Do you use a GPS?

[Founder]

So I was reading Christensen's Hunting Illustrated yesterday (btw, good magazine) and the "Dueling Duo" column got me wondering, how many of you actually pack a GPS with you and use it while out?

The article in the magazine, if you haven't read it, was a debate, as that's what the "Dueling Duo" is all about. Anyway, it was a debate on the use of GPS's or not, but I'm just curious as to how many actually make use of one.

I personally have the Garmin Two-Way Radio that has the GPS built in, but I pretty much never use the GPS. It looses signal in trees and other than just wondering how many miles I travel on a hike, I don't think I need a GPS. I don't worry about getting lost.

So, what about you guys? Do you use a GPS on your outings?


Final note, I just want to thank Christensen Hunting Illustrated for donating subscriptions to us each week. It's really a good magazine guys. You should be a subscriber. I'll post a review of this most recent issue in the "Review" forum as soon as I get a chance.

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com

 

[BuzzH]

Yes, use one daily at work, and use one nearly every day I hunt.

Dont always use it for navigating...about 101 uses for a GPS.

 

[Thunderclapper]

No.

 

[justr_86]

I use it to mark wallows/water holes, good vantage points and my truck when I'm hunting new areas. I would love to use it to mark trails but it loses service and runs my battery dead a lot faster. Its always in my pack and handy for following blood trails and calling for help packing out an animal so they find you easier.

I don't like hunting illustrated my subscription is up and they still owe me 2 magazines. Very inconsistent.

 

[utahbigbull]

One of the best investments I have made. I use an Etrex legend and use it to mark water etc.. on the gps topo and mark any points I come across hiking. Saving my track in somewhere deep in the back country, I can find my way back to the wheeler with no worries. It also came in handy when a person in our hunting party had to have search and rescue called in last year. I could show them right where we were and the last point where we seen him. Search and rescue members thanked me for being one of the few out that go in prepared.

 

[36moose]

i use mine alot. have moved from the little yellow etrek up to the 60 csx and love it. great for finding camp ,kill sites ,honey holes in the dark. would not be with out one.

 

[IdahoSmitty]

I use one and also have the garmin gps w/ the two way radio. It comes in handy when a hunting partner has made a kill and he needs my assistance. A quik call over the radio and I know where he is. I also use it to mark my truck when hunting new area. It has also helped out when we leave a truck at the bottom and drive up to the top. You know how far of a hike it is and where you should come out at. I seem to get lost easier in the flat rolling sage brush hills. Everything looks the same! Then I just pull out the gps and know which direction I should be heading. I have been known to not have the best sense of direction!

 

[completesportsman]

I always use it to mark the truck too, and there was one time in CO a few years ago that it really paid off! I still have not figured out how I got turned around so bad, its the only time thats ever happened to me but if I had not had my GPS I would have been wandering around for a while!

 

[larrbo]

i use my GPS when I hunt all the time. I have map source on my laptop that I can download the topo maps and waypoints in the area I'm going to hunt. That way when I get to a new hunting area for me I know where I'm going.

 

[NMPaul]

Absolutely. One of the best tools I have for hunting.

I am very poor with technical stuff, but, I have learned to use the GPS,

The one I have currently has topo, and shows land ownership which is really helpful in the unit I hunt the most.

 

[eelgrass]

Mostly on the water. I can get back to the boat ramp in the fog.

Too brushy in blacktail country. Most of the time you can't see the sky, let alone aquire satelites.

Eel

 

[AWHOLELOTTABULL]

Although I am very familiar with the areas I hunt, using a GPS to get into and out of places in the dark sure has saved me some extra miles on the old feet. I have 470 waypoints logged onto my GPS. All on the Wasatch! Priceless.


It's always an adventure!!!

 

[Idahoron]

I won't go anywhere with out it. Ron

 

[woodruffhunter]

LAST EDITED ON Sep-10-10 AT 09:46PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Sep-10-10 AT 09:44?PM (MST)

Absolutely; I cannot even imagine not using it or not taking it with me.

I even got my dad (who isn't impressed with most technology)hooked on it.

We located some elk a few years back and wanted to get set up on them in the dark and be on them right at daybreak. As we were getting close, he said we were off course. Well I argued and we kept going. Right at daybreak, we called in a 320ish bull and he killed it with his muzzleloader.

