ORIGINAL: Steven Ashe
...He had no knowledge of my experience, marksmanship, firearms knowledge, or even that I dealt in firearms as a part of what I did for a living. He merely had in mind to put me down with his attitude and his own self perceived sense of superiority... What would your response have been?
It is never wise to assume anything about a stranger on the basis of one's own experiences or prejudices. This fellow probably has not learned so much as he thinks he has, and has read too many gun magazine articles touting the whizz-bang new products that gun manufacturers need to keep making money. While I have no particular bias against magnums, I personally have never felt the need for one for the types of hunting I do. If one is a competent rifleman, knows his or her limits and confines himself or herself to taking ethical shots, a .30-06 is amply powerful for nearly any North American game that doesn't hunt you back.
My own limited experiences have led me to firmly believe that the skill of the rifleman matters much more than the rifle, assuming one's rifle is reliable, approriate for the game intended... and sufficiently accurate to allow the rifleman to reliably place his shots in a vital area at the ranges shot will be taken.
From your description, this fellow sounded rather arrogant. Your polite disengagement probably took more self control than many of us could muster. Had this happened to me, depending on the fellow's demeanor and whether I thought he was just a boob, I might have asked him why he felt that way, and used that as an opportunity to educate a less experienced fellow. Oh well, there are none so blind as those who will not see.
By the way, did you get your elk on that trip?