Handheld GPS

[Fatmo]

I'm planning some mid western turkey hunts and was thinking of getting a handheld GPS. ( Sd. and Ne. Hills ) Handheld GPS, Cellphone App or good old Compass????

[hobbes]

I've been using my phone with the OnX Huntmaps app with subscription to MT maps. It works great for determining property boundaries especially when I'm hunting Block Management (similar to WIHAs in KS). However, if I'm out of signal I have to download the maps. The biggest downfall of the phone is battery life. Also, downloading maps at high resolution sucks down the data unless on WiFi

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[bobbymoran17]

My garmin etrex legend h has never let me down. I would go something in this line just incase u ever got into a place where phones service wasn't the best.

[howl]

How about all three? If you can take only one, the compass and a map are most reliable. The Onyx app as mentioned is very handy. If you get a tablet with a built in GPS sensor it's better yet. Garmin makes the best GPS, but you can't rely on any GPS 100%. Gotta have a map and compass if going off-road.

[Fatmo]

Thanks Guys! Old School it is Compass and Map. Plus I will look into ONx Maps and back everything up and keep my Ipad in the car.

[GLS]

Here’s a compilation of posts I did on another site about using a compass and it’s value in hunting turkeys apart from getting in and out of the woods.

My main turkey hunting buddy decades ago was a former USAF navigator on the old Shakey C-124. He used to give me grief about my carrying a compass until a fog bank covered him up turkey hunting. I carry two compasses; one on each wrist. The old Suunto Wrist which works best in daylight as the glow in the dark technology is obsolete compared with Tritium illumination. For dark work, the little Cammenga wrist compass is unequaled in size and utility and has Tritium illumination. I carry it on my wrist band with my watch. The watch is a Luminox, but that is another story. The Suunto has a rotating bezel and sighting port for shooting and holding azimuths. I recommend both for turkey hunting. I lock in on a bird's azimuth in the tree and keep moving. I slightly fall off the azimuth to keep from bumping him which can happen on an exact azimuth. It has paid off many times on shut mouths or infrequent gobbling. I learned this trick from an old Charlie Elliot book and is worth repeating.



If you notice on the Suunto, the bearings appear to be reversed, mirror image and north/south. That's because when you use the sighting port you are reading the bearing of the heading on the opposite side of view port. Suppose I hear a bird in the tree. I have the compass on my right wrist outside the ghillie jacket. I hold my wrist at right angle to the bird. I rotate the bezel until the bezel's N or point matches the needle's point or N. With bezel red lines paralleling the black needle, the window will reveal the azimuth's degrees in the window. As long as I am heading in the direction indicated by centering the arrow with the bezel and right angle to my wrist, I am on course. To find the back azimuth or return direction, I don't touch the bezel but turn the compass until the point of the compass is exactly reversed in the red arrow's lines of the bezel. There are no mathematics involved. The mathematics come in determining annual deviation from true and magnetic north. That's not a factor I need to mess with here in the low country and for turkey hunting it's not important.
Here's a trick with a watch to navigate. The watch must be analog (okay, think Mickey Mouse hands) such as the Luminox in the photo. With the sun visible, point the hour hand at the sun. With a line half way between 12 on the dial and the hour hand and with the line extending through the center of the dial, the line is due south. For example, at high noon, the sun is at its zenith (highest point in the sky) That is directly south. This also coincides with the hour hand being on 12. There are slight differences between daylight and standard time, but this is enough for you to find your bearings. Also, the sun in Georgia is in the Southern Sky. Using this watch trick can be the difference between lost and not lost. Gil

[howl]

Now there's a watch band compass that won't fall off like the cheap ones I've been losing!

[turkeystuffin]

I use an android app called Handy GPS. They also have iphone and a windows app.

The app is extremely easy to use and has more features than I will ever use. It easily does everything that I need and want it to do.

They have a free version with limited waypoints and a pay version with unlimited waypoints.

After trying the free app I paid the $2.99 for the full version. The price has risen to $4.49??? I think? Well worth it! Give the free version a try locally. Im sure that you will love it!

http://www.binaryearth.net/HandyGPS/

https://youtu.be/MGY3Cgq1XOg

[MKW]

I recently bought a Marbles brass pocket compass. They are very nice and pretty cheap too. Google is your friend.

[LeadSlinger]

I've always carried a compass, especially in areas that I'm not familiar with. They're cheap insurance and you don't have to worry about the battery dying on you.

[yella yelper]

I use a combination of a compass and backcountry navigator on my phone. When I hear a gobble, I get an exact bearing on him. Then if I'm unfamiliar with the area, I'll run that line on the map from where I'm standing to get a better idea where the turkey is

[hobbes]

I've always got a compass with me and a map and use it often. The benefit of a land ownership app like OnXmaps isn't so much finding your way home, but instead ensuring you are still within the property boundaries that you can hunt.

When I hunt big tracts of land I find fences that criss cross the property (public and private) and the app I use helps me determine if I can chase that gobbler or bull or deer on the other side.

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[Fatmo]

Thanks Again, Everyone! I think I'm gonna get a Garmin Etrex 30 as a backup and stick with the good old Map and Compass, plus with the tricks GLS taught everyone, I should be more than good to go. I don't trust cellphone reception or power! I will back everything up on my IPAD and if I need to print something I'm I could find a printer somewhere if needed. Thanks Again to everyone.

[Tennessee Lead]

I really like the tip about the wrist compass. I may try and get one before the opener. Thanks for the info.


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[sasquatch]

GAIA app is the best around! Works in airplane mode with no signal


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