GPS feature you'll love!!!

[Eaglet]

Scenario:

You shot a beautiful Elk at 897 yards. Because of a huge cliff in between, the only way to get to it would be by driving around a couple other mountains for about close to 1HOUR AND 30 MINUTES and come back around them to where you think it is. The challenge is: Will it be there? Will you find it?

About 45 days ago I purchased a new GPS; this one is the Garmin GPSmap CSx. One of the features I really like, I want to share it with you just in case you may be interested. This feature is the one the will find that Elk for us.

From where you shot, you get your GPS on the Compass screen, by holding the page button down for a couple of seconds; you insure the electronic compass is on. See Photo #1 for the compass page. Now, you hit the menu button and the menu page appears, Photo #2. Highlight Sight 'N Go and press Enter. The screen on photo #3 appears. At this point, the GPS is ready for you to aim at your fallen Elk, obtain a bearing and since you already have a distance we're cooking this pretty good.
OK, once you have page of photo #3 displaying lock direction, tilt the GPS in the manner shown by photo #4, use as sights the little white triangles shown by the long yellow arrows. Using those sights as you keep the GPS as much leveled as possible, line up the sights with the dead Elk. Press Enter as you hold your sights in place, after that look at the display and you'll see the display of photo #5. Scroll down to Project Waypoint and hit Enter. The next screen picture #6 will appear with the angle already entered, you have to enter the distance that you already know from your range finder, highlight GoTo and press Enter. The map screen will show up showing your position and the position of the Elk and a line, strait line from you to the elk. As you move, that line will continue to display from you to the elk, always and by changing to other navigating screen you would be able to see how close you're getting to you pray.

I really liked this for being interesting and powerful. This GPS has other ways to project a point but this one I liked the best.

All the steps outlined above, seem to be pretty time consuming; but believe me it can be done very, very fast once you know what you're doing.

Good Shooting to All.

NOTE: Please do not mind the angles entered on photo #3, #5 an #6. I just used the screen shots I could get a hold of.

 

[Buffalobob]

That would have been handy last year. While scouting one day, I saw a herd of elk accross the valley at about 2500 to 3000 yards and no way to get within range from my side. I drove nearly six miles around the valley and couldn't be certain that I was close to the correct meadow being as there were so many small meadows around.

 

[geargrinder]

Eaglet,

I'm going elk hunting in a couple weeks. Want to come with me and show me how it works?


When are we going shooting?

 

[Eaglet]

That would have been handy last year. While scouting one day, I saw a herd of elk accross the valley at about 2500 to 3000 yards and no way to get within range from my side. I drove nearly six miles around the valley and couldn't be certain that I was close to the correct meadow being as there were so many small meadows around.

Excellent example of its usage. Would save you gas and frustrations. Good post. Thanks BB.

 

[Eaglet]

Eaglet,

I'm going elk hunting in a couple weeks. Want to come with me and show me how it works?


When are we going shooting?

I already did!

I'm going at 5:00 this morning... reminds me to start reloading! man!

 

[NYLES]

Electronic dead reconing....COOL!

 

[Surveyor]

I do a lot of plots for guys on orthophotography, with GPS coordinates listed for key spots.

It helps when navigating big distances AND ensuring that you remain on the right property if that situation is a concern.

 

[victor]

Hi Eaglet,

Great Info, thank you for sharing. I have been looking at this unit for quite some time. Very intersted in getting one.

Can I ask where you purchased from and how much it cost?

I purchased the IQue M5 last year for the purpose of using it as a GPS and something to load my Ballistics program onto.

The M5 has GPS built in and works great for driving on the street. Gives you voice and arrows on screen for upcoming turns on hiway. Even worked pretty well in off-road situations. The map that comes with it is really pretty good.

However, I expected to load National Geographic Topo maps on it and use it to guide me to destinations, just like a regular GPS that displays an arrow and tells you what direction to go in.

