[Lennyjoe]

Especially when deer hunting out here in the Southwest. We went out for a ride this weekend down here in South Central Arizona and I'll tell you this much, if I didnt have a GPS with topo map on it I'd still be out there.

We did see some great places to hunt and several Mulies to include a good 4X4. Also found several thrufares for the illegals heading North. Didn't see any personnel but the evidence was fresh.

I guess the whole reason for this thread is to confirm the importance of a good GPS/Map and compass and being prepared just in case you get lost.

One other thing to add, we were not prepared as we should of been with other things in the event we broke down or got lost. Things such as water, survival equipment and stuff like that. Only had 2 liters of water and a couple of candy bars, plenty of shotguns (for doves) and a handgun (10MM).


Here's the location we were at just for gee wizz.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid214/pafbde1f45da0c8ac5a5df74bf1d375ba/ecfdc738.jpg

Be safe out there and enjoy the hunting season. I know I will.

[danurve]

I respectfully disagree that a gps is a must. I would also say a compass is useless if you don't know how to use it.

The units certainly have an advantage, and can seem like lifesavers. But the same goes to a simple compass and the skill to remember and use it. Same basic result but the praise from one goes to skill and self determination, the other dumbs down such things and entwines a persons dependance on a service rather then skill.

[NRA4LIFE]

I can tell you one place a GPS is ABSOLUTELY mandatory. I have hunted in MT near the WY border where the state line is not marked by ANYTHING. Where the land is real flat and expansive, it's not real accurate to use a topo map because you have no discernable reference points. Some dumba$$ that was camped near us shot a deer about 300 yards into WY because he didn't realize he was near the line.

[countertop]

I can tell you one place a GPS is ABSOLUTELY mandatory. I have hunted in MT near the WY border where the state line is not marked by ANYTHING. Where the land is real flat and expansive, it's not real accurate to use a topo map because you have no discernable reference points. Some dumba$$ that was camped near us shot a deer about 300 yards into WY because he didn't realize he was near the line.

That doesn't mean it is ABSOLUTELY mandatory.

I suggest that anyone with half way decent map reading skills, including the ability to generally estimate distances, would have no problem even in flat plains areas.

Without the skills to handle those tools, Mr. Murphy dictates your GPS WILL FAIL. And then what do you do.

As for your hunter, you said it, he was a dumbass, (unless he also had a WY tag).

[Vern Humphrey]

As an old compass-and-pace-count Infantryman, I heartily endorse GPS. There are now units that allow you to transmit your location to similar units, and that alone makes then worthwhile. If I break a leg on Hardscrabble Mountain, and night-time temperatures are 10 or 20 degrees below freezing, I want to make things easy for the search team.

A GPS is also great for scouting -- you can record sightings, sign, and so on, and build up a comprehensive game pattern.

[NRA4LIFE]

Countertop, it really is mandatory. In that location, you have no references within a half mile or better sometimes to be able to tell exactly where you are on the map. Unless you've paced it off from some known reference, the map will not give you an accurate position. I'm talking a matter of feet here. In hunting situations, who paces off where they are all the time? I'd bet nobody. It really is flat there where there are few to no lines of elevation change on the maps. I sat there once watching a bunch of deer moving north across the border and from my position using my GPS could estimate almost precisely when they crossed. You could not do that with a map.

[MCgunner]

Mandatory or not, out west, the GPS does make life easier. I've been turned around more'n once in the NM mountains. I always figured it out, but I'd walked some miles less with a GPS...:banghead: This is one old fart that appreciates the new fangled tools.:D

[22-rimfire]

I'll stick to a good topo map and compass. I usually keep track of my position. One of these days, I may spend the bucks for a GPS. Not a priority as people lived and navigated a long time before the GPS was available. Yes, some got lost and some will continue to get lost. Flat tree covered land is where you really have problems. Everything looks the same and it is easy to walk in circles if you are not careful.

[dakotasin]

i like the gps - only one thing to keep track of, can see it in the dark, and all my scouting is already saved ahead of time.

for me and my uses, gps is mandatory.

[bclark1]

hunter's safety courses go over orienteering for a reason, but i'll tell you, i'm nothing special with a map and compass. not hopeless, but i might as well go by the sun's travel or the north star when it comes to very precise travel. my GPS has saved my butt before. another plus of it is it's very easy for you to let people know where you are, whether that's family, law enforcement or emergency workers. the worst event of my life would've been a lot worse if some fellow hikers hadn't been able to give the helicopter our exact position. a GPS can fail, but so can a compass - you can get them under $100 now, i don't see any reason not to have one.

