The reasons for not naming lakes are legit are legit, you just don't understand how the mind of a duck hunter works.

Honestly though it is easy to get turned around in the dark, God knows I have. I really don't like reflectors around my hunting spots either though. One good thing to know though is how to find the North Star, then you won't get lost.
like this NORTH STAR

Yeah, I'm still not even hunting because I wasn't able to scout and MARK TRAILS...I would have, but unfortunately Dan I was out in SouthEast Iraq providing you the freedom to bash people that use trail marking mechanisms...enjoy...

touche , and thank-you for your service.

You know Dan...

Say you feel out of a tree and broke your leg … Hope your wife is as good at direction as you are ESPECIALLY IN THE DARK! You never know why someone is using a “marked trail” …

I don’t have to use all of the tape, but if someone does SO BE IT! I’m 22 and have gone hunting most all of my life. I don’t have to hunt on public land but feel sorry for the people that have to share it with you. If you had friends and weren't such a tool then maybe they would invite you out to a Trophy Ranch to hunt sometime (Where WE ALLOW TAPE/REFLECTORS...Oh guess you wouldn’t want to come then!!)

If I had marked a trail in the woods and you took down my tape, come daylight I'd pee all over your trail! And better yet I'd be waiting for you to walk down it so that I could see where your stand was, and come my monthly time - Id make sure to leave you all kinds of cute little deer estrus...

Oh and another thing, I’m surprised that you are not hunting with spheres still ... talk about old fashioned, guess you father forgot to show you how to do that! What “breadcrum” leaders you must have had ... And if you are so savvy, why did you even need to purchase that GPS – Clearly says that you have gotten lost before … hmmm, sorry to let that secret slip out of the bag!

Poor thing, a girl can’t help but feel sorry for such a manly man! Let me give you a bit of advice and so you can pack lighter... THERES AN APP FOR THAT ... Just take your phone, that is if you have an iPhone and aren’t still in the Nokia days! I think that you are just an old fashioned moron who doesn't know how to operate and live in a younger time frame. It’s not that difficult ... but then again you seem very small minded!

OMG – I thought girls were dramatic, you beat all of them by far … Sorry I just had to vent a little …

Ruh Ro!

wonder how you would feel about trail markers should you get injured during your hunt and unable to use your battery operated devices. It just might be those markers that lead the search party from your truck to your sorry arss!!!

And another thing, if you have your own land/lease what are you doing hunting public land on opening weekend? Sounds like your getting a little greedy. why not leave the public land to the guys/gals/ kids that don't have access to private land.

well im only on page two, but i thought id chime in here. so u think it is OKAY to use a compass, well why is it okay to use a compass, but not a gps or reflective tape??? thats the dumbest crap ive ever heard. if u wanna do it the real way, go without a compass. compasses are just pieces of technology. although they do take a lil know how, they are near worthless without a map if u dont get it out until after u are lost. if u use it the whole time, then ur alright.



now this is the second dumbest post ive read in a while, second only to the road hunting.



Im like u dan, ive done a lot of night hunting without a flash light, running through the woods after a bay, and i can find my way just fine. I always think its funny when i take someone new and they get lost and i have to show em the way out. but that dont mean jack! If u wanna use reflective tape, whats the dat gum problem. ive noticed many of ur threads refer to hunting like we use to kind of mentalities. well how far back are we gonna go??? should we all use sharp sticks and loin cloths like cody?

Look Dan in Spring,

I'm an expert land nav wiz. You can give me a compass, map and way points and tell me to find them in the dark and I would. That's what our wonderful NCO's used to do to us in the Marines.

Now fast forward a few years. I'm in college and I work. My hunting chances aren't that great and the last thing I wanna do after a long week is crawl out of bed and have to orient myself on a map, do pace counts etc.

It's so much easier to push an "on" button and walk. So get off your high horse.

I think everyone should have their own thread. "I'm good at ___________ and you're not. Therefore, you suck". Now if only I was good at something.

