Does anyone know anything about the new Garmin Astro GPS tracking unit for coonhounds....

Its good to see a fellow coon hunter on here. As for the Garmin a buddy of mine just bought one for his dogs and I plan to purchase one myself before long. I love that thing, its extremely accurate, and in moderate brush it will hold a signal for nearly two miles, up to four or five miles across flat open ground. It tells you the exact direction and distance of your dog, measured in yards. My only complaint is that the actual tracking collar is not waterproof. Its tough, don't get me wrong. I've seen his dogs swim creeks and beaver ponds with it on and it never gave a minutes trouble, but you would think something like that would have a waterproof casing on it. Anyway, I hope this helps.

The Old DC20 collar of mine has been through many duck ponds, rivers and lakes and has held up very well. The New DC30 dog collars state they are waterproof.

DC30


Old DC20


I do not know about the hand held unit.

I bought 3 new DC 30 collars. Vast improvement!

I use mine on my bird dogs and can see up to 10 dogs at one time and where each dog is. I even have used the old DC20 on the dash of the truck so I can find the truck as that saves me from entering a waypoint. As you can seeI am still here!

This year while grouse hunting I found I had walked past many birds only to hear the dog's beeper collar go on point and then to find she was on point behind me in the very dense tag alder/balsam thickets we hunted. It was easy to pull out the Garmin handheld - see the dog compass, which gives you an arrow in the direction the dog really is. Same with the truck.

It never failed me in the thick woods and we always came home with all our dogs. To top it off I even bought the exra memory and now insert/download the Topo maps of all areas I hunt. Then it shows the ridge the dog is following or a creek that may be coming up and even the old fire lanes at times.

I'll never leave home without it again. The batteries last better than 14 hrs of continuous use and carrying a extra set of AA is no problem in my bird vest. The Collar is rechargeable, lasts easily all day and for more than a few days.Thedog collardoes come with a home and car charger so that is not an issue.

I look forward to abusing this for many years to come.

PS - if you get a system - do add a carabeener clip (sp?) to the unit lanyard so you can securely attach to you. Or buy the extra carabeener clip Garmin sells. it is well worth it! Why? -I lost a dang Rhino 530 outa my vest! Won't ever happen again! Carabeener clips are far cheaper!


Pss - Would it work on Coonhounds? You betcha and even tell ya when the dog has treed its quarry as that is a function of the handheld. Once the dog is standing still in one place for a bit the handhel unit beeps at you and shows you the Icon if the dog is on point/treed/or sitting. Also tells you if the dog is running.
JW

I have a garmin Astro using it with my german jagd terriers. It's about the best thing ever happened when it comes to dogtracking systems. My dogs hunt almost any game such as hogs,moose,roedeer, fox andbadger. It works like a charm. I've got the Nordic version which comes with the DC30 collar.Mine is absolutely waterproof and the terriers abuse on the collar is hard, but the DC30 has proven itself time after time. I Love it!

Maybe I should get one for my wife for when we go shopping? She's tiny and disappears easily.