[Lennyjoe]

Ben there done that with a map and compass. Did the Army training classes, spent time with both in hand and I can tell you this much, without a GPS and topomap showing roads and trails I would still be out there. Printed topo maps don't show most of them roads that we were on and the closest road back to civilization would of been hard to find unless you had the updated topo maps on your GPS.

You are right, they can fail. But the GPS makes things a whole lot easier.

FWIW, I have the Garmin Rino and so does my hunting partners. Makes finding them a whole lot easier.

[Hook686]

Today 01:12 PM

danurve wrote:






I respectfully disagree that a gps is a must. I would also say a compass is useless if you don't know how to use it.

The units certainly have an advantage, and can seem like lifesavers. But the same goes to a simple compass and the skill to remember and use it. Same basic result but the praise from one goes to skill and self determination, the other dumbs down such things and entwines a persons dependance on a service rather then skill.
__________________

You most certainly may disagree. The GPS I have has both a compass and a topographic map built in. I never went into the field without a compass, and a compass is pretty much useless without a topographic map .... One can compass oneself right into a 'box canyon' without a good topographic map.

I am startled you think the GPS 'dumbs down things' ... took me more effort to learn to use the GPS effectively than to learn to use the compass and topographic map. I'm thinking, if one is a skill, then the other certainly is, for they both essentially do the same thing.

The only thing I'm thinking that 'dumbs things down', is forgetting to recharge the batteries, or pack a couple sets of fresh ones, or foget to take the compass, or take the wrong topographic map, or spill coffee on it ....

:)

[Vern Humphrey]

I am startled you think the GPS 'dumbs down things' ... took me more effort to learn to use the GPS effectively than to learn to use the compass and topographic map. I'm thinking, if one is a skill, then the other certainly is, for they both essentially do the same thing.

I can remember when the first word processing programs came out for home computers. "Real writers" sneered at them and said they "dumbed down" writing.

Actually, it made people better writers. Re-writing is the key to becoming a good writer, but it's a lot of work. When you change a few words here and there to make your work better you remember you have to have to retype the whole document, which makes you reluctant to make a change. Word processors encouraged re-writing and polishing the original drafts over and over, making them better and better.

A GPS has an analogous impact -- you know where you are, exactly, and can better see the various map clues. What was confusing before becomes clear and you can learn better.

[Lonestar.45]

GPS is sure nice. But, I think it shines more on large public hunting tracts out west than here in Texas. Most deer leases I've been on are 2,500 acres or so, and fenced all the way around. No way can you get lost for more than 10 minutes or so. Might be good to pinpoint a stand location, but once you get to know the general lay of the land, if you don't know where you're going or where you're at, then you probably shouldn't be out there!

[Polishrifleman]

Fog and darkness are two good reasons to have a gps.

[Bwana John]

I got a GPS.

I dont use it however.

Never been lost.... A might bit confused for a couple of days, but never lost.

[3 gun]

I'll add another "must" to having a GPS for serious outdoor use. I wouldn't leave my compass at home because I have the GPS and I wouldn't go without knowing how to use BOTH. The GPS can easily do things that it would take years of practice with maps and compass. Plus a unit with memory can carry more map/topo info than anyone would ever want to carry on paper. Newer units have really proved themselves rugged and accurate. Downside is that some have been loaded with many less than useful "tools" to be kind. Pick your gear carefully and have a backup.

[dragongoddess]

I cannot see any reason why you shouldn't carry both.

[scooterthegreat]

I have and use a GPS, but I do not rely on it alone. There are many times when I'm out in the woods and do not have a "clear view of the sky". Also, when it's cold out, the batteries go down rather quickly.

[Harve Curry]

I usually have a compass on me somewhere. Sometimes I have the GPS. I have found it real handy when fog settles on you and you cannot see 100 feet, no reference to anything, you can't tell where the sun is either. For hunting it lets you stay out later, you don't have to head back to camp before you loose the light, like I use to do before gps. But you better have spare batteries and a flash light.

[MCgunner]

Actually, it made people better writers. Re-writing is the key to becoming a good writer, but it's a lot of work.

I've written for a couple of regional motorcycle magazines. I can tell you this, without a spell checker, I'd be SOL. :banghead: :D I'm not the one that sneers at new advancements. GPS is also great for navigating across the bay. We had this self proclaimed fishing expert out at the plant where I worked and he was in the "don't need no stinkin' GPS, I know the bay" camp. Well, one weekend a group of us were out on the bay in three boats, his a Shoalwater with a 150 on it, mine an old 16ft semi V hull with a 25. On the way back to the boat ramp, he was following the islands, was a little foggy, and I just cut across the bay following the little arrow on the GPS to the way point marked at the cut where we were headed. I was on the trailer waiting on them when they showed up and I heard one of them say, "Hell, there's Jack!" ROFLMAO! Beat "Mr Fisherman" back by 20 minutes with a 25 horse Evinrude. Didn't let him forget that, either, LOL! Man, when the pea soup fog sets in, that GPS is REAL handy, too.

