I met someone from the internet (and didn't get murdered!!)

Earlier this year, I bought a set of Redding reloading dies from @Mnovak out of the classified forum. When I found out that he lived 30 miles away, I decided to drive over & pick them up just to get the opportunity to chat with someone who had been hunting in Africa before. I'm really glad I did as his trophy room was inspiring. I'm not sure if I was more impressed by the quantity & the quality of the mounts or the fact that he took the cape buffalo with a bow & arrow. Like previous posters in this thread, I too survived this encounter with an internet stranger & had an enjoyable afternoon doing it. I've "met" a lot of nice people on AH.

Altitude sickness said:

Phil, thank you for hosting my family last August.

the Knife Gift from you was used on animals and birds last fall. Whitetail deer, rabbits, waterfowl etc.

If you are ever in the states I would be happy to be your host.

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Thank you my friend! I also hope to see you in Rome in a near future!

I had the pleasure of corresponding with, and then meeting up with Shootist43 earlier this year. He graciously invited me to his home while my wife and I were on route to SCI. We spoke about all things rifle, gave me some great reloading tips, and generally made us feel like we were having an overdue conversation with a long lost relative.
It really is amazing what experiences you can have with another person if you just let it happen.

I will be announcing a major European tour this year some time.

Seriously though, I do plan to follow my family on the next visit. My niece lives in Vicenza with her Army Ranger husband. (He is recuperating from a broken leg skiing training) We hope to visit friends in Spain during that visit.

Then separately visiting the Isle of Man, Ireland and Scotland

I met Mark Ouellette through AH then learned he was :45 away. He has been a huge influence and has helped me in many ways.

Custom ammo, I’ve bought rifles from him, he doesn’t own junk. And shot on his range. Thanks again Mark

Rez Exelon said:

For starters, no matter how much I was warned in the past that meeting people online would get me murdered, I'm glad to say, that as I type this, I checked and was not, in fact, murdered.

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Good for you!
But keep in mind: its never too late.

Thats a joke!

I have met two fellow members in person but have spoke at length with several others including @CZDiesel. I’m not surprised that you had a great visit!

I am not very gregarious. These days travel has an outdoors objective ... only. As a ranger my profession was socializing and I was good at it. Enjoyed it in fact. But I have grown tired of dealing with people in person. Always seems to be a disappointment in the end. My dogs aren't much for conversation but they love me without reservation and they are entertaining. Dogs are better people than people. They are what God wanted us to be. We must be such a disappointment.

Speaking of disappointment ... Shortly after my wife died suddenly in a car accident (we lost our son ten months earlier) I was having a rough go so I tried an online dating site. I met only one person locally and she seemed like a good gal but damaged goods. She was not interested which was understandable. The long distance hits were always a miss ... mutually. Then I was contacted by a gal seven hours away who seemed like a good prospect. Good job, educated, owned her home, no kids or ghosts. She professed to be an avid outdoors person so that was a plus. Her one not-so-great photo seemed to indicate she was not bad looking. So one summer morning I dropped the dogs off at my daughter's and made the drive to Twin Cities. Surprisingly, I found her house (she wanted to meet there) without help from Google Maps. Nice place in a beautiful neighborhood. Walked up and knocked on the door. Imagine my surprise when I discovered she was a he ... or had been once. Now, I know my animal instincts are to find such a person disgusting. But I am a Christian and a man of science. Her DNA is a bit scrambled through no fault of her own. She undoubtedly sees abuse and rejection everyday. That shit can really mess up people with "handicaps" so I made sure I didn't add to it. I was friendly but reserved. Bought her a nice lunch and we talked. Then spent an hour or two paddling my canoe on one of the lakes in town. Dropped her off at her house. I looked her straight in the eye and said, "You know this won't work." She said yes, she knew. I wished her well but cautioned her to be very careful, especially given her "situation." Her response: "You really are a nice person." I'm not sure anyone had ever said that before ... or since. But she/he really didn't know me yet.

The moral of the story is have no expectations when meeting up with someone you "know" from the internet. Because you don't know them. Not really.

@SaintPanzer and I know each other from days when we both worked in Germany. He's a solid man and another fine Marine & hunter. Semper Fi, sir!

baxterb said:

I knew a guy on another forum only from the convos we had there. We live in the same town. Out of the blue he sent me a message and asked if I was available to go one a once-in-a-lifetime tag moose hunt as his partner had bailed. I thought about it for a bit and said,'sure.' I took a week off work and we went over to eastern Idaho and killed a great moose. First time I ever saw him in person was at camp 6 hours away.

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And Mike thinks you’re a really great guy too. Tells me we should meet someday when I’m up there duck hunting.

Whit said:

@SaintPanzer and I know each other from days when we both worked in Germany. He's a solid man and another fine Marine & hunter. Semper Fi, sir!

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So when are we going to Namibia?

How's about next year?

HankBuck said:

I met @BeeMaa and his Wife - very nice people and I’ve been able to shoot Sporting Clays with them a couple times…..Good Folks here on AH

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The pleasure was all ours. I'll be looking forward to a few more visits at your house for some rifle proficiencies.

Whit said:

How's about next year?

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Maybe... let me check with CinCHouse, but that's what I'm thinking right now...

If not, 2027 works well, too (pending deployment -- but might work anyways).

Agree, some great folks here on AH. Last fall I got to meet @Rickmt when he kindly invited me to bring my young GSP in training up to his place to chase Hungarian partridge for the day, hope we get to do it again this fall. Also got to meet @375 Ruger Fan when he reached out to join him and his family/friend for dinner in Bozeman along with @Bullthrower338. Met @Mac13 in Botswana when we overlapped at NKWE. Also last year met @Neil Molendyk when he and his wife came down to MT from Alberta to go to the Billings Sports Show and they were able to spend the night in our guesthouse. If anyone is visiting SW Montana, please give me a shout.

I love this thread for several reasons….

1). I’m a social hunter and it’s always better with a friend or friends….. I think the biggest reason I haven’t been to Africa yet is because none of my hunting friends are interested in it like I am.

2). No one has been murdered yet, reaffirming there are good folks on this forum.

I have been lucky enough to meet a few AH members that don't live in South Africa.
I'm still alive!
I think people who have the same passion and love that we have for the outdoors are real people. I'm sure there are a few crazies out there but will be harder to find than the honest and true members here.