Weight Reduction Advise

[_Nick_]

Irresponsible? I don't agree at all. I hunt a few areas that I know very well and have no need whatsoever for a map or a gps.

Yeah, this. Most of my hunting is in some of the same local spots each year... map and gps are unneeded.

 

[5MilesBack]

Like I said before.......you generally don't "need" a GPS if you know how to use a compass and maps. But two years ago I was hunting an area I'd hunted many times, and stumbled upon a double wallow that I had never seen before. I'd been all over that place before and never seen these. Marked them on the GPS and now I know exactly where they are, and how to approach them without spooking a big bull out of there. On the flip side, I "had" another awesome wallow marked on my old GPS. This wallow was a gold mine every season for heavy use. Well, that GPS did a data dump one year, and I still have not found that wallow again since. You get in that heavy timber and you literally have to be right on top of some of this stuff to find it........if you don't have it marked on a GPS......good luck finding them. And beyond that, you end up trouncing all over that area trying to find it, while putting your scent everywhere and spooking everything out of the area.

 

[primitive]

5Miles I totally agree. In the mid 80's a good friend of mine shot an elk and as he was tracking it a brutal storm hit. We found him 5 miles away that next spring. We knew that area well, but a marginally hit bull took him into unfamiliar territory and he didn't have his map/compass. To not have your gps or map/compass is a rookie mistake for even the "best" of woodsman IMHO.

 

[Justin Crossley]

Not all areas are the same guys. A lot of areas in Washington and Idaho have a lot of roads and or trails intersecting them because of all the logging. When I'm hunting other areas which are more remote, I do utilize a GPS typically.

 

[_Nick_]

Where I hunt in the desert mountains basically everywhere I am I have a line of sight that's around, oh, 20 miles. But yes, certainly some areas require navigation equipment and there definitely can be advantages of marking spots on a gps for later memory. However, my point is just that the blanket statement 'must have at all times' is not accurate. Someone could get lost where I hunt, but boy, they'd have to try pretty hard to do so.

 

[dotman]

Not all areas are the same guys. A lot of areas in Washington and Idaho have a lot of roads and or trails intersecting them because of all the logging. When I'm hunting other areas which are more remote, I do utilize a GPS typically.

My guess is they are just saying you should add the exceptions so rookies don't follow this advice when heading to Alaska or into the vast wilderness. Shit happens people get lost even in their backyards. Some get too cocky about their knowledge and others really have the knowledge. Personally if a rookie wants to go out into the woods unprepared that is their choice but it is a stupid choice, I also think it is poor judgement to rely on an electronic device and see no reason not to add 2-3oz for a map and compass that will not fail, but if you do not learn how to use them well crap I guess you can make a fire out of the map

 

[Justin Crossley]

I agree Dotman.

Like Nick, I just didn't feel that the blanket statement was accurate.

 

[tipsntails7]

For me I never leave without a compass. The weight is so minimal and a lot of times I carry it on a lanyard around my neck. GPS are awesome for doing exactly what 5 miles said but should never be the sole way for you to get out.

 

[primitive]

Justin I grew up in Washington, we were hunting up out of Yakima.