Using Google Earth to Scout Turkeys - 03/15/18
I want to say up front that I found this feature as a result of a conversation here on the 'Fire. I was looking for a way to plot azimuths on an topo map, and someone mentioned the Save function on Google Earth's Ruler tool.
I finally got to writing up my method for triangulating turkeys with Google Earth with this new-found knowledge.
genesis9.angzva.com/?p=6152
A lot of guys are going to read this and wonder why go to all the trouble. Sometimes, perhaps most of the time, it might not be important. However, if you're trying to figure out what side of a property line that gobbler is roosting, or you are on new property and haven't had a chance to scout, this is a really great method. One place where triangulating a gobbler came in very handy was hunting down in the Big South Fork. Cousin Tim and I were scouting turkeys on Easter Sunday one year, and had gone deep into BSF trying to hear a gobble. Finally about 0900, we located a gobbler. I had a topo and a compass, and I took the ten minutes or so to triangulate him. On the topo you could plainly see a 300 foot deep ravine between us. Even though we were looking at level woods, I warned against it.
"Tim, if we go after that gob, we ain't gettin' out before dark." I said. Tim had promised his mother he'd make church service at noon.
I always carry a couple of compasses with me. My primary is always a lensatic. I always carry a second, usually a pin-on. Even though I have been on the property for 17 seasons now, I still carry compasses. The reason is fog. We're between the Licking and Ohio Rivers, and fog can come up suddenly and drop visibility to zero. It's easy to get turned around in those conditions. I've had it happen twice now. I prefer a lensatic, because even in the worst condition, I can shoot an azimuth and know I'm heading in the proper direction, even if it is going tree-to-tree with 10 yards between. I keep a pinon compass in my kit, as a check on the primary. You really need three to be certain. I also have a compass app on my phone to act as a tie-breaker. I've done 20 miles of open water in a canoe out of sight of land. I've also bushwacked in Northern Ontario, where a wrong turn would leave me with nothing between me and the Arctic Circle. Believe me, a lensatic compass is good stuff.
I finally got to writing up my method for triangulating turkeys with Google Earth with this new-found knowledge.
genesis9.angzva.com/?p=6152
A lot of guys are going to read this and wonder why go to all the trouble. Sometimes, perhaps most of the time, it might not be important. However, if you're trying to figure out what side of a property line that gobbler is roosting, or you are on new property and haven't had a chance to scout, this is a really great method. One place where triangulating a gobbler came in very handy was hunting down in the Big South Fork. Cousin Tim and I were scouting turkeys on Easter Sunday one year, and had gone deep into BSF trying to hear a gobble. Finally about 0900, we located a gobbler. I had a topo and a compass, and I took the ten minutes or so to triangulate him. On the topo you could plainly see a 300 foot deep ravine between us. Even though we were looking at level woods, I warned against it.
"Tim, if we go after that gob, we ain't gettin' out before dark." I said. Tim had promised his mother he'd make church service at noon.
I always carry a couple of compasses with me. My primary is always a lensatic. I always carry a second, usually a pin-on. Even though I have been on the property for 17 seasons now, I still carry compasses. The reason is fog. We're between the Licking and Ohio Rivers, and fog can come up suddenly and drop visibility to zero. It's easy to get turned around in those conditions. I've had it happen twice now. I prefer a lensatic, because even in the worst condition, I can shoot an azimuth and know I'm heading in the proper direction, even if it is going tree-to-tree with 10 yards between. I keep a pinon compass in my kit, as a check on the primary. You really need three to be certain. I also have a compass app on my phone to act as a tie-breaker. I've done 20 miles of open water in a canoe out of sight of land. I've also bushwacked in Northern Ontario, where a wrong turn would leave me with nothing between me and the Arctic Circle. Believe me, a lensatic compass is good stuff.