Reflective Trail Tacks?

[DntBrnDPig]

Ok, there is nothing wrong with marking your trail for new properties. I didn't mark my trail on my new lease land last year cause 'all I had to was follow the terrain'. I ended up not getting to my spot until after day light and I was an eager beaver going in an hour and a half before daylight. I marked it on the way out, so that wouldn't happen again though.

I dont do every 20 yards, but I don't space it out that I can't see another marker from the marker I'm standing at. What would be the point of not making it easy to follow if you're putting them up anyway?

After I learned the property well (after 3 or so hunts), I took the markers down. Mainly cause I didnt want to lead someone else to my spot. But complaining that they 'clutter' up your hunting spot is a little much. They aren't hunting or talking in the woods, they are markers that you can't even see during the daylight or if you aren't shining a flashlight.

 

[Brisco Darlin]

This is a sore subject for me, I dispise the woods becoming absolutely LITTERED with ribbon and bright eyes! For those who use them and then remove them when done, good job and your definitely the Minority!! I just cant make myself understand why anybody would need one or even two markers on trees every 20 yards thru the woods???? You obviously knew how to get wherever the markers lead or you wouldn't have known where to put them in the first place? Why do you now need them to return to a spot you already know how to get to? Some say its hard to find a place in the dark, which I don't really understand either? I think too many people try to use a flashlight and find their way 20 ft at a time, bad idea! If most people would turn the light off and use the terrain and its features as a guide, they would quickly see this is a much better way of navigating in the dark! A flashlight only shows you a few yards at a time, yet blinds you from anything beyond its beam. Oh well I guess everybody is different, just wish more would clean up after themselves with the bright eyes and ribbon that absolutely clutter many hunting areas these days!

agree, i can tell when i need to veer uphill by the way a creek sounds. Weird as that sounds i've never missed my tree in the dark.

 

[Urban_Hunter]

when i hunted public land in Hickman county there was a group of guys that marked the trees every 15 or so yards with tacks, then when you got to the climbing tree... it was marked with an X made out of tacks. It was hilarious. Usually the X-tree was within 100 yards of the truck.

 

[Backstrapcrazy]

I had a similiar happening at Prentice cooper on a draw hunt, was a scary morning ended up lost ( Luck would have it), i had a walkie talkie and used it with my Dad to get out of situation.
Never been back to Prentice cooper. I do have a GPS now, but always in back of mind when i hunt a new place.

 

[Poleaxe]

At Cumberland Springs once I met a guy walking in where my dad and I had just walked out of. Tried to be nice but he was an butt head. I eased back in the woods and followed him and watched him put a bright eye and orange ribbon all the way to where we had planned on going. After he left I went back in and readjusted his trail markers all the way back out to the road. Next morning he was cussing while he was lost and ended up pushing deer right to my dad and I and we ended up tagging out.

 

[plinker22]

At Cumberland Springs once I met a guy walking in where my dad and I had just walked out of. Tried to be nice but he was an butt head. I eased back in the woods and followed him and watched him put a bright eye and orange ribbon all the way to where we had planned on going. After he left I went back in and readjusted his trail markers all the way back out to the road. Next morning he was cussing while he was lost and ended up pushing deer right to my dad and I and we ended up tagging out.

That is funny and wrong. Love it!

I wish I was that smart! :crazy:

 

[gator-n-buck]

A good tip that I used in the past while learning the mountains. Buy clothes pins, reflective tape, and, the survey tape. Cut the reflective tape in strips that will fit on the clothes pin handles. Add to both sides. Tie the survey tape around the center of the pins and let it hang down. Just clip on limbs and you will be able to see both sides and also during daytime hours. It will look like a landing strip through the woods and they are reusable.

 

[WestTn Huntin man]

I have a GPS and find it a very handy tool. I found out the hard way not to depend on it. When you are tracking someplace hilly like Laurel Hill it's a good idea to have a old fashioned compass with you. GPS don't work to good way back in the bottoms when a thunder storm rolls in. Lesson learned never ever leave your compass at home. You might find it a long walk back to the truck.

 

[Pic IN the Casa]

I don't mind the tacks at all. What I don't like is the Orange ribbon tied all over the woods and left there. To me it's the same as littering. I will take these down and dispose of them.

tend to agree with you.

 

[Winchester]

Ok, there is nothing wrong with marking your trail for new properties. I didn't mark my trail on my new lease land last year cause 'all I had to was follow the terrain'. I ended up not getting to my spot until after day light and I was an eager beaver going in an hour and a half before daylight. I marked it on the way out, so that wouldn't happen again though.

I dont do every 20 yards, but I don't space it out that I can't see another marker from the marker I'm standing at. What would be the point of not making it easy to follow if you're putting them up anyway?

After I learned the property well (after 3 or so hunts), I took the markers down. Mainly cause I didnt want to lead someone else to my spot. But complaining that they 'clutter' up your hunting spot is a little much. They aren't hunting or talking in the woods, they are markers that you can't even see during the daylight or if you aren't shining a flashlight.

