Public land trail-marker thief

[jrbows]

Don't forget the safety issue also, if you fall out of a stand and have to make a cell phone call help would get there a lot quicker after dark if you could get someone started on your marked trail,I don't hunt unfamiliar ground and we don't have cell phone service in our area but a lot of people carry them in the woods for the just in case factor.

[sbschindler]

I think the compromise here is when your done with the markers take them down and don't leave them in the woods. they are an eye sore and they are usefull,

[Jim Wright]

Even a "little" spray paint is going to be hard to remove and as for comparing trail markers to personal property such as a treestand, I suspect that leaving treestands overnight on public property such as W.M.A.s is illegal in most states as it is here. I have not seen any of the responses here "flaming" anyone , they have been courteous and I'm glad that so many others feel that public land is just that and none of us need to litter it with anything.

[David Mitchell]

I'm another who doesn't understand the negative response ("Guess folks told old Steve from NE") the guy got.  I have a horrible sense of direction. I often hunt in pretty unfamiliar areas away from home that I am not able to spend lots of time in getting familiar enough with to make my way to a blind without roaming around not only off track but maybe disturbing the hunt of others who may be using the area.  And as noted above by others, safety is also a concern.  But I always remove my tacks when I leave for the last time.  I can understand the practice of removing flagging that has clearly been left a long time, but it seems inconsiderate--at least to me--to remove a fellow hunter's tacks or other trail marking when you don't know if maybe he will become lost in the dark or a storm if you have moved it for him. Maybe some older gent (like myself). I don't want to be responsible for that.

[RM81]

Yeah, I'm surprised by all the "flaming" here.  I've never used trail markers, but won't knock anyone who does.  Just make sure you take them with you after you're done hunting.  I wouldn't take anyone else's down unless the season was over and they've obviously been left as trash.  The other reason I wouldn't use them is b/c it leads anyone else there right to your spot.

[two4hooking]

IMO public land belongs to everyone, and no one has a right to leave anything permanent on it that was not there when they arrived.

The lands around me are littered with these reflectors...every tree...it is embarrassing.

[Mac11700]

Originally posted by two4hooking:
IMO public land belongs to everyone, and no one has a right to leave anything permanent on it that was not there when they arrived.

The lands around me are littered with these reflectors...every tree...it is embarrassing.

Very true...What cracks me up is the folks who have gotten upset with those of us that believe this...and remove the litter others have left..

If you can't find your way to your stand without leaving a bunch of ugly eye sores...don't go into the woods.Simple as that...and this doesn't matter if it is a special 1-3 day hunt and you don't have time to learn where you are going too...Use natural limbs...use your head and remember certain trees...or as someone else said...count your steps.

Leaving plastic tape strung out all over the place is littering...no matter what anyone says about it. Get maps of the area your hunting...and take the frigging time to learn how to use them to your advantage..Take a camera with you..and take pictures of where you are going..Commit this to memory..Use natural sticks or stones along the way..but...don't leave your litter in the woods..then get upset when folks removes your trash you left behind

Mac

[JParanee]

I love them they usually lead right to the jerk who is sneaking in on my land  

[randy grider]

I tend to agree with alot of the guys on here, if you are trail marking with anything other than natural markers,(sticks and rocks) i have no sympathy. It trashes up the woods and is an eyesore. Our WMA's here in KY have those damn cateyes everywhere. A buddy of mine pulls every one he finds.

[Brian CS]

Then if these small specs on trees bother you so much, what about the stand hunters? There are many trees in the woods I hunt that are bruised from climbers going up and down. I dont use a stand, Should I bash them while there in there damageing trees when I see them, NO, beacuse they have every rite to be there and so do the markers. There not yours leave them alone. Dont tell anyone they cant go in the woods on public land its not yours period.

[randy grider]

Lots of guys are saying they are all right, "just take them down when you are done" How in the crap are we gonna know when they are done? End of day? end of season? When they die?

[ron w]

I have seen trees with spray paint to mark "the way" then someone would paint over to hide it , then repaint to show it. This went on for 5 years until three had so much paint it looked like graffiti. They had bright eyes and then they were pulled and replaced. This trail to a pond in the Adirondacks had been used for 40 years or more, you just had to look down and see the cow path. There a many people who are scared to death of getting lost and will do anything to prevent it from happening.....except learn the skills to keep it from happening.  

[two4hooking]

So if I am too poor to buy cat eyes, is it ok to leave my coorslite can on a branch to mark a path?  What is the difference between a metal or plastic marker and a can or bottle.  Both are "foreign objects" to the woods and litter?

