GCO
Senior Member
I'm looking for a good GPS to order. One that will pick up way back in the swamps and is user friendly.. can someone plz help and tell me what a good one is
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What's a good hunting GPS?
- Thread starter GCO
- Start date
One banger
Member
Keep it simple would not advise a touch screen
cowhornedspike
Senior Member
Stick to a Garmin brand. Make sure it has a color display screen because those are easier to see in bright daylight. Be sure it has the High Sensitivity receiver. Look at several that meet those minimum requirements and choose one you feel good with.
7Mag Hunter
Senior Member
I have a Garmin Oregon 450t...The t indicates it is pre loaded
with topo maps.....easy to use, good battery life (2aa) and
easy to DL more detail maps (free) online....
Got mine from the Garmin website when they had sale....
I also have google maps on my cell phone that will show you
where you are but you cant save waypoints or tracks...
There are some good apps for phones, but they can use alot
of battery life...
with topo maps.....easy to use, good battery life (2aa) and
easy to DL more detail maps (free) online....
Got mine from the Garmin website when they had sale....
I also have google maps on my cell phone that will show you
where you are but you cant save waypoints or tracks...
There are some good apps for phones, but they can use alot
of battery life...
GCO
Senior Member
Sometimes my phone want pick up in the woods, but im pretty sure a GPS will
cowhornedspike
Senior Member
There are several "don'ts" I practice. One is Don't rely on my phone for my GPS needs. Another is Don't use the cranking battery to run the trolling motor... there are more, and most came by learning things the hard way.
Jim Boyd
Senior Member
I've got an Oregon also and it is probably 8-9 years old.
Still works perfectly.
Rarely use it for navigation but use it to determine the acreage of food plots all the time.
Good unit.
Best of luck with your choice.
Still works perfectly.
Rarely use it for navigation but use it to determine the acreage of food plots all the time.
Good unit.
Best of luck with your choice.
Agree with the Garmin Brand...they are good.
I have the Garmin 64. It is two years old and cost me about $300 bucks.
I don't rely on it for navigation in the woods, but rather to collect sign and to record my camera locations. Without it I would lose cameras left and right. The most important feature for me happens when I download the data at home on my computer. The GPS records everywhere I go. When I get home it automatically downloads on a map the I can zoom in or pull out of differnt types of maps. Photo (Called Bird's Eye) or Topography. When I find sign in the field I save it with a unique name. Everything from property boundaries, other folks' stands, rubs, scrapes, trails, to camera locations. Then I mark it on the digital map. This creates a graphic story book of deer routes. If I am interested in a particular deer I can plot all his camera sightings on the map and "presto" you can figuared out his routes and bedding areas. I have been excited with success I have had with the features and view of the lease property. Also you would be surprised how you can determine areas that you did not realize that you have not yet scouted. I post areas that I want to explore based on map recon and travel to those areas to explore.
I have the Garmin 64. It is two years old and cost me about $300 bucks.
I don't rely on it for navigation in the woods, but rather to collect sign and to record my camera locations. Without it I would lose cameras left and right. The most important feature for me happens when I download the data at home on my computer. The GPS records everywhere I go. When I get home it automatically downloads on a map the I can zoom in or pull out of differnt types of maps. Photo (Called Bird's Eye) or Topography. When I find sign in the field I save it with a unique name. Everything from property boundaries, other folks' stands, rubs, scrapes, trails, to camera locations. Then I mark it on the digital map. This creates a graphic story book of deer routes. If I am interested in a particular deer I can plot all his camera sightings on the map and "presto" you can figuared out his routes and bedding areas. I have been excited with success I have had with the features and view of the lease property. Also you would be surprised how you can determine areas that you did not realize that you have not yet scouted. I post areas that I want to explore based on map recon and travel to those areas to explore.
GCO
Senior Member
Ye that's what I need. Butbyou say you don't rely on it for navigation? Well I need one for navigation in the woods .. that's why I'm getting it.. some of the places I hunt on the river side are miles away from civilization and you can get lost quick. Do these Garmins get good connection back in the woods??
I am sorry - what I meant to communicate was that I use it for so many other things that I don't really navigate with it much, compared to its other functions. I am never lost...ha ha. But yes you can navigate with it. When scouting I always "mark" my trucks' location just in case you get lost. I also use it to navigate to a known "Hot Spot" from a differnt direction. Great for planning for wind direction contingencies.
