Maps

mkelley12

FNG
Joined
Jan 15, 2017
Messages
64
Location
Michigan
What does everyone do for Maps while in the field and for scouting from home. I am planning my first elk hunt and will be hunting unit 71 in Colorado.

I have been using google earth and Colorado's Hunt atlas but I would also like to have something printed while in the filed. I will probably be getting the onXmaps for my GPS just have not purchased them yet.

Be great to have a map that shows public land, Trails and roads. I find my self switching back and forth a lot between maps. Not sure if anything out there offers that.

Thanks
 
Joined
Dec 27, 2012
Messages
4,810
Location
Colorado
I use DIY hunting maps, they show GMU boundries, old roads and whether or not they are usable. I picked on up at the Tru-Value in my town, for about $13. I also downloaded NATGEO maps, they come in sets of five, and cover a pretty broad area. They have both UTM and LAT/LONG coordinates on them and print in 8.5"x11" size so you can put them in a document protector. Below are some of the map sites I use:

digital-topo-maps.com

hillmap.com

natgeomaps.com

I hope these can help you out.
 
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
7,391
Location
Chugiak, Alaska
I probably over think/research my hunts, and I have always enjoyed looking at maps, so when preparing for an up coming hunt I start researching it months in advance. Google Earth, Avenza Maps app on my phone, onXmaps on my GPS, and then the last couple years I've been custom making my own topo's on MyTopo.com.
I just received my lastest MyTopo map a few days ago for my next planned goat hunt that won't happen until Oct. That, coupled with talking to the biologists in the area, and anyone else who my have hunted the area, I try and come up with a visual of exactly where the goats will be in a particular area and then plan my potential stalking options. It might sound kind of jumping the gun a bit with trying to predict where the goats will be, but, I think once you learn a particular species' patterning, like what types of terrain they tend to sleep, feed, etc. in, then you match that info up with the topo's and the info that the bio provides, and you might be surprised at how accurate your predictions can be.


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TJ

WKR
Joined
Feb 25, 2012
Messages
689
Location
N.E Oregon
I'm a fan of mytopo.com

They have excellent service, easily create your own custom maps etc.
 

as.ks.ak

WKR
Joined
Aug 22, 2015
Messages
722
Location
AK
I probably over think/research my hunts, and I have always enjoyed looking at maps, so when preparing for an up coming hunt I start researching it months in advance. Google Earth, Avenza Maps app on my phone, onXmaps on my GPS, and then the last couple years I've been custom making my own topo's on MyTopo.com.
I just received my lastest MyTopo map a few days ago for my next planned goat hunt that won't happen until Oct. That, coupled with talking to the biologists in the area, and anyone else who my have hunted the area, I try and come up with a visual of exactly where the goats will be in a particular area and then plan my potential stalking options. It might sound kind of jumping the gun a bit with trying to predict where the goats will be, but, I think once you learn a particular species' patterning, like what types of terrain they tend to sleep, feed, etc. in, then you match that info up with the topo's and the info that the bio provides, and you might be surprised at how accurate your predictions can be.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Gonna pretty much echo everything troutbum said...I just got my MyTopo maps in for my draw sheep hunt in August. Sending one copy along with a dry erase marker to a buddy who can fly the area for me all summer and take notes. I already have my copy pinned up on a cork board to start studying, it sure makes a difference to me when I have an idea where all the little shelfs and saddles are. Helps make the route panning and anticipating where you may stumble onto animals easier and more accurate. Annnnd using that GPS less is always nice!


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Ty619

FNG
Joined
Dec 2, 2016
Messages
87
Location
Lakeside
Give Ed a shout at gameplannermaps.com... Ed is the man. I've used all the above and IMO game planner is a far superior product... you won't regret it.
 

Rs3003

WKR
Joined
Jan 8, 2015
Messages
397
Location
SW PA
I use mytopo and hillmap. Hill map is pretty neat. Topo and satellite side x side.
 

FlyGuy

WKR
Joined
Aug 13, 2016
Messages
2,087
Location
The Woodlands, TX
I kind of obsess over maps. I find I can stare at a map of my hunt area for hours working out strategies, etc. I've ordered from Mytopo and they are great. I got a large one though and found it was great to use back at camp (working on plan B, or C) but too big to fold/unfold in the field. Probably should have cut it into smaller sections. I've also used OnX maps for years, but 2017 will be my first time using their GPS chip. I also like Gaia, but I don't trust my phone's battery life enough to to rely on it solo. I'm going to check out some of the map sources above, but I've become a real fan of Caltopo. For my last few trips I just printed off 8.5x11 map views on my home computer (free). I usually do one view with imagery/topo lines, and then the exact same view with just the slope/terrain features. Then I laminate them back to back so I can easily flip back and forth. Light, fits in my pocket easily, and doesn't make a bunch of noise when I unfold it. I also find that it helps to pull up the USFS map view and trace out all of the trails, FS roads, etc. Caltopo has a cool feature that makes this quite easy to do. Then when you change the baseman to a more 3 demensional view all of those features you traced will still be visible.
 

kjack_74

FNG
Joined
Dec 12, 2016
Messages
65
Location
Burns, Or
The OnXmaps phone app, specifically the download maps I make have become invaluable to me I used to use my GPS and a map in combination, the GPS to pinpoint location and the map to plan out moves, or plan the next hunt, or on and on and on ... OnXmaps does both those things and now my pack is lighter and my phone (which was coming anyway) serves multiple purposes.

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cnelk

WKR
Joined
Mar 1, 2012
Messages
6,799
Location
Colorado
Toprut.com

Has just about everything you need.

Download you hunting area and you can overlay topo into GE, see Wilderness, NF, BLM, Private, MVUM

Free
 

xziang

WKR
Joined
Oct 8, 2014
Messages
759
Location
Nebraska
2nd for mytopo.. Also on google earth cut and 'paste' certain areas into 'paint' on your PC and then print them out that way.

Also put labels on the 'paint' version along with certain key points with the GPS coordinates on them too. This way you will KNOW what you are looking at when you have 10 of them in your backpack and can also put the gps coordinates in your GPS if needed too. (otherwise they have the potential to all run together)

Other sites:
Hillmap - Backcountry Maps for the Obsessed

Also get the forest maps too: Access Denied
 

zman

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
214
Location
New Jersey
I buy the National Geographic old school paper maps. Good bathroom reading. Put in in the john a few months before your hunt and you'll know the area pretty well by hunt time...
 
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