Whether the country hunted is close to a road or several days hiking distant, knowing how to get into, around, and out of that country makes a big difference in the quality of the hunt, in an emergency can be lifesaving. I spend quite a bit of time between my old paper topos, Google Maps, maps offered by the Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management, and National geographic where they are available.
Going into roadless tracts of country, where most other hunters are not found, and returning requires a little navigational knowledge. I always start with the Forest Service or BLM (Bureau of Land Management), or a National Geographic map. Some forest Service maps show topography, and the BLM maps generally do as well; however, the scales are generally really big and only the main topographical features are discernable. With these two options in particular, the addition of a 7.5-minute topo map adds much needed detail. On the NatGeo maps, the focus is upon a specific area of interest, so they generally include the road and trail numbers, they still aren’t as precise as a 7.5 minute map, but are an asset when getting into and out of country.
My next piece is a GPS, Delorme and Garmin are both making good units that work well and are easy to use. I prefer units that show the topography, which speeds the navigation process. There are several ways to input data, most are preset to degrees, minutes, seconds, but UTMs which were developed for military use, are easier to use and transfer points between the unit and the map. The only downside to UTMs is that most maps only have notations for UTMs, and the user has to connect the dots and place the grid on their own map.
The New eTrex 30 from Garmin goes one step further, by ranging a desired point (like a big buck or bull laying in his day bed) and pointing the GPS at him, the unit actually logs that point. This means that a roundabout stalk is more doable than ever, and on a bigger scheme. it also has the ability to send map data to another GPS and share points with your hunting partner.
The other piece I like to add into the equation is a compass. While many among us are starting to think of them as archaic, they offer unbelievable precision, require no batteries, and when used right, they can always tell you precisely where you are. There are tons of books on map and compass work, and most are good resources to get you started off right.
