Misinformation perpetuated on internet forums

[SWOHTR]

I don't mean this to be a slight to anyone from the East or Midwest (I'm certain quite a few members from those regions know what they're talking about) however, just because you've been on a couple of western trips doesn't mean you're an authority on the area or region you hunted.

Case in point, raingear. I know Colorado isn't as wet as other regions, but I'm always surprised at the number of people who advise not bringing raingear on a hunt because they hunted a particular area a couple of times and any storms they encountered passed quickly.

Yep, I'm from Wisconsin but have lived in ID for the last three years. I ventured out into Northern Idaho for an overnighter without rain gear and with cotton everything. I didn't know how lucky I was until a short while later. Never again. Now I have a full suit of rain gear.

 

[Billinsd]

To truly get useful info from forums like this, you still have to do your reserach. People are different and so are their experiences. People hate to admit when they are wrong.

 

[CTobias]

“Not looking for anybody’s honey hole, just a GMU and a couple trailheads to investigate”

I want GPS coordinates and imagery. Also pictures of the animals. I'm not asking for much though.

 

[flatlanderhuffandpuff]

I got a ton of really useful info off this site planning a hunt last year to an area I have little experience. I suppose there was some bad advice but I guess I could sniff that out.

I don't need someone to be an expert for me to take their opinion into account. When someone makes a claim on a product as though its gospel a few red flags go up. There are many products that are of the same quality and function that people will pick a side stay on it.

 

[CTobias]

Not going to claim this as bad advice but I find it peculiar how many people say they pee around their camp in bear country supposedly to smell up the area. It is common practice in whitetail country to pee in scrapes or make mock scrapes and pee in them to attract bucks to take over a scrape. If urine truly is sterile when it leaves the body how exactly is that supposed to deter a bear?

I don't pee in my camp area to deter bears. I stop at camps before mine and hide unwrapped food and dump bags of dog food to deter them from my area.

 

[204guy]

I realize this is Rokslide, but I think the most common piece of mis info perpetuated on this forum, is that it's a great idea for a first timer to backpack 5+ miles into the backcountry for their first solo or 2 man elk hunt. Having packed elk with a bunch of first time elk hunters, it's terrible advice.

 

[SWOHTR]

I realize this is Rokslide, but I think the most common piece of mis info perpetuated on this forum, is that it's a great idea for a first timer to backpack 5+ miles into the backcountry for their first solo or 2 man elk hunt. Having packed elk with a bunch of first time elk hunters, it's terrible advice.

Really? I've noticed quite a few people on here try to caution beginners away from that.

 

[Billinsd]

I realize this is Rokslide, but I think the most common piece of mis info perpetuated on this forum, is that it's a great idea for a first timer to backpack 5+ miles into the backcountry for their first solo or 2 man elk hunt. Having packed elk with a bunch of first time elk hunters, it's terrible advice.

It depends who the advice is for. If it's a fit, 20 something man in the marines, he can probably handle it. Hunting solo and packing out an elk 5 miles is best for those with experience. I think giving pitfalls, like the shear enormity of packing out an elk and the time before it spoils; the hazards of backcountry hunting should not be dismissed or diminished. However, we are grownups and should be responsible for our actions.

 

[Mike7]

So I want to learn your medical kit?!?!

There are plenty of threads on here about medical kits. There are also plenty of statistics about backcountry injuries/illness, with some of that info in those threads I believe.

This is somewhat of a thread derail, but what the heck. This is something that I kind of am passionate about.

I personally bring very little medically specific gear on solo outings within 10 miles of a trailhead, but instead bring a lot of items which are nonspecific and help prevent dehydration, getting lost, hypothermia, waterborne infection, disability & skin infection from chaffing, etc.; and only a few items which are more medically specific and help treat for instance a severe allergic reaction or a heart attack. In general in my opinion, except for a few items, having some basic first aid knowledge is far more important than having an expansive medical kit.

My main advice when reviewing the medical kit threads for yourself is to weigh all of the pertinent factors before putting something in your pack, just like with the rest of your gear...i.e. the people on the trip (e.g. their medical & accident history), the length of time of the trip, the proximity to other resources and communication, the enviornment, and the mission. And then make a choice about what to bring and what items could potentially have multiple uses...since you will be carrying them.

