i need a gps... it will be used exclusively for hunting, so i don't need a lot of features or whatever... just accuracy and the ability to pick up where i am consistently.

i just want to know where my truck is relative to where i am, where the deer carcass is laying, and how to get back to that honey-hole next weekend.

i don't need road maps (never have used the paper versions, anyway), or the ability to tell me how deep a lake is (i don't fish)...

i tried a search, but didn't come up w/ much... and, w/ technology updating, was hoping there was some fresh info available.

I have a Garmin Summit GPS. I use it for exactly what you listed. Really easy to use. Here is the bad...

After one season it starting getting goofey and told me I was past my truck, and I knew I was not. Then it was off in its directions compared to my buddy's. So I sent it back and they told me it was not under warranty anymore so they sold me a new unit for a discount. (It was just over a year from purchase when I sent it back)

Then last year I took my new unit out and I had walked like 1 mile and it told me I was 600 miles from my truck! Not sure what to think now. It sure was cool when it worked, but I think you are better off not getting a Garmin.

In the interest of simplfying my hunting life I went with the Garmin rino 110 last year. It's a GPS + FRS/GMRS 2-way radio combo. What you want out of a GPS is just what I wanted as well and I've been happy with the rino. I've used it in the rain, snow, and 90+ degree dusty conditions without problems.

I still use map & compass to get there, but GPS is sure nice for getting back.

Big time I am in the same boat as you. I hope some good feed back shows on this topic. All this time I have been a topo and compass guy myself. I sure would like to be able to use the gps and keep the compass in the back pack.

I'd say any of the Garmin, especially the Rhino 120. Has radio, GPS and a bit of map downloading option. It has more than you want but its affordable and the extra can come in handy at times. PS I believe the 130 is the only one with a weather band and more memory and its the one my wife and I use. Just because its all in one and we can download topo maps onto it( you can on the 120 too just not as much)

I've had Magellan and the Garmin far exceeds the Magellan. I suspect that getting a bad Garmin is not normal as I know of about 20+ locally, including volunteer FD use and non have had a lemon yet. But lemons are there anywhere. My first lemon was a Zeiss scope!! I still use em though.

Good luck, Jeff

I bought a pair of the Rhino 110's off of ebay. They are great, I like the feature that allows you to "beam" your location to others, so that everyoone knows where eachother is at.

I just picked up two rino 130's with the map software, compass, altimeter, and topo's all with the radio & weather channels.

Spot

I have tried the Garmin GPS II, III, V, Etrex silver and GPS 60. All do the same, mark a waypoint and find the waypoint. The difference is antenna (walking or standing), battery life, map storage/download, and color-black/white.

The etrex units start at $100 and will do what you need with +24hour batter life. The color units do use batteries faster. The non-external antenna (etrex units) can easily loose signal unless you hold them horizontal. The GPS 60 unit is designed to be clipped on and maintain signal as you walk.

Remember, tree cover, mountains, and weather conditions (clouds/fog) can reduce the quality of the satellite signal (if you are up against a mountain/hill on a foggy day under heavy tree cover, you may not have a consistent signal.

And if you do not make a waypoint at your vehicle, you will have a longer walk out...............

They do come in handy.

I'm a surveyor and in the past 2-3 years our Magellan Platinum has been replaced twice! Also, they claim that new batteries will last 12 hours but I can't get them to last any longer than 7 hours. We only use it for rough navigation, and it's been great for finding our way aroung paper company roads but when I can save up the $$$, I'm going to look at the Garmin Legend unit for my own personal use while hunting. A couple of months ago I was @ Cabela's in PA, talking with the guy at the GPS counter; his personal opinion was that the Garmins were a much better unit.

Bigtime this is about as easy as it comes for me. Since the fall of 01 I've been using and for 3 years selling thru retail work the unit you need.

The Garmin Etrex unit is all you need, it costs $100 and is very easy to use. Unless you want to get a GPS that also has a radio in it then look no further. I could teach your basic 10 year old how to use one in about 7 minutes.

Now if you like the idea of having the radio in the unit also, then I would go Rhino 120 and be done with it.

