Home › Forums › Bows and Equipment › GPS in trad bow.
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Just got the latest TM issue and opened up to the co editors note.I thought Don was going to trash the GPS but to my surprise he approved it.Bravo! Don!I elk hunt on private Timberland that is open to the public,walk in only.This year Weyerhaeuser land is permit only for those willing to shell out $200 (for six months)a key to the gate,a map of a small section and a quad in the truck bed. No thanks.We have little state land in the county and pay the timber company’s a access fee in license and property taxes. Weyerhaeuser is out to change all that and double dip the public.Having a GPS (with map chip)enables me to stay off their land and hunt elsewhere.I can’t do that with a map and compass.
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Skinner
Well that whole situation kinda sucks. And don’t get me wrong
if gps is needed then use it. But I gotta tell you that map and compass skills are built by constant use (just like shooting our preferred weapon) so don’t give up on that. Just like trad bow–learning the skills bring their own reward.:D
One who has been lost many times and survived.
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Col.Mike I have hunted for years with my compass and a map.Now it’s a “Where’s Waldo” game.Good thing I hunt with my recurve.You get caught trespassing with a firearm,it’s a felony!
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Skinner…sounds like a big disconnect with the law. Trespassing in a house with a firearm I see a felony and depending on the house the coroner. But in the woods that is simply silly. Especially if the land owners are not properly posting the property. Yes we should know where we are but things happen and you get off track. If you cross onto another property with no signage then the fault is not yours. Here in PA if it isnt properly posted then there is no trespassing. Stricky speaking of outdoor areas that is. But I like the gps for the property line knowledge as well.
Mike I am a big fan of the map and compass. The batteries never die. 😀
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Problem is, most times being lost isn’t innocent.
As a landowner myself, I have found several “lost” people with guns and dogs on my property. They have also happened to have a deer with them. I guess dragging a dead deer helps them find their way home.
I have found several “lost” people during turkey season sitting within 50 yards of my house. I guess sitting on the ground with a diaphram call in their mouth helps them find their way home.
I wish our system was different and that all land was free and open. But it isn’t. I really envy the public land situation out west and hope it can be maintained. But back here in the east, there is very little public land by comparison.
I bought my humble little farm so I could raise my own food and hunt deer in peace. Since I pay the property tax and maintain the land, I expect others that want to use it to have the decency to ask.
And so the bottom line is that the few innocent folks that truly get lost and just want to get back to their truck suffer for the majority of slob hunters that force landowners to have a bad attitude towards trespassers.
In NC they changed the law that the land had to be posted because dog hunters would say “Dogs can’t read signs” and then proceed to poach deer. Now no sign is needed. If you are caught with a gun on the land of another, you are guilty of poaching.
I don’t see anything wrong with GPS’s. They don’t make the hunt any easier. They don’t make the hike any easier. They have their advantages and their limitations, just like everything else.
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Our hundred acres in northeast Michigan butts up to the Huron National Forest which has 978,906 acres. So it is possible to leave my property and wander for days without trespassing. Map, compass, and GPS are always with me. I use all 3 when ever I am out wandering. I am also always prepared to spend the night if need be. And now that I am well into my seventies, I also carry a cell phone.
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Graf,
I am not saying that it is proper to trespass. Only that it being a felony is the issue. For me poaching and trespass are not the same issues. Being on someone else’s property against there wishes is trespassing. Illegal killing of wildlife is poaching. Unless you own the deer or other wildlife privately, which then turns into a property crime, may possibly be poaching. My rule of thumb is that unless someone is dumbing garbage or committing some other crime they are given notice of no trespass. This gives them a heads up of the situation and show of good faith for the future. Then if it comes to pass a second time I start at minimal charges and then continue to more serious charges if the behavior still continues. Reasonableness is the guide I strive for.
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Steve Graf wrote: Problem is, most times being lost isn’t innocent.
As a landowner myself, I have found several “lost” people with guns and dogs on my property. They have also happened to have a deer with them. I guess dragging a dead deer helps them find their way home.
I have found several “lost” people during turkey season sitting within 50 yards of my house. I guess sitting on the ground with a diaphram call in their mouth helps them find their way home.
I wish our system was different and that all land was free and open. But it isn’t. I really envy the public land situation out west and hope it can be maintained. But back here in the east, there is very little public land by comparison.
I bought my humble little farm so I could raise my own food and hunt deer in peace. Since I pay the property tax and maintain the land, I expect others that want to use it to have the decency to ask.
And so the bottom line is that the few innocent folks that truly get lost and just want to get back to their truck suffer for the majority of slob hunters that force landowners to have a bad attitude towards trespassers.
In NC they changed the law that the land had to be posted because dog hunters would say “Dogs can’t read signs” and then proceed to poach deer. Now no sign is needed. If you are caught with a gun on the land of another, you are guilty of poaching.
