GPS

[roy reali]

I was looking at Cabela's website. I notice that they carry several brands and models of handheld GPS units. Does anyone here use one for hunting? If so, which make and model? Does it help in keeping you from getting lost?

Don't laugh, I have the worst sense of direction in the world. I can get lost in a flat, open, level field. Heck, I get lost in WalMarts parking lot.

[perley03]

I use the Garmin eTrex Legend. I just mostly use it for adding good points for hunting. NEVER REPLACE A COMPASS WITH A GPS...... someplaces the GPS won't recieve signal and the batteries will die, leaving you stranded and lost. Always carry a compass and use that as your main tool of direction.
There are a ton of models out there now. I just happened to get a good deal on the Legend, so I bought it. I mark my points, come back to the house and map out the best hunting points on a Topo map via the coordinates.

[zoomie]

I've got an old Magellan Sportrak. I use it constantly and it's a great help. Make sure you don't rely on it because, afterall, it's technology and battery-powered.

Garmin pretty much has the market cornered now, but the good news is they make nice stuff. If I was buying now, I'd look hard at this: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=&pID=8703

[globemaster3]

I've got a Lowrance Expedition C and it is nice. I've used it for both fishing and hunting. For hunting, I used it to mark tree stands, hog traps, trails, rubs, etc. I haven't played with the scout function yet, but it allows you to build and display a boundary along with your course. This is good for putting in the property lines and ensure you don't cross into where you shouldn't be.

If I had it to do over, I'd consider one of the Bushnells. They have ones that use satellite imagery and you can get satellite weather while in the field.

[jdscholer]

Yeah, what they said.
GPS can open a whole nother world of possibilities and fun for your hunting, and all other outdoor stuff.
A few short years ago, my wife wouldn't get beyond the sight of the rig or camp for fear of getting lost. Then we got all GPSed up. The change was incredable. She is now a long distance land navigator, and confident with or without me in the toughest country.
Hers is an Etrex Legend, and mine is the older, plain Jane E-trex. (no bells and whistles) We also have a couple of old Magellan 310s that we got on Ebay cheap. Use em for backup, loss, or friends who need one.
We hunt in country that is pretty flat, very big, and has just enough trees to hide distant land marks. A real pro with a compass would have a very hard time finding the same place twice, and wouldn't get much hunting done in the process. We can now go to and meet each other at pre-determined points, find where the rig is parked, or simply hunt to camp without missing by a mile and backtracking.
We still carry compass and maps, and use them in conjunction with the GPS. Also carry spare batteries.
Mrs. jd is now the best hunting partner I could have, and we get real hunting done instead of wasting time looking for each other or finding our way back to a kill.
I've got macho buddies who claim they don't need a GPS, and I wouldn't even turn them loose where we now go. jd

[jdscholer]

One more thing. imo there are two types of hunters. Those who have been lost, and those who haven't ----YET. Oh and maybe a third. Those who wouldn't tell ya the truth about it. I comend you for being honest about it Roy. I'm with ya. jd

[hogdogs]

I ain't never been been lost Just turned around a bit... Around where I have lived the land is sectioned off such that for the most part, a road is never more than a few miles away. Granted, them miles may be thru chest deep swamps but once on the road you can dry out walking the 5-10 miles to where you needed to be. Problem with hog doggin at night is it is usually down in the dense woods in the "bottoms" so shootin' the stars is real hard! To top it off, when going to a bay, especially if it breaks a few times, you are not stopping to look to the heavens, you gotta hustle thru thickets, creeks, ponds and swampy woods as the dogs could be gettin their ticket punched any moment.
Brent

[hogdogs]

I prefer the garmin line up hands down as it is as good as any and durable too but most of all... It is the industry leader for easy operation without having a rocket science degree.
Brent

[SKULLANDCROSSBONES65]

G'day. My wife got the Garmin 'MAP 76' for me at the start of the year. It is full of features that are difficult to utilize, but the general features are great. Everyone that I show the unit to pick it up upside down. I think it was designed to be used in the northern hemisphere. It is supposed to point up but the wrist strap attaches to the bottom so you can't hang it from the string. Its much better then a glorified electric map. I wish I had it years ago. (Probably any GPS would have been good for me.)

[bclark1]

I use a simple old e-Trex. Not going to find anything with much more raw function in terms of telling you how to get back to where you came from. Not pretty. Not feature rich.

I also have a Magellan Crossover but I mostly use that for driving as it's harder to leave out while you're walking. Lot more going on there in terms of function.

[jdscholer]

I just thought of a minor complaint about my E-trex. It only allows 6 letters or numbers when naming waypoints. Not a real problem, but sometimes Mrs jd and I have to use different names for places. She is more of a technogeek and her unit has much more technojazz and mapping features. Downside is that it seems to burn through batteries faster and seems a little slower on sat. aquisition. jd

[butta9999]

I bought a GPS not too long ago, i should have bought years ago. In all my hunting trips prior i would spend more taking land marks than actual hunting.

The properties are huge that i hunt on and getting lost is so easy especially if your on to game or a wounded animal. On my last trip i used the GPS and it is fantastic. I am able to record water holes and wallows that would be so hard to find twice.

When leaving the vehicle or camp, you know you are going to get back even in the dark. At night while spotlighting on the Wheat fields which are massive there is no way we would have gotten back to camp. Its like a maze out there.

