I can t believe this thread is still going...

Geez GTA is so old school. We all play Call of Duty now. Learn about video games before you use them as a reference lol

Quite amusing I must say....this must be what sitting in a seat in the US House of Representatives is like....

minus the ethnic and gender diversity.

My vote goes AGAINST Dan "God of the Woods" Crockett not so much FOR the other side.

Good stuff fellas!

Amen

Boy, some of you just don't want to let the issue go away do you. Or, have you already got bored with that new video game.

Since so many are probably going to notice this post and come swinging, let's at least try to be more positive and focus on what to do when you become lost. After all, the worst thing you can do when you find youself lost and with no stickers to guide you is to panic. And please don't blame the author for choosing to recommend a compass or GPS, rather than using bread crumbs.

http://www.bowhunter-ed.com/md/course/ch8_survival_skills.htm

Swing away and I'll try to get back some time after the weekend.

I think Davey Crockett would expect kids and beginners on public land. This a great place for them to learn the sport. The more of them there are the better off for Davey in the long run! A great place to start!

Though I agree that not all hunter's are created equal as far as navigation skills go.. you really have no idea who, or what is hunting. Could be someone who isn't familiar with the area, yet put in the time to scout and feels it's too long of a drive to be walking around in circles in the woods.

Here's a short little bit about a guy I feel is very savy at finding his way around the woods, yet had a mental breakdown when tossed in an unfamiliar place.

I invited him to hunt with me and I had left a certain spot alone until he was able to make the trip. I had yet to even go down there and no one else had access to the place. He arrived on a friday evening and we went to hang his climber. It was muddy as heck, but we managed to drive all the way in to where we hung the stand (crossed a 4wheeler bridge across a slough too). FOLLOWING MORNING....before daylight, we part ways where I had hung my climber, and he rides on. Before leaving I asked if he remembered how to get there....his reply, "Why sure!". So off he goes, he only had about 1000 more yards to go. I hear the 4wheeler off and on until right at daylight. I don't hear from him until about 10:30 when he is on his way back. I asked him if he found his way. His reply, "Heck no, I couldn't remember where to turn, so after looking for a little while I just decided to park and hunt the edge of the slough". Somehow, he forgot that we cut deep arse ruts all the way in to where his stand was placed the evening before....so I don't fault ppl for using things to help them find their way to their stands.

are you a robot!

MAN I JUST HAVE TO COMMENT ON THIS GUESS SOME YOU NEVERBEEN IN THE ARM FORCE NOTHING WRONG WITH USING A COMPASS YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE U ARE GOING TO END UP WHEN U ENTER SO IF U HAVE A COMPASS WHEN U ENTER THE WOODS SHOOT AN AZMITH THEN180 FROM THERE WILL BRING ALMOST BACK TO THE SAME DIRECTION CAUSE U WILL NOT BE GOING IN A STRAIGHT LINE OR U CAN USE THE SUN THAT HELPS YOU GUYS ARE BEATING HORSEWHAT EVER BRINGS U HOME THEN USE IT. THE ARMY USES MAPS. SO THATS ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT IF YOU ARE IN A NEW AREA.SUPOSE YOU GET HURT THEN U HAVE TO TELL SOMEONE WHERE UR SO A COMPASS WILL TELL U. SMOKE THAT MY FRIENDS. NOT EVERONE HAVE A GOOD SENCE OF DIRECTION.

Ya, and a hundred years ago people rode horses but now we have these "new fangled" cars. Whats the world coming to. Be funny if an old farmer let the air out of your tires because "you cant travel the old fashioned way".

You say the marking is good for kids. Maybe it was a 16 year old out hunting. Maybe it was a father/son or father/daughter hunt and they wanted to be certain they could get their kids out.

What a mooooooooron.

Well, beimg a unbiased witness to dozens of turned around people,at richland chambers 12000ac,early on(partly our old lease), Due to the sheer number of markers left inplaced or missed while wandering around in day, When it started getting dark it was vocal city,george,leon,anybody, and grew real loud/shots,Apparently darkness brings on extreme fear, for some, terrified,no bull,1 guy left a rifle in my truck, said he was never coming back,Occasionaly if ask to help locate a missing party,we went to entry point, fired/revup chain saw,and few came out scratched all up and bleeding from brush,real happy to see us, Gave rides to few from entrys 2-3 miles away, pre gps/cells. large acerage, Fog,dark, will alter, anybodys,senses,familiar or not,

Nope......sorry 1FowlHntR, she decided she's gonna marry me instead

You know what my first thought was? Life is too short to worry about reflective tape and thumb tacks for marking a path. Then I thought heck in todays world, if someone walked up and you were taking down their tacks or tape, they just might shoot your goofy butt dead. Now wouldn't that be sad, killed over "bread crumbs" in the woods. Hey don't laugh, tell me you haven't seen some stupid *&(*& reasons someone shot someone else.

