Hunting gps

[kevfish1]

I have a Lowrance H20c gps and it does not work good when hunting in the thick woods. Has trouble finding enough satellites. Is there a good gps for finding satellites in thick woods??? I dont want to get lost which is what happened to me with the H20c

[dan z]

getting a GPS with an electronic compass will help you when your in the thick stuff. And I believe the only 2 that lowrance makes are the hunt and the expedetion. I have a expedetion and have never had it not hook up...

[BobT]

Garmin GPS units work well in the woods. At least the ones I've used including the Etrex series, Rino series, GPSMap series. Like dan z suggested, I too would recommend electronic compass. Also, NEVER rely on a GPS without a magnetic compass as a backup. You can't buy batteries in the woods.

[kevfish1]

what is an electronic compass? Just a battery operated compass? and if so would it be better to just use a compass??? would my h20c have this compass

[Northlander]

No the Hunt and Expeditions have them and I would highly suggest them for hunting.

[Big-Al]

Any of the newer Garmin X models are really good in heavy cover. They have a different receiver and antenna than the older models. The SX models also have the electronic compass. But carry an old fashioned compass also. If the GPS fails it might save you a cold night in the woods.

[mn_bowhunter]

My expedition usually has zero problems in thick woods, and the compass is nice. I always carry my magnetic compass as backup. I should carry extra batteries, even in power save mode I only get 3-4 hours battery life, not the rated 12 hours. I've used some garmin units. The 760 is old, and didn't work too well. My dad has an e-trex that isn't as good as my expedition. I've only seen one gps that worked in the thickest cover, and it was a few thousand dollars with a reciever in a backpack.

[BobT]

what is an electronic compass? Just a battery operated compass? and if so would it be better to just use a compass??? would my h20c have this compass

A GPS that is not equipped with an electronic compass does not know which way you are facing or which way it is pointing. Therefore, unless you are on the move, it does not know which way to orient your maps on your screen. The maps will indicate which way north is on the map but unless you know which way north is from your position, you have no idea which way is which.

With an electronic compass you are able to hold the GPS flat and it is able to establish a reference to magnetic north so you can orient your maps to real world directions.

[Kirsch]

I have used most of the GPS units made by both Garmin and Lowrance. Personally, I have found no better antenna than on the newest Garmin units. The Hunt and Expeditions may be a bit better than some of the other Lowrance but the Garmins are just better from that standpoint in my opinion. I have replicated this with a few Lowrance units but the Garmin 60CSx was the first GPS I could go 2 sub-floors down into my house, and stick the GPS under a mattress and still get a satellite lock. If it was me, I would go with the 60CSx or the Oregon 300 or higher series.

Sorry, switching gears for a minute but since you are talking aobut hunting and GPS units. There is only one map made designed for the all-around sportman especially for hunting. If you are hunting in North Dakota (NDTRAX), Minnesota (MNTRAX), Montana (MTTRAX), Wyoming (WYTRAX), and soon New Mexico, put a TRAX map in your Lowrance or Garmin GPS and then it will really become a hunting GPS allowing for more than just marking spots or following a GPS track. These are just some of the features that will show up realtime on your GPS.

Lake Outlines including Depth Contours:

Boat Ramps

PLOTS (ND only)

Grasslands

Scientific and Natural Areas (SNA)

Wildlife Management Areas (WMA)

National Wildlife Refuges (NWR)

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

Waterfowl Production Areas (WPA)

State Management Program

Tax Forfeit Land (MN only)

Hunting trails

State Parks

State Forests

National Forests

Big Game Units

Hiking Trails

Cities

US & State Highways

County & City Roads

Forest Roads

PLSS Sections

Township, Range, & Section #

Land Onwership and parcels (MT only)

[croixflats]

Kirsch nice to see a review from someone that has experienced both manufacturers. I am partial to the Garmin models and not handled a Lowrance for long periods of time so one can say I am a bit biased.

Anyways your TRAX maps look ideal will be picking up a few in the near future. The MNTRIX and the MTTRAX. The MTTRAX will be a great gift for my brother as you may know finding hunting areas can be worst than Minnesota out there. My brother had a great pheasant spot but this year it has been over run by a few Grizzlies. This will help him find a new spot a lot easier. How are the lake selections in Montana, he lives in GreatFalls and he has had a hard time finding lake maps.

With the map I guess I will have to get a Garmin GPS unit from ProFishingSupply along with the map.

[Kirsch]

I do have over 400 lakes on the Montana product, 1100 on the Minnesota, and 157 for North Dakota. Overall, the MTTRAX product is great. From a fishing standpoint, though, for Montana the lake contours are OK at best. Land, road, and trail detail is great but lake detail isn't the best. ND is fantastic and Minnesota is good. The best thing about Montana is land owner information is included so this is very helpful. From a Garmin standpoint, any Garmin that takes an SD or microSD card will work fine.

[croixflats]

Thanks Kirsch. Be sending in an order real soon for both those states. Not to concerned about the lake coverage but the rest of the features will be ideal. This will be great also for finding access to new streams for the bro.

[kevfish1]

Kirsch, thanks for the info. I researched the unit you talked about and it looks good. will the garmin give me the lake deatail i get with my lowrance? I got the lakemaster chip or sd card. would that same sd card work in the garmin for lakes?

[BobT]

I would guess that the Lakemaster SD card for Lowrance will not be compatible with Garmin. The file types are probably different. You can obtain compatible cards for the Garmin.

[Kirsch]

Every brand whether Garmin, Lowrance, Magellan, TomTom, etc all have their own map format, so the short answer is the Lowrance Lake Master will not work in a Garmin. They have options, as BobT states for Garmin as well. As long as you are switching you may as well switch to this new solution for an all-around map for hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, etc.

Your question also could have been focused around the actual GPS features not map features, and any of the Garmin GPS units I mentioned will be as feature rich if not more than a Lowrance GPS including electronic compass, altimeter, tracks, waypoints, and more. Every GPS has it's unique features but both the 60CSx and the Oregon are both fairly loaded.

[delcecchi]

Some of the reviews of the touch screen Garmins haven't been so good. Look at some of the major mail order places and see what they say. I thought the touch screen would be cool, but after reading the reviews am having second thoughts. I think I looked a large outdoor co-op and a large hunting and fishing outfitter.

[Kirsch]

Agree as I still prefer the 60CSx as the Oregon series can washout a bit in bright sunlight and it is a pain to use a touch screen when cold wearing gloves, but buttons aren't that much fund either. I like the 60CSx a lot and they are rugid with an exceptional antenna.

[MN Mike]

I've seen some very good reviews on that GPSMAP 60csx, the only time I messed with one was to install some topo maps from Mapsource for a friend who was going elk hunting in Colorado, very nice gps.

Mike

[delcecchi]

I noted in the new sale catalog that the outdoors store at 494 and lyndale has the oregon 300 for a very good price.