LOL

you mention the older guys that tought you the ways of the woods. What if the ones you are complaining about never had anyone teach them? Everyone has to start somewhere. It is unfair to compare your 30 years (or however many years) of experience you have with what this guy has.

You say that they should buy a GPS. Geez, Dan, what if this guy scraped up all he could to buy the rifle and didn't have enough to buy the GPS?

Hmm, Judge not lest ye be judged comes to mind right now...

You bring up a good point.

As a kid, I noticed the ability of older hunters to know their hunting grounds so well, they didn't need ANYTHING to find their way. And like any kid, I did my best to learn how to duplicate that ability. Like today, most of these areas were private leases these men didn't own. But it also a time when hunters didn't have so many other priorities that kept them from spending enough time in the woods to learn them.

The average hunter of today just has too many other priorities than to spend that amount of time to become so knowledgeable of the area where they intend to harvest their deer. And don't try to encourage them to feel any different. Heck, he may only hunt three or four times a season, and hunt no more than one or two stands. If a kid wants to learn woodsmanship today, someone will probably hand him a pack of reflective stickers.

Sorry guys, but there are others out there who may push you to work a little harder for your deer.

While I didn't write this article, I strongly applaud the author who did. He couldn't have nailed my point any better.

http://www.outdooralabama.com/hunting/articles/lostart.cfm

I am not as opposed to the thread as others, but I have a thought based on your last response Dan.

Reckon those older hunters traveled as much to hunt as we do today? Or did they hunt the same ground for years and years? Did they have more time to hunt once the harvest was in, and winter was among us? Or did they have jobs, lives and families that kept them in the city or at least out of the woods? Did they have the hunters per acre to deal with that we do? As land fragmentation occurs, our hunter density is on the rise.

And did they ever think someone would be on a computer talking to people around the state and around the world about their techniques? My grandfather used a hammer and a hand saw most of his life. I am sure he son that built my house used laser levels and nail guns and hurricane ties and insulation....

Times change. Sure, wish everyone had those skills. I have passed them on to my son, his friends, and several in scouts and hunter's ed. Hope everyone here is doing the same...

I would bet their priorities was on the family. Not on how many times they took the family out for dinner in a week but how many times they took us to the lease. Not how many soccer or baseball games they took us to. Not the buying the best or the most rifles and scopes, but spending the money on essential gear. Not spending Saturday and Sunday watching sports on TV, instead we went to the farm. Do I need to go on?

Priorities are different today, watching TV seems to top the list, eating out comes in second. I guess next is seeing how many activities the kids can be in, wouldn't want the little darling to grow up disturbed or deprived. Actually from reading this thread, coming up with reasons that we don't know what we should know should have a high priority. Usually that boils down to not being a priority, "If I get lost I will dial 911" Why should I know how to navigate the woods.

Do you build your own bow/gun? Reload your bullets/create your own arrows? Or better yet - Instead of "No Scent" do you wash early enough to place your clothes in a area with the surrounding scents (twigs, leafs, acorns, etc). I could keep going ... there are many difficult ways to do things. There are also many articles (dating back) out there about that. Its more of a convenience factor for the world we live in & guess what ... WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY! It is way more convenient to walk into a Cabelas or Bass Pro shop to purchase the items needed for hunting. Doesn't make you any less of a hunter...Well maybe it does by your book.

I cant believe that you have lost the skills of archery or the ability to be a gunsmith. You should work a little harder for your deer, create your entire environment & all the settings ~ The way my great grandfathers had to. Maybe weld your own deer stand together, instead of purchasing one.

Its almost like homemade ice cream ... You can put it in a bowl and mix like crazy ... You can put it in a "maker" and churn that, You can put it in a "maker" and press start, or you can go to WalMart and open the freezer. In the end you have the same thing ICE CREAM! The choice is yours, do you want your arm to be sore at the end of the day, or do you want the convenience factor - No matter what your still getting ice cream?

Yes to most of the questions, I have built a bow, made my own arrows, even made a gun once. Reloaded a few bullets in the old days.

