Garmin Alpha Worth it?

[Roksliding]

Hello, I’m sorry if this has already been discussed, but does anyone run a Garmin Alpha 100 and if so do you think it’s worth the money? Is there a different collar I should look at? I’ve only ever had the regular old e-collar and am having a hard time swallowing that price. Thanks in advance.

for me it is soooo much worth it that when I lost mine In a cattail slough at the beginning of the month I finished the field I was in and went and bought another.. it is an invaluable tool if you have dogs that range or smaller dogs that get lost in cover. I wouldn’t be without it.

quick story- I was in South Dakota one year I already had my limit in my vest and was headed back to the truck, came into a little opening and there was a dog on point.. I walked in and flushed the bird he had locked down, and threw one of my leads on him walked him to the road access area, and there were a father and son who couldn’t thank me enough for finding their missing dog. I told them about the garmin alpha I bet they bought one.

losing a dog is the absolute worst.

 

[Smenning]

I’ve run one for several years with my Brittanys and won’t go hunting/training without it. The peace of mind of knowing right where your dogs are is priceless. The only down side I’ve noticed is needing to be patient for the transmitter to connect with the collar via satellite and needing to keep the collars and transmitter up to date on the current software. (Garmins Website). Otherwise it’s hands down the best gear I’ve purchased for upland hunting. Drooling over the 200 model with the inreach function!

 

[Roksliding]

I’ve run one for several years with my Brittanys and won’t go hunting/training without it. The peace of mind of knowing right where your dogs are is priceless. The only down side I’ve noticed is needing to be patient for the transmitter to connect with the collar via satellite and needing to keep the collars and transmitter up to date on the current software. (Garmins Website). Otherwise it’s hands down the best gear I’ve purchased for upland hunting. Drooling over the 200 model with the inreach function!

Dang the 200 has inreach?!? Garmin is definitely one of those companies that continually are moving forward

 

[commandoNate]

Good info here, thanks all. I just saw that the Alpha got marked down $100 for the holiday season at Scheels and I'm headed there to buy one this afternoon. I've been using the pro 550 on my 2 year old GSP since he was a pup but this last weekend in Kansas I lost him in some thick cover and it turned out he was pretty close and on point! I can't bring myself to light him up just because he isn't responding to the HERE command. I never know if he is a half mile away and chasing a jackrabbit or locked up on a rooster within 50 yards of me. You've gotta know where your dog is, it's a safety thing in my opinion. He accompanies me on a lot of backpacking trips (elk scouting) in the mountains in the summer and I've had him range out well beyond my comfort level so this will be a nice gadget for those kind of outdoor trips too.

 

[Russp17]

Good info here, thanks all. I just saw that the Alpha got marked down $100 for the holiday season at Scheels and I'm headed there to buy one this afternoon. I've been using the pro 550 on my 2 year old GSP since he was a pup but this last weekend in Kansas I lost him in some thick cover and it turned out he was pretty close and on point! I can't bring myself to light him up just because he isn't responding to the HERE command. I never know if he is a half mile away and chasing a jackrabbit or locked up on a rooster within 50 yards of me. You've gotta know where your dog is, it's a safety thing in my opinion. He accompanies me on a lot of backpacking trips (elk scouting) in the mountains in the summer and I've had him range out well beyond my comfort level so this will be a nice gadget for those kind of outdoor trips too.

I went with the Garmin 550 plus it has GPS but it's training functions are a lot easier to use than the alpha. It has worked pretty well. My dog isn't huge running but he gets out there a couple hundred yards and it has worked well for me. The 550 plus shows a distance and a direction of where the dog is.

 

[commandoNate]

I went with the Garmin 550 plus it has GPS but it's training functions are a lot easier to use than the alpha. It has worked pretty well. My dog isn't huge running but he gets out there a couple hundred yards and it has worked well for me. The 550 plus shows a distance and a direction of where the dog is.

I almost went this route also, and it is $150 cheaper than the alpha. I have a pro 550 (without the GPS function) that I've trained with since he was about 5 months old so honestly all I ever really need is a tone now and then to get his attention. I've only had to light him up once this season when he was hauling ass after some deer. He has a HUGE range if I don't keep him in check verbally though. I agree that the training functions of the 550 are much more intuitive and easy to use so if I were training a new dog I'd want to have that system which is why I plan to keep it. I don't think I've had my last GSP.

