Garmin Astro GPS Dog Tracking System

If you are a bird hunter the GPS age has arrived with the new Gamin Astro 220 GPS dog tracking System. Now days most bird hunters have moved from using bells to beeper collars to keep track of their bird dogs. Whether you are hunting head high CRP chasing roosters or in dog hair aspen looking for timber doodles and grouse, knowing where your dog is and what it is doing is key to a successful day of bird hunting. The new beeper collars with their ability to keep you informed as to where your dog is but also when it is on point. There biggest drawback is the sound of the beeper. Some hunters especially those with hearing problems from a lifetime of shooting simply cannot hear the beeper well enough to locate their dogs. In addition some dog owners have become concerned about the possibility of damaging the dogs hearing from the loud sound of the beeper. These concerns have become mute if you use the new Garmin GPS dog tracking system.

The Garmin GPS dog tracking system comes in two parts. The collar unit is called a DC 20 VHF transmitter, it is slightly larger than an electronic training collar, but it can be attached to regular collar or it can be mounted on the dogs back using a harness. The unit has a small antenna that must remain relatively upright to assure good communication with the handheld GPS unit. Once the unit picks up the VHF and GPS signals it begins to tell you where your dog is on the compass page. This page displays a compass rose that show the direction and distance to your dog. Just like a beeper collar it tells you if your dog is hunting, on point or sitting but unlike the beeper collar there is no sound to irritate you and the dog. However, a good technique used by grouse hunters is to us a beeper collar set to only sound off when the dog is on point. This has two benefits first of which the sound of a hawk scream will freeze the bird and second when the GPS unit sounds the on point alarm it allows the hunter to holster his or her GPS unit and move in for the shot with both hands on his or her shotgun while know exactly where the dog is.

The Garmin GPS dog tracking system unit is really a modified standard Garmin model 60CSx. This allows the unit to act as an ordinary GPS mapping unit. This will allow you to basically focus on hunting your dog not worry where you are going. In addition if you are hunting a large piece of habitat the unit will tell you what part of the habitat you and your dog have and have not covered. The unit also allows you to set way points for your favorite bird covers, flushes or dog hazards. The unit also supports the Garmin topographical maps to help you plan your hunts. Included is an electronic compass and barometer/altimeter feature. It also supports standard SD data cards for loading additional mapping options. This new Garmin GPS dog tracking system has it all.

The only real drawback of the new Garmin Astro dog tracking system is its cost. At $600 dollars retail these new dog tracking units are beyond the budget of most bird hunters. If you hunt more than one dog and want an additional DC 20 collar unit it will cost you an additional $199.99 each. When you consider that a good quality beeper collar will cost less than $100.00 you can see why most bird hunters will continue to use it to keep track of their dogs. Hopefully the price of these new GPS units will come down over time. Let face it the new Garmin Astro GPS dog tracking system is everything a bird hunter could want for keep track of his dog in heavy cover.

James Kesel, MS is the publisher of Career in Dog Training website. Providing information on the Garmin GPS Dog Tracking System and dog training and dog training career opportunities.

GPS for Hunters

GPS navigation can be the difference between successful hunting and wandering aimlessly around in the woods. Mark the location of your deer blind, or find your way back to that great duck-hunting spot.

GPS as a planning and analysis tool

Use your GPS with topographical maps to make your scouting time more efficient. If you look on a map and notice possible deer funnel areas where ridges come together or a creek or river abuts a bluff you can mark the latitude and longitude as a waypoint and so you can find the spot quickly.

You may have a difficult time remembering all the places where you find buck scrapes, feeds, and beds. Build a database with a GPS receiver by making a waypoint for each, and naming them with a code you can understand (i.e. "S" for scrapes, "R" for rubs, "T" for tracks or "S" for sightings, etc). When you get home, record this information in a hunter's log or a computer program. As you study the data you'll begin to notice patterns that will tell you where and when you need to be for a successful hunt. For example, when you hunt for deer you can use your GPS receiver to mark the spot where you discover deer have fed. You can return to those same sites when you hunt next year and you'll probably find the deer feeding in about the same locations.

Safety
GPS is useful too because it allows you to safely and easily navigate your way back even if you get caught in bad weather and visibility is compromised.

Easily navigate back to base camp if you get separated from the rest of the group.

If you get in serious trouble, you can use a GPS unit to communicate your exact position to rescue teams.

How GPS Can Help When Hunting Deer and Elk

You've probably already heard that a GPS - Global Positioning System - unit can help your deer and elk hunting. Developed by the U.S. Department of Defense for military purposes, the technology has become increasingly available, and more affordable, too. The way they work is both simple and amazingly complex - the unit bounces a signal off of multiple satellites orbiting the Earth, factors in the location of the unit and - bingo - the location is found. The way they report the information varies, but the most common identify latitude and longitude.

A GPS unit can easily become a vital part of your hunting gear, helping you to calculate walking distance, find your way to hunting grounds with absolute precision, estimate the time it will take for you to reach a destination, and record the position of fresh deer and elk tracks so that you can return to them later. Many hunters who buy GPS units use them to map the area where they're hunting deer and elk. When out hunting, you can store the coordinates of significant features in the landscape - memorable rock formations, creeks, bends in trials, etc. - and then later use those coordinates to create a map either on paper or on the computer. You can then mark the spots on your map where you've seen signs of elk or deer - by comparing those sightings with the surrounding landscape, you should be able to get an idea of where deer and elk are most likely to show up.

Of course, you can also use your GPS to help you figure out where you are - we've all gotten lost, if only for a short while, when out hunting, and a GPS is a real help when that happens. If you've marked a waypoint on your GPS and designated it as "truck" or "camp," you can use your GPS's "go to" function to lead you back home. The same function comes in handy if you shoot an elk or deer and you're unable to move it by yourself - log the location as a waypoint, head back to get a couple of buddies, and you can find your way straight back to your kill. GPS can be used for tracking, too, if you shoot a buck and it takes off - mark a waypoint on your GPS for every place that you find blood, allowing you to get a bird's-eye view of which way the buck is headed.

While hardly a necessity, a GPS can be a great gadget to bring along next time you hunt elk or deer - just make sure to pack fresh alkaline batteries, because you never know when your GPS will run out of juice.

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Hunting With Satellites, It's Not Just Science Fiction!

GPS is a system that has been developed by U.S. Department of Defense. It can locate the position of any thing on the Earth to varying degrees of success! GPS is commonly used in your car, you'll be aware of it when it shouts at you for going the wrong way.

GPS works by using satellites to pinpoint your exact location. Using GPS you can get information about the location, nowadays GPS receivers are quite inexpensive, and you should be able to afford one. A GPS unit will show you the position in terms of longitudes and latitudes.

The GPS unit will help you in many ways on your hunting trip. You can find the position of deer or other animals on the hunting ground. You can also use it to locate the position of yourself, so you don't have to risk getting lost! You can even use your GPS to calculate the distance between these two places.

If you are locating different hunting spots then you can select the nearest one. The GPS unit is able to give you a list of detailed directions so you can get to your destination without losing your way. Your GPS can alert you to any landscape features, you can be aware of all the intimate details about this location.

The GPS is the most helpful when you go deeper and deeper into the wood in the search of the hunt and end up getting lost, you may be unable to retrace your footsteps. In that case, you can use your GPS like a state of the art compass! You can spot some vehicle or camp on your system and get back in that direction, eventually you should find where you are.

GPS is extremely useful when hunting, in fact it's very useful for any adventure. Next time, don't forget to include it when you go hunting.

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