iPad plus OnX perfect !

The only issue I have with using electronics is the likely the loss of orienteering that should be a learned skill for all back country users. Reliance upon GPS can even be sketchy at times depending upon your location. I have no problem using technology but still like knowing I can navigate without it perfectly fine. I just don't feel like the skill-set of orienteering ist being addressed anymore when a smart phone etc is at the forefront.
 
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I agree you should know how to find your way around.But if you say come out to MT without Onx and hunt,unless your in wilderness you will have a super hard time with private land and hunting areas.You'll be left in the dust by those of us using it.
 
I use it mostly for determining public vs private bounds as sp6x6 said. Love using it to shed hunt as well using the tracker feature. Handy application and versatile for various types of hunting.

i also use it to keep track of game cams
 
I agree you should know how to find your way around.But if you say come out to MT without Onx and hunt,unless your in wilderness you will have a super hard time with private land and hunting areas.You'll be left in the dust by those of us using it.
Sure hunting in an unknown area it's a useful app. Just knowing if your hunting legally on public lands vs hunting on someone's property is a useful feature. It still won't get you on game, that requires either luck or spending time on the ground finding them. I never looked at hunting as a competition anyways. I just enjoy the experience of being out there whether it's hunting, fishing, or scouting. A useful and desirable feature, I just won't be lugging an ipad around.
 
I am now curious, how did we know where property boundaries are on maps that showed them?

Totally agree technology is useful for a lot for actions like cameras and boundaries but guys I know hardly even carry compass and map anymore.

So here is my question relative to back country hunting:
If you use a Smartphone GPS, Onyx, Basemaps, GPS, or other electronic device to navigate, do you carry a compass and map for the area you are hunting?
 
I am now curious, how did we know where property boundaries are on maps that showed them?

Totally agree technology is useful for a lot for actions like cameras and boundaries but guys I know hardly even carry compass and map anymore.

So here is my question relative to back country hunting:
If you use a Smartphone GPS, Onyx, Basemaps, GPS, or other electronic device to navigate, do you carry a compass and map for the area you are hunting?
Generally speaking when I go to a new area I'll carry a map and compass. But I've been lucky and I'll either meet people who are willing to take me hunting and show me an area, or I live near my hunting areas and spend a lot of time out scouting. Most of the time I don't carry a map, compass or gps any more which isn't advisable. Since moving to Oregon I've used the Kit Carson method of land nav. But when going to a new area I'll look on the map and use my lensatic compass. I'll set up an emergency azimuth prior to leaving, and if necessary adjust when in the field. That's saved me once when in the ocean and another time in the field. These new apps apparently outline private lands and sometimes gives the land owner's name. that's pretty handy.
 
I am now curious, how did we know where property boundaries are on maps that showed them?

Totally agree technology is useful for a lot for actions like cameras and boundaries but guys I know hardly even carry compass and map anymore.

So here is my question relative to back country hunting:
If you use a Smartphone GPS, Onyx, Basemaps, GPS, or other electronic device to navigate, do you carry a compass and map for the area you are hunting?
My hunting buddy and I still carry maps, compass, and hunting regulations with us to go along with our GPS's. I have to admit, and I got my GPS primarily to find out POCs of private properties and make sure of the boundaries.

We carry the regs because there is an area where we hunt that one side of the road is cow elk only, and the other side is either sex elk. If a hunter.
 
And it was
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We carry the regs because there is an area where we hunt that one side of the road is cow elk only, and the other side is either sex elk.
Ed, +++! on carrying regulations! I had interesting discussion with good friend in CO 2 years ago on need to carry Hunter Safety card. Showed him in regulations where it also clear states no matter if you provided to buy license. 2 days later a CO dropped by our camp at dinner when we all came back in and 2nd thing he asked for was it. Plus good to have in case there is a disagreement on legality of anything with a CO.

What I haven't stated is I do have Onyx and Basemaps but where I have hunted out west you need to download everything since there is no mobile signal so I prefer maps at that point. I never said I don't LIKE them but believe there is a loss of skills that is sad to see go downhill. I use GPS a lot out west to set way-points for camp, horses, kill sites, water, where I saw Momma Bear😅 and other pertinent locations.

Where I have a good signal, I also really use them for cameras and just for giggles I track my kill trails for distance traveled on the private land I hunt in Indiana which is kind of moot point since 90% is field and rest hedgerows and 15 acre pocket of wetland. Most of time I can see them laying in field! In MI I hunt public land 90% of time so boundaries no issue. I totally agree on using them for boundaries but I don't like how it is causing some folks, at least that hunt with me, to abandon compass and maps. I actually had really good friend tell me he doesn't trust maps or even the compass! I almost p'eed my pants laughing so hard! So I ask him if his nav screen in his new Ram is 100% accurate and he said "Of course!" and I said what about speed limits? And he said No and so it is 100% accurate uhuh... We all have had GPS want to take us over a cliff since it shows a road there.

If I was hunting in a location that REALLY required tight boundaries and had a signal, yes, I would likely use it to SOME degree.
 
I absolutely carry a map and compass. I also always download the maps of my area/unit prior to hunting as most of the time i dont get service while hunting.

onX is like my digital hunting log/memory book and ive tracked, marked harvests, etc on my hunts for the past 6-7 years and i love to look back at all the activity and see the places ive been.

For me it makes sense and I still know how to navigate without it but I chose to pack my phone and utilize the tech.
 
Onx you dont need anything else.Its a GPS on your phone but much better,and you get land owner bounderies that you need to be legal.Has things like forest fires in your area.The mapping is far superior to a gps map with many map layers .I do hunt solo alot and have a inreach also.I use to ride 27 miles in the wilderness area and just flag a few trees when I left the horses,Im comfortable in woods,been lost a 100 times.Some times ended up 20 miles from where I thought I should be,its all part of the fun
 
As I've already stated I do use onx. Personally I think we'd or maybe I should say I think I'd be better off if they didn't ever exist. And maybe I'm just being selfish. I've hunted the same area since 1964. It's an area that is easy to get turned around in. Over the years I've assisted a few people get out of it and back to their camp. I spent years just learning the area, how the drainages ran, Land marks and etc. Did not see many other hunters. Now that gps is in most of our pockets there are all kinds of people in the area. And they usually find their way around and get back to their camp. So it's my feeling that the GPS has made people braver and gave them the ability to accomplish what took me years to learn by just looking at a screen. Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure not condemning anyone for using the technology. Hunt safe everyone, shoot straight and have fun.
 
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