Do you use all of the lastest electronics gadgets (GPS ECT) or do you just use the ol' compass? how do you rate your woodsmanship?
Compass is kinda newfangled for me. I like to wander around and look for moss on the northside of trees. My woodsmanship is ok but I run out of food before I get home alot.
My pack is heavy enough without any electronic crap in it. Never had compass batteries go dead yet either.
Does a compass on an iphone count?
Only GPS I have is in the truck. I rely on a compass, and ARMY training.
I always use a compass. There are so many buttons and functions on a GPS that I get confused and can't remember how it works.
:banghead:
Even with a GPS, I carry at least 2 compass and a map of the area!
Maps and compass for hunting,hiking or scouting
The gps I use only for fishing on lakes!!
(2) compasses
Two compasses, map, and GPS. I have even thought about buying a SPOT. In unfamiliar mountain terrain an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Compass, but I am guilty of using Google Earth maps.
I carry two compass and just bought a Bushnell "Trackback".
Hap
ive never been lost just missplaced a few times, it would be hard to get lost in the places i hunt.
I feel pretty comfy in the woods. . during the day. Woodsmanship is a fleeting term and can mean a lot of different things. The levels of knowledge, skills and abilities varies greatly depending upon where you are and what you do.
For a person who never leaves the local woodlot, one level is needed. To the person that includes a mountain range, well, bump it up.
Camping in the wild bumps it up even more and now add some critters. Big bears or cats bump it up a whole lot more.
I have a cheap GPS, but only use it in the mountains to mark a site. Then I use the compass the rest of the time.
ChuckC
I recently lost my compass and was trying to figure out which one to buy next.
Anyone have a good recommendation?
I'm a retired forester and wildlife biologist. Also been a bowhunter for 45 years. I rate my woodsmanship as very good (except when I drop my emergency back-pack off for a quick jaunt).
I use a compass but have a GPS. I use a range-finder to determine yardages from my treestand. I use very high-tech hunting clothes because I like the fit, feel, and design. I won't buy scent-controlling clothing even if I could resale and double my money.
If you hunt the back country out west a GPS is a must in my opinion. It enables you to hunt untill dark and still be able to find camp. It lets you mark your dead animal so on subsequent trips you dont spend hours searching for your animal. The GPS that I use also lets you see where your hunting companions are if they use the same gps (a great safety feature). I primarily use the map and compass for 90% of my daylight hours navigation. I have been in situations in the past that i litterally would have killed for a gps!!
Mainly compass but I do carry a GPS to mark my vehicle location.....haven't had to use it yet....but I bought the GPS after I had a compass reverse polarity.....made for an interesting afternoon...but I did have the opportunity to see some country I've hadn't seen before....:^)
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Glenn
I use a compass would use a I Hunt if I had one but still carry a compass which don't take batteries.
I mainly use a compass and topos for navigation, but I do take a GPS now also.
I use the GPS to mainly get to an exact spot like a tree stand or area I want to hunt or when I am tracking hit game. The GPS makes life easy when tracking and lets me concentrate on the trail.
Both my hunting partner and I are getting older and it will let us notify someone where we are if one of gets in trouble. At least they will know where to bring flowers!
Compass. Don't know how to use a GPS, and I've never honestly seen anyone else who could make it work either. But I can read a map and a compass and can navigate just fine.
Compass and topo. I do use google earth some when scouting new places. Woodsmanship , i would say good but theres always room for improvement
I just take abow,arrows,knife,water and latest trad bow mag.
Map & compass here though I can see how a gps would be nice to log wallows. However, I choose to not use them for some very good reasons.
I stay with what requires me to use more of my head, less of my wallet, more of my fundamental skills.
I'd rate my woodmanship skills on a high level, night or day.
Joshua
Usually carry a couple compasses on me at all times. Like somebody already said...batteries don't go dead in a compass! I'm no Bear Grylls but I do alright!
Jason
Compass and maps. Experience, knowledge and Skills are good and have avoided trouble in the outdoors. I have not needed a gps, but intend on getting one to locate way points when scouting new areas.
My hunting area ranges from 58,000-10,000 acres and I use a compass in and out. Only got turned around once with a bad compass. I have two GS but not smart enough to use either.
Mostly compass, but I have a low level GPS I use to mark ground blinds to get to them in the dark as quietly as possible(though I still have not used it for that yet, built the blinds haven't returned yet).
Used to use compass 100% now the Backtrack with the campass as backup 2 buttons, battery last for years.GPS to complitated and eats batteries.
I am too cheap to by a GPS. I feel comfortable enough in the area I hunted in Northern Michigan to navigate mostly by landmarks, But here in North Georgia I have to have a compass
It depends on where I'm going, if I am headed to on of my stands within a mile or so of camp I bring a compass (sometimes). If I am still hunting I usually drop my garmin in my pocket, I have camp marked as a waypoint and can get back easily if I need to.
Luckily I hunted in many states and have a thought or two. Many places back east there were fences and roads on which to navigate. I picked my hunting and stand locations off a grid and terrain navigated to them. Out here a gps with extra batteries is a must. We drive to a point, get out put on our packs and punch the truck location. When you get on elk, they can lead you for miles and often I focus on them and getting close, not on where I am. Locate, close with and destroy, then where is that truck? I have a very good idea, but the GPS confirms it. You can follow the arrow or terrain slide so you are not packing straight up a hill just to drop down on the other side. It also tells me how long I will be walking. GPS is a good deal for western hunts. Oh, i can use a map and compass after using them for years and teaching it. The GPS is cheap insurance and saves my ancient knees and hips
In my home state of TX I use nothing. In the mountains I use gps. Once I learn a mountain the gps is no big deal. I use a couple gps's. A Garmin 400t and a Garmin 450t. They are super simple you don't even need a manual. I find them invaluable when learning a new area. Thet give me confidence to search out new spots w/o the fear of getting lost. I can mark areas and then go home to a computer and plot them On google earth. That's a huge plus when learning an area. The backtrack feature is awesome for navigating after dark. Also knowing how far you have gone or how much further you have to go is very handy info. Knowing your elevation is awesome. Just too many great features with a quality gps. Battery life is long. It has a battery life gauge so it's not like your batteries just die like a flashlight. Just take more batteries for a long trip. Use lithium batteries as they last much longer and weigh less. Too many pulses with a good gps. Don't get a basic one as they are hard to use. Get a Garmin 450t. It's like an iPhone.
