Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game User Friendly GPS

Recommendation for a first time GPS??? Considering "E-Trex Summit" your thoughts please...

For close to the price of the Summit, I would suggest that you consider buying the Etrex, a data cable and some topographic software for the State in which you hunt. You can do lots of stuff with this inexpensive lash-up. CP.

...Totally agree with you-all. At $119 in most discount houses, the Summit is a tremendous buy. It not only remembers where "the truck is," but does double duty if you fish lakes or icefish; it remembers your "hotspots."

I ask one of my deer hunters to use his GP last year to see if he could figure out where he was....After about 5 minutes he said, "according to my calculations we are on that high point across this canyon"....:)<P><BR>I said "saddle up" it'll be after dark before we get to camp and we gotta hurry, thats a 4 hour ride from that high point...

CP<P>Thats a doable option, thanks.<P>Wyo<P>If you can direct me to a discount house that will sacrifice a Summit for $119 i'll dance at your wedding.<P>Atkison<P>Do you suggest.....<P>1) The GPS unit is totally useless technological garbage that can get your butt lost?<P>2)It's tooo complicated and not compatible for the average joe?<P>3)You had no idea where you were and your hunter and his GPS saved the day? [img]images/icons/smile.gif" border="0[/img]

Rayray, I just purchased a 7 CD-ROM set of topographic maps that cover the entire State of Idaho. For less than a $100 delivered to my home, I received 1806 USGS 7 � Minutes, 82 1: 100,000 scale and 26 1: 250,000 scale topographic maps of Idaho on seven discs. This software allows me to compose several maps into one for printing, interface with a GPS, mess with a bunch of annotation tools and on and on. I have been annotating several quads (marking locations) and entering this information into my GPS to use for an elk scouting and pack trail relocation adventure this coming weekend. I have an old Tremble GPS (1993), and it does not have interfacing capability, so I must manually transfer information between it and the topographic software. However, I am going to get a little Etrex so I can simply download the data that I am currently transferring manually. You can view the information regarding this topographic map system at:<BR> <A HREF="http://WWW.igage.com" TARGET=_blank>WWW.igage.com</A>

I really like those little E-Trex GPS's. I'm thinking of picking up the base model, for hunting and hiking.<P>For my boat, I just bought a Garmin 176 GPSMAP. It uses their new "BlueChart" format, which looks just like real marine charts. It's very nice, and easy to use.<P>

GPS are standard equipment nowdays in my opinion. It's saved my bacon more than once I can tell you as I push further and further into the back country. They see right through whiteouts and fog. Just try and use a compass when you've lost your landmarks! I prefer Garmin (I own the garmin 3) but whatever you buy, get good at using it. Practice often and try not rely on it as your only means of navigation (as I'm guilty of from time to time). P.S. BRING SPARE BATTERYS!

I bought a regular (yellow) eTrex on eBay (has a ring to it, no?) a couple months ago for $107. The Summit model goes for about twice that. I believe the main difference is that the Summit has a barometric altimeter, plus some software that calculates rates of ascent/descent and other altitude-related stuff. I am used to navigating with compass and altimeter, and figured for a hundred bucks or more less, I would just keep using my old altimeter. Was surprised and delighted to find the regular eTrex has an altimeter, not barometric apparently, but I've found it to be quite accurate. <BR>This is my first GPS, and I am just hugely impressed by the little gadget. Should of had one years ago! Last weekend we went on a little packtrip, and one evening went out scouting. I was heading back to the lake we camped at right before dark, off-trail through the timber, and while not lost was certainly a little confused. I could have gotten out my map & compass, but set the eTrex on "GoTo", and it brought me right in. I was a little skeptical, since it didn't seem like the right direction a couple of times, but it was dead-on. Greenhorn, as usual, had gone further than me and was up running around with the mountain goats last I saw. I figured he'd be in way after dark, but he shortly came trotting out of the timber, eTrex in hand. He was jogging through the timber that way and had just ran into three smallish to medium bull elk. Lucky they weren't grizzlies ;-). We saw some others, though...I saw one from a distance, and he saw possibly that one and another closer up, whose antlers were already pretty much full grown. 370ish!! Unfortunately, GPS can't tell us where they'll be during hunting season, and the way it's looking Montana might be burned up by October anyway, so...

For good service and price on Garmin GPS have a look at <A HREF="http://www.tvnav.com" TARGET=_blank>www.tvnav.com</A> <BR>I use the eTrex Summit,among it's many features I especially like the barometer,elevation/altitude and electronic compass features.<BR>Bill