Last year he killed an elk in a steep thick patch of maples. I marked the elk and taught him how to use the GPS. He had horses the next day and they took a completely different route than the day before. He had to get within 5 feet to find that elk. It saved a lot of time finding it I am sure.

Another experience.... We hunted bear in northern Idaho a few years back. It was totally unfamiliar territory. It sure was nice going back this year and finding all the old logging roads and the exact spot I had killed my bear.

Once last experience... I was fishing bear lake a few years ago through the ice. I got into a really good spot. I marked it on my GPS. A big storm rolled through that night and dumped a bunch of snow. All the holes were covered and we were fishing at about 300 yards from shore. Went out and found the exact holes from the previous day.

Have you ever been hunting and wanted to dump your coat or a heavy pack?? Hide it and mark it on your GPS.... What if you get hurt and have cell service? Call someone and give them your GPS coordinates to come and get you. It might save your life. There is no reason to not have one. They are worth $1000+ and you can get a basic model for $100...

 

[ramtagless]

I have an older cheapo, real basic. Use it, but not as much as I should. It is amazing how far that technology has come and the good news is...it will only get better.

Someday they will be as standard as a cell phone. You will be able to download all maps for all states. They will show land use and you will know exactly where you are at all times. Maps will be easy to update yearly at an affordable price. Everything will be simple, easy to use touch screen and all kinds of options beyond just mapping, way points, go to, etc...

I will upgrade in a few years. Still waiting for them to improve a bit more. Seems like we are getting close with the Oregon and maybe a few others? But - I am no expert, because I am not in the market...yet.

 

[sageadvice]

No. I have one that was given as a Christmas gift but have never took the time to learn how to use it. i feel comfortable with maps and a compass in my pocket. I use these a lot!

There have been a couple times when knowing how to use and having a GPS would have come in handy. Hopefully, i'll learn how one day.

Joey

 

[rugarm77]

I have one but really don't use it much anymore.

 

[Longun]

LAST EDITED ON Sep-11-10 AT 08:29AM (MST)[p]I use mine all the time when hunting or rockhounding....in fact I used it yesterday trying to figure out to get as close as possible to my goat I shot without having to drag it a couple miles back to the pickup...ended up with a 300 yd drag instead of 3 miles. I have a Rino 120 with Wyoming BLM Maptrails and the National Geographic Topo on the computer also. All my huntin' buddies have them so we can keep track of each other and not spend any time looking for somebody thats lost.

 

[garywright]

I have and use the Etrex legend. Up where I hunt in northern Idaho, there are really just hundreds of old logging roads and skids that you can get in to and comeing out at dark they all look the same.

gary wright
moscow, idaho

 

[Triple_BB]

I love my GPS, its a great tool. I took a class awhile back and have spent a lot of time using it since. I always have it in my truck when I'm out. Whether I carry it or not depends if I'm hunting an area of mostly public ground or an area of significant deeded ground. After installing some good mapping software and getting All Topo maps for my computer, I feel very confident walking boudries. I've spent quite a bit of time walking public/deeded ground type mazes where you walk a half mile or mile narrow strip of public ground to access various public sections. If you'll spend time doing this, you'll never see another hunter. Last year I had my first landowner/trespass accusation encounter. After being polite for a bit, it went sour with the deal ending in an FU and a request for them to call the sheriff. They knew I was in the right and I never saw anyone after that...

 

[mntman]

I use it for marking truck, camp, wallows and other misc. places that would be hard to find in the dark or with lack of land marks.
Also, kill sites or end of blood trail.

If I see large amounts of animals throughout the day and I possibly can't remember them all. Then when I get them home, I put them in my topo software and with the direction/time of day, I use that info to help determine bedding,feeding and low pressured areas.

All of my fishing spots are also included, my gps is worth its wait in gold and more with all of the waypoints I have in there for fishing and hunting.

Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"

 

[4blade]

never leave the truck without it,

one example of why...last year in Arizona I planned an evening hunt on a great wallow that I already had marked with the GPS, as I arrived at the jumpoff point I realized the wind was blowing the exact wrong direction due to a thunderhead that was overhead.
I drove around to the opposite side a couple miles to approach the wallow with the wind in my face, I was on a huge cedar flat and although I could have probably came close to the wallow without the GPS....having the pinpoint location in my hand was priceless.
by the way there was a bull there that evening, unfortunately not THE bull.

