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09-13-2009, 04:35 PM

#1

bmumford

Spike

Join Date: Jan 2009

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Posts: 49

Whitetail Hunting with GPS

I would have posted this in the "Hi-Tech Hunting" forum, but GPS doesn't fit into either of the categories (Trail Cameras, Optics, or Video & Photography).

Anyway, I've been planning on buying a GPS for hunting for a while. I'm a pretty tech-savvy guy, so I really want to switch to GPS (and eliminate paper). I've been using a top-of-the-line Garmin GPS unit in my car for the last year that I am quite satisfied with, but I need something portable for planning my hunting trips.

I've narrowed my search down to two models: the Garmin Oregon 550T and the DeLorme Earthmate PN-40. I thought I had the debate settled by saving a couple of hundred dollars by forgoing the digital camera (that I love) in exchange for the ability to display both topos (topographical maps) and aerial photos on the PN-40. Apparently, it's only $30 a year for unlimited maps (which is DeLorme's forte).

However, I just saw an advertisement for Expert GPS (http://www.expertgps.com/gps-receivers/Garmin-Oregon-550t.asp) which is now supporting the Oregon 550T with aerials for $50 a year. It's not nearly as cheap, but they ARCGIS (which isn't important to me, but ARC software is high-end GIS software, so it makes me wonder).

To make matters harder, the Oregon stores 2,000 waypoints (I don't know if I need that much, maybe I do); the PN-40 stores only 1,000 (which may be enough). Yet, the Oregon only has 850 MB of memory while the PN-40 has 1GB. Both take external cards, so maybe that doesn't matter.

Both have a digital compass that you do not need to be moving to work out your direction (which could compromise your position when hunting); so that's good.

Some people note/complain that the DeLorme PN-40 has a much smaller screen, but the resolution seems to make up for it (in their opinion). The Garmin Oregon 550T has a much larger screen (and it's a touch screen).

I know a lot of you are not into GPS, but I was hoping some of you are and can provide some input. Maybe a few of you even own one of these. The $200 price difference (as well as doubling the annual cost for maps/aerial photos) is nothing to sneeze at, but having a digital camera built in means one less piece of equipment I need to bring into the field. It's also nice to directly geo-tag an item as soon as you take its picture.

Above all, I'm really concerned with the quality of the map support. DeLorme boasts the ability to overlay topos on top of aerials (while the Oregon toggles between them). I don't know if this makes much of a difference.

So with that said, let's open up a discussion about GPS and hunting.

Thanks!

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