egomanicMike: My hunting buddy is a pretty good guy and a great hunter; he’s into conservation and getting kids involved and all that. But he’s obsessed with killing more deer and bigger deer than anyone else. Every year he gets hung up on being the number one deer killer in our parts. Is there anything you would suggest for me to do? I haven’t known him all that long, and he’s shown me some good hunting spots. But damn, sometimes I can’t stand to be around him and his ego.

BTW, I don’t care about numbers. I simply want to put some doe meat in the freezer and wait for a buck that is mature, like I have seen you do many times on TV. Thanks (name withheld so as not to PO my buddy).

Anonymous: I’ve been in all kinds of deer camps/clubs/lodges across America for more than 30 years and have run across a good many egomaniacs like you describe. While a few of them have turned out to be decent guys like you say your buddy is, most have been a——- with a capital A that I have no time or use for. Our lives and hunting time are too short; I want to hang and hunt with people I like and respect.

I’ve tried all sorts of approaches with egomaniacs–complete avoidance…cold shoulder when I’m in the same room listening to them brag about how great a hunter they are…politely confronting them and saying man, it doesn’t matter how many deer you kill or if yours is bigger than mine… No matter, I usually still never like these guys and never have a good time around them, so I avoid them.

Your case is a different though because you like this fellow some, and he has found you some good hunting spots. I suggest you bite your tongue and put up with his BS as best as you can for now. When he gets on your nerves too much, get up and leave–go hunting, go home, whatever. The next time you see him things ought to be better.

I don’t know how old this fellow is, but at some point in every hunter’s life the hunting becomes more important than the killing, though it takes longer for some people to get there. Hopefully soon your friend will start to realize that it’s not all about rack score and numbers of deer whacked and stacked, far from it. By then you’ll know him better and you might be able to talk this thing out man to man without blowing up your friendship.

Good luck, dealing with rude and arrogant people is never fun and never easy.