[Art Eatman]

Seems to me it's a "Depends on where you are." deal, particularly if you're in new country and aren't all that used to wandering around in the Really Wide Open.

I've no argument when it's stuff like the state borders thing in grassy, plains country. A GPS makes sense, so you can avoid bureaucratic problems. Or, for instance, some of those many-thousand-acre south Texas pastures that are mostly gently rolling country with beaucoup mesquite thickets--particularly on a cloudy day.

Most folks, apparently, don't stop periodically and look behind them and study the country from the "wrong" direction. Can't find their way back to camp. I've seen this a lot, here in my country with my 65,000-acre "playground".

I've never hunted anywhere that I didn't first study a topo map of the area and ask about landmarks BEFORE I headed out to hassle Bambi. PPPPPP. Prior Planning Prevents P-Poor Performance.

:), Art

[Snake Eyes]

One of these days, I may spend the bucks for a GPS. Not a priority as people lived and navigated a long time before the GPS was available.

People got around just fine before automobiles, too. But I bet you've got one of those.

I like the Magellan units.

[dracphelan]

A GPS is great, as long as you already know how to use a map and compass. I've been doingmap & compass work/play for 25 years (including competitions), amd I have never had a compass break or the batteries die in it.
I've been told that one problem the US Army occasionally has is people forgetting their map & compass basics. You will have a unit out on an exercise, and something goes wrong with their GPS. Then, the unit leader (who has forgotten his basic skills) gets the unit lost.

[Nathanael_Greene]

Having recently been on the Wyoming/Montana border, if I were hunting there, I'd for sure want a GPS. I've never seen such featureless terrain--or so many pronghorn.

[NRA4LIFE]

Nathaniel,

Which side? I know what you mean. There's some areas in that part of MT where you think you're sitting on a 5 square mile pool table. There's not even a washout to hide in because the rain water has no place to go, it just pools up and then dries up. I'll be out there in 5 weeks, GPS at the ready.

[22-rimfire]

I think GPS units have great applications. For hunting in places I go, I usually just study the topo prior to going and take a copy along with me. It isn't like I'm 10 miles from the nearest highway. Been always interested in maps, compasses, etc. But, I have been out on the water in fairly large lakes and things look much the same.... add rain or fog, GPS would be great. I'll probably buy a GPS one of these days. I love gadgets! It is just a matter of $$ priorities.

[Lennyjoe]

A GPS makes sense, so you can avoid bureaucratic problems
Like crossing over the border into Mexico;)

Closest I've gotten was 50ft off the border and my GPS showed every step of the way.

[TrapperReady]

Another great thing about GPS...

With minimal effort last year, I've got a record of every location that I shot grouse and woodcock. It could be done with a topo, but it's quick and easy with the GPS.

[Nathanael_Greene]

"Which side?"

I'm not sure...every direction I turned, it looked the same, like some of those rooms in the old Castle Wolfenstein.

Seriously, I was just passing through while on vacation, on my way to Devil's Tower (now *there's* a cool place).

[Thin Black Line]

A GPS is great to have, but knowing how to use a compass is also good.
Knowing how to backtrack without either is even better. Paying attention
and not drinking alcohol --should come before any gadgets.

There are people who get "lost" snow-mobiliing in MI's UP every year and
it seems one too many beers prior to/during the trip seem to be a big
factor in their disorientation......

[Lennyjoe]

Ok then, a GPS is essential for me. ;) :D

[Biker]

I dunno, the sun and remembering landmarks has always been enough for me.
'Course, I ride a 1949 Harley and my main carry piece is a revolver.:)

Biker

[Lennyjoe]

Definitely old school;)

I too use reference points but the GPS makes life easier.

[Vern Humphrey]

During the Viet Nam war, especially in Northern I Corps, we had mostly orthophoto maps -- scaled off of stereoscopic ariel photos. When an honest man made your map, there were white spaces -- clouds on the day the mission was flown. When you got a map with no spaces, you know it was made by a lyin' sacka $hit.

The maps near Khe Sanh were made by real liars. My brigade was operating there in '69, and I had led my company through a map reading nightmare of jungle and hills to like up with Walt Haddigan, another company comander.

Just then we got a call -- the Brigade Commander was coming. We popped smoke, and his little OH-6 came down through a hole in the trees. The first question he asked was, "Where are we?"

Walt jabbed the map without hesitation, "Right here, sir."

"Walt, that's amazing!! I flew in and don't know where we are. How do you do it."

Walt didn't even crack a smile. "Dead reckonning, sir. I don't reckon right, and we're all dead."