Here are some examples of decision making factors:
I am going to very likely bring a completely different kit for instance if I am the primary medical representative responsible for 3,000 people with a variety of past medical histories who are driving vehicles around in the dark while in the tropics, compared to putting together a kit for the medical representative going on an expedition with 4 guys trying to climb Denali. Or if there is a greater chance of someone in my team dying from suffocation in an avalanche than there is of shock due to massive external blood loss, then perhaps I should be bringing an avalanche probe over tourniquets and Quickclot. Just food for thought.

 

[muddydogs]

It depends who the advice is for. If it's a fit, 20 something man in the marines, he can probably handle it. Hunting solo and packing out an elk 5 miles is best for those with experience. I think giving pitfalls, like the shear enormity of packing out an elk and the time before it spoils; the hazards of backcountry hunting should not be dismissed or diminished. However, we are grownups and should be responsible for our actions.

Billinsd
Dude its 2018 not 1990 anymore didn't you get the memo? Grownups are no longer responsible for there actions and the internet told them they would be able to do it. Heck there are people that will follow a GPS unit to there deaths because they trust something or someone more then they can trust there own self. It amazes me what people believe these days because they read it on the net or someone told them it a video.

 

[CTobias]

It amazes me what people believe these days because they read it on the net or someone told them it a video.

If it's on the internet, it has to be true.

 

[jspradley]

Case in point, raingear. I know Colorado isn't as wet as other regions, but I'm always surprised at the number of people who advise not bringing raingear on a hunt because they hunted a particular area a couple of times and any storms they encountered passed quickly.

Ugh... some of my buddies might not be alive right now had they followed this advice in CO... yay rando sleet/rainstorm at 12,000 feet!

 

[Billinsd]

Billinsd
Dude its 2018 not 1990 anymore didn't you get the memo? Grownups are no longer responsible for there actions and the internet told them they would be able to do it. Heck there are people that will follow a GPS unit to there deaths because they trust something or someone more then they can trust there own self. It amazes me what people believe these days because they read it on the net or someone told them it a video.

I credit my internet and life skills due to the cynical and pessimism I learned in college and the working world. : )

 

[Gunnersdad49]

I want GPS coordinates and imagery. Also pictures of the animals. I'm not asking for much though.

This is usually accompanied by why they are entitled to the information, such as "bringing my blind 13 year old with cancer that survived 9/11 and is a combat veteran" or something similar.

The firearms stuff is where I usually cringe. I get science, and digging new calibers, but there are so many people that think they can buy a rifle and "hunt" elk or deer or antelope at 1500 yards without any more trigger time than a trip or two to the 100 yard range. They recommend the latest .338 Lapua or 6.5 wildcat, or a .308 because that's what the Marine Snipers used to use, or whatever, and have never intentionally hit a target at distance, and have no understanding of mass, velocity, and force.

 

[Molon Labe]

All the guys on here not expressing profit & loss of a variance swap in vega notional.
Let alone doing variance swaps over vol swaps just because it is easier to hedge.
Easier to hedge...yeah right...how about in an illiquid/reduced vol market?

Other than those pet peeves...all other advice posted on this forum is rok solid.

 

[jspradley]

This is usually accompanied by why they are entitled to the information, such as "bringing my blind 13 year old with cancer that survived 9/11 and is a combat veteran" or something similar.

The firearms stuff is where I usually cringe. I get science, and digging new calibers, but there are so many people that think they can buy a rifle and "hunt" elk or deer or antelope at 1500 yards without any more trigger time than a trip or two to the 100 yard range. They recommend the latest .338 Lapua or 6.5 wildcat, or a .308 because that's what the Marine Snipers used to use, or whatever, and have never intentionally hit a target at distance, and have no understanding of mass, velocity, and force.

I had a bunch of dudes jump on my ass in a forum post with a n00b asking "what caliber is best for shooting 1,000 yards but still has knockdown power (*cringe*) for elk" I simply asked the question "Any of those calibers are capable, but more importantly are you capable of shooting that far?" the Dunning Kruger brigade came out of the woodwork on that one...

I didn't bother stating that anyone who would ask that question in that way probably isn't capable of shooting super long ranges... lol

 

[Bl704]

Bleach for poison oak still pops up. Nothing like putting a poisonous chemical on your skin when water and a mild soap does a better job.

"But if you eat some you'll build a resistance to it." DO NOT DO THIS! Also don't burn the plants...

 

[jmez]

Topics dealing with animal anatomy, the "void" and location of the vitals. It is simply amazing to me how poor of an understanding a large % of hunters have of basic anatomy.

 

[JP100]

You mean to say that some information online isnt bullshit???

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

You mean to say that some information online isnt bullshit???

That's bullshit!