recovering animals

[assenheimer]

#4609

Here is a tip that I’ve been using for years.Sometimes we don’t always have a great blood trail or obvious sign at the location of the shot.This where your compass is a great recovery tool.Simply pick a spot(tree, bush)where you last saw or heard the animal you shot and set your compass to that direction to the degree.This works especially good out of a tree stand.If the place of the shot turns up nothing,get that compass out and you’ll have a starting point or direction to start looking for sign or possibly the animal itself

[strait-aero]

#34425

Great tip,fella…but I wonder how many still use a compass with the advent of GPS? I carry mine with me just in case and it does help you find the exact location of the animal when you shoot. I’ve used it before and help put me on the blood trail. Wayne

[Ralph]

#34462

I carry a compass because frankly I can’t operate a GPS unit unless I dig out my glasses. Those I use mainly for filling out a tag. I don’t see up close too well. I figure if I loose my specs I can at least see the big numbers on the compass and make it work.
That is a good idea to get a compass heading as the world quite often looks totally different when changing location like climbing out of a stand or dropping into a canyon or crossing a wash/gully and then up the other side. Probably be good to take a heading even if you see the animal go down a way out and have to lose sight of it during the approach.

[Bigbearclaw]

#39317

Did that several years ago bear hunting in Maine with Eldon Jandreau.Said I was the first hunter to get a compass bearing in his camp

[swamprat]

#39452

That is a good suggestion.

As to how many carry a compass in the age of the GPS. I hope everyone does, because batteries go dead and satellite reception is not always good, especially in wooded areas.

I carry a Silva Ranger on a lanyard around my neck 99.999% of the time and a backup conmpass in my survival kit. I actually forgot my compass yesterday and felt naked without it, even though I had the backup compass in my kit.

[David Coulter]

#40000

I’ve been carrying a compass in my pocket or pack since I’ve been a scout, only about forty three years now. Although I’m not the greatest at using the thing, it is a great reminder to orient myself when walking into the woods, especially new woods. I hunted in a brand new spot the past two days in central PA and it was s comfort to have the compass in my pocket. I was able to relax and stay until after dark, assured that I could find my way back to the road. There was snow on the ground and really all I had to do was follow tracks in the snow this time, but the compass is a great comfort. It’s like having a trusted friend with you.

[Frank H V]

#43075

I always carry one, even if it’s a cheap pin on one. At least I can take a bearing on my vehicle or the road. Even with my GPS I carry the compass. I have one on my watch too.
Frank

[Don Thomas]

#43477

I’m glad to hear that others are still carrying their compasses. The GPS will be the end of what was once called woodsmanship. Don

[sagebrush]

#43519

I also carry two compasses. I had one break once. I use a GPS as a tool but it is not as reliable. I was once coming out of a canyon late at night and didn’t want to dig out the compass. I looked up at the north star and realized I had made a complete 180. That could have been a long night. Gary

[Chad Sivertsen]

#44175

I always carry a compass. I also have a small one, likely the “pin on” referred to above, that is built in to my armguard. I use it a lot because it is so convenient. Just lift my arm and check it. NW Montana is thick and easy to get turned around for a day or two.

[Longbow560]

#44501

I bought 3 of those little compass’s from 3 rivers when they first came out about a decade ago. The ones that are similar to the old bear compass’s. Use a forstner bit and drill into the risers of my 3 favorite bows and glue them in. Never leave home without them.

[Don Thomas]

#44576

The compass, in contrast to the GPS, is one of the simplest tools ever devised. Consequently, not much can go wrong with it. And while a nice pocket compass is handy for orienteering and shooting bearings off a topo map, most of the time you just need to know where north is. Hence, just as many of you have indicated, the simple versions that pin on or fit in your armguard are very useful. I’m the kind of guy who just has to have my bearings all the time. On a clear day or in open country with good landmarks, that takes place at a subconscious level. But on an overcast day when I’m visiting parts of the midwest with few terrain features, I get positively twitchy unless I can glance at a compass from time to time. The GPS is great for flying airplanes, but that’s because we don’t belong in the air in the first place. On the ground, let’s hear it for the good, old fashioned, traditional (!) compass, arguably the simplest and most reliable piece of technology man has ever invented! Don

[ZogTheFuzzy]

#45908

I also have both a GPS and a compass when I go out hunting. While the GPS is nice to have, having the compass doubly ensures I get back to the car!

[Bruce Smithhammer]

#46517

swamprat wrote:
As to how many carry a compass in the age of the GPS. I hope everyone does, because batteries go dead and satellite reception is not always good, especially in wooded areas.

x 2. I’m amazed at how many people put their complete faith in a GPS with no other backup if something goes wrong. Plus I like going as light and simple as possible. A simple plastic hand compass and a map weighs almost nothing. Even a small GPS unit and extra batteries adds up.

Even more so, I worry about people’s ability to know how to actually use a map and compass anymore.

[tom-wisconsin]

#46599

Got one of those survivor whistles/compass/thermometer/magnifying glass on a lanyard around my neck. It is funny now that I am in my sixties my sense of direction is not what it used to be. I get turned around easier. I like the idea of the pin on compass on my arm. Thanks.
Tom

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