RE: Using maps, gps, etc. to find remote hunting spots
 

What is a short summary of the benoit style?

RE: Using maps, gps, etc. to find remote hunting spots
 

Delorme topo usa package is 295 bucks! It says it is a complete wireless gps package. Is this the same thing you are using?

RE: Using maps, gps, etc. to find remote hunting spots
 

Yeah, I really don't have the first clue about reading a topo map but am willing to learn. Any good books or sites that cover this?

RE: Using maps, gps, etc. to find remote hunting spots
 

If it was me I would only hunt in remote places like Northern Maine. I live on Cape Cod but have a cabin up by Jackman Maine with lots of access to remote hunting locations.

I spend about a week in september up there bird hunting and scouting out nice areas to hunt and by nice I mean remote mountains or swamps. When November hits I spend two weeks at camp and usually pretty successful. The deer densities are lower but so is the hunting pressure. I have gone days without seeing another hunter or pickup truck on the logging roads, especially during the weekdays.

I usually photo copy topo maps onto waterproof paper and carry them in my pocket along with a garmin etrex. You can always mark your truck or camp as a waypoint in a gps and get back to it eventually but more than likely you will be following a straight line gps (as the crow flies) way back. If you can plot gps coordinates such as Latitude and longitude on your topo map you will always know where you are at and what is the 'best' route back. If I am miles from my truck I usually locate an old logging road on my map and head for that especially if it is getting late.

My best advice is to know your area before starting out, if you are worried about getting lost in the woods then it will routine your hunt and trust your equipment. I got turned around once close to Mt Mooselauke in NH because I stayed in the woods to late following a deer that was always one step ahead of me. Luckily I had a small maglite and had to backtrack in the snow to where I had crossed an old logging road. I finally got back to my truck at around 9pm. I was pretty nervous but had matches for a fire if I needed it.

RE: Using maps, gps, etc. to find remote hunting spots
 

the Benoits are tracker, they never sit in stands or drive deer and they are even very successful tracking without snow. It is pretty hard to sum up their style of hunting except to say that they are true woodsmen and they consistantly year after year shot deer over 200lbs that they have tracked and not shot over bait or from a stand.

I really suggest if you are an avid whitetail deer hunter then read "Big bucks the benoit way". You can most likely order it used through amazon relatively cheaply.

RE: Using maps, gps, etc. to find remote hunting spots
 

The delorme atlas and gazeetter for each individual state runs about $20 and any good sporting good store should carry one. They show logging road, trails, elevations, streams, and what is accessible by truck and what isn't. You don't want to carry the whole atlas in the woods so photo copy your area on write in the rain paper and keep it with you. Also learn to plot your latitude and longitude. Latitude is north and south and longitude is east and west.. Also take a gps course but also carry a compass, using both of these together you will always know where your at and will never get lost.

And practice when you have free time. I bought my father an etrex last christmas and he loves it. His problem is that he sometimes forgets his glasses so he can't see the screen. Now he carries a cheap spare velcroed into his hunting jacket.

RE: Using maps, gps, etc. to find remote hunting spots
 

i actually just got back from barnes and noble and was looking at the gazeteer. It looks like its got a bit of a learning curve to know what's going on with it. It was kind of confusing because all of the roads are in red. Hiking trails are dotted as well as four wheeler trails as well as interstate 64.

RE: Using maps, gps, etc. to find remote hunting spots
 

Every hunter worth his salt should have maps of his hunting areas. I have maps of every square inch of ground I hunt. I hunt 100% public land and use the maps to find funnels and ridges that deer will use when pushed by the hunters that don't travel very far. I look at my maps all the time, I have a set in my house in my truck and at work, so if something pops into my head about an area I can check it out. I am always looking for something I may have missed before. I also use my GPS to track the trees I have setup in, when I get back I can upload the info to my PC and see on the map exactly where I was at.

Once you get good at reading topo's and picking out features on aerials you can almost pick out an exact spot without ever setting foot in the woods. There is still alot to be said for actual in the woods scouting. I personally like to scout this time of year, the leaves are off the trees and it is real easy to see major land features. You can also see trails, rubs and old scrapes very well, these will come in handy for the next year. It's a pretty good feeling when you find and area on the mapthat you thinkshould be a hot spot and then you go and kill in that spot.

RE: Using maps, gps, etc. to find remote hunting spots
 

If you're not very skilled at reading maps and using a compass you are foolish not to use a GPS. You can pick up a cheap one for $100, it may not have map software butit will at least get you back to your truck. Even using a GPS you need to keep in mind that it might stop working. I've never had this happen in the 5 yrs I've used one but you never know. If I was going in several miles I would carry a Topo map compass and a bunch of extra batteries, and something to start a fire. Also the Benoit books are outstanding. I learned a lot from "How to bag the biggest buck of your life". They started printing it again recently so you can get it cheap. The original first run books go for a couple hundred dollars. Good luck.

RE: Using maps, gps, etc. to find remote hunting spots
 

Mufan, reading topo maps can be relatively easy. I learned in the Army. There are good military manuals that can teach you. If I had not gotten out a little over a year ago, I would get you one. You could do a search on the internet to see if there are sellers of military manuals.
Always get on ground where you are debating/thinking about hunting as well in order to get the lay of the land. Terrain features change over time. Early spring time is the best time to scout, as once the snow clears, you have most of the deer sign left from the past fall.
Good luck and make it fun.