I don’t see anything wrong with GPS’s. They don’t make the hunt any easier. They don’t make the hike any easier. They have their advantages and their limitations, just like everything else.
As a Trad Brother who lives/hunts in the wonderful states of NY and NJ – and who has experienced each thing you said, more than once (I particularly appreciate the walks in in the pre-dawn darkness to find some slob sitting at the base of my tree stand cause it was too dark to climb….) I couldn’t agree with you more Steve.
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This post was never intended to condone trespassing.Rather that as a non trespassing tool,the GPS is finally accepted in the trad bow community.
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skinner biscuit wrote: This post was never intended to condone trespassing.Rather that as a non trespassing tool,the GPS is finally accepted in the trad bow community.
Which is EXACTLY the point of Don Thomas’s note and why I support the use of GPS devices for this purpose. It’s one thing to know which drainage you’re crossing, it’s a whole different thing knowing where an unmarked parcel boundary is located in the middle of thick woods.
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I read all the post over and didn’t read anyone condoning trespassing. I deal with this issue constently and don’t see crossing an unmarked property line in the woods as the same level of crime as taking someones life. Skinner said it is a felony to trepass with a firearm in his area. I was commenting on that aspect.
And I said earlier that a gps as a guide to which property your on is a great tool.
Problem with this type of communication is that at times the reader implies things the writer doesn’t intend. But it is still better then not discussing these things at all.
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skinner biscuit wrote: This post was never intended to condone trespassing.Rather that as a non trespassing tool,the GPS is finally accepted in the trad bow community.
Yep, using the GPS to avoid private land, not to locate it and access it.
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I like to think that my map and compass skills are better than average and have never used a GPS, outside of the truck.
But I’m sure if we are honest we have all been turned around in the woods, where I am beginning to think they have a place is when you really are struggling to pinpoint a position possibly in forest or as a friend found out a couple of years ago in Colorado when he found his compass unreliable due to iron deposits.
Switch it on, find your position, plan route, switch off and move off.
Just the opinion of someone that doesn’t like to rely on batteries.
Mark.
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pothunter wrote:
Just the opinion of someone that doesn’t like to rely on batteries.
Mark.
And hope the truck battery ain’t conked out:D:D
Has happened. Glad my phone battery was good and mom/dad lived down the mountain about 12-15 miles. Whew, it was cold!!!
Cain’t say pop was too happy!!!!
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What about pace maker batteries? Hearing aid batteries? Watch batteries?, etc?
It’s amazing we survived at all without those little beauties invented by the Egyptians. Egyptians you say?
For sure. And as usual, batteries were invented for an ignoble reason: execution. Why hang ’em, stab ’em, drown ’em or stone ’em to death when you an electrocute them?
It only too us 5000 years to get past using batteries to stop the heart (electrocution) and start using it to keep the heart going (pace makers). Who says the pace of civilization is slow?
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colmike wrote: Wow these threads really do get charged.8)
:D:D
It’s never been good to be up the creek without a paddle. A bow ain’t much count without an arrow. These days I figure we’d best be having spare batteries for whatever else we have in our pockets. 😉
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Well. I will respectfully disagree. I see the GPS as a further cave in to technology. Last I checked most maps, State, USGS or other, clearly without any doubt illustrate between private and public land. It’s about being prepared, maybe even scouting beforehand, imagine that. I guess if someone trespasses now, they can just blame technology for it. Nope. Not buying it. Literally. I will stick with my map and compass.
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SteveMcD wrote: Well. I will respectfully disagree. I see the GPS as a further cave in to technology. Last I checked most maps, State, USGS or other, clearly without any doubt illustrate between private and public land. It’s about being prepared, maybe even scouting beforehand, imagine that. I guess if someone trespasses now, they can just blame technology for it. Nope. Not buying it. Literally. I will stick with my map and compass.
We’re not talking about distinguishing between public and private land per se. A great deal of hunting in New England is done on private land because there’s relatively little public land available. The issue is which private parcels can be hunted on.
In NH for instance, the presumption is that all private land is huntable unless it is posted (or otherwise subject to certain restrictions on the use of weapons.) This state has a greater portion of its land cover in forest than any other state in the Union. Unless you start at a surveyor’s stake and follow a compass bearing very precisely using the parcel’s legal description, there’s often NO way to know where the parcel boundaries are without a GPS that has the data in it. The posting is often done only along roads and I know of many instances in which a boundary not along a road is not posted. Knowing where it is keeps me out of trouble, and helps all hunters.
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I agree with eidsvolling! Here in northern Michigan the woods are so dense that when you are in them you can’t see the land marks needed to orient your map and compass. I would challenge any body with just a map and compass in northern Michigan to determine exactly where they are to within a few feet. With a GPS you can determine your exact location and determine if you are on public or private property. In Michigan it is not the property owners responsibility to post the property {although most do} it is the hunters responsibility to know where he or she is.
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