I've hunted western Kansas all my life and added South Dakota recently. I've never had a GPS collar. My shorthairs generally stay in fairly close. There have been times they've came up missing for a few moments, but nothing that was overly concerning.
That said, having hunted with several with GPS collars, I think I'm going to add a Garmin Pro 550+ and a watch to link it to. Just for added peace of mind.
What I did notice, the guys I hunt with with a GPS, spent as much time looking at the handhold remote as they did looking around and actually 'hunting'. I just want it for a quick glance if I haven't seen my dog in the last few minutes, not to know exactly how far they are out every 5 seconds.
