Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game i need a gps reccomendation

This Web Site is a good place for GPS info:
http://www.gpsinformation.net/
Don

The Garmin legend is super. I love mine. You can download or upload waypoints as a backup too. It is nice feature.

The lowest end Garmin Etrex unit (about $80.00) is all you need. Water proof and very durable. I have 2 personal units and 5 at work. Never had any problems, and the local scout troops can find coffee cans loaded with candy a mile+ away with about 5 minutes of instruction. My only suggestion is to take the time to learn its potentials before one heads for the wilderness. And even the low end units have a lot of potential. Battery life is not an issue unless one keeps a unit turned on continuously to generate a track file (a trail that you can follow back so that one goes out and returns via the same tracks). If you just want to lock in camp, a downed elk, or the truck, then turn the unit off until one decides to head back. Units with more bells and whistles will comsume more power and seldom do all jobs to the best of their ability (things like electronic compasses, radios, and such). The Etrex unit can display a working compass that is based on satellite info and position changes but one has to walk about 20 or 30 feet before it begins to function. That's no problem, as I'm usually moving when I want a GPS unit anyway. The low end Etrex unit will run continuously for about 20+ hours on 2 AA batteries. GPS is the greatest thing since sliced bread in my book, especially in flat forested terrain where one has few to any visible landmarks. Still, never completely depend on any mechanical or electronic device. A periodic check of the distance and bearing to camp can save one a lot of grief if they do indeed have to return with just a compass. Had to edit this in... One can also download some free software called GPS Utility that can be used to upload/download waypoint, routes, and track files from about any of the Garmin units. The program has some additional features if one is willing to part with about 30 bucks Good luck, 1Minute

Great advice so far. Simple is really all that is needed. But you can do so much with them now they are amazing! I've had or have a Garmin 48 (older style marine with swivel antenna) Legend and Magellan Sportrak Map. I like the Magellan because it has more screens with more information and it's screen is larger and more legible without my reading glasses on! I love the Garmin Rino's and they will be my next purchase because I gave my son-in-law a 130 and love the locator function. (Got a special needs daughter and want her to have one too.) But I'll need to make sure I've got the granny glasses for my aging eyeballs. The screens are smaller with finer lines and harder to read than the comic strip script of the Sportrak. The Magellan Meridians have a spotty reputation for reliability and they are kind of big. But again, they have larger screens. If Garmin would start using the SD Memory Cards you'd have about the best system available.
I think the best use of the units when you are not walking is hooked up to a laptop with topo software. Very handy and very cool.
Garmin 60's, 76's and Rino's are top of the list. Magellan's with their big screens and SD cards have some advantages if you'll be doing a lot with topo maps loaded into the GPS. Etrex is next only because the screens are harder to read.
However, any GPS will give you your position on the planet that can be applied to a paper map accurately. And almost every old and new GPS (except the Magellan Explorist 1-300's) can be hooked up to a computer.
Bottom line, get what you want and use it a lot so you are prepared in case you ever really do need it in an emergency. You don't want to be reading the manual that got left at home when you are in a crisis or just wanting to mark where you knocked that elk down.

You're going to enjoy your Legend. I have the Vista, which is the legend with a electronic compass and altimeter.

I bought the GPS after a canoe trip in the Boundary Waters. We woke up to a thick fog and had a bit of trouble making our way back to the canoe landing. We made use of a compass, but the map was useless as once you got out in the water you couldn't see the shore.

Next trip, with the GPS, same situation, no problems. I also have the TOPO map installed, which I highly recomend, although for your purposes in the flatlands of SD, it might not be an issue.

FINALLY!! A GPS designed for hunters!!

I have owned a magellan, a garmin, and now a Lowrance. Earlier this summer I bought the new Lowrance IFINDER Hunt!

Amazing unit. Comes loaded with hunt specific icons like blood trail, gut pile, etc... Hunting in the coastal mountains is demanding on any GPS. This one is picking up a signal deep in the woods under some dense pine cover!

One very nice feature is having the Game Units loaded. I hated being near the edge of a Unit and wondering if it was legal or not.



I bought the plus model which comes with topos for the whole US! (on 6 CDs). No need ot pay extra for each and every one!