But seriously life is way to short and precious to waste on such nonsense.

Or just go hunt in Alabama! Im sure you would fit right in!

And I bet that guy really did mean to leave his rifle and never use it again. Panic and the literal fear of death can easily overtake even the most experienced hunter who finds himself lost as darkness sets in. I've heard stories told by emergency personnel of finding grown men completely dazed and clinging to a tree after they finally gave up trying to find their way out of the woods.

It really makes you wonder why some people simply refuse to learn how to use a $5 compass.

You ought to change your screen name to "Dan The Man" Your so awesome Dan you don't even need a compass all you need is the moon and stars and even when the moon and stars aren't out you could probably find your way in the dark without a flashlight or compass, in fact your so cool you and knowledgeable you probably taught Bear Grylles and Les Stroud everything they know.

Wasnt even dark,but the last 12 hours was,wild eyed an happy

Only 3-4 hrs

Now come on, surely you can muster a better personal attack.

Still, your comments bring up a good point. Always carry a spare flashlight. Some flashlights, like the Mag Lights, even have a place for a spare bulb. I think they also offer holders that have a place for spare batteries.

Yes, while it appears this thread just doesn't want to go away, it might be better served if we turned our attention to the way being lost can create pure panic and even paranoia.

I remember when I got lost as a 16-year-old teenager with a friend. We both had no compass, not even a watch between us. It was also a cloudy, overcast day so that we couldn't see the sun to get an idea is it was early or late. We walked for what seemed like hours and hours, worrying that we would soon be caught in the dark. Yes, it would seem that worry, leading to fear, leading to panic, is what makes the mind go crazy. Anyway, when we finally found our way back to the car, it wasn't even past noon.

When I was a kid hunting in PA I got caught in a white out. At first I tryed to stay put and wait. But as night fall began to come I got on a fence which was almost covered in snow and followed it close enough to the house that my uncles found me. Very Terrifying.

I missed this thread somehow, till now. Just to add my thoughts, it has taken me a long time to realize this but most people are much more aware of their weaknesses than their strengths. Dan, perhaps you have some special abilities that make it possible for you to get around at night in the woods.

I can get lost in the woods at night or even in the day, if it is overcast, so easily that it's scary. And these are woods I know well. Where I hunt the woods are so thick that if you get off a trail and strike off in one direction with a compass, ripping thru the woods is going to take you a LONG time. Some times it takes 1 minute to advance 30 feet. Also, at night, you can cross a trail and not even know you did it because it looks so different.

So, be happy with the abilities you have, Dan.

I appreciate the comment. Still, my sense of direction is probably no better than average. Maybe even a little worse, which I try to keep a compass in just about every bag I might carry into the woods.

I think the point not to be missed is that with all the maps and aerial imagery that is available to us today via the internet, there's no excuse for entering any area, even for the first time, without having an idea of orientation of roads, creeks, property lines, and other features that you're sure to hit, if you can read a compass and travel in a straight line.

Dan, I hunt in east Texas. The woods are extremely thick, as I stated. If you try to go straight across even 100 yards to a road using a compass or GPS unit, you are in for a LONG time pushing your way thru. The only way to get out of the woods in a timely manner is to follow a trail out. Miss the trail, and you're SOL. Even making a waypoint ON a trail may not save you completely, as the GPS units aren't so accurate that they'll put you right on the trail. Then, you'll have to search in 360 degrees from the waypoint until you find the trail. Once on the trail, at night, it is still easy to get off it, get lost, and have to find your way back to the trail. This time with no waypoint. I use reflective tacks, and am not ashamed of it.

By saying "walk in a straight line", I mean walk in a general direction and check your heading every now and then with a compass. The idea is to hit that road, trail, or creek that you know will intersect your path, based on where you started. For example, you know you came in east of road that runs roughly north and south. When it's time to head back, just keep heading west and you're sure to hit it.

My point in trying to encourage people not to depend so much on stickers equates to challenging the belief that it's not necessary to learn to swim, so long as you can buy a life jacket. No question, a life jacket is a wonderful thing to have available. But what the heck are you going to do when you find yourself in deep water without one.

A compass works anywhere you take it, with or without a path of bread crumbs.