gps

[lilshootergirl]

I need a GPS so I don't get lost! Something simple, that will get me back to camp if it gets dark etc.. any experience with some you liked or disliked? Thanks

[wawhitey]

I just own a garmin 62st. Cant say its the best cause i have no basis for comparison, but it does everything i want and more. Enough so that ive never had any desire to shop around for an upgrade. It takes the hunt on x chips, which is the reason i got it. I have both the wa and idaho chips. Real game changer, those land owner chips. Dont know how i ever lived without them.

[Marshmstr]

I have a garmin Oregon, it's nice but I want to sell/trade for a 62 or 64....I love garmin gps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lefty]

I have a Garmin cheapest / least expensive E-Trex
I dont use it for hunting.
I did use it for marking unique things ( mineral licks, caves, wallows)
I have given it to my daughter to find her way back to camp.
I have a pretty good sense of direction and know the geography of where Im hiking, So Im not using mine for hunting.
Generally Im hunting where land ownership is only Federal and state lands,.. maybe an odd mining claim

[N&N Waterfowl]

I have the garmin etrex 20. Inexpensive and does exactly what I need, and with the onX map chip for colorado installed it has all the information that I need during a hunt. My only recommendation would be to make sure that you get one that can accept a mini-SD card.

[Swede]

I have not tried many, but the Garmins are relatively easy to use. You will need to play around with it a day to get acquainted with the features. After that you should be able to put coordinates into your GPS, set way points and go to and from one place to another. I think in two days you can learn to play games with one. I don't know the latter part for certain as I stopped educating myself after only one day of training. I know I appreciate mine. It lets me hunt until dark and return to my truck or camp with just a flashlight. It is also helpful when I want to return after dark to where I shot an elk.

[lilshootergirl]

So when I get the garmin GPS it needs to be state specific? And make sure it has extra memory? Correct?

[N&N Waterfowl]

It does not need to be state specific. Garmins will come with a US topo pre-loaded into the system. However, you can purchase aftermarket maps from several companies that have a more detailed topographic information as well as additional details such as unit boundaries, private land boundaries, state forest and BLM boundaries, seeps and other water features, etc. Most of these are sold as micro-sd chips that are installed into your gps, and are state specific or regional. Most of these can also be down loaded into the memory, but I haven't gotten into that stuff. I like the convenience of putting in a chip and being good to go. For example, I have a Colorado and Wyoming chip from OnX Maps and just put whichever one in that I am needing at the moment.

[Brendan]

Garmins are fantastic. I have a Montana 650 and an Epix I wear on my wrist. Now that they bought Delorme, I can't wait until they release a new GPS integrated with the Delorme Inreach (but that probably won't be this year)

The GPS is not state specific, most will come with a high level base map of the entire country. Even without a base map, if you mark the trailhead, truck, camp, etc. when you leave - then you don't even need a map. Get out into the woods, bring up the waypoint you marked of the truck, and navigate back to it. GPS will give you heading and distance even without the map.

If you want a land ownership (public/private) chip from a company like OnX Maps - then those are usually state specific.

[wunder6]

I'm upgrading today from a Garmin Etrex 20 to a Oregon 610T. Hope it's worth it might take a look at the 64 when I'm at Cabelas.

[Swede]

Garmin and I suppose the other GPSs are great today. They have more and better features than ever. I don't want to hijack shootergirl's thread, but how may of you remember when it took about ten minutes to get your location on GPS? Then it was not all that accurate because the signal was compromised so Russian rockets could not use the GPS signals to hit our cities or military installations?

I wonder what genius thought that up. The Russians can send a satellite up and leave it there for who knows how long, and bring it back to an exact spot in Russia, but would rely on a GPS that we could turn off or change at any time. I can just imagine some general saying, "Hey Joe the Russians have a rocket headed for New York City. Hurry and change the coordinates for there to down town Moscow." There must be a lot there that I don't understand.

[ishy]

Quit makin fun Swede mine still takes 12 minutes!

[Swede]

Ishy: You are no help. I was thinking some rocket scientist here could help an old Swede figure how the Russians could get a fix on our satellites, and track around the North Pole to land a bomb near a missile silo; when it took me 15 minutes just to find myself standing still in a wide open (no tree canopy above) space. Here is another question for some genius. What difference would it make if the Russians were 40 yards off, due to the military monkeying with the satellite GPS stuff, considering the warhead power would be measured in megatons of TNT? All I can tell you is it occasionally made a 5 minute difference when I was navigating back to my downed elk after dark.

[lilshootergirl]

You guys are really intertaning, LOL!!

[lilshootergirl]

Okay thank you for your input I will shop around and make sure the Russians can't pin point my location, they may take my kill!

[wawhitey]

So when I get the garmin GPS it needs to be state specific? And make sure it has extra memory? Correct?

Its the hunt on x chips that are staye specific. They are micro sd cards to put in your gps that show by state every property boundary and the name of the land owner. Absolutely indispensible. Well worth the $99 and then some

[Tigger]

Another option is to buy the OnX application for your phone. I have found that my phone is faster and easier to use than my Garmin Oregon 450.

[ishy]

Faster and easier, but are you limited when you get down in a nasty hole or will your phone still get a signal?

[lilshootergirl]

Don't you need a signal with a gps like your phone? Just was thinking. So I need a GPS for Idaho if that's where I'm hunting? Where should I buy this unit? Cabelas? Midway USA, sportsman guide?

[Brendan]

When using your phone as a GPS , you need a GPS signal, but no cell signal - you just need to make sure you download any maps in advance.

Along with My Garmin I use Gaia GPS on my phone, download maps and satellite in advance, and leave the phone on Airplane mode to save battery.

[Tigger]

Brendan nailed it. No difference in signal between a cell phone and a handheld gps...they need the same satellites. Plus, the OnX Map app is a lot cheaper than the chip.

[ishy]

mmmmm, I was under the impression that you had to have cell service to use your phone.

[Deanmac]

mmmmm, I was under the impression that you had to have cell service to use your phone.

So was I, thanks for the tip

[Charina]

mmmmm, I was under the impression that you had to have cell service to use your phone.

So was I, thanks for the tip

Only for phone calls. I use my phone exclusively as my GPS even when 60+ miles from nearest cell service. My dedicated gps is so far less functional, so I keep it in the pack as a backup. Given how my s7 is practically waterproof and has great protection, about the only reason for a backup any longer is battery depletion. But i carry a 3200mha battery for that as well. My old s3 might become my future backup device.

Gps are satelites. You do NOT need cell service to receive satelite signals just the same as a dedicated unit.

[Charina]

Faster and easier, but are you limited when you get down in a nasty hole or will your phone still get a signal?

Some are better than others. I have never had signal weakness issues with the three galaxies I've had. (2, 3, 7 although havent taken the 7 into really deep holes yet) They are surprisingly accurate, sensitive, and quick to acquire signal.

[Deanmac]

So the above post mention OnX and GAIA GPS Apps for Iphones, Any other suggestions for GPS apps? I don't think I will need the OnX feature of property ownership for where I will be hunting, plus the annual expense for just hunting one week?