I will second the 'Yes, to a GPS'. Trying to get back to the truck, in the dark, when all you know is that it's 'somewhere over by that mountain ridge'... is sooo much less stressful with the GPS. Invaluable for marking where the elk carcass is laying! The only downside is that it doesn't tell you the actually walking distance back to where-ever. Just the point to point distance. I remember packing out my elk up a really steep hill and being depressed that the GPS distance back to the truck was only dropping by a few yards every couple hundred feet. It also won't keep you from getting into a nearly impenetrable stand of pines if you take a 'shortcut'. Ask me how I know.
Picked up a GPS on Ebay. Even if I totally strike out on the elk hunt, I've added some cool new gear to my hunting stash.
I bought a used Magellan 315 on the cheap. There are literally dozens on ebay right now for less than $75.
Pretty sure i had the Magellan 310 those first two years, Ebay bought, worked great...still have as a backup
I'm a gps newb. I've used some but don't know what to look for in them. Any recommendations? Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk
Heck, I still feel like a newb with GPS as well. Only thing I can recommend is that it must be able to save at lease a few "waypoints" which are the points you mark such as vehicle, camp, kill site, etc. I think the majority of GPS are not as easy and user friendly as they could be, but once you use them some its not bad. But I honestly had to re-read the directions each of the first two years. Bought my dad a used garmin for his first trip in 2012, and he has since just left it in his pack - and just prefers the GPS/Google map function on his phone...it doesn't give you the stats a GPS does, but the satellite view makes it easy to follow if you can remember where you parked. You can go crazy with GPS if you want topo maps and extras...but anymore I only pull mine out to mark key waypoints, and I also use my phone for navigating during the day. The other feature I like on a GPS is altitude. Knowing how high you are on mountain helps, mostly so you don't drop too far during the day if you have a particular height your vehicle is parked at (reduces the climbing you'll have to do)...but I've also found a free altimeter app for phone that seems to be accurate enough to help me with this. If you have a recent smartphone, I'd personally buy a $40-50 used GPS on ebay, get a topo app on your phone for about $9, and drop $20 for a backup power cell to pack along to charge phone if needed. Again, this is what I'd do for where we hunt for this camp. If I were ever doing more remote hunts (like TEmbry is) or by myself...I'd want a very good GPS with topo. But for elk in CO, you can do everything with budget gear (I'm a penny pincher)
Excellent! I do have a Samsung s4 so I'll just go ahead and buy a very basic gps to mark points. Thank you. Never been so ready for summer to fly by! Sent from my SCH-R970 using Tapatalk
I used the GPS on my cell. Service is very spotty. The night we got "lost" I didnt have service when I saved the location of my pickup. I shut my phone off all day while hunting them turned it back on to get back to the pick up. It obviously didnt save the location correctly. I recommend a very simple GPS. Would not rely on my phone. Sent from my C811 4G using Tapatalk
I've been reading everything I can get my hands on regarding prepping for an elk hunt. Is a spotting scope a necessity or will binos work in most cases? I'm trying not to buy unneeded gear and don't want to have to carry unneeded gear on my back.
I very much dis like spotting scopes. Most everyone just uses binoculars. If you want to pack the thing around all day go for it. To each there own Sent from my C811 4G using Tapatalk
I'd venture to guess it's too dense for a spotting scope to be of much use. They are better served in wide open spaces...
What power of binoculars do u recommend? Mine are 12×42 Nikon monarchs Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Mine are 10x42 Leopold. As long as you can look at some trees a couple hundred yards away and spot part of an elk your fine. Thats the toughest thing for people is learning to look for parts of an elk not a whole elk. Most likely its partly covered by trees. Also watching openings where you can see better if one passes through that area. Sent from my C811 4G using Tapatalk
Is anyone else getting pumped up reading through this thread??? Love the prep talk....I've found planning is half the fun
