Theres a google earth app for the I Phone and you can push a button and your location will appear as a blue dot on a big map. As you wonder around the blue dot moves so you can see where your headed. Its real convenient, I just walk in the woods wherever knowing I am going to get turned around and just whip out my hand dandy I phone click that app and am out in a few mins. It is also helpful if you want to find secluded oak hammocks in areas you would have otherwise never found them. Its a great scouting tool!
The android has this app also. That's fine as long as you still have satellite reception but I wouldn't trust that in a swamp. Although, I think both phones have an app for a compass also. Which I bet still needs satellite reception.
I would get turned around and lost in a 40 acre check block so I always carry a phone and compass and normally hunt near highways.
Down south at Big Cypress I usually hunt alone with hardly any one else in the woods where I put in at. Most of the time there may be 1 or 2 trucks for the entire area and I don't see anyone most of the time. I also use the I phone mapping. It's great to scout an area and get an aerial view and see exactly where your at. Someone give me the info on the app where someone else can see where I'm at with the I phone. I bought a Garmin Rino GPS 4 or 5 years ago and it's great. I upgraded to the latest and greatest one last year and love it. It has a feature where if your buds have one you can program each other in it and if your in like a 5 mile vicinity of each other you can see exactly where they're at on the GPS map. It also has a built in 2 way radio but I'm not sure what the range is. I think it's comparable to all the other ones out there. If only I could get my buds to hit up the money tree and spend the dough it would be great :rolleyes I actually enjoy hunting by myself but have been having second thoughts on that in BC with all the gators I'm running into at 5:30 in the morning. :eek
99% of the time I hunt alone. This year will be a little better, being in a lease and all with homes w/in a mile or so. Last year, I strictly hunted Econfina Creek, and I'm in before daylight, out after dark. It isn't the safest plan, but I always go prepared with flashlight, 2 FRS radios, my gps, compass, the WMA brochure map, water bladder, and a couple granola bars, oh, and plenty of ammo in case I have to "summons" help. The previous 2 years, I was in a lease, but was basically up there by myself most of the time. I'd spend a week or so camped out in a pop up camper by myself. It was kinda peaceful. The only real concern was bears and getting stuck and not being able to call somebody (that lease had lots of cell phone dead zones). I had my survival training to fall back on if I had any issues, but I will say that I paid more attention going into the stand and coming back out at night, cus if I did somehow get turned around, I'd be spending the night back up in the tree. One very good reason for thermacell and a tree lounge.
As for the cellphone GPS thing, I'd be careful. If you lose cell coverage, you lose the gps app on most of them, unless you've unlocked the GPS functionality.
yeah, sometimes I do lose signal but I always take my GPS if I'm not on the lease. No matter what I also have a compass in my fanny pack that I have carried every time I'm in the woods for years. Before I leave for the woods I always check my pack for flash light, compass, spare lighter and munchies just in case.
I agree there. I got turned around on my old lease once. I started following game trails in the middle of the day, but didn't have a gps o compass (left it in the stand). Well, after ducking through several very obvious game trail openings, when I turned around, I had no idea where the hell I was. Worse, was that it wasn't like I could even walk through most of the stuff it was so thick. I just started in a general south east direction, and eventally made it to the road. Unfortunately for me, I went right instead of left, cus I ended up walking around the 500 acre area the long way (about 2.5 hours worth) in the hot sun. If I'd turned left, I'd have been at the truck in less than 10 mins, but I thought I was further west.
And I take my daypack everywhere I go now, unless I can still see the stand from where I'm headed.
