Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting What handheld GPS are you using?

Hunt onX map app on my iphone.

Absolutely outstanding!

Overlay sat images on top of ownership maps or topo maps with ownership info.

Thanks, that will help.








(g)

Some guys use turrets to get more elevation to shoot longer ranges, I just use the electric window on my truck...

Now I'm really confused.

I thought the road hunting involved hitting the elk with your truck.

David

A few weeks ago I came within inches of doing just that. If she hadn't swung her head at the last second, she'd have taken off my mirror. Then I could have used my GPS to set a waypoint right there on the road so I could find her again.

Idaho now allows us to salvage road kill without burning a tag. About time.

If you will be hunting from a base camp and can charge your phone, I would check out the OnX Hunt app for smartphone. Its about 40 bucks for a year (or free with RMEF subscription).

The trick is to download the maps before you leave, then set your phone on airplane mode.

It could save you a lot of money. I got sick on buying garmin products, the interface is poor compared to a smartphone, expensive, map cards are expensive, and the technology will be outdated in a couple years.

Wildcat

I had completely dismissed the cell phone idea, now I'm starting to change my mind. $40 to try? Hell, that would make a good backup if nothing else. Still leaning towards purchasing a gps, but may get the app first just to check it out.

Thanks,

David

My Garmin GPS MAP 62s is the best investment I've made in a long time. Coupled with a mini SD for Colorado,it's been a real asset.

Been looking at this unit as well because of the larger screen and micro card capability. Do the models with an external antenna have better reception or just a different feature?

My main desire is to get one that is fairly simple to use, not a big fan of electronics that require a lot of steps to perform simple tasks.

I have a 550. It seems to be a good enough unit. I mostly use my Alpha, however, as it is just as good and I can keep track of my dog too!

I bought a Montana 600 with the land owner chip just to keep from getting chewed out.

Hard to keep track of BLM, deeded, etc.



If I get caught trespassing I'm gonna just point at the gps and say it must be off.

SamOlson,
I have run into more than enough people who act like they own the land and bluster enough to keep people off. We even had an illegal outfitter in CO post signs one year and we were pretty sure he was on public land. Later, we saw his phony signs in the bed of his pickup. He was simply putting them up to scare people off.
Just about every time I have access to private land someone comes wandering across it and claims to have permission or that it is public land.
So great to know where you are and be able to show it to someone.
So far this year I was able to hunt BLM land that I just wasn't sure about before. Great stuff!

Been using a now discontinued Garmin 60csx for several years and have been extremely happy with it. The landowner chip for the state you are hunting is the only way to go for all the reasons listed above.

With that being said, I just picked up a Garmin Rino 650. Weighs less than my 60csx when you add in the small 2 way radio I usually carry. Being able to keep track of my hunting partner (and vice versa) seems like a good idea. Cabelas had them on sale for 329.00.

In Idaho it's illegal to post public land unless you have an exclusive use lease on it. I don't know what the penalty is for doing it, though. The X maps are great for sorting out what is or isn't private.

Idaho has a unique trespass law. We have huge chunks of private rangeland that can't be differentiated from public land. In many places, the public and private land are checkerboarded in small plots. It's a nightmare to keep straight. So...the law is that if the land isn't cultivated or irrigated, it MUST be posted or it's open for hunting without permission. The regulations specify what's legal posting. Fences don't count since BLM & Nat Forest land is often fenced for grazing.

Are the exclusive leases that then allow posting on state land? Have never heard of anything like that for either USFS or BLM.

Some state land is leased. The law specifies that all school endowment land must be managed for maximum return. However, most of it is open for hunting. A large amount of it is located where it's not good for much commercially other than grazing. Grazing land isn't considered an exclusive lease. A GPS that shows land ownership will show which land is state and which is federal but other than that, you can't tell the difference. Hunt it and enjoy.

I fully get all that. You're previous post hinted that there are public lands in ID that can be posted if someone has an exclusive lease. Who administers the public lands where it can be posted if someone has an exclusive lease?

I see mining claims on public land posted. When I asked the one mine owner he said his insurance required him to post the land but it's public land. I came away not knowing whether or not trespass was legal. Clarification?

An example is one I saw just a few days ago. It was a well that provided water to a subdivision near Ketchum. The well is on Nat Forest land. In this case it's not posted but the water dept. has the right to post it if they think it's unsafe for the public to be close to the well.
Another example is summer homes on forest land. They have long term leases and I'm pretty sure they can post them if they want to.
I don't know about mining claims. They often have heavy equipment sitting around that they don't want the public messing with.
For FS or BLM land, the nearest district office would likely be the place to go to determine what's exclusive or not. For state land in ID, you'd need to go to the state land board.

The Hunt X maps don't show leases. They just show what's private or public. In general, leases are very small plots and aren't an issue for hunting.