Compass always. Gonna try to learn how to use a gps this summer but will always have my compass. Woodsmanship skills...been at it for about 45 years and I'm still learning. :)
We use GPS maps and compass always - we are excellent woodsman. Note we do not allow anyone hunting with us to not carry a gps - some for safety but definately for game recovery. We ALL will go immediately with any one of us who kills a hog or elk left way back in the woods because we KNOW where it is. I can remember the days back before gps where a guy could NOT find his dead elk and hey guys that ain't cool to drag your friends miles of hike and blow a hunt day so your buddies can watch you scratch your head. Just a few years ago I had a friend go back for a hog to bone dry empty ground ?!?!? took a few minutes and he got unturned around for a sucessful recovery BUT he carrys a gps now :)
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I have a compass attached to my GPS...with a piece of rawhide to remain trad.
I was hunting one time and smelled something that I thought was brake fluid or some kinda chemical from messing around with my truck. Got home and washed my pants good. Next time I went hunting the smell was still there. I tried for about a wk to find out where it was coming from and finally figured out my compass was leaking fluid. Strong smell.
Got a new digital camera today and it's got a gps in it..can't figure the camera out much less the gps.
QuoteOriginally posted by elknutz:
Compass is kinda newfangled for me. I like to wander around and look for moss on the northside of trees. My woodsmanship is ok but I run out of food before I get home alot.
:biglaugh: :biglaugh: :biglaugh:
Two compass's and topo map of area I'm in.
I bought a GPS several years ago, it has sat on a shelf in my shop for the last few years. I use a compass, and carry 2. I would rate my woodsmanship as very good. I carry an Asbell haversack almost always, and in it is enough "stuff" for a comfortabe stay in the woods.
I envy the freedom that men had way back....when guys like Daniel Boone would just disapear into the wilderness for a few years. I often think about what they accomplished with very little. A compass would have been a luxury for them. In many ways, technology has ruined us (funny, as I lament technology on a laptop)
"I envy the freedom that men had way back....when guys like Daniel Boone would just disapear into the wilderness for a few years. I often think about what they accomplished with very little. A compass would have been a luxury for them. In many ways, technology has ruined us (funny, as I lament technology on a laptop)"
I'll bet they appreciated gunpowder "technology".
When it comes to hunting I'm big on challenge by choice.
I choose to be a minimalist and carry very little with me when I go to the woods other than a Silva compass, a water bottle, and a couple granola bars tucked into the pocket of a wool shirt.
I've been hunting the same general area of The Catskill Mountains for almost 40 years and keep a compass and map with me, always... Not into the new-fangled-stuff...
... mike ...
I'm a compass guy too. This next season I will be taking a cell phone into the woods for the first time. As I will soon be 72 and am a multiple by-pass survivor, my kids think it is a good idea, and to make them feel better about my roaming the countryside all alone, I agreed to take it. It will be turned off always until and unless an emergency occurs.
I love my compass.
Joe
I carry compass as last r resort backup. Have a good GPS that gets turned on at truck to mark its location, then turned off. I use a navigation system in my smart phone that has topo and satellite photos pre downloaded so I can use it without cell signal, it is what I use primarily. Then too top it all off , I have one of those SPOT devices. I can generally get in and out without any of it, but I hunt alone in the mountains a lot and it gives all my mother hens( sister, wife, sisters friends etc.) a lot of comfort and keeps them off my back . Plus,I can hit one of the buttons on the SPOT unit and it will tell my buddies where to come help pack out the elk I shot if I ever get one again;-)
Neither, I hunt well areas I already know well.
The question has nothing to do with woodsmanship. It is like saying if you use a calculator you cannot be a mathematician.
And yes, I can and do use a compass and always carry maps when I in the mountains. But I am willing to bet you I spend more time cover ground hunting with a GPS than the just the map and compass guys. Because at some point in time, when you hunt, you look up and say "where the heck am I?". That answer comes much faster with a GPS! Then I am back at it.
I can use a slide-rule, too, but I get a lot more calculations done with a calculator. I get a lot more bowhunting done with a GPS (in big timber or mountains).
Know how to use a compass, but I love using the GPS and maps. I hunt some really big country full of dark timber and the GPS makes finding known wallows, old stand locations, water crossings, etc. easy to do even in the dark. When I get back to camp I can share the locations with other guys and they can hike right to a specific spot before the sun rises in the morning. If we kill an elk 2-3 miles from camp, I can text the location and by the time its ready to haul there can be a couple other sets of legs already showing up.
I also enjoy heading out with just my bow and a knife, but in big country where lots of miles and hunting dark to dark is normal, a GPS is is in my pocket.
I hunt alone a lot . As my wife got me a gps and when I get to my hunting spot I text her with the the # so if idont show back up , they know were to look . Hunting out west you can walk for mile and it look the same . I all carry a map and compass and that what I use . The gps make the wife happy and you know what they say happy wife happy life .
Compass and map for me. The U.S. Army hammered its use into my head.