[Steve in Canton]

Originally posted by robtattoo:
Well, all I have to say on the matter is that if I ever catch anyone removing any of my trail markers  with a 'Holier than Thou' attitude & lecture regarding my morals/ethics/skill/lineage, their probably going to get a punch in the face.

While I agree they are, technically, litter they're still someone else's property & navigation aids. How would you feel if I smashed your compass or GPS?

I personally get lost very, very easily in the woods. Especially at night & especially in woodland with which I'm not intimately familiar, therefore I use reflective tape to mark my way into & out of the woods. If it weren't for reflectors, chances are I'd never venture into the wilds due to a crippling fear of being lost in the dark. I'll admit, I do remove my tape when I'm finished hunting a particular stand, but that may not be until the end of the season.

Some people simply don't have the luxury of time to get so familiar with all the public land nearby, especially on draw hunts where you only have 2 or 3 days at best to scout & hunt. Navigational aids can be invaluable at times like this.

Learning to read a compass is great, but how many of you would honestly take a few simple lessons & the fully trust themselves to be able to navigate into & out of an unfamiliar patch of timber, to an exact spot? Honestly, not many.

[Eric Krewson]

All the guys flaming trail marker users should come hunt with me in the privet hedge laden swamps along the Tennessee river. I scout a way in, trim what I can to open a path and mark it with tacks. My zig-zag route consists of finding a safe crossing or sinking logs across slews to walk in knee deep water instead of waist deep quick sand like mud. My route also crosses  a half mile wide tornado path that dropped 4 ft thick virgin timber, every tree. One wrong turn in the dark and your hunt is over and goose is cooked.

Here it is boys, privet on the left, tornado damage on the right, about a mile in to my hunting spot. Come on down, you will change your tune in a hurry.

     

Another picture, more tornado damage and one of the bigger slews.

   

[Steve in Canton]

Originally posted by Steve in Canton:
 

Originally posted by robtattoo:
Well, all I have to say on the matter is that if I ever catch anyone removing any of my trail markers  with a 'Holier than Thou' attitude & lecture regarding my morals/ethics/skill/lineage, their probably going to get a punch in the face.

While I agree they are, technically, litter they're still someone else's property & navigation aids. How would you feel if I smashed your compass or GPS?

I personally get lost very, very easily in the woods. Especially at night & especially in woodland with which I'm not intimately familiar, therefore I use reflective tape to mark my way into & out of the woods. If it weren't for reflectors, chances are I'd never venture into the wilds due to a crippling fear of being lost in the dark. I'll admit, I do remove my tape when I'm finished hunting a particular stand, but that may not be until the end of the season.

Some people simply don't have the luxury of time to get so familiar with all the public land nearby, especially on draw hunts where you only have 2 or 3 days at best to scout & hunt. Navigational aids can be invaluable at times like this.

Learning to read a compass is great, but how many of you would honestly take a few simple lessons & the fully trust themselves to be able to navigate into & out of an unfamiliar patch of timber, to an exact spot? Honestly, not many.

[/b]

Are you kidding me you talk about ethics and morals and then want to punch someone in the face.  If it is on public land than it is every ones property.  I always like meeting people who talk tough ant threaten other people it just shows true character.  Litter is litter .   With the wide amount of aids available now including GPS and our cell phones there is no reason to get lost in the woods.  I have maps of all of my hunting areas downloaded to my phone, they have arial views and topo views I mark where my stands are and the map takes me right to my stand.

[LV2HUNT]

I think if you have used them properly (sparsely) than most people will not notice or mess with them. If you mark every tree like an air strip you are asking for trouble. (JMO)

[Eric Krewson]

I tent to agree with Rob with out the punching out someone.

Bottom line everyones hunting terrain varies. People up north don't understand how someone could get lost in fairly level open public land.

Where I live we have seas of privet, most thickets impossible to walk through, immature Pine plantations with with hundreds of acres of head high black berry bushes that are impenetrable, deep hollows dropping off from the pine planted ridge tops with 50ft rock cliffs and few places to transverse from top to bottom.

A GPS or topo would be useless in this type of terrain. You have to find or blaze a tail and stick with it exactly, no room for error.

[wv lungbuster]

Well I guess you guys ran this fella off. With all the negative comments and accusing him of littering.
Congratulation!! He never even gave a discription of what his trial marker were. The do make biodegradable ones these days.

[Mint]

Hunting on Long Island it can be a pain not using the bright eyes sinceeverything looks the same. Then I got a Garmin Etrx and that gets me close to my spot and i havea bright eye on my tree. Has worked great so far. I did havea little trouble since i took my GPS to florida to hunt and then when i came back it was off. Butthen i realized i had to recalibrate it and that solved that problem.