GPS Collars

spencer12

Senior Member
Hey guys, curious if any of you use GPS collars on your bird dogs? If so what brand and models are you using? Any specific things I should be concerned with or look for in a tracking collar?
 

tucker80

Senior Member
Garmin for me.
Remember the distance rating is "line of site" and that terrain can and will cut it down quick.
Gundog Supply is a great resource.
 

Jake300win

Member
I have the Garmin alpha 10 does everything I need. So glad I upgraded last year after running beepers and bells for last 20 years. It's nice knowing exactly where the dog is and you can be silent. Also pairs with your phone or some of the Garmin watches
 

GLS

Classic Southern Gentleman
I've been running the Astro 320 for over 11 years with DC40 and later collars. Still works for me. I pair it up with the Garmin Fenix 5 watch. I leave a spare one on in my truck so that a glance at the watch tells me direction and distance to truck. I also lock the truck into the handheld unit so that distance away from truck doesn't matter. Depending on terrain, a half mile away is about max for the collars. I still like using bells on the dogs regardless. Gil
 

dslc6487

Senior Member
If you ain't lost one of your dogs, you will.......and you will just hope and pray that he comes back..........if you do not have one for your dog(s), that
should absolutely be your next purchase, even if you have to pay it off monthly........you will never regret it....lost my best squirrel dog late one evening........hunted her in woods all night........thought coyotes may have gotten her........finally laid my hunting jacket down by a pine tree where we entered the woods.........went home to get some coffee and toast and when I came back there she was, laying on my coat.........went straight to Bass Pro and bougt a collar that day........next time she was in woods, she had it on..........peace of mind has no dollar price.........
 

Rebel's Dad

Senior Member
If you ain't lost one of your dogs, you will.......and you will just hope and pray that he comes back..........if you do not have one for your dog(s), that
should absolutely be your next purchase, even if you have to pay it off monthly........you will never regret it....lost my best squirrel dog late one evening........hunted her in woods all night........thought coyotes may have gotten her........finally laid my hunting jacket down by a pine tree where we entered the woods.........went home to get some coffee and toast and when I came back there she was, laying on my coat.........went straight to Bass Pro and bougt a collar that day........next time she was in woods, she had it on..........peace of mind has no dollar price.........
A similar thing happened to me with a Brittany pup in the mountains. I looked for him all day. It got dark and I was taking off my shirt to put at the base of a tree near where he'd been when he disappeared when he came running up. Found a used Astro 220 the next day on Craig's list.

The way I look at it is this--if your dog that you liked and spent a lot of money and time training was missing and somebody told you "I can take you right to your dog, but I charge $800", would you pay it?
 
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GLS

Classic Southern Gentleman
A regular poster a few years back (ZZeem?), a dog trainer, recounted her story wherein one of her trainees disappeared while wearing the Garmin collar. The handheld unit kept pointing to an abandoned barn. The dog wasn't anywhere to be seen in the barn, but upon closer inspection, she found the dog wedged between an interior and exterior wall. Without the collar, the dog would have had a miserable death. Gil
 
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GLS

Classic Southern Gentleman
A few years ago I was woodcocking with my two Britts and got a solid signal of Abby on point. She was over 200 yards away. On the way through the thick cover, Willa was on her way, too. Then I saw another flash of dog running with Willa. I wondered whose dog that was. Then I realized it was Abby. I went straight to the collar and recovered it. I had obviously not properly buckled it.
My hunting partner had a 10 year old Britt that was stone deaf which created problems for her in locating us other than by sight or scent. He was about to retire her from the woods when I lent him a spare collar. We never had an issue of losing her after she started wearing my spare until Floyd bought his own unit. It extended her career for three more seasons until her death. She was a great dog and was the inspiration for my buying Abby as a pup 12 years ago.
Gil
 

Hillbilly stalker

Senior Member
We have serval big rock out croppings and small caves. Last thing I wanted was for my dog to get stuck underground where I couldn’t hear or see him. Where the squirrel goes, he will follow. I bought a Garmin Alpha and have never regretted it.
 

duckhunter2010

Senior Member
I have been using the Astro 430 and T5 collars for years in conjunction with the Dogtra edge for e-collar duties. I will say with any Garmin product, you have to keep the handheld and collars updated every 6 months or so for them to work properly. If you run an e-collar at the same time as a tracker, I would consider the Pro 550 Plus with a TT15 or TT15 mini collar.
 

spencer12

Senior Member
Thanks for all the replies guys, I went with a Garmin Astro 430 for my gsp, I’ve had her out in the field a few times with it and it’s worked flawlessly. It really does help me relax a little more because she is still a pup and has a wide range. My worst fear is losing her but the collar has been great so far.
 
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