There's a lot of talk on this thread about "slob" and unethical hunters which I think most agree are the minority that ruin it for the rest. I have not heard a word about the "slob" landowner however, and although they are also the minority, they're also out there. This is a two way street when it comes to throwing stones and I've seen plenty. I've had landowners place posted signs (twice) LITERALLY WHILE WE WERE HUNTING the property, and then proceeded to get my ass chewed for hunting posted property, WTH! Of course we were polite, and as expected the landowners didn't want to call the local warden for a discussion. I mean we actually watched them, while we were walking, pound the post in the ground, screw the board to the post, and staple the sign up! I had a run in with a landowner north of garrison that chewed my ass up one side and down the other even the though the land was NOT posted in any way shape or form. I had a tree stand in a grove of trees and had tracked down the land owner/ whom was an attorney in the twin city's and said go ahead, but the guy that chewed me out was the renter! Funny thing, I was telling a fiend about that and they had the same guy, do the EXACT same thing to them while they were goose hunting one morning. The ass chewing was almost verbatim.
We do our best to scope out property for posted signs and I'll be the first to admit that I've walked some stuff only to leave or come across a single half torn up sign from several years ago stapled to a log, and half covered with snow. This has happened a couple of times. In this case I haven't had a run in with an owner/renter but feel bad for being out there even though it wasn't legally posted. And of course, there are those that post their neighbors land (without permission), school land, or place the posted sign right on the section line when they only own the one quarter and the neighboring quarter isn't posted. I also have to say that you sometimes have to look awfully hard for signs because there's a bunch of different types and sizes of posted/no trespass signs. The new plastic ones that slip over a fence post are nice, but running into them the first time a couple of years ago in NW ND, I initially just thought they were orange pipeline markers! They look almost the identical.
I'm not out looking for confrontation by any means and I don't think most are, but I sure hope that these aren't the situations that landowners are complaining about "slob" hunters.
The realty is, this is a two way street, and I'm sure there is some middle ground somewhere. Under the current statute, make sure the landowner doesn't have ANY liability for people legally entering un-posted land, better enforcement of the current laws, get rid of the loop holes. If it's posted and the intent is there and well visible, then it's posted, period! And make posting easier. Heck, have the state supply nice metal posted signs that are standardized, long lasting, and easy to see to those that want to post property. We could even employ a data base that could go along with the posted property ;:;rofl. I have no problem with the discussion and completely understand some of the issues landowners face, but instead of hitting the nuclear launch button, let's look at what real issues are truly happening and make some adjustments to our current regulations.