 

[BackCountryMulies]

For the country where we are running birds you cant go wrong man. I have had some minor issues with mine losing signal but the Pros far out weight the cons. If you're running big country and the dog is out of sight the last thing you want to do is call your dog off birds. I will be home next week we can try to meet up and you can play with my 100 if you want. It has changed the way I run my dog big time I also believe it has made him a far more confident dog because he knows I will always show up when hes on point we have had finds close to a mile apart and hes held for 20+ minutes while I cross a canyon to get him

 

[ORHunter]

I can't imagine hunting behind my PP without a GPS collar. Just last weekend we were on a chukar hunt. I was heading towards my pickup point (where my friends left a truck and hunted a different spot) I wanted to cross a saddle towards the direction we were heading but my pup went the other direction. I hit the tone training button to call him to me just as it buzzed that he was on point 200 yards out of view. I ran over there to see him locked up on a covey that I never would have seen without it. Something similar literally happens every hunt.

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[Russp17]

I can't imagine hunting behind my PP without a GPS collar. Just last weekend we were on a chukar hunt. I was heading towards my pickup point (where my friends left a truck and hunted a different spot) I wanted to cross a saddle towards the direction we were heading but my pup went the other direction. I hit the tone training button to call him to me just as it buzzed that he was on point 200 yards out of view. I ran over there to see him locked up on a covey that I never would have seen without it. Something similar literally happens every hunt.

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I agree I think a gps collar is super important!


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[CDM9518]

Definitely worth it, after losing my dog once far from home it was definitely a purchase worth the peace of mind. Especially if you have a dog that will cover some country and or hunt terrain that would have them not be in plain sight from time to time. Best investment I have made for our upland hunting adventures!

 

[Koon]

Damn, I wasn't even thinking about one until I read this thread! I've been running a beeper on silent mode. Great information, thanks to the OP for asking a question I didn't know I wanted answered!

 

[Wassid82]

Hello, I’m sorry if this has already been discussed, but does anyone run a Garmin Alpha 100 and if so do you think it’s worth the money? Is there a different collar I should look at? I’ve only ever had the regular old e-collar and am having a hard time swallowing that price. Thanks in advance.

I've had a couple and the Garmin Alpha 100 has been my favorite. Although they just came out with the 200i that has peaked my interest

 

[jmez]

We use the Alpha 100 on our coon dogs. We bought it and after about 30 days it quit tracking, called Garmin. They said send it back and they would replace it or take it back to Cabela's. We exchanged it at Cabela's and haven't had another issue in two years.

We already have about 4 electric collars so just got the alpha. We just run the dogs with two collars. Pretty easy to run both.

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[Cervid]

Most of what I would say has already been said here, except definitely get the Alpha 200i rather than the 100. Many upgrades, more and better button functionality, much more usable screen, inreach, etc. The 100 was first released in 2012 I think and handheld touchscreen electronics have come a long way in the last 9 years.

 

[BirdHunter91]

The alpha 100 is a great piece of hunting gear for you and the dog! My Griff wears his rather we are waterfowl hunting or upland bird hunting. That extra piece of mind knowing exactly where your dog is is more then worth it! Another added benefit of the 100 is you can use a OnX chip in it. So far you can't use OnX chips in the new alpha 200 (big down side to me).

Before I had a alpha 100... Went pheasant hunting and my pup Griff was chased by some coyotes, needless to say I spent the next 9hrs looking for my pup with my dad. It was one of the worse days hunting I've ever had and don't wish any hunter to go through! If I would have had the GPS collar at that time it would have made everything so much better! I ended up ordering the alpha 100 as soon as I got home! It is hands down the best piece of gear I've bought for hunting.

 

[BirdHunter91]

Biggest down fall to the alpha 200 is the inability to use OnX chips in it. It's nice to have the OnX chip in the alpha100. Cell phones don't get service everywhere while hunting so it's nice to have it on the handheld. As soon as they make the alpha200 compatible with OnX I'll get the 200. But no complaints with the 100 for now, 3yrs still going strong.

 

[tops911]

I've been using the Alpha 100 for about 8 years now, I love it. I can "see" where my dogs are at a glance. I mostly use the compass screen that shows direction and distance to the dog. I used a beeper collar (beep for locate) on my first Drahthaar, this was before the Alpha came out. it worked ok, but as I lost my hearing I found myself beeping the dog all the time. I really like hunting as quiet as possible now, and the Garmin helps with that. Some people say the Alpha is not the best setup for training, but I think for hunting it's perfect. I hunt way more than train anyway. I was just thinking about my Teckel (wirehair dachshund) today, without the Alpha 100 I don't think that dog would get off leash without the Garmin Alpha. She starts following her nose and she's a quarter of a mile away before I realize she's gone. I just wish Garmin would have made the Alpha 200 OnX compatible, that's the only reason I have not upgraded to it. I was ready to buy it when it came out but the non-compatiblity with OnX was a deal breaker for me.