I just got a GPS and I guess I'm feeling like a kid at xmas with several ideas that I would like to bounce off you guys...... I hunt 500 acres of hardwood timber in hill country. No ag fields in the area, but we do have about 20 acres of food plots. I still haven't hammered out a reliable pattern on the deer movements. I'm considering these two possibilties with the GPS. 1. Marking and walking every trail on and through our property. I thought I would start on the food plots and work back to the property lines in all directions and keeping in mind any well used trails that I find that appear to not lead to food plots. This undertaking isn't that big of a deal and I will do that in the next year. 2. My 2nd idea is a little more complicated and time consuming. I thought I would quandrant off the property and log every buck rub and scrape found into the GPS. This would take time, probably spanning multiple seasons. Have any of you ever done either of these and to you think it would reveal any meaningful patterns?
I do both on the public land I hunt. when I find deer trails I turn on the track and then follow the trail. Often times I just follow the trail as long as it goes or about 100yds max. I also mark every rub, scrape, poop, bed, sighting, that I find. I do this when scouting and hunting. The I upload all of this data to my topo maps. I have different maps for different places and one all encompassing map. Once you can see all of this info on the maps then the patterns emerge in great detail. The more time you can put on the ground, I try to do a minimum of 3 miles on Sat & Sun and any other day off, the more marks you can find, the more detailed and revealing your maps will become. One other thing I do is mark possible stand sites. As I move throught the terrain and depending on the info I have and the info I am finding I will make a mark and label it as a possible stand site. Since I am mobile and you can't have permanent stands on public land here I can mark many stand sites and account for all kinds of wind/weather conditions. Great tool! Have fun with it.
Marking the rubs is a solid idea but I would be more selective about the rubs I mark. There can be a lot of rubs made by small bucks. I would mark the sign post rubs because there is some history there.I would mark any scrapes I found and beds also.
No disagreement but I have found that nothing is lost by marking them all and, when looking at all of the sign laid out on a map, you can get a very good idea about general movement patterns and activities. I don't usually hunt deer sign but I do use it to learn what the deer are doing, how they are moving and, sometimes, when they are doing these things.
I use my GPS exactly as you described in #2 and how bruce talked about. I mark rubs and scrapes, along with beds. When I plot them on my topo maps, it really gives a good picture of what is going on. I then mark potential stand sites as well. I hate to say it, but I would be lost without my GPS when I'm scouting now.
I just got one as well! I look forward to the topo maps at my fingertips access.....but to be honest, I bought mine more for out of state trips than for whitetail hunting here..though it will be used for both. It can REALLY, and I mean REALLY, help you learn a farm before stepping foot on it, and more importantly, know every detail about even animal movement for a return trip. I marked GPS cords for the farm I turkey hunt in AL last year, for everything from foodplots, to roosting sights, to gobbler sightings, to dusting bowls, etc....I no longer use that GPS, but the cords are transferable and as soon as the new one arrives I am putting them in. I will use mine to mark MY trails and stands first and foremost. then major sign after that. I think these overlayed on a topo map in your hand at all times, should help me a lot when putting together the puzzle.
I like to use a GPS when I am tracking a deer into territory that is not that familar to me. Makes the trip back to get the deer very easy. I will use it to get to a stand if it is dark an feel like I am getting off course.
that is genius..cant believe I didnt think of that. Would help see trends of where the deer is heading as well. Good tip!
Before google earth and during the days of outdated arial photos.. I used to have a buddy fly me in his plane over my hunting area and I would snap photos with my 35mm of my favorite hunting drainages and ridges. Then I would blow up those pix and mark like you are referring too.. Rubs, scrapes, buck sightings, trails everything that I found while walking it. Of course I wasnt as exact as a gps would be, but it was helpful in deciphering deer travel routes and buck core living areas, traditional breeding grounds, scraping areas etc.. I could go into a couple spots year in and out and see the same action taking place almost to the day.. I mapped out about 3000 acreas of big woods that I lived and hunted in from when I was age 12 to 33, I moved from that area almost 6 years ago, Havent been back except for one time....but when I did go back it was still a lot like it used to be. I think anytime you can really walk an area thoroughly, I mean grid it tightly...then copy down all the data and transfer that to a "BIG PICTURE" its gonna help you visualize distinct patterns of various rutting phase activity from summer feeding patterns, to pre rut, scraping phase, seeking then breeding and finally post rut behavior. its important to walk and re scout a place from now and then with the mind set that its the first time you ever entered those woods.. because the deer definatetly pattern us hunters. And we as hunters get too comfortable with what "once" worked for a set up or was working. If you ever come west for elk, you will probably feel much safer with it as well.
Just got mine in, started messing with the software....and WOW. What have I been missing all these years? I already have my entire plan of attack for the thunder chickens in AL mapped out. For those that are into topos, I have the entire SE USA at 1:24k quality on my computer (equivalent, well better, than the USGS 7.5 minute quads). Downloaded it free off the web, but it is a hefty file at just a hair under 1 GB. I think I am in love, and can't wait to learn the aspect of reading topos better for deer hunting now that I have this at my disposal.
Trev what kind of GPS did you get? Im really wanting to get one of these for the days I start my out of state hunting!
I have been using DeLorme's topo usa for years. Extremely versatile, up-to-date, and high quality maps. http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=10045&minisite=10020
Got the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx. 2 year old model, but still gets the highest reviews out of the mapping handhelds. Not cheap, though. Retails for $400-450, I got mine new for $300 on eBay. I mainly got it for out of state hunts, but it will see the bulk of its use in a fishing boat. We contemplated adding GPS to our depthfinder, but to add that feature, costs the same as buying a top of the line handheld...so I bought one I could do more with. Excited to finally use it here soon. Going to go mark some areas up on the lake that might be good to revisit come summer pool. Bruce, I have always heard that Delorme software is the best going on the computer...I couldnt go with it due to compatitibility with Garmin units though. Plus I suppose free is always better than buying another software in my case, lol.
I've got a garmin 60csx also(you'll love it's sat sensitivity) and the delorme stuff works just fine with it. I also use garmin's mapsource but the topo's are only 1:100k and they suck. It is useful for managing waypoints and tracks though and the topo's do upload to the unit. What I usually do is plot a bunch of reference waypoints on the delorme topo at 1:24k, upload them to the garmin and then print the map and take it with me. Free is better in most cases but you usually don't get the versatility and, if not needed, why buy it. Anyway, if you ever do want to invest in mapping software that is incredibly versatile delorme is definitely the way to go. One thing I didn't mention before is that I always use a little notebook with the GPS. That way I can just add, say, waypoint 001 with the push of 2 buttons and then I write the description of the way point in my notebook. When I get home and transfer everything to the maps I add the descriptions (in the garmin mapsource software) I will say that is a bit overkill because I generally have the info I need in my head but it's nice when I forget, which happens more often after 50 LOL.
These free maps are 1:24k...pretty awesome stuff these guys put together. I agree that the 1:100k stock mapsource maps are in all senses of the word, useless. Just download them and they automatically show up in mapsource. I have noticed that in flat areas, there seems to not be as much detail as a 7.5 minute quad from USGS, but on the other hand, in more hilly/steep terrain it is equal or better seemingly...kind of weird. Either way, they are near identical/better than the very few 1:24k maps offered by Garmin. Delorme maps are totally different though it seems, I have heard the 3d option is sweet.
I have that Garmin as well and it was a BIG help to me this year. I used it just as you talked about and it worked well. You'll never regret that purchase!