There are several differnt ways to navigate. But I will let you read the directions. Also, Garmin has a wonderful customer service Dept. The reps are American and are patient. They have spent hours with me learning how to do some of the advanced functions.
If you want to do the things I described you want one that is compatible with "Base Camp" and "Birds Eye" they are associated programs. bird eye is a card that you gotta buy it costs about 40 bucks...gives you Imagary like NSA. Or Google Maps...Base Camp will let you set up your map on your computer and plan your hunt. The cheaper GPSs will not include Base Camp it is free with the better GPSs.
Also mine is not touch screen and I am glad it is not. Mine received a lot of abuse. It is rugged, I somehow cracked the screen in the corner and left it in the sun for a day and it screwed up the top of my screen. Garmin will fix or replace it for a nominal fee...it still works fine so, I will live with it till I break it beyond use. If it where touch screen it would be done. I like the buttons very rugged
Mines a garmin Oregon 650t. Had it bout 4 years now. Best investment I've ever made to keep me from getting lost in the woods. Can Mark any sign with it, where the truck is, can go strait to any place I have marked or can even mark a spot on map & go strait to it if I've never been to that place by picking it via the topo or satellite image using touch screen. Has made a deer drag to the truck much easier using it also by looking at topo. Carry extra batteries & a compass just in case & u can wander areas like cohutta wma all day & not worry bout getting back to the truck at dark. No problem getting to ur tree stand & no cat eyes or ribbon required. Very accurate. Works the same in the woods as it does in a field is my experience. Very easy to learn even for me.
Ohoopee Tusker
Senior Member
Garmin etrex 20x is what I use. Usually walk 600-1000 miles a year on public land with it. A lot of that in nasty thickets.
First year I used mine was huntin piedmont with dad & my brother. It was dark by the time we had their stands hung day b4 hunt. Looked at gps sign I had marked & picked my spot via the screen after dark. Marked it & went strait to where it said I needed to be. When it said "arrived" at Location I hung my stand. At 8:30 the next morning my first deer was on the ground using a gps to help find my spot..... it also helped me understand the lay of the land a little better by seeing it from a map type angle. I think any garmin u pick will be worth the price once u start using it. If I knew my brother & dad woulda got one, I would have gotten the one with radio built in it, think it's called a rhino. Already had radios so just went with the Oregon. It does well helping me locate my traps I leave triggered but staked down in the woods until I get back from a couple weeks of trucking then reset them. The woods can change fast in a couple-3 weeks especially this time of year.
Jim Thompson
Live From The Tree
Maybe a little twist or another option...
If you have a newer model and updated smartphone, put Huntstand app on it. When you have great service and open the app and look at the areas you will be hunting it will store the maps in its memory (stores 30 days). Then when you are in areas with little or no service the maps will pop right up and your GPS on your phone will of course continue to work.
I've used Hunstand and Back Country Navigator apps all over the country in areas with zero service and enjoyed true GPS and navigation with my phone.
If you have a newer model and updated smartphone, put Huntstand app on it. When you have great service and open the app and look at the areas you will be hunting it will store the maps in its memory (stores 30 days). Then when you are in areas with little or no service the maps will pop right up and your GPS on your phone will of course continue to work.
I've used Hunstand and Back Country Navigator apps all over the country in areas with zero service and enjoyed true GPS and navigation with my phone.
boatbuilder
Senior Member
You can also get a garmin glo gps reciever for $100 too and it will pick up satellites a lot faster and be more accurate than just the phone.
Jim Thompson
Live From The Tree
You could very well be right and I dont doubt it a bit. I have such a horrible sense of direction that when I was younger and hunting a bunch of WMAs around GA I would use a handheld religiously otherwise I would end up in timbuktoo every time.
Although I havent touched a true GPS in a bunch of years. These days my phone is now my lifesaver for communication and as a GPS. It locks in immediately and is always within a few feet my tree or truck or trail etc. It is seemingly light years better than what it was just a few years back. I use it daily for 8 straight weeks during the Live From The Tree every season and would trust it with my life as long as I do my part by saving the maps in advance, if I know I'll be in an area with no service, and of course keeping my backup power source in the backpack.
This is the one I recommend
https://www.thegpsstore.com/Garmin-...+cyber+sale&utm_campaign=64s&utm_medium=email
I would get the bundle package with topo and birds eye.
https://www.thegpsstore.com/Garmin-...+cyber+sale&utm_campaign=64s&utm_medium=email
I would get the bundle package with topo and birds eye.
garveywallbanger
Senior Member
Bushnell bactracker...simple and works...$50
