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I am in the market for a gps for wilderness hunting. I certainly dont need one for my typical deer hunting but bear hunting and turkey hunting in the N GA forest, this trip to Arizona, etc. I feel like one could be really helpful.
I dont know anything about them. Im a compass and personal judgement type navigator. I was looking for one that is EXTREMELY user friendly and has maps built in. I cant be trusted to find and download a bunch of small maps to use. Basic topo with streams and roads is all I need.
Does this even exist? I was reading about one on cabelas, I think a garmin 62c? Anyway, thanks for any help.
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Etter
I was involved with the development of gps. While director of current ops at space command was responsible for the entire constellation.
Having said that–I don’t own one. Do yourself(and your credit card) a big favor and stick with map and compass–it’s a heck of a lot more fun and no mysteries involved–when you get lost its all you:D
Just my humble opinion.
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Etter, I’m sure there are reliable units out there, but i have to stick to the compass. I took cub scouts on a geo cache event, organized by another leader. I had my patrol turn on the units and asked them all to point north. It looked like a porcupine. The compass always works and you will have more confidence in yourself with one. Confidence is critical, as I’m sure I don’t have to say. Have a great trip.
With kids at home, home is where I want to be, but I sure enjoy reading about your adventures afar. Best dwc
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Etter,
I expect this thread will get deleted when Webmom sees it (I think GPS, Guns and wheelie bows are banned). Amongst other things I’m a qualified instructor in my work’s pretty specced up hand held GPS and I really don’t rate them as a navigation tool. They’re excellent for a few things, but basic nav is not one of them. I much prefer to use a topo and prism compass.
When I’m at work I use a little wrist mounted Garmin Foretrex, so I don’t have to stuff about if I need a real quick 10 figure grid reference.
But seriously, I hate trying to nav off the little screen of a hand held GPS. If you just want to be told where to walk, like a car gps, they’re excellent.
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Been waiting to see this unfold…bummer if those items are banned as I bought one some years back (Garman 76CSX ?) or something like that…and had a devil’s own time with it… too much fooling around and I had to put on glasses to read it….old age sucks in the dark especially!
I had an Etrex what consistently told me where my truck was, and I KNEW it was wrong…had I followed it, I’d have walked off the edge of a 400′ cliff into the Susquehanna river…
If you bite and get one, use it where you intimately know stuff till you get comfy with it…I never did…
BTW, I got rid of the Etrex…one guy checked it out in his home area and it worked fine, but not in the deep hollows where i was…
The newer Garmin is better, but way more complex…and finicky to suit me.
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Hey Etter,
I have a GPS with a push button on the front. The button sort of sticks out above the profile of the face on the unit. This means it can easily be pushed by say a tight pack strap or branch. Then there are all these useless waypoints taken. So don’t get a GPS with easy to push buttons. I can’t remember exactly which GPS it is.
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I used to use an eTrex mounted on my handlebar for moto trips, and occasionally I hike with it, but honestly, since I got the “Topo” app (for .99¢) for my iPhone, I don’t bother carrying a GPS much anymore.
You need to have wifi/cell service to download the maps (which is really easy and fast to do), but once you do that, you can use it basically anywhere, since location tracking isn’t cell service-dependent. it allows for waypoints, etc, as well. For as much as I need a GPS (which isn’t much at all) it works great. One less thing to carry, as well.
update: coincidentally, I just got a notification from Seek Outside about a new blog post with tips on using smartphones for nav:
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colmike wrote: I was involved with the development of gps. While director of current ops at space command was responsible for the entire constellation.
Having said that–I don’t own one. Do yourself(and your credit card) a big favor and stick with map and compass–it’s a heck of a lot more fun and no mysteries involved–when you get lost its all you:D
Just my humble opinion.