Now to answer the end result of your post, most people have become to lazy and busy with other priorities. So they spend the money instead of making it themselves.

And yes we make our own ice cream. Usually vanilla.

I think they hunted much more often than the average hunter today. And yes, it was probably because they lived closer to their leases. When you have to make a five or six-hour drive to your lease, you're only go to do it so often. My lease is just 90-minutes away, and I also spend lots of time there during the off season helping the landowner. It has become badly needed "therapy" from the same issues (job and family stress) that plague all of us. All of these earlier men that I hunted with had jobs, but jobs were much more simple back then, even for the most difficult of professions.

Just as the author of the article points out, hunting as it was learned by my generation appears to be quickly disappearing. Today's hunter wants an experience that doesn't require as much time and effort. Let's just hope the sport doesn't evolve into taking shots at a deer from a web browser, and having someone ship the antlers (forget the meat or give it to charity) to us by UPS. No chance of getting lost that way.

Just like I tell my staff, there is more than one right answer to any given question as long as the end result is the same. Dan you might drink your coffee with cream while I prefer mine black but when someone ask we still both drink coffee. Its kind of like the lyrics of a song I heard once,"You SH*T Like I do". I have been fortunate and have had the oppurtunity to hunt a lot of different places and all have had there own unique challenges. I can honestly say that where I have used one technique didnt necessarily mean I used it on the next. To each his own, but in this day and time with the challenges we as hunters face I feel we should do our part to protect our rights and encourage others along the way. In my opinion the tradition of a hunter is more important than woodsmanship considering you dont hear of anyone threatening to take away our compass or GPS units. SAVVY????

I own a GPS myself and enjoy using it. And I wish I had one during all those earlier years when I only had a compass to find my way back to the truck after chasing coonhounds for a over a mile. Today, I'm more likely to go even deeper into the woods because of my GPS. But just as the author of the article suggested, I don't let it keep me from learning the area so well that I need it, or reflective stickers, every time I need to get back there again.

As someone pointed out earlier, I think we've beat this horse enough.

BTW. I picked up some of those reflective stickers last night so that I can make easier for partner to find his stand in the dark. I just hope he doesn't get as pissed as some of you when I hand them to him.

My point is no matter what it takes to get people outdoors and appreciating and conserving our heritage, rights, and freedoms so be it. The more people we can get to join our side the better off we will be. Encourage people, dont be little them for the way they approach things, I give them credit for trying. Kind of like my children, I didnt critisize them for crawling before they walked.

Right dog catcher (even though I was actually talking to Dan) ... But you DO still pay the convenience fees of purchasing items.... And in the end you still get bread, ice cream, bullets, blankets, etc. Its just how you choose to get it, just because someone uses reflectors/tape or GPS doesn't mean they are an inexperienced hunter, they may simply be out of town, or marking it because they are to far for radios and alone. If they get hurt a search team/person could find them.

Don't knock a Dad who is at an event for his child, or makes enough money to provide for them. Props to the good fathers that are out there who do what their children love to do and support them!!

Hunting is in my blood, but when I wanted to go to the a fashion show - I missed an entire week of hunting. I thought my Dad was gonna cry, but in the end he saw it was what made me happy. It was a surreal moment for him, because he loves hunting so much...To think that I wanted to leave to go to a FASHION SHOW!

There are sororities/fraternities, Softball/Baseball, chess clubs, bands, violin lessons, rodeo teams, pep squads, gymnastics, football games, choir, card masters, Soccer, Student Council, National Honor Society, FCCLA, SAAD, and MANY other popular and not so popular things to do in this day and time. Its not like in the "good ol' days" ... Middle school and High School has changed significantly since my parents were there, heck even since I graduated in 2005 - my sister talks about the new things they are doing. They now issue laptops with all of the books loaded onto them. Times change but it doesn't mean that she doesn't know how to find a page in a book, she just types it in...

I hope that people never forget how to be somewhat self sufficient, but it doesn't mean that I should have to walk both ways in the snow uphill, just because my dad did it!