Land Navigation?

[Rick P]

Cant stand GPS they work for poopa here. Basic compass skills are a must! Most state colleges offer low cost orienteering classes, you'll learn more that you thought possible about maps and how to use them.

HCsmitty is on the right track but your angle of delineation changes based on your latitude 8-9 degrees there, as much as 35 here. Magnetic north and true north are not the same. The angle of delineation compensates for that fact.

[lpcjon2]

the difference for true N and Mag N is 3 degrees

[Covey]

Ipcjon2, I wish you lived in southern IN. we would hook up and I would get a handle on this! Thank's, Jason

[Covey]

I also talked to a fella Sat. that said the college offered a class I could take, may check into it! Jason

[bartcanoe]

Having done a lot of land nav in the mountains of Arizona, I'd say that it is important that you learn terrain association (you'll find it in the Army manual).  Even though I always carried a compass when hiking in the mountains it rarely left my pocket because the terrain allowed me to simply navigate by terrain association.

[Rick P]

Originally posted by lpcjon2:
the difference for true N and Mag N is 3 degrees

At the equator

[Steve Kendrot]

here is a good website.

https://www.kifaru.net/navigate1.htm

I hunted on my own in Utah this year and used a compass, GPS, and maps loaded on my (sideways glance) iPod touch. I found a slick app for my iPod that allows me to load a bunch of usgs topo maps that I can zoom all over. I used The topo map to get UTM coordinated that I plugged into my GPS  so I could navigate to them. Much easier to find small landscape features than a map and compass if you are not into counting paces. If I could only have one in my survival kit however, it would be the compass. Batteries are an Achilles heel and reception can be unreliable. Learn both is my advice.

[J-dog]

Most has been covered - it is not rocket science really and when you "see" how to do it you will see it is nothing. I use a GPS and love it but am never without a spare set of batteries, a topo, and compass(and how to use them proper). One last thought is when you go to mark a point on your GPS pull out the topo and rough mark that same point. When the GPS fails you have a last known starting point. (I know this for a reason)

J

Never been where I could use mountains for landmarks? I live in flat land where it is hard to really shoot a long range azimuth! I have to shoot the pine that is 25 yards in front of me sometimes. LOL!

[riivioristo]

My two cents to here: Even if you use GPS, carry always a compass/topomap combo with you...come the problem with the unit (no power in batteries etc.) you can throw the damn thing (gps) down the hill so to speak...and if the terrain includes some hazards like rockslides etc. a map and knowing how to read one can save your life...newer use electronics only, if your life depends on them...

[Tsalagi]

Learned map reading and compass in the army---this was before GPS (dating myself---we also had steel pots!)

A GPS is handy, but always carry a compass and know how to use it. Electronic devices are not 100%. Resources to learn are, depending on locale, community college, local search and rescue, hiking clubs, and wilderness groups. A lot of times one of these groups will offer a free course or one with a slight fee. Hey, easier than joing the army to learn it, LOL!

[George D. Stout]

You are more likely to get lost in the Pennsylvania big woods, than anywhere in Colorado.

[ron w]

As many have said,learn to use a map and compass, get a cheap GPS and learn to do the basics with it and you will be good to go!!!

[huntingwolf]

Some good info on this thread I would just add one thing if you what to use pace count as a way to keep track of your location you can purchase a bead pace counter from brigadequartermasters this is what many military people use along with map and compass

[Uncle Buck]

Just like instinctive shooting the best way to get familiar with topo maps is to use them. Get one for an area near you that offers ridges, hills and ideally mountainous terrain and practice this spring and summer, When I was Navy corpsman with the United States Marines we had a fairly inexperinced 2nd lt platton leader who could quote nearly every word of the map reading and land nav classes he took at OCS, but he couldnt actually do it in the feild. Our platoon sgt ( a Staff sgt) with 3 tours in Viet Nam could just glance at the map and compass and tell where we were and where we were going. The diffenrence was simply experience.

[Covey]

I think I have a purdy good idea. I got me a couple books and gonna do some studying. I think  the biggest part is just doing it. Most of the woods around these part's are purdy thick so I should be able to get some much needed experiance with map and compass. Thank's guy's for all your help!! Jason

[reddogge]

Go to the library and get a copy of the Boy Scout Handbook and every library has a few.  It will teach you all you need to know about orienteering in easy to understand steps (after all they are boys).  

I wouldn't rely entirely on an electronic device myself so I'd recommend learning the skill.

[razorsharptokill]

A compass saved our butts in Desert Storm when a GPS failed us. Almost drove up on  some Iraqi tanks that were still occupied! GPS quit us but a guy with a compass had been keeping track of our pace count (with odometer)and direction. He new we had reached our designated position this way. Had we kept going another 1500 meters like the guy with the GPS recommended it would have been bad!

GPS is great but knowing how to read a compass and a map is a must for a back up.

[sweeney3]

Enlist in the Army.  When the nice man asks what you want to do, say "11B".  They'll fix you right up.

[lpcjon2]

If you buy a compass make it a lenzatic compass with the tritium gas inside get a good one.You can get all kinds of stuff from colemans military surplus.Books,compasses,map bags ect.

[RPolk]

What Sweeny3 said, but make sure you get the Ranger option in your contract. It is a great practical exercise in land nav.

Otherwise it has pretty much all been covered. The only thing I would add would be to use the 1:24,000 scale whenever possible. In places like Colorado you're going to be "Terrain Associating" more than "Walking an Azimuth" the detail of the 1:24,000 will make this easier.