Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Best maps and compass - nothing electronic ?

Anything better than Delorme ? That's about the only one I know of .

Need to brush-up on finding my way around without GPS etc. , going to get maps and good compass - which to get ?

Thanks

For paper maps I use USGS topo maps or print my own using software based on the USGS maps. You can buy specialty paper for printing with inkjets that is waterproof - handy if you want maps to last.

I'm old school for compass - my "serious" compass is a Silva Ranger that I've had for at least 40 yrs. Have a couple of other smaller/simpler compasses I use when don't need accuracy level of the ranger - including couple of different pin-on types for quick checks when hunting.

Dad had one of those surviving compasses with degrees and sighting apparatus. The needle took about forever to stop swinging and I only used it a couple of times. I’ve a tried higher end compass and honestly if they ride around in your pocket, you don’t look at them often enough. What I like best now is one of those $3.00 oil filled round pin on compasses with the little steel ball in the bottom that keeps it upright and always oriented. I’ve still got the GPS in my pocket and the two together are pretty effective.

My always worn and most used is a Suunto M-9 wrist compass. I carry a Suunto MC-2 compass w/ mirror and adjustable declination in my pack for detail work and planning. The wrist compass is one of the most useful items I own.


mike r

MikeL2 said all you need and need to know!!!

Thank guys !!

I have an old cheap compass that worked well along with Delorme state maps just haven't used it since 2003-2004 .

Getting back to being proficient without GPS , the waterproof paper was something I was going to research - good to know that it's out there .

I'll research the stuff tomorrow - busy this evening .

mytopo.com

USGI Lensatic for me


Mike

Here in the open west, you don't necessarily need the most precise compass, just a very durable one. You don't often need to crawl through a jungle where you can only see 20 yds. Usually, you can just walk out in the open and have a look around. The compass helps make sure you're looking in the right direction.

Any compass allowing me to dial in declination. Sixteen degrees here.

I use mytopo.com for maps and a Suunto MC-2 for my compass.

DeLorme was the best IMO. The $39.95 for unlimited maps (everything!) was hard to top. Now, we're left with the Garmin monopoly. Too bad I'm a hunter instead of a rollerblader or whatever their target demographic is. Gawd, I wish someone who really is into mapping would challenge them.

When I was a young guy tagging along with relatives on hunts, we never had maps. I spent most of my time whizzing my pants about getting lost. (Adults with raging Canadian Mist hangovers are not the best orienteers.) Now, for **8 BUCKS!!** you can have an official US Government topo map from USGS that shows where you are. WOW. Marry that with a good protractor compass (mine is a Silva Ranger) and maybe a borrowed book from the library on orienteering/navigation and you're in pretty darn good shape.

This. My exact tools for what you ask. I also carry 2 MC-2......

One of those little Suunto clip-on compasses makes a nice backup as well.

It's hard to trust electonic compasses. I've downloaded several compass apps to my phone. None of them are accurate. I think the problem is the phone or whatever they use to align it. When 1 app is off, the others are, too. I have OnX on my phone, too. When I open it on my home computer, it often locates me several miles from here. Running it on different browsers will locate me in different places. Chrome is by far the worst. It'll usually show my location nearly 5 miles from here. Brave is better but seldom accurate. Right now it's WAY off. The most relliable electronic gadget I have is my Garmin Montana GPS.
This just shows that electronics aren't the greatest thing around. A good old compass seldom misses as long as you keep it away from steel. This spring we were having a scout training session in a state park near here. I'd set my compass on an aluminum table but it kept screwing up. Seems that only the table top was aluminum. The frame was steel. It was a good demonstration for the boys, anyway.

Iagree with all of this except I don't print the maps. I buy USGS maps directly from the source.
USGS Map Store
Their website is slow but their maps cost a lot less than MyTopo.com.

This is my philosophy also. I use a simple Silva compass and set it to the declination indicated on my USGS map. KISS

I own and use a tablet with GAIA GPS software loaded. It's a good augmentation to a USGS map & simple compass and it's fun until the battery runs out or they decide to update the program just when you want to use it.

The batteries on a USGS map never run out. Same with a simple magnetic compass.

I've never used any kind of GPS, Army trained map/compass. I use the 1/50K USGS, but I carry a GI Lensatic in a pocket, and a small Silva on a neck lanyard I can glance at often. One compass "can lie to you", 2 cannot! ha I like to hunt "drainages" or specific areas that just need a "general direction". If one is too worried about where they are at, they miss out on alot of "hunting". Out West here, game is in "pockets" ( Honey Holes) and once you know where those are at you can make a plan. Cold Turkey Scouting/Hunting is always tough, at least to me. I proved to a friend my methos during an early "white out". His GPS was worthless, and he even was wrong on what direction camp was at. I said "right through there", then I showed him my 2 compasses, ha. Love it!

One of the great things about a gps is the ability to record your path and then backtrack it. However, it's not 100% reliable. I've dropped my phone in my pocket only to find that somehow, I'd hit the button to pause the tracking so there's no back trail recorded.

This.

USGS maps are the best. I use https://www.rei.com/product/609319/...FgerEAQYASABEgJ2wfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds to waterproof them and glue them together if necessary.

For a compass, I have a proven GI lensatic and I use it constantly. I never got into the Silva compasses but plenty of guys I served with in Special Forces liked them. I never had much use for a wrist compass.

The main thing is to get out there and practice.


Okie John