Just my thougts.

MD

I have the e-trex and have no complaints. I just wish it had a little longer battery life.

Buy a Garmin, and be done with it...

Although I have no experience yet with the Garmin GPS's, I know that if I want to navigate the way you described, big time, I would get the e-trex. Personaly I would want just a little more mapping capabilities (cant help it, I'm a surveyor) that's why I'm leaning towards the Legend.

Wow - looks like Garmin is popular. I did a fair bit of research and decided the Magellan Sportrak Map was the way to go last year. I chose it because of the antenna(alpha helix=better reception especially in mountains and woods), waterproof/floats, lightweight, battery life (lituium batteries are worth it for any gps), and low cost relative to features.

If I was buying one now, I would look at the Garmin Rhino and 60 C and CS versions, especially the 60 series. They have a good antenna, lightweight, and excellent battery life. I and anyone I know who used an etrex was unsatisfied with reception in the mountains.

If you want a to read a bunch of user reviews - go to amazon.com to the gps and navigation section. There are a lot of user reviews on all the popular units. Also, if you want to save some money, you can buy lightly used or discounted new models on Ebay. I've had good luck there.

I am interested in the information here as I should get a new GPS. I have had a GPS 12 for about ten years and it's never worked well when under trees. Now that the leaves are on the trees it does not work at all unless I find a clearing. Snow on branches stops it too. It's always been like that.

I have used my GPS 12 on the boat a lot and it works fine there. It was a big step up from Loran in that it's much faster and thats good in a cross current. As to something complicated with lots of features I have so much stuff around that I can't get to now. I would just like a GPS that pulls in the satellites and is small if possible.

Garmin etrex Vista. Great battery life, easy to use. I even have a mount for mine on my mountain bike, which gives all kinds of info while on the trail.

Bighorn-- the Vista is a fair bit more cheese and it has way more to it than this fella is a needing.

Lets keep this simple guys, he doesn't have an interest in mapping,barometric barometers etc.

If he had an interest in all the other jazz then this could really open up but he doesn't so lets not confuse the fella. Or me for that matter....grins

MD

This is the original Kiss opportunity (keep it stupid simple).

i'm looking to keep the price at about $200 +/-...

some of my hunting will be in the black hills (dense pine trees).

during cursory looking, the e-trex, 60, and 72 seem to be about right...

appreciate all the input. headed to the big city in the next hour or two, and expect to have some hands-on w/ the units mentioned here.

appreciate all the input thus far.

edit: given the black hills (wouldn't call it mountainous) w/ its hills, canyons, and canopy, i am starting to question the e-trex's capabilities...

i am in a mining exploration camp in the north coastal BC mountains right now. there is just about every model of gps here among personal kits, and the newest batch of company GPS 60's (the plain jane yellow ones) I've bought are far better than any of the etrex series for reception in cover and in steep terrain. They are around $190 cdn or $150 usd online. If you are around water a lot, the 76 series is similar except it has a larger chassis so it will float.

I use the plain jane etrex. I've found it to be cheap, reliable, and as accurate as any other GPS units that I've either tried or owned. The signal reception seems to be on par with any other GPS that isn't using an active antenna. That means it works in about everything but deep black timber. Like all other units, its main problem in mountainous areas or in timber (if the mountains aren't blocking the signal, in which case no gps will work) is multi-path error, and that is easily determined and defeated.

The big drawback to the etrax is that us old folks that use 'cheaters' need to bring them along in order to read the screen! Those numbers are mighty small.

I have a Garmin GPS III plus. It's about 5 years old. Been to africa with me twice, flew over in Afghanistan and of ocurse all over the states. I really think the ones with the swivel antenne get much netter reception under tree canopies than the integral antenna units. It works grat and it's never let me down. jorge

$100 eTrex. Works great.

At this point I guess I am leaning towards the garmin 60 or the etrex legend. Gander mountain and sportsman warehouse are offering the legend with all the extras mapsource topo metroguide ac adapter and interface cable.The big question which one. The price is close to the same.