 

[bcpse]

Yes! Last weekend while bowhunting in southern Utah, i had just got done doing a evening hunt and it was dark, So I started to head back to camp and after walking for about an hour I wasn't recognizing the terrain :/ So I whipped out the GPS and told it to take me back to base camp it seems I was just past it and to the right. If I didn't have it I would of had a bad situation on my hands! Very grateful for my trusty GPS!

 

[hunterjmj]

I have a etrex and use it mainly for my curiosity. It is kind of fun to know the altitude and how far I've walked, etc. I have on a few occasions actually used it for directional purposes.

 

[Striker]

Absolutely! I have an e-trex legend C. There are several uses that I like mine for. I like to mark either the truck or camp. If I get an animal down I will mark it because it seems like I always shoot one on the evening hunt and we are packing it out after dark. I also like to use it to see how far I've gone during the day. I'm not to worried about getting lost but sometimes its nice to have the most direct route back to camp.

 

[gb22]

I'm a big user of maps (compass if necessary) but, although I think a GPS could be a lifesaver for many, I've never owned one.


Within the shadows, go quietly.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

I've used one for many years . . . The biggest utility I have found is using them in conjunction with maps to mark private property boundaries or areas I'm really interested in exploring. I hike/hunt a lot of areas with fractured public land and I can mark waypoints and use my GPS to navigate into areas with spotty public land. I've also gotten into the habit of using a GPS to plot out hikes into areas, mark my truck, camp, check how much farther I have to travel, and anything else of interest. Are they necessary? NO! Are they a big help? Absolutely. I have I experienced success as a result of the GPS. I have.

 

[sagebrush]

I use mine on every trip, can't imagine being without it. I enter Lat/Lon from Google Earth when going to a new area, which I do just about every year since I hunt out of state more than at home. I took a buddy on a 34 mile ride in the Rhino on a bunch of two tracks to get to a gradual ridge that led to a killer glassing spot. He couldn't believe I found the spot and the easiest way to get to it. I had never laid eyes on the ground except through Google Earth. Killed a nice mule deer that year and an elk four years later. I've had locals and game wardens ask me how I found sweet spots that most take years to discover on my first trip to the unit. Could never do without GPS. In order of necessity, rifle/bow, range finder, GPS, binoculars, spotting scope. Can't kill without a dialed in weapon. Can't hit unless I know exactly how far. Can't hunt areas if I can't find them. Can't kill what I can't see. I could never go back to total primitive.

 

[fishfurlife]

Yes I use one. It has been a life saver after sunset for me. Otherwise I don't use it to much. Mark the truck and downed game.

 

[dryflyelk]

I use a GPS constantly. Marking wallows, salt licks, trails, and whatever. My Rino has helped me get back to the truck many times when I would have been lost otherwise. I cant imagine hunting without it.

 

[deadI]

Never use to pack mine. But just happened to pack it on my dads 06 LE Wasatch Elk hunt. That hunt I am glad that I had it. I got injured and we had to call in life flight. They were able to fly right to us from the GPS Chords that we gave them. Now it goes every were with us. I mainly use it to make locations that I want to remember, wallows, water sources, down animals for finding the next day..... To me the gps is an invaluable scource of information right there in your hands.

DeadI/Jared

 

[mevertsen]

I don't have a GPS. I have yet to find a time that I believed I truly needed one.

I do have a SPOT though.

This Friday proved to myself that it really worked. I was helping someone track a wounded elk, and was talking to my dad on cell phone. He was going to come up, but my phone died before I gave him directions. I hit the OK button on my SPOT, and he was able to print off a map from his email, and found us.

It was not a dire situation, but it worked. And besides, he packed out an elk head, a front quarter, and a rear quarter!

Later,

Marcial

 

[BigMass]

I bought my first one when they were still expensive and hard to use for a trip hunting caribou in Quebec. I was very happy to have it, we were way up in the tundra and everything looked the same for miles and miles. I have since upgraded to a Garmin 60 csx.I would not hunt with out it. It is especially useful hunting antelope in Wyoming to determine public land boundaries.

 

[TagLine]

Yep, Got one and use it regularly on all of my hunts, Easy to use and worth its weight in gold.