Now THAT’S saying a lot! 8)
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Having been well lost myself, and having felt that deep-time dusky fear of the dark and unknown, I can say that the reality isn’t nearly so scary as the fear of the reality. Come to think of it, most of life fits there. “… and then we die.” With a future like that, what’s to fear? 😯
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Whoa. This thread just got deep. 😯
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David Petersen wrote: Having been well lost myself, and having felt that deep-time dusky fear of the dark and unknown, I can say that the reality isn’t nearly so scary as the fear of the reality. Come to think of it, most of life fits there. “… and then we die.” With a future like that, what’s to fear? 😯
That is a fact.
I got lost bear hunting this year and it took a few hours to get unlost. Trusted my brain over my compass…. Big mistake!
Several times I had to sit and calm myself during the re-routing process.
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Etter1 wrote:
I got lost bear hunting this year and it took a few hours to get unlost. Trusted my brain over my compass…. Big mistake
Etter, something like the foretrex might be perfect for you if you just want something to check nav with. It’s incredibly small for a GPS, relatively cheap, takes AA batteries and will quickly give you an accurate loc. Battery life is only about 12-18 hours but I only turn it on when I want to check nav, so two AA’s usually last me about 2-3 weeks in the field. I have the 301 and its less than $150.
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I am will Smithhammer on this one…I have spent the time to teach my son (who can now just about out navigate me) to use a topo map and compass. We love making our way to new lakes in the backcountry with map in hand. But I also have downloaded the app on my phone… “Topo Maps” by trailbehind inc. I download the map area that we want to explore and we work from the topo on the screen. I use it as a backup resource – and have educated my son as well – it brings me a little more peace of mind when my son and his buddies head out on their own.
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grumpy wrote: Find a stream, and follow it downstream.
That could take a while, where we’re headed… 😉
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I’d say if you get one, get the Oregon series, Garmin, I think. Anyway there is an outfit online, won’t post a link, but if you google hunting gps maps, you will find them. I say this mainly because you will be hunting way out of your element, going to AZ. Out west there are no land marks telling you private land from NF land or BLM land and ranchers will not take kindly to you wandering onto their land.
The outfit I mentioned has chips that go right into your gps unit and SHOWS those boundaries, and in many areas will have private land owner names (from public records) and contact numbers. It also shows NF, BLM and private boundaries, as well as built in topo.
For those reasons I would definitely carry one, when hunting out of state, but I also use a compass and topo map.
If you find a good spot late in the day, to spot game, but want to show up there in the dark, before first light, it’s pretty hard to do that with a compass and map. Don’t use a gps in the field like you would in a car, turn by turn, but use it to get you from A to B, and you pick the best path. The topo might not have that cliff covered by trees, that is right on the gps path. Sometimes the best path from A to B is through C and D first.
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David Petersen wrote: Having been well lost myself, and having felt that deep-time dusky fear of the dark and unknown, I can say that the reality isn’t nearly so scary as the fear of the reality. Come to think of it, most of life fits there. “… and then we die.” With a future like that, what’s to fear? 😯
That’s a glass half full…of cyanide, way of looking at things. 😆
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Actually I took the hunter safety course in Upstate New York… in 1964 (same year the Beatles arrived). They said nothing about getting lost. I was too smart to get lost anyway (although I have a little brother I still worry about). The main issues were: 1. DO NOT SHOOT PEOPLE. 2. DO NOT SHOOT COWS. After they told us that we shot our .22s at targets, got the certificate, and went home. When I was married my wife threw away the certificate. A year ago I needed the certificate to get a hunting license, so I called the town hall, and someone I didn’t remember told me she missed me, and sent the certificate to me.
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grumpy wrote: A year ago I needed the certificate to get a hunting license, so I called the town hall, and someone I didn’t remember told me she missed me, and sent the certificate to me.
Classic.
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grumpy wrote: Find a stream, and follow it downstream.
I would imagine in AZ, just like here, lots of streams just kind of peter out into the dry ground. Quite a few early european explorers followed promising streams to dehydrated doom 😯
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CA is like that. You BEST know where the stream goes before using energy to follow it. On top of a GPS I would suggest a good water filtration system.
Of course none of us will ever get lost if we are TRUE woodsmen, but it might be the difference between a headline reading “man found dead after 5 days of being lost on AZ hunting trip” and “man found alive, after 5 days, weak but otherwise healthy, while hunting in AZ.”