However, it doesn't quite work like that. All though the M5 can use an San Disk memory card, the NG topo will not download to it. It can only be downloaded to the units own memory, which is not that large. So you can only download small portions of your topo maps (The greater the detail, the smaller map size you will see).
And what I don't like, is that it does not have a go to function in Topo map mode. It will show your location on the topo map and draw a series of dots to show your path on the map. That is ok for finding your way around as you know your position with relation to objects on the map, but I still like the arrow feature on a regular GPS much better. With my unit, I need to travel for some time, before enough dots appear on screen to confirm if I am going in the right direction or not.

As a ballistics program operating system it works just fine. I have Exbal on my unit.

The down side: Cost, unit = $500, NG Topo Maps = $89.00 per state, Battery life = 5 hours, Unit is not waterproof and much more fagile than your 60CSx. I bought a Otterbox protective case for it, but it is too bulky to carry that way. Luckily it is slim, so I carry it in my inside jacket pocket.

The perfect unit would be a GPS 60CSx with a processor that would run exbal, and be a range finder as well.

Are you listening Garmin, opportunity is knocking!

Thanks for your report,
Vic

 

[royinidaho]

That would have been handy last year. While scouting one day, I saw a herd of elk accross the valley at about 2500 to 3000 yards and no way to get within range from my side. I drove nearly six miles around the valley and couldn't be certain that I was close to the correct meadow being as there were so many small meadows around.

I guess I best tag along this year.

What cha do is mark your spot and take a compass reading towards the subject meadow.

Then drive around the other side until you get opposite compass heading. Original reading -180 or something like that.

When you get to that compass heading back to your recorded spot the meadow if interest is in a straight line back to that point.

But by then the old knoggin' is boggled and the elk have moved aways.

 

[Eaglet]

royinidaho,
You... you are right!
One problem though, once you go 11 miles around or so and you finally get on that reversed bearing, you would have no idea if it jus over the hill or 5 miles away. OK! a map helps! but... the map and compass are in the truck just in case, the GPS in my hands...

 

[Eaglet]

Victor, thanks.
I hear all your saying, I'm with you on that!
I also run Exbal but unfortunatelly not in my 60CSX.
At the time the best price I found was at: http://www.pcnation.com
Usually most places they run around $449.00 or higher.

Description Amount
******************************************************************************************
1 6208-6G0170-3390 010-00422-00 GPSMAP 60CSX GPS PERP 342.80
1 6208-6G0415-3390 010-10085-00 GPS 60/76 CIGARETTE LIGHT GPS ACCS 19.50
_________
Sales Tax: 0.00
Total $: 362.30

 

[Eaglet]

I do a lot of plots for guys on orthophotography, with GPS coordinates listed for key spots.

It helps when navigating big distances AND ensuring that you remain on the right property if that situation is a concern.

Out of the around 12 years that I worked for NDOT in construction, the most I did was Roaway Surveying and I was always trying to use my gps to find control points and it did help even though back in those days gps were not as accurate. Man! I enjoyed doing that!

 

[Surveyor]

Out of the around 12 years that I worked for NDOT in construction, the most I did was Roaway Surveying and I was always trying to use my gps to find control points and it did help even though back in those days gps were not as accurate. Man! I enjoyed doing that!

You can thank your ex president Slick Willie for the improvement in GPS precision. When GPS was primarily function of military equipment, the signal for civilian GPS units was intentionally degraded in order to prevent possible use in a threatening manner. Basically, it would take 30 minutes of static processing to get a position as accurate as you get now in 30 seconds.

Bill signed the legislation to stop the signal degredation to public receivers.

Its amazing what can be done now, with equipment capable of sub meter accuracy. We had a laser rangefinder with a clinometer and compass that plugged into the surveying GPS unit. While the GPS was fixing your position, you could shoot as many things as you want with the laser and it would plot their location. Pull up a real time map.

Now that would put your hunt in perspective!!

 

[edge]

My wife has a Magellan which I used up the East coast.

From Boca Raton Florida it was spot on....until I reached Washington DC.

It was consistently off by a full City block! It had me exit the freeway and I lost 1/2 hour due to the detour. Once I ignored the prompts and followed the route I was fine an never had another problem. My son lives in NYC and this is not a problem. Clearly homeland security is protecting the powers that be...

edge.