This is the cheapest I've found them. I'm leaning toward the Extrex Vista Color http://www.gpsdiscount.com/

Mark

Just trying to help the guy. As a matter of fact, I paid $200 for mine. Bought it used, on ebay.

ok, got back from the big city... had a chance to peruse several offerings, and i think the garmin 60 is the frontrunner. i didn't buy just yet, because i still have questions.

the jockey behind the counter tells me the garmin 60 comes w/ software (waypoint manager? route manager? don't recall now) to help manage routes and whatever. ok, sounds wonderful. however, i ask what is the difference between the 60 and the 60map, he couldn't tell me. intuition says the 60map comes w/ the software, and the 60 is just a basic gps w/ extra routes, waypoints, and cigarette lighter adapter and usb-port. sound right?

basically, i am just looking for a comparison between the rino 110 and the 60... i don't need the 2-way radio, so, aside from the radio comms and beaming each other around, what is the difference between the 60 and rino 110?

thanks fellas.

rhino 110 has a radio as I recall.

MD

If you are not interested at all in a radio or other future uses, then dump the Rhino suggestions. I just get tired of carrying a radio now and then, or wanting a weather report while in the field etc.. and the Rhino 130 is small enough and has all capabilities plus downloads that I just bought it. Better to have and not need than need and not have IMHO.

BTW there will always be areas where there are trees etc... to hinder reception. But again, IMHO, if you can't get to the top of the mountain or to a clearing without using a GPS you have no business in the woods at all anyway.

Unless you are injured and can't move. Then its a [email]cr@pshoot.[/email] Personal locator beacon or sat phone would be better and thats what i would use if going it alone. Or have a good plan and folks at home that expect you at X hour and be prepared to tough it out that long alone if needed.

Jeff

as posted above, the rino has an FRMS frequency radio.

the difference between the 60 and the 60map is that the 60map has the capability to display road maps (basic highway map included) and usgs topo maps if you buy them (~$100 for the whole usa)

both come with basic software that allows you to display the waypoints that you have entered on your computer, as well as the track of your path with the gps turned on.

I have a 60map, the topo or even street maps are not easy to use on the small screen, but I find it useful having road maps and topo maps available.

I still want a smallish gps that pulls sats. better than my old #12. As to leaving trip plans etc. its all good but I had to go far out of the way just a week ago to get any reading at all and worst of all the old gps would not work at all where I parked my car. I had to use an old waypoint as a reference.

I may call Garmin Monday and see what they say.

JUst make sure it's a Garmin. The software is logical and easy to learn. I have been with other hunters that have different brands and I wonder how they figure out the software.

Garmin has this figured out for the average guy and even I can use mine! I have the 12XL and although it's older it offeres every feature you want and is easy to use. MAybe you can find a USed 12XL on Ebay or from another poster here who wants to upgrade. The 12XL does everything you asked and has icons of a deer, house and fish plus many more. YOu can look at it instantly and see the locatrion you want. I have used mine extensively in Alaska, Africa and the USA without missing a beat!

I've had a Garmin model 76CS for about 6 weeks now. And, I use it several times a week hunting. It does everything I could ever ask for in a GPS.
Go to the Garmin web site and read about it. Also, Cabela's sells it too. You can get a glimpse of what it can do by reading the ad in their catalog. I got pointed in the Garmin direction by a friend, and I'm sure happy about the purchase as a result.
Don

Still using my Garmin 12 from about 1999. It doesn't have an external atenna and loses signal in big timber, but in any area that it can get reception, it's accurate. I could go out and get a new GPS tomorrow, but feel secure with the one I have.

I love my Garmin Legend!! One of the best investments I have made.

Huntr

I have the Garmin GPS III+ and really like that style. I use mine alot and really appreciate how well it works for so many different applications. I always have it on the dash while navigating the backroads to mark potential "spots" for getting permission. I also use it in my canoe and "in hand" while making my way to my tree stand or tracking in the dark. The other hand-held designs just seem so inconvenient to me after using my III+ and if I were to buy another one today, it would certainly be the Garmin V.