These things were developed for a real reason, not marketing hype. If (big IF) the satellites do go down, then fall back on the compass. I always carry both, and use each about equally. I used my compass to guide my 2 hunting buddies and myself back to the truck, when we were hunting elk in NM. Neither of their GPS units agreed with me. We were about 2 miles in, and I got us to within 100yds of truck. We could see it from the hilltop where we ended up.
Had it been dark, we would have spent the nite in the hills. A miss by 100yds might as well be a mile.
GPS units have improved a LOT since then. That was in the late 90’s.
First rule, KNOW the map of the area you want to hunt, and know the topo map as well. Even when using GPS, take compass readings incase something happens to GPS. Folks that have not hunted the west have no idea how big these open areas are. Getting lost can and will kill you.
Something I seldom see recommended and I think is a tragedy, is carrying a radio that can transmit on 121.5. That is the FAA emergency frequency. I am a retired Air Traffic Controller. Part of the airspace I worked for 27 years, was over the Grand Canyon, AZ. River rafter and hiking tours carried those transmitters, and when someone got deathly ill or injured, they used them. Commercial Aircraft passing overhead can hear them and relay messages for a rescue, BUT they are only to used for emergency, and a special permit might be required.
I participated in probably over 100 of those over my career. Having a GPS and that radio, you could give coordinates and have rescue come right to you, instead of searching a 40 sq mile area.
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handirifle wrote: Having a GPS and that radio, you could give coordinates and have rescue come right to you, instead of searching a 40 sq mile area.
I used a hand held VHF with built in GPS that was neat, for just that reason. The GPS would only give you a current location, but for emergency calls it was perfect. I think it was an Icom.. worth about $500 though 😕
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I made a long post, but then I remembered bear camp. 😀
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My work bought me a garmin oregon It is a bit pricey. I don’t remember how much. It has a touch screen and is really easy to use. I am pretty sure it comes with topo built in for the continental US. I got a card that installs under the batteries that will show land status layers so I can tell the difference between tribal land and private. I really like it.
DK
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Last elk season we had limited access due to fire danger.There is very little public land were I hunt,most being private Timberland open for hunting ,walk in only.I dusted off my GPS with map chip and was able to keep myself out of restricted areas.I love maps and compass but in this regard the GPS was a valuable tool.
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If you need a GPS you shouldn’t be going by yourself has aways been my moto. And alway found a SPOT to be more helpful anyway. If you fall out of a tree or break a leg GPS isn’t going to be much help. At times i travel up to 40 miles by ATV when i go out.
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Well, if you’ve had enough finger wagging…
If you simply want to get back to the truck/camp try something like this: https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the-trail/handhelds/etrex-20/prod87771.html
It’s simple without too many features that you don’t need (find the nearest Starbucks). Key is setting it up correctly for your area and that involves taking the time to read all the directions. You have to set up for your zone, etc. Then, with your 7.5 min quad you can find where you are on the map and where you have to go. You still should have a map and compass. The GPS is just a supplement.
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I am map & compass, but use a basic gps. I like it for giving me an idea how far I have travelled. It turns out I was gyping myself out of one or two miles every trip into the woods. And those lost miles equal grousing rights… I use it to mark waypoints too. It was very helpful when I found illegal hunting activity. I just forwarded the waypoints to the game warden. But there is nothing easier than a compass in hand when coming out in the dark. Also, map & compass, in my experience, requires you to use stored topographic imagery more (ie your imagination/memory) than a gps does. This is a gateway skill, one our ancestors honed to a fine degree. It helps tune yourself to the country you traverse. You understand it by intuition rather than via a surragate. This is a much deeper, a much more personal, connection.
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I have a Garmin Gecko.It is very small, about 1.5″ wide and 3.5″ long. Very easy to carry. I usually mark my camp, and wherever I leave my Jeep. When it’s time to go back, I just use it to get a bearing back. I use my compass to follow said bearing. Make it a point to note direction of travel and landmarks before setting off.
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