Well, it's something I want to learn to do, so guys who can read them, do you mind chiming in to give us some of the basics to doing it? I mean there is obviously a lot to it, but what do we need to start with?
Post one up. There are some great map guys among us. I have a civil background that helped me a lot. But there's nothing too technical about them. You'll find trends that'll make certain terrain features jump out at you. I'll post up a "sample" when I find one.....and you can ask away. OK.....Here's a piece I had access to for a very short time. Let us know what your specific questions are.
Some great reading I just aquired due to reading on another post is callled "Mapping Trophy Bucks" By Brad Herndon, he explains alot of things in there that will most likley answer the majority of your questions. Good luck.
Many military years behind me and I love maps! I'm sure there are alot of guys that are good at this stuff, but I will throw my knowledge in also. I'm really good at using and plotting UTM GRIDS. Great stuff for any where especially out west. Drop me a line if you want some help. Take Care.
Agreed. That is a great book for anyone looking to learn the basics of how to both interpret Topos and locate terrain features to lock in on likely deer travel routes. Also, if you have a GPS, a great place to get detailed (and free) Topo maps for your GPS is: http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/ With Google Earth and my GPS, I can locate promising terrain features on Google Earth, and simply enter the coordinates into my GPS waypoints. Anytime I'm planning to scout a new area, this saves me a lot of time and effort before ever hitting the woods.
I used to use the Universal Transverse Mercator system, but I didn't have as fancy a tool. I used a UTM Corner Ruler. Now that we have have all these great mapping sites I don't need to use it anymore. Although I still have my GPS set to UTM (default was decimal) because I'm used to it. Gri22ly, with all the great terrain features you have down there and the fact that you don't use a GPS I can see why you didn't know about UTM. You don't need it.
http://www.amazon.com/Mapping-Trophy-Bucks-Brad-Herndon/dp/0873495039 Best book on topo maps for deer hunting you'll ever buy. Worth every penny.
