Best Hunting GPS

[cribbageboy]

I made a post about this awhile ago, but i got very little feedback. I am looking into buying a gps by this christmas. It is sort of a present to myself. Its primary use would be for hunting, but i would aslo use it occasionally for fishing. What my question is, is what handheld gps system would be the best, and what are some good hunting chips.Any info will help.

[irvingdog]

Ford-Chevy, coke-pepsi, Vexilar-marcum,

The arguements rage.

The Big 3, Magellan, Garmin and Lowrance are all great. I like Garmins price point and especially the software.

[vister]

i myself have the lowrance ifinder h20c. once you understand how it works, its great. they make pretty much the same model for hunting, and its camoflauged if it matters. you can get various chips for them. bottom contours for alot of lakes or terrain topo maps for the hunter version. keep in mind i think the things have way too many functions, so understanding all of the functions will probably take a while. but learning the basics is a breeze

[MNpurple]

I also have a Lowrance IFinder H2O and like it very much. I have used it the last 2 seasons elk hunting. As was said, it has quite a few chips for its use and I dont believe it requires Garmins own software, well, like Garmin does. My main use was to mark points in the timber and just get to and from camp and it did that just find. The two guys I was with had Garmin units and the Lowrance consistently picked up a position quicker.

[xedge2002]

I also have the Lowrance H2O. The only thing I would do different is get the color screen. I also have the hotmaps lake chip for it and mapcreate 6.0. Both are really nice and fairly easy to use.

[Wanderer]

I've heard alot of good about the Lowrance H20 and alot of bad about Lowrance HUNT. I happen to own a HuntC (color mapped back ground). I went to that step strictly for the compass. Its was the cheapest(?) model where you could stand still and get an accurate compass reading.

However, I'm on my second one under warranty and about to send it back as well. It doesn't pick up signal. Same problem my first had. Others have commented about problems with that model.

I can't understand why the H2O's would work so well and not the HUNTs I've always been a Lowrance guy but if I were you, I would investigate the comeback rate on any unit/any brand you are considering.

[dolsmi]

I use a Garmin 276C and have had it for quite a few years.

Use it for both travel and lake. Have a mount in the truck, on the ATV as well as it is also a handheld unit. (3" x 6" x 1 1/2"). I bought this unit because it is small enough to be a handheld, portable unit and fit in your pocket as well as having a large enough screen to get a good picture.

I have the Lakemaster program loading into it as well as Road and Street atlas. Use it while traveling to get directions, shortest routes, ETA, etc...

When on the lake, I switch to marine mode and use it for the structure, flats, tracks, waypoints, etc....

I have a few friends that use the H20 and love it as well.

I guess I would see what your needs would be and check around.

Good Luck!!

[BobT]

I use a Garmin Rino120. The unit so far has proven extremely rugged. I dropped it out of my deerstand from 16' up onto a rock pile and it came up ticking and hasn't missed a beat. It is also waterproof to a depth on 3 meters. The Rino series are GPS/FRS/GMRS units. The Rino110, 120, and 130 are black and white. The Rino500 series are basically the same with expanded memory and color screens.

Using the radio when more than one of us has one we can transmit our positions, text messages, watch each other move, etc. on our screens. I also have the US Topo maps that show land contours and composition.

Disadvantage of the Rino is the small screen size.

I am also familiar with the Map76 series GPS units, which is probably Garmin's cadillac of hand-helds. The feature larger screens, more internal memory, card slots, color screens, electronic compass, and NOAA weather data.

Finally, I find that unless I bury my Rino in my pocket or something I rarely lose satelite hookup in the forest.

Also, their customer service has proven very good. I fell on mine last winter while ice fishing and damaged it. I guess it's not bullet proof 'cause it couldn't handle 220 lbs. of me falling on it. I chose to send it in for repairs for a fixed cost and they sent me a new one within a couple days rather than repair mine. They managed to extract all of my points, track, and route data and preload it into the new one for me.

Bob

[vister]

my dad has the h20c with the same issues as far as not being able to pick up a satellite signal. He called customer service and they gave him step by step instructions while on the phone as to how you can reset the gps. Worked great, and he isn't very mechanically inclined with electronics. It was a good thing that they told him how to do everything while he was doing it, instead of being something automated when you can't ask a question, or have to "press 4 to repeat instructions"! It has something to do with accidentally disabling the WAAS satellite function, which is the satellite you want

[Wanderer]

vister,

Thanks for the reminder. I do remember going through those steps with my first one that was truly bad.

I was just frustrated as could be when this new replacement was behaving like the old one. I about chucked it on the spot.

Thing is, NOW it shows me everywhere I was in the Black Hills last Spring, but it wouldn't then!

I'll work on it and report back.

[caseymcq]

I have a Lowrance H2Oc, Garmin GPSMap 76 and a Garmin eTrex Legend.

For hunting I like the Legend the most. It is small so that makes it extremely easy to cary. It runs on 2 AA forever (it seems). The GPSMap 76 is my next go to unit for hunting. It is a little bigger so the display is a little nicer. Still runs on 2 AA for what seems like an eternity.

The H2Oc is an extremely nice unit and having the ability to use map chips in it is awesome. The way the thing devours batteries kills it for me. I usually just use it for fishing. The color and mapping capabilities don't do much for me when it comes to hunting. I mainly just use the gps for marking spots and navigating.

I bought the eTrex off of hsolist, there are a ton of them on there. After purchase price and shipping I got the unit for $80. That was extremely cheap IMO for what I got.

Good luck finding a unit that works for you.