Hey Nebby,I heard you use that GPS just to find the front of the canoe, seeing that the back and front look alike. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> Steve

thanks for all the input fellas. really do appreciate it. nebraska, i read your post too late for it to matter, but the gps you reccomend is probably out of my price range, anyway.

i ended up w/ a garmin legend. now, i'm gonna go try to see how the damned thing works...

oh, for those interested: the garmin 60, 72, 76, and rhino 110 were on my short list, and i actually went in to buy the 60 today, but talked myself into the legend. hope i don't start wishing for the 60, because i am still doubting myself!

I just ordered a Garmin Map 76CS to replace my huge old fashioned Lowrance unit.

I'm looking forward to using it, but the funny thing is - I never actually "have" do. I mean to me, it's a great back-up - but if you have to actually use it - you just failed "basic woodsmanship 101" - because you needed to use an electronic device to find your way to something, or back to something.

Don't get me wrong - GPS's are wonderful devices - but every time you need to turn them on - you should feel a little sheepish about having to do so. Regard every GPS use as a small failure of basic woodsmanship - and you might find you are getting way better in your "traditional" woodsmanship skills.

It's kind of like using a second shot in a rifle - you're glad you had the opportunity to use that second round - but you really shouldn't have had to use it.

oh, i'm not even a little worried about getting lost - and i don't care about woodsmanship 101... there is very little wooded area in s.d., almost all prairie. so, if i'm 5 or 6 miles out from my truck, i can probably still see it. meaning, i'm not going to get lost.

what i want the gps to do, is get me back to that exact spot that i saw that mulie disappear into, or get me back to where i left the deer carcass at 8:00 am before taking off in pursuit of my brother's deer until well after dark, etc...

even in the black hills of s.d. (our only 'wooded' area), it is almost impossible to get lost... so what i wanted the gps for was to make it easier and faster to get to spots, not to make sure that i won't get lost.

however, you make a good point, and if i lived anywhere close to a tree, i'd heed your advice.

I have used GPS technology for about ten years. My first ones were Magellans and they were great. I did have some problems with every one of them- usually water penetration. The company always treated me well even when they were out of warranty and replaced more than one unit at no charge. (I'm sure the letters I sent explaining the kinds of abuses they survived before finally giving it up helped!) I have used Garmins now for several years and like them even better. None has given me problems with water penetration nor have I had to use warranty service from them.

You should be able to find what you need for around $150 or less. The basic unit are very easy to learn but sometimes it is nice to have some of the more sophisticated features available on models which have more screen options. The little eTrexs are fine models available with varying numbers of features available in various versions. They are small, a fact that can be good (compactness) as well as bad (harder to see/read). If you have good (young) eyes, the smallness may not be an issue. I happen to have 20/20 farsightedness and aging eyes which makes uncorrected reading a challenge, especially when it is done "on the fly." I like the somewhat bigger GPS units which can be formatted to have larger screen graphics. A unit I like is the Garmin GPS 72. It is still a basic unit, doesn't get into the mapping stuff, costs in the $150 range, and has more screens options for naviagtion use.

While the low end units will show you where you need to go to get where you want to go - often with a pointer- I like a screen that shows me which compass direction (bearing) my desired location is from me and what my course of travel (heading/course) actually is. The slightly-above-bottom units will usually offer such screen options. Additionally, you can set them up to show other things like the actual distance (straight line) you are from the destination. Of course there are also probably two or three dozen other information choices you have for screen options such as ETA, time of day, speed, odometer options, etc.

The actual features you want, need, or will use is an individual thing. What you might be satisfied with in the first six months may seem a bit limiting after you see what they can do for you. I use them too much, and find them to be far too useful as navigation tools, to recommend the most basic models. I have taught many young fols in their use as well so I know that it isn't much more or a stretch to teach basic use of the slightly more featured versions.

You obviously have to make the final call on it. There are probably a lot of folks who can help you with questions after you get started - if you have them. I, for one, will be more than happy to field your PMs if you have questions. Take advantage of the manufacturer websites to help you make your decision also.

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!