ok lets talk compass vs GPS

[J-dog]

Hey guys something else I do is mark all the scrapes,rubs trails w/direction (N-S or E-W) Anything of importance. then when your at home zoom out your GPS and see where the concentration of sign is at or where it is heading.

Works!

I enjoy a map and compass, practical purposes though the GPS is easier, and more conveniant, use all the tools at hand, use them in conjunction w/each other, a map and compass is pretty easy when you sit down and learn. Those sites some of yall speak of are great and there are a ton more on line. GPS is also like 4 wheel drive, 4 wheel drive has gotten more people stuck than 2 wheel drive ever will, due to overconfidence. GPS will make guys strike out to areasthey never thought they could make without it.

Chris-pacing is what I spoke of in another thread, I try to tell the guys that as we have no land marks(flat and wooded visibility is like 30 yards.) There is a big difference in actual navigation and a SWAG. Most of my hunting areas being truthfull if all I have is map and compass I am taking a SWAG. but it works when you mix in situational awareness.

Later

J

[mgompf]

Man Law #1
We are men!
Men DO NOT get lost!
We just take the sceanic route....  

[countrygirl]

Hi Mickey, Tom here; For years I fished in the Atlantic in a small boat {17 feet} and I would go out 30 miles on a Loran with a compass for back-up. The First time I used a GPS I threw the Loran away and still use  compass for back- up. Ths Gps is very good at getting home or back to the truck and that's all I need because the rest of the time i'm hunting.

[chrisg]

Yes of course,in SAR you use everything you can and have radio backup etc.Flat and wooded is a dog so to be certain you keep track, use a GPS, it's efficient, you are there to hunt. There are areas in the bushveld like that too. We also take careful note of sun, wind, sound, road sound and such carries a long way as does light at night, overflying aircraft is another trick. Talondale mentioned knowing your absolute boundaries. This is good in most of SA  but the Kalahari has 'boundaries' you'd never walk out of before you ran out of water! Skilled navigation can actually be fun and interesting! Especially when its not under pressure.
Strutter, does that not sound a bit like "Ok guys, if your batteries are flat your time is Uppp! Bring on the undertakers!"?
chrisg  

[ZA206]

I'm not very traditional... I prefer my Garmin 60CSx with uploaded topos and color screen! hehehehe... I do carry a compass and one 1:24K map, one 1:50K map and several googleearth color perspective aerial views. I ain't gettin lost!

I do prefer the GPS for it's ease of use and the fact that I can get ultra accurate waypoints and upload them into my computer for cyber scouting and route planning when I return to hunt. Can't get that detailed with a compass.

Oh... and using the GPS at night is a BREEZE!

-ZA

[the Ferret]

A few years ago my bro Randy got lost in the U.P. of Michigan like 3 times in one week. I told him when we got back we were going to buy GPS's. We did. First time we used em we marked a waypoint where the truck was and went out and got lost in a local state park. We turned them on and said "Go to" truck. At first we thought they were all wrong and thought we had wasted our money but we followed them and lo and behold we walked out of the woods 18 steps from the truck. I was sold then.

A fellow tradganger (I won't mention names) told me his GPS was way off, 180 degrees wrong (same model as mine). I asked him to send it to me. When it arrived I compared his with mine and they both read the same. So I made a stake of 1" square wood and put orange tape around the top. Told my son to go to the local state park (3400 acres), walk out in the woods and pound it in and set a way point. When he got back, I took said members GPS and went back to the park, turned it on, hit "go to " waypoint and walked right to the stick. It worked fine. Offered to buy it for half price but he wanted it back so I mailed it back to him.

Javi hunting in AZ I waypointed camp, walked with abandon, and when I wanted to return to camp hit "Go to " camp and it led me right to the tent.

In lower Michgan I set a treestand and marked the waypoint. The next day in the dark I came in from a completely opposite direction and after hitting "go to" on my GPS walked right to it.

I love my GPS, find them simply amazing, and won't go on an out of state hunt without it.

[Titan_Bow]

Mickey, that is exactly my point earlier.  You have to learn to trust your instrumentation.  Sure, a GPS could malfunction, but I guarantee that the chances of human error are much, much higher than the chance the GPS is going to malfunction.  Learn to use it properly, and don't let your "gut instinct" override what it says.

[Curveman]

"I've never been lost, just mighty confused for a few days!"
-Davy Crockett?

[Rico]

You no longer need to give the directions "you remember where that old milk pail was down by the creek?, yes you do where Uncle Joe shot that spike?? Who?? Anyhow just go 100yds or so.... Everything is always 100yds or so from some place

 Now you just give I like using UTM's and they will be within 3 meters