Good to hear you took them down when done with them, most dont!
I guess everyone is different and I just cant even imagine marking a trail to where Im going, after all I already know where Im going! Seems all your doing is marking your spot for someone else! And YES they DO clutter up the woods! I cant count how many times I have walked In an area and can see orange ribbons hanging randomly all over the place. At night I can see bright eyes before I even leave the truck!!! Some people literally mark the place they are going to park! Then it looks like an airport runway if you shine a light through the woods!!! I rarely see the bright eyes in the dark as I dont use a flashlight very often, its walking out that I see them stuck in trees all over the place!
To each his own, I just wish people would clean up after themselves if they need to use/leave these items in the woods!

 

[BSK]

I don't hunt public land, only my own land. And I use the snot out of cateye tacks. I'm marking trails to 40-odd ladder stands for family from out of town. They weren't here when the stands were set up and have no idea where they are. I use so many tacks to mark trails to a stand that it looks like an airport runway.

I try to remove them when we move stands, but I always miss a few in daylight. Once each winter I have to schedule a "cateye removal" weekend, where I spend a night or two driving around with a powerful light looking for cateyes that I've missed. Nothing worse than having deadend cateye trails to nowhere to confuse family members.

 

[Anonymous]

I just find me a good spot I like, brake a branch off an slide muh beer can or sundrop bottle over the end of it. Thats it.

 

[fairchaser]

Once each winter I have to schedule a "cateye removal" weekend, where I spend a night or two driving around with a powerful light looking for cateyes that I've missed.

That's funny BSK. That's got to be some good times.

 

[TLRanger]

On public land (LBL & WMA) and on my property, any artificial markings such as reflective tacks, beer cans, soda bottles, water bottles, and marking tape leaves the woods with me and goes into a garbage can.

 

[BSK]

Once each winter I have to schedule a "cateye removal" weekend, where I spend a night or two driving around with a powerful light looking for cateyes that I've missed.

That's funny BSK. That's got to be some good times.

Tiring times! Because I use a lot of digital mapping products, I have a digital map (GIS) of my property with every stand location we've used in 15 years marked (over 180). I also have a map layer of every cateye trail marked to find all of those stand locations. At least it speeds up the process a bit to know where all of the cateye trails have been in the past, but some of them wind over hill-and-dale for considerable distances, and hiking all of them looking for "lost" cateyes is a major pain.

 

[WRbowhunter]

I started making my own with thumb tacks and reflective tape. Mainly because in certain woods on public land there are cats eyes everywhere. I don't own a GPS and know the woods pretty well. Its mainly to get in quicker and with less noise than getting lost. I can't count the times I have looked at cats eyes going in when its dark and they blink at you. Most of the time its a bedded deer. I'm just glad I don't hunt where things are hunting me in the dark.

 

[Snake]

I use them but not as much as some . Dang a man should be able to recognize the terain and only use tacks to the individual tree but on flatter terain it can be difficult at times but you are going to give away your hunting area to others unless you are the only one who hunts the area .

 

[grave robber]

agree, i can tell when i need to veer uphill by the way a creek sounds. Weird as that sounds i've never missed my tree in t

agree, i can tell when i need to veer uphill by the way a creek sounds. Weird as that sounds i've never missed my tree in the dark.

Obviously there's a lot of people who hate trail markers that haven't hunted in the swamps of florida, with no hills, babbling brooks, creeks, or native American trail guides to find your spot a half mile or more off a road, where not following a marked trail puts you in an alligator's water hole.

Since I'm reading all this whining, I'm going out this summer and mark whole swaths of the woods randomly, with red and white reflective tacks every 10 meters in all directions, just to get people yacking about it in the camp come hunting season.
I'm even bringing a step ladder so they're high enough people can't reach them to pull them out

 

[Buzzard Breath]

Obviously there's a lot of people who hate trail markers that haven't hunted in the swamps of florida, with no hills, babbling brooks, creeks, or native American trail guides to find your spot a half mile or more off a road, where not following a marked trail puts you in an alligator's water hole.

Since I'm reading all this whining, I'm going out this summer and mark whole swaths of the woods randomly, with red and white reflective tacks every 10 meters in all directions, just to get people yacking about it in the camp come hunting season.
I'm even bringing a step ladder so they're high enough people can't reach them to pull them out

You're a little late. I went out and did that 11 years ago, when it was relevant.

 

[deerhunter10]

Obviously there's a lot of people who hate trail markers that haven't hunted in the swamps of florida, with no hills, babbling brooks, creeks, or native American trail guides to find your spot a half mile or more off a road, where not following a marked trail puts you in an alligator's water hole.

Since I'm reading all this whining, I'm going out this summer and mark whole swaths of the woods randomly, with red and white reflective tacks every 10 meters in all directions, just to get people yacking about it in the camp come hunting season.
I'm even bringing a step ladder so they're high enough people can't reach them to pull them out

You're robbing very old threads.