Best gps for Hunting

[fishin_magician2]

  Looking into buying a new GPS. Any advise?

 

[delcecchi]

What are you going to use it for?    

 

My advice would get one with the biggest screen you can find and afford.   And you know that smartphones all have gps built in so if you have one, you might have the solution already.  

 

Or a small tablet works well also.  

[BobT]

Along with the GPS, good mapping software can be a huge addition. The thread title suggests hunting so a good land contour software might be worth considering.

[Drail1313]

Get a good Garmin and buy the OnXMaps Hunt chip for your state or whole country. You will be very happy with it. I made the mistake of thinking the phone was the way to go but if you have bad or no cell service you are hosed!! Live and learn.

 

[BobT]

I like my Garmin GPSMap78cs with the Minnesota Topo software, which is a free software compatible with Garmin BaseCamp.

[delcecchi]

22 minutes ago, Drail1313 said:

Get a good Garmin and buy the OnXMaps Hunt chip for your state or whole country. You will be very happy with it. I made the mistake of thinking the phone was the way to go but if you have bad or no cell service you are hosed!! Live and learn.

 

I have a wifi only table and it will store maps, and track my route as I am walking around.   A phone should do the same thing.    Even google maps now has provision to download for off line use.  

 

A decent hand held gps like a Garman will cost several hundred dollars, and still has a pretty small screen.   I don't know about you but when looking at a topo map, I need as big a screen as I can get (that is practical to carry around)

 

[Big Dave2]

I'm with Del. I've switched to using my phone for fishing maps and it seems to work fine for what I use it for. I never use a gps for hunting so I don't know what features someone might be looking for there but I know there are tons of aps for fishing maps and even ATV trail maps and they worked when there was no cell signal as far as I know.

[Walleye Guy]

I would avoid one with a touch screen and stick with buttons.  You cannot work a touch screen with gloves on.  I guess it depends if you where gloves.  I have one of each and my Garmin with buttons is the one that gets used.

[paceman]

I have a pretty cool app on my phone called huntstand. I think it is free, I don't remember. It is pretty cool. It will load parcel information, different huntzones (areas that are good.bad for wind), weather, solunar info, gps... Lots of goodies that I have not figured out yet but fun to play with..

[swamptiger]

Apparently, some of the newer cell phones now have a GLONASS (Russian GPS) chip in them, as well as a U.S. GPS chip.  The GLONASS system has a reputation for working well in the northern hemisphere.

 

I'll probably just stick with my old hand-held Lowrance and topo maps, but the technology is out there for those who want to use it.

 

 

In 2007, Putin issued a Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, opening GLONASS up for unrestricted public use. This was an attempt to garner public and industry interest, and to challenge the homogeny of the American GPS system. By 2010, GLONASS achieved complete coverage of Russia’s territory. One year later, thanks to its orbital satellite constellation, it achieved global coverage.

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/glonass-gps-alternative-never-knew-existed/

Edited December 11, 2016 by swamptiger

[Powerstroke]

I use my cell hpne and the onXmaps app. You DO NOT need cell service when you are in the field. You save the maps you need when you are at home and then when you are in the field it works perfectly. 

 

I have used my phone and the onxmaps app for the boundary waters and elk hunting in Wyoming. Neither of which have cell service. 

[lematt]

The onXmaps  is a good app but the paid version is quite pricey.

[Rhonda]

I find the Garmin Hunting GPS (Foretrex 401 Waterproof) best for hunting in all sorts of terrain. I used to use GPS for a long time, but now i prefer going hunting in survival mode way, i don't know but it's a lot more fun that way.

[ClearwaterAlaskaOutfitters]

Garmin Oregon 700 Handheld GPS is my favorite. Because the high-sensitivity dual GPS and GLONASS satellite reception explain its accuracy and reliability. It includes multilink wireless connectivity and comes with an easy to read 3-inch touch-screen.

[bluemind84]

The Garmin Oregon 700 works for me. 

[WinnerDinner]

I am really happy with my GPSMAP 64st GPS.

It comes preloaded with 250,000 geocaches locations and 5,000 waypoints. This GPS also has built-in worldwide base-map with shaded relief.

Quite simple.  Even under dense cover this unit will provide an extremely accurate location. This makes it ideal for any hunter that is looking for some good hunting gear, for small game trails and other features that require a high degree of accuracy.

 

[brittman]

I have my Garmin Astro 360 that works well enough along with dog tracking.

 

I have used my smart phone on a large loop walk through private and tax forfeited land.   The accuracy was pretty darn good.   Superimpose over satellite imagery on a generic mapping program and you can see right where you are and set course around areas you want to avoid.   Battery drain is pretty strong.

 

I also prefer to keep my eyes up and gain sight knowledge of an area so that future use of electronics becomes a back up and not a crutch.