I guess the point is you dont have to worry about your location. In saying that it is still good practice to take note of where you are just in case you drop the thing off a cliff or down a mine shaft or something.

I also use mine for fishing marks which is fantastic in the fog when i cant pick up the land marks.

All GPS have different options so i wont go into that, different units suit different people. I guess the bottom line is they are a worthy investment both for hunting and safety.

[sholling]

I bought a etrex Vista and it's pretty darn nice once I got the add in topographic software. But all I've had time to do so far is play with it.

Another GPS that I played with is the Bushnell Backtrack. All it's designed to do is get you back to your starting point, nothing else. The display refreshes are dog slow and the electronic compass is useless but it will reliably point in the direction of it's starting point. If that's all you need it's $50-70.

[gunn308]

When ever I leave my truck I make sure I have my Garmin my clip on compass and my Silva in my fanny pack, mark my truck with my GPS and go tromping it's awful nice when tracking deer or whatever not to have to check a compass plus the mapping feature shows where I've been and then set go to and cut a bee line for the truck. Yeah they are priceless but still use a compass so you don't get rusty. I have never been lost since owning my Garmin and I have spent a few cold nights in the woods over the years. Oh yeah my fanny pack always has extra batteries for my headlamp and my Garmin. I owned a Magellan but it was too techno for me so I sold it and got a Garmin.

[davlandrum]

My guess is it really comes down to 1) how "techy" are you? 2) are you willing to sit down and read the manual and go outside and practice, or 3) do you want something you can pull out of the box and figure out (limiting it to basic GPS functions).

I have a Megellan (high end, forget the name) and it is not intuitive at all. But I am a compulsive manual reader, and worked at it for a while, and I love it.

[grymster2007]

I use mine (Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx) to hunt for fishing spots that I find on TOPO maps. I have ball mounts for both the quad and dual-sport bike. The thing is simple and, as yet completely reliable. Sure makes getting back to camp easy also.

Hey! This thread prompted me to check again and finally Garmin has a 24K TOPO map solution. Looks like much greater detail than the old 100K maps.

[chow chow]

Good ole Google Earth to study before any hunt.

[jdscholer]

With Google Earth you can grab coordinates from anyplace on the map, program your GPS, and actually go right there.
Most of them have trail or tracks features with which you can retrace your steps in order to find the knife that you left under a tree.
Three times now we have killed elk late in the afternoon, used the GPS to bee-line back to camp, and get the rig. Drove to the closest point that the road came to the kill, and then went cross country - in the dark- to the animal and retrieved it hours sooner than would have been possible any other way. Made it a half-nighter instead of an all-nighter.
We've been using GPS about five years now, and have a ton of stories like that. jd

[BLS700]

My cousin has a Garmin and it works great. After a couple of unnerving moments this past weekend i'll be purchasing one also. +1 on the compass comment though. It's worked for a lot longer than GPS.

[Kreyzhorse]

Ive got a basic Magellan 210. Nothing fancy but with the topo softwear it's pretty nice for hunting. Its basic but it gets the job done.

As you've seen, you can overwhelmed with features out there and its really what you want from one. If you want a basic "get me back to my truck" gps, almost any one of them will do. If you want more toys, figure out what you really want and go from there. In my opinion, a GPS is a valuable tool, regardless of what model you choose.

[hogdogs]

I also suggest using re-chargeable batteries... And several sets for back up. Store them in a largeish pill bottle or a toothbrush carrier. The more you can leave the unit running the more info you have. You can mark major turns in your path incase you lose the breadcrumb trail. Leaving the marks un named will give sequential numbering so you can see the order they were made. These little things make it easier to use if you become disoriented mentally due to fatigue, injury, dehydration etc...
Brent

[fisherman66]

HD, I've really become fond of the Lithium batteries available today. The old NiMH are great if fresh off the charger, but after a couple weeks or even months they are usually worse than cheapie alkaline. The eneloops are the exception from what I've heard.

[The Terminator]

I have a Garmin Etrex. They work best with a compass. You can get your bearing from the gps, and then find it with a real compass. It is very easy to take the wrong direction with a gps only. Best - Ted

[kraigwy]

I love GPSs. suckers are handy, and not just for hunting. Great for measuring distance. Keeping you in your hunting area. Last year, a guy was elk hunting on the mountain behind my house. We border on the SD border. He got a nice 6 by elk, but lost it to the SD game warden cause he was 200 yards on the wrong side of the line. A simple GPS with a warning beep, tells me when I cross the wrong side of the line.

One hint though, always carry a pincel and paper, record all your important grid cords. You lose a battery, or loose satalites you may loose your date. That could really get touchy if you are crousing in a place like the Big Horns.

Also a GPS wont replace a map and compass, you need all three.

[PDXGS]

I spend some of my time as a member of a local Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue team. We spend a lot of time looking for hunters that "got turned around" and were a few hours or days late coming home.
The private that team I work with uses dogs for airscent searches and relies heavily on GPS in this part of Western Oregon. My advice is to learn map and compass and survival skills and PRACTICE THEM ONCE A YEAR! Then get a SPOT and a GPS. My team uses Garmin eTrex "H" versions and a few of us have the 60CsX units. Your local sporting goods shops, Sportmans Warehouses, REIs etc should offer map & compass and GPS skill classes every season.
PS take spare batteries and RTFM- Read The Freaking Manual!