GPS ?

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Scott has been doing this a long time and knows marking a the drill pattern in the snow is much easier than drilling all those holes

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Ed

I am in the market for a decent easy to use GPS for hunting. Doesnt have to be top of the line or to fancy. Basically want to be able to see my trails and also be able to save trails and waypoints.

What ones should i be looking at and about what are they running for price right now??

Thanks for the help

I would get anthing garmin. I have a Etrex legend hcx. Its the color one. It runs 250 but they have a black and white one for 100-150 depending on what features you want. The color screens eat the batterys faster but i think its easier to see and follow trails. Mine might be for sale if i decide to upgrade to the rhino series just not sure if i want to spend the money or not

Eric:

It’s hard to go wrong these days with a hunting GPS, as almost all of the major manufacturers put out some great units.

Because I’m guessing you may already own one, or other Lowrance Products, I’d have to recommend either the H20C or Expedition. The Expedition offers a barometer, digital compass (nice for hunting/hiking in the woods!), and altimeter. Really that’s about the only difference from the H20.

Mapping and basemaps are likely what will determine which units to buy however. The basemap product for Lowrance, purchased separately is Mapcreate, which is pretty darned good, and also includes an option to purchase compatible Canadian Maps. This isn’t necessarily an option for other GPS units, depending on which model you have.

The Lowrance .usr file format is easy to work with as well. There are several free Lowrance mapping downloads, as well as product emulators which you can use on your computer screen to not only familiarize yourself with the operation of the unit, but use to test out whether points line up, how your trails load, etc.

I use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software, but you can also use Google Earth (similar) to add your own points onto aerial photography. Through software called GPSBabel, you can transfer your Google Earth and/or GIS points into Lowrance format and load into your unit.

This has been invaluable to me for hunting far away places, in states I had no experience hunting in. It’s also helped me find offshore rock-piles/reefs in the boundary waters where no-one else can find them!!!

There may very well be other products out there which do just as good a job (or better), but in terms of the flexibility, knowledge-base out there, ease of use, and overall price, I think the Lowrance products would be solid choices. I’m not familiar with their new line of GPS’s as I haven’t had a chance to play with them yet.

If you need something more compact, a smaller hand/held Garmin would be my bet. However, any compact unit will probably have limited or less-useful basemapping features.

Good luck!

Joel

I have the HuntC, with a LakeMaster Chip !!! It pulls double duty for me, in the woods and water