Tagline

 

[contender]

I have used one for several years and with a map you can make sure of your location so that you don't wander off national forest and onto private. The one I have is old and very slow so this year I bought a backtrack by Bushnell. That little thing is so easy to use. It only holds three points and tells you the distance in yards or miles to your point and it has an arrow that points in that direction. I used it this past weekend to get back to my kill sight. Unlike a regular gps you can fully understand how to use it in a couple minutes. It is only 60 bucks and I won't go without it but I still use my old gps and also carry a map and compass.

 

[grizzly]

I have a Garmin 60 CSx with downloaded topo's showing ownership boundaries. You can find them online.

Just last night hunting mulies coming off alfalfa fields I was able to hunt the edges of National Forest with complete knowledge that I was legal. Other hunters don't even try it, since trespassing is prosecuted so heavily in the area.

I have hunted 9 full days with my GPS running all the time and still have 3/4 of my battery left. I know exactly where I have been, can mark glassing points, wallows, etc..., and feel even more confident than ever getting in deep dark timber at night in a new area knowing I can get out the fastest, easiest way possible.

If I lose the GPS, I can use a compass to get to the road/trail, but the GPS guarantees I take the best route, not the straight route. I won't hunt without one.

Grizzly

 

[cabinfever]

during day light hours I have a pretty good sense of direction but when night falls all bets are off. My GPS has saved me a long night in the woods on more than one ocassion.

 

[marley]

I have never packed a GPS in the past because I felt like it was just extra weight in my pack that I never used. Until this past weekend I decided to borrow my friend because I was going in solo for several miles into the high country here in CO. If I wouldn't have had it I guarantee I would've spent the night on the mountain and the low for the night was supposed to be 26 which I was definately not prepared for clothing wise. From now on I will always have one in my pack. I'm buying one tomorrow.

 

[Magicman]

The Garmin etrex always goes with me, but I have a quality compass on the GPS strap. I NEVER go without a compass.

Before you die.....Take time to live

 

[3point2]

Check this out! The Dixie National Forest has created a Garmin Background map that you can download into your GPS for free. I downloaded it last week and tried it this weekend, and it works great. It shows you as you drive down a road. If you hover with your gps arrow, it show you what the road/trail is open to and the number.
Now if it would only show where the deer are!
Thought it was worth sharing

Paste this into your browser and it will take you to the page:

http://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsinternet/!ut/p/c4/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gjAwhwtDDw9_AI8zPyhQoY6BdkOyoCAGixyPg!/?ss=110407&navtype=BROWSEBYSUBJECT&cid=STELPRDB5189707&navid=130140000000000&pnavid=130000000000000&position=Feature*&ttype=detail&pname=Dixie National Forest- Geospatial Data

 

[Gator]

I use mine. It handy as all get out if you have to mark a kill and then head out to the truck and back again on several trips.


"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".

 

[why]

same trouble h i shorted me a year talk to them a lot dose no good . far as gps cant find one that marks trible ground right so no good!

 

[Wildman]

I acquired a GPS unit in hopes of marking a particular spot that was difficult to find in very thick steep country. I hoped to use the GPS to get back to the spot but was very disappointed to find that it would not work due to the thick tree cover. I know they work really well for a lot of things, but in this particular instance, I was very disappointed.

 

[grizzly]

See if you can use a buddy's Garmin 60 CSx. I have always had signal, even in the deep dark canyons and timber. (They are supposed to have an upgraded antenna system.)

Grizzly

 

[npaden]

I use one regularly. Useful for marking wallows, kill sites, trailheads, etc., but where it really shines is in the dark.

I've used it many times to walk in the dark to the exact spot I want to be 30 minutes before the sun comes up.

 

[highcountryfever]

On top of what everyone else has said, I like to import my track logs into google earth. It is remarkably accurate. it is nice to see an image behind where you have been.

 

[southmountain]

I TEND TO GET LOSTER THAN SH!T SO I DONT LEAVE CAMP WITHOUT IT AND AS FAR AS TREES AND TERRAIN GO I HAVE HAD VERY LITTLE TROUBLE GETTING A SIGNAL OVERALL

 

[muzzhunter]

Yup, use it almost every time I'm in a new area. Love it too btw.