Just wanted to see if any of you carried a personal locator beacon when elk hunting in Colorado. They seem like a good idea, but I dont know if I am just being paranoid about being out in the wilderness for the first time.
So, does anyone carry them? If so, how do they work?
Also, how often can you pick up a cell phone signal in the wilderness of Colorado? I am hunting between Montrose and Durango mostly.
Silvertip...I will be calling you this weekend at some point...been really busy lately.
Here is a link to what I am talking about. http://www.rei.com/electronics/TOC/Personal+Locator+Beacons?cm_re=toc*toc*personal_lo cator_beacons&vcat=REI_SSHP_GPS_TOC
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Darton Pro3000
27"@71#+369gr arrow=301fps. Now that is FAST!
BuckNasty Strings...Simply the best!
Though I may not agree with what you say, I will defend to the death your right to say it.
i saw one of those on the best and worst of tred barda on oln he has one but i wouldnt be to concerned unless you are walking in a good distance and dont no your area well
i saw one of those on the best and worst of tred barda on oln he has one but i wouldnt be to concerned unless you are walking in a good distance and dont no your area well
Yup...both of those are concerns to me.
See, I am a east coast boy, and while I grew up in the Catskill "mountains", I know those arent real mountains. I already have a GPS unit, as well as mapping software and lots of maps. I am just worried about, well, breaking a leg or something out in the wilds and dying.
__________________
Darton Pro3000
27"@71#+369gr arrow=301fps. Now that is FAST!
BuckNasty Strings...Simply the best!
Though I may not agree with what you say, I will defend to the death your right to say it.
Campo: Something else you might consider is leasing a satellite phone (Globalstar or Iridium) for the duration. I did this last October when I solo elk hunted in the mountains, starting our initially in a wilderness area. The cost was about $100 ($50 to lease for a week and $50 to ship back -- I hadn't calculated on the return cost, but that's the way the ball bounces, I was still happy I had the phone with me). For 3 days when I was up in the wilderness I called home every night, just because it was kind of lonely up there more than anything, and the service worked pretty much as advertised. I used Globalstar, but others highly recommend Iridium also.
The cell phone will keep you in touch with people if you might want that. As long as your gps is working, you could call out coordinates if you got sick or injured. The beacon will send a signal that will get picked up and tell them where you are at. If your going to have a great elk hunt, you need to hunt confidently without fears pestering the back of your mind. If a safety net such as a phone or beacon will do that for you, it may be worth it for that alone.
Also, if you are hunting alone, you need to figure how you are going to get an elk out once its down. I've packed several out by myself, never more than a couple of miles, and it was no picnic. I'm no slouch and live at a high elevation by most people's standards. I hear of people packing them five or ten miles, and no doubt a very few do, but most are stretching the distance a bit...
Life is too short and hunting opportunities are too few and far between to be worrying about this type of option...for the peace of mind of your family and yourself invest in the rental of a Sat phone or PLB and get onto better things like planning your hunt. The cost is really small compared to the amount of time and effort your spending on thinking about. Time is money and your wasting valuableplanning time.
Personal Locator Beacons in the Wilds
