Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire onX maps,Anybody here use em?

I had ONX for a couple years. Liked it, but I have switched to basemap and I like it better for what I use it for. I use mine for hunting, but more for trail riding in the SxS.

Base Map is pretty popular with the locals here.

I've used it for 4 or 5 years. It's not as pin point accurate as my Garmin Montana but it's close enough 99% of the time. Unless you need super accuracy, like for geocaching, it will work fine. The accuracy depends on the unit, not the program. A dedicated gps, like a Garmin, will be more accurate than a phone's gps. It will eat a battery if you have it running all the time. Downloading maps and running on airplane is a battery saver. Most of our elk hunting areas have no cell service, so mine spends a lot of time on airplane.

Downloading maps can be an issue with a phone with small storage, like a 32gb phone or a 64gb phone if you have a lot of apps or photos stored. A 10mile map will use about 140mb. If you're short on phone storage, that can get to be an issue if you need a lot of maps. You can't put them on an SD card. They will only save in the main memory. If you have storage problems, here's something you can do if you have an old smart phone that works but you aren't using it. Even if a phone isn't connected to any phone service, the internet will still work on WIFI. Set it up at home on WIFI and download all the maps you need. Then put it on airplane and go hunting. It can be used as a gps or as backup if you run out of battery on your main phone.

It costs about $30/state/yr. I use mine in several states so I pay the $99/yr and get the entire US. It's seamless between states so you don't have to open and close states as you cross borders.

Here's site that helps explain how the GPS in your phone works. If you have cell service, it will be using AGPS which is faster and saves battery. If you're out of cell range, it'll be using regular GPS. HOW GPS WORKS

They aren’t very accurate compared to a survey, many yards off

RC that's a great idea about using the old phone for maps! Also, with the $99 Elite membership, there are several groups out there that have promo codes that I think can get you up to 20% off that membership fee.

My Garmin Montana is accurate down to about 3'. My phone with OnX can be 20 or more feet off. That's plenty close enough for anything I do but it certainly isn't close enough for surveying.
I've had a tracking issue with my phone. I don't know if it's the phone or the software. The tracking is recorded on the program but it doesn't always show up on the screen. Then it might suddenly appear. It'll show me where I am, but the tracking line is missing. It comes and goes. OnX hasn't been able to resolve it. I'm getting a new phone (should be here later today). We'll see if the problem's still there.

I'm not tech at all but love the On X app.

Get on their website and learn how to use it.
1) Run it in airplane mode to save battery life. I keep a battery pack to recharge the phone on extended hunts.
2) You can download map areas and don't need cell service to use them offline.

SG, that is a practical solution until someone, probably a new owner, builds a fence or a cabin in the wrong spot...

Land surveys are cheap in the long run.

When my 15 year old GPS started malfunctioning, it made more sense for me to buy onX for a subscription of $100 per year than spend $500+ on a new device. I download maps and use my phone in airplane mode. The only negative is that it does not give a bearing to a destination, only a general direction and distance. It means that you have to watch the phone to go somewhere in a straight line rather than grabbing a bearing and distance and using a compass. But, I will renew when my first year is up.