as a youngster waiting for your ferret to come out, picking up and standing in the snow with your Dad pigeon shooting in cheap wellington boots freezing you cods, will serve in later life if only to buy a good pair of boots! It takes years to learn some of the ways of the countryside as you never stop learning. We live in a society where you can order your self a full set of kit, press the buy it now button a make a post on a forum the next day complaining your stuff has not turned up! This will reflect in peoples shooting as they have all this stuff spread over the lawn and want to go and use it. Oh I know, I will look it up on the internet!! There is nothing wrong in taking up a new hobby, however as I mentioned earlier it takes a good while to gain hands on experience. Yes it is hard to rack up field time, but it will pay off in the end, unfortunately people want to run before they can walk. Personally, I learnt the basics from my Dad who was taught by his Dad, also from a mates Dad who was taught by his Dad…. I guess you could have put them in the grumpy old men of the village bracket; I have used that knowledge and developed it over the years to suite the modern world! TEH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mungler Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 That must be a first :lol: Speaking as a grumpy old man who learnt from grumpy old men, but also uses the net a lot for research for work and play, I don't see the need to ridicule the old boys who learnt from generations of experience, nor do i see a problem in using the net to gain additional knowledge. The problem lies, as with the original post, when inexperienced shooters are misled by those with more internet than practical experience, when they don't have the experience to spot them. As with so many aspects of life, there's nothing wrong with reading to gain knowledge but without the practical experience to back it up you're just p******* in the wind. As for Harnser, he has a wealth of experience that a lot of people on here could learn from. Another loaded thread from the resident troll with little other purpose than a swipe at Harnser Obviously, there's no doubt that there is some useful information on the internet, but at the same time there's a lot of poop spouted by poop spouters; I think that was Harnser's point - well that and the fact that newbies might not be able to determine the difference between the useful information out on the internet and the poop from the poop spouters, and end up in a spot of bother trying to shoot their first badger at 760 yards with an HMR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silpig5 Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 thats what makes pw "special" mung . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 If someone takes the time to post but does not take the time to make that post vaguely coherent, in my book that makes them not worth listening to, in or out of the field. Great, balanced replies on this thread by the way. I'm the same, experience/friends, then books/Internet... Gun shops, nah. Unless proven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pegasus bridge Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 the internet is a great medium for learning - BUT as others have pointed out you need try and reach a happy medium of opinion because the downside of the internet is that anyone can 'publish'. but IMHO its simply common sense when researching something of a grey area' to get a good balance of online info/opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian28 Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 Another loaded thread from the resident troll with little other purpose than a swipe at Harnser Obviously, there's no doubt that there is some useful information on the internet, but at the same time there's a lot of poop spouted by poop spouters; I think that was Harnser's point - well that and the fact that newbies might not be able to determine the difference between the useful information out on the internet and the poop from the poop spouters, and end up in a spot of bother trying to shoot their first badger at 760 yards with an HMR. Im with mung on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 the information on this site is going downhill rapidly, gone are the days of sensible replies now its either ridicule or replies that are ********. Its useful to gain certain knowledge but as said getting out and doing it enough just shows what ******** gets spouted at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 the information on this site is going downhill rapidly, gone are the days of sensible replies now its either ridicule or replies that are ********. I disagree. You just have to sort the rubbish from the good stuff. Looking at a few questions about equipment I and a few of my mates on PW have asked recently there's a wealth of info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lxtav Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 I do a lot of research on the internet and did so before i applied for my SGC and I believe I am clever and sensible enough to realise what is rubbish what is not and what can be done with a gun (i.e someone spouting about shooting a fox at 500yrds with a shotgun for example). But I do like to speak and learn from other people as well and use all the information I get to form my own opinions. I know that the first time I shot a shotgun was at clays with a friend who does clay shooting and before we started he went through everything from gun safety, back drop, the cartridges and even the size of the shot and what you would use it for such as clays, birds or ground game. You can never learn everything from one person and a mix of advice from diffrent people and experience go a long way to learning what you are doing but you can always learn more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 ah yes but if you don't know better how do you form an opinion on whats best. Take the Hornet argument most people are better off with either a rimfire or a larger centerfire but you get hornets rammed down your neck whether you are contemplating a rabbit gun or a fox gun. Yes it helps to have different opinions but not to irrationally be masturbating over the hornet fad. Same with equipment most will recommend what they have and give their experience of other products as what they've read. I've two good examples in my cabinet, a remi 700 in .223 cracking work horse of a gun but everyone and their dog on here will tell you how bad they are apart from a couple of people who have actually had one, nothing special but does what its meant to. The other a sako 85, now listen to people on here and they are a poor replacement to the 75 except those that have them seem to get on well, mine shoots tiny groups with most ammo and has had a year of trouble free use I can't suggest whats bad so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashman Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 I use the internet for grot. Anybody who says they don't as well is a liar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browning Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 the information on this site is going downhill rapidly, gone are the days of sensible replies now its either ridicule or replies that are ********. Its useful to gain certain knowledge but as said getting out and doing it enough just shows what ******** gets spouted at times. Unfortunate, but very true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 I disagree. You just have to sort the rubbish from the good stuff. I would disagree as well, it goes in phases, if you can remember back in the days the 'green cartridges are for pigeons red ones are for foxes' etc cobblers that used to get posted on here, derailing just about every sensible thread. We have moved on from there and the site is better for it. Of course you will get people recommending what they use from personal experience, but you have to process all that information and make your own choices, after all the .308 and .243 aren't the only 2 calibres in the world As the forum grows there will be more of everything, good and bad, it's up to you to sort the wheat from the chaff - same as anything else in life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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