Hunting

GPS units have proven to be a useful tool for hunters over recent years. A lot of hunters now realise that they are both affordable and easy to use.

If choosing a GPS unit specifically for hunting make sure you purchase one that will work well under tree cover. There has been much debate over which types of GPS work best. The Garmin 12 (recently discontinued) has proven to be an excellent value for money hunters GPS. Some say the Etrex models do not work so well under tree cover.

• Marking Wallow holes, rutting pads, campsites or anything for that matter. It is reassuring to have your tent saved as a waypoint when returning after dark.
• Identify your current position using GPS co-ordinates to plot your position on your paper map. This is most useful in featureless bush areas or in poor weather when you cannot see landmarks.
• Marking the track you have walked for reference later. The trackpoints can be loaded up to Mapping programs such as Topomappro, Maptoaster, NZ Mapped and Tumonz. The route you walked will be shown as a coloured line over the map of the area. A useful hint here is to set your trackpoints to save on 5 minute time intervals, this ensures the GPS memory will last long enough.
• Prior to a trip you can load waypoints into your GPS. For example it is great to have hut locations marked in your GPS especially if you are walking or driving at night. It is so easy to walk past your intended destination. Waypoints can be loaded to the GPS unit using the mapping programs, much easier than entering them manually.

There is a hunting topic in the forums, please feel free to start a new hunting discussion.

Happy hunting and identify your target.

Steve Savage (ssarc)