Map and compass

[Onehair]

Batteries will stay up in a GPS for at least 12 months. Not a great expense to keep them fresh. A compass is a wonderful tool but not always correct. About 10 years ago I was hunting a familiar piece of property. As a rule you walk due North and you come to a bean field and your home free. I had stuck a doe at dark, waited 10 minutes to climb down and meet up with my hunting partner. I checked my compass and started out. My brain was saying stop your going the wrong way. I continued on until I came to a creek and knew something was wrong. My compass was 180 dgr off. I kept it for a few years as a reminder. In short if you use a compass , have 2. If you depend on a GPS, keep your batteries fresh and carry a compass.

[longbowman]

I had to try the GPS but I just gave it away to a friend that gets lost in the parking lot.  I'm fortunate to have a decent sense of direction as well as a good compass.

[Jeff Strubberg]

Redundant systems are always the best.

Yup, but, IMO a GPS has a guy staring at a screen way more than he is looking at his surroundings.

Really?  More so than a map?  I guess I can see that if you are walking along staring at the screen.  In that case you aren't hunting...you are taking a walk with a bow in your hand.

What happens when your map gets wet?  Blows away? Can't see it in the dark?  I'm sure we can come up with plenty of situations where a given tool won't work.

[Bjorn]

Map and compass here; but I feel like I'm missing out.

[Chris Shelton]

I just watched a sick show on the green biries training course.  They had to do a star shaped course in complete darkness, not allowed to use roads or a flashlight when walking, werent allowed to sleep.  You had a map compass and all of your gear.  Break the rules, and you get kicked out of the program.  Crazy

anyway I am a old school youngster, lol.  I dont even trust a darn lighter in my pack.  I wear a small fire kit around my neck, have topos back at camp with a smaller copy in my pocket, and a compass, a couple extra knives in my pack.  And most importantly I actually know how to use these items.  Actually I am doing a new thing in my videos where I film the learning experience for survival techniques, kinda like a if I can do it so can you type deal that I want to portray.

[LKH]

Chuck C.  It's not related to the earthquake, but the magnetic north pole has been moving north and slightly west about 50 miles per year.  I believe it's forecast to be in Siberia by the end of the century.

[Bjorn]

Does that mean Vodka and Caviar instead of milk and cookies for Santa?  

[Day Dreamer]

I can only relate a M&C vs, GPS to my own hands on. For woods and land I'm M&C. I don't own the latest and greatest GPS. I used a GPS a few times in southern ohio and lost reception more than once and my gps direction arrow takes a little bit to get it's bearings and if it loose's reception I get very frustrated, which is the beginning of anxiety (not good). Although I do prefer a gps for boating and fishing on lake erie, with a compass as backup of course.

[LKH]

GPS is a great tool in open country spot and stalk and can be very useful otherwise if used properly, but I wouldn't think of going into the woods in most situations without a compass.  

Don't forget to take a good reading before you leave the road in the backcountry.  It doesn't do any good to know which direction is north if you don't know which direction the road is.

[straitera]

M&C is easier to keep up with. Always carry 2 compasses also.

[sagebrush]

I occasionally use a GPS but I always have two compasses and a map. Gary

[JMartin]

What sagebrush said!

[Angus]

seems like the overwhelming number comes out on the side of the map/compass group, including myself.  In the Navy, I recall hearing about a "shoot-ex" where the boys shot off several million bucks worth of missles, but forgot to check the ship's position the old fashioned way...the nav system went down for about 45 minutes, and they have no idea where the missles wound up.

[Covey]

My little Tru Nord compass goes everywhere I go, "along with a couple other's"! Never had much faith in the GPS, unless I was in the wide open. I'm sure the newer one's are better. Might get me another GPS one of these day's but for now, I'll stick with the map and compass! Jason

[freefeet]

Originally posted by Jeff Strubberg:
Uh, the Pentagon isn't going to turn off your GPS.  Not only is there an entire commercial industry surrounding GPS, your 911 PSAP is using GPS to locate that accident you just called in from your cell phone.  "Turning off" GPS would take a presidential order at this point and a politician willing to shoulder the burden of civilian deaths.  Ain't gonna happen.

Then why do the Pentagon have the option to do so?  Why did they demand the same access to Europe's new sat nav system (refused thankfully)?

And regardless of whether they switch it off or not, systems can be hacked and anyone hacking into that system can switch it off or corrupt it.

And don't think it's difficult to hack into the Pentagon systems, they've admitted that there systems have been hacked many times.

On top of that access to GPS, the whole system is vulnerable to interference and tampering.

Like i said, i'm sticking with what's worked all my life, a waterproof map and compass.  Nothing can go wrong with that.  Even if the compass fails i can follow a map on the topography alone.  Map only topographic navigation is a good thing to practice when you're out in not to serious situations, it only increases to your nav ability when you do have a compass, and can save you if, and it's a big if, your compass gets damaged.

[J-dog]

Someone said that a person with GPS spends too much time staring at the screen and I laughed! Cause I did just that when I first started using mine!!    

I caught myself and realized what I was doing. My cure was to mark my truck where I parked - GPS gets thrown in my pack only taken out at a sit down break to take a mark so I can track movments and have a "last known" on the screen.

Course anytime I take a last known I correlate myself on the paper map as well. soi I have both ways.

Anyway thought that was funny and yeah totally agree people can spend too much time looking down at theoir palm instead of ahead in the bushes.

J

[Terry Green]

Good thread....glad to see so many still using map and compass in hunting.  Those skill are going by the wayside now due to GPSs.  

No...not knocking GPSs....just good to see that 'orientation' is still alive and well....and being passed on.

[John Nail]

yes! gps is just a backup

[metsastaja]

Originally posted by John Nail:
yes! gps is just a backup

Guess I have gone to tech. I consider my Iphone a back up to my gps which are backups to map and compass

[Gatekeeper]

I carry an eTrex H. The lanyard of this unit is looped around my belt and I carry it in my left front pocket or cargo pocket of my pants. I primarily use this unit to mark waypoints and to tell me distance and elevation. My compass also has a lanyard. It is looped around my belt and I carry the compass in my right pocket and a map (in a Ziploc bag) in my right cargo pocket. The lanyards are to insure that I don't loose either of these units. Having the units in my front pockets allows me to take frequent reading while on the move if I desire. By carrying them in my front pockets I can also feel them, which gives me a sense of security. A spare compass is in my pack with my survival / emergency bag. There are spare batteries in there too.

I like using a map and compass. To me it is part of the experience of being in the outdoors. I feel like I am that much more of a participant in the adventure when I'm using the map and compass. Besides, gaining as much experience with a map and compass in times of relaxed recreation may be the key to saving my life or someone else's in a time of peril.