thanks for the advice guys!

[Bearhunter]

Dude save your money and spend it on a good pair of optics, which is the most important peice in your arsonal.  The 530hcx color screen burns batteries like no other, and it only has rechargleable packs which are like $60 buck a piece, I own one trust me I know your money is better spent else were.  I do like you but you have to use it realigously for it to pay off.  Compass is by far the best way to go.  Just get a Tom Tom for you truck, and spent the money on a pair of hiking boots

[luvtohnt]

Have you ever religiously used a GPS before? I thought I wanted one and bought the rhino 130, I think I have used it a total of about 4 times in the 3 years I have owned it. If you want a gps for navigation I would look at the smaller ones with color screen, and skip out on the built in radio feature. Because it eats batteries like no other. Back to the question at hand, Jack had good input batteies and a charger. I would definatly get a car charger and if it does not come with it I would get a pc conection so you can load your way-points on to your computer. Also they are hard to carry with out some kind of belt clip or case that can attatch to your pack.

Brandon

[backwoods_boy]

yeah apparently they made a huge overhaul of this one.
its ok, a gps is for some hunters and not for others

 

[backwoods_boy]

Dude save your money and spend it on a good pair of optics, which is the most important peice in your arsonal.  The 530hcx color screen burns batteries like no other, and it only has rechargleable packs which are like $60 buck a piece, I own one trust me I know your money is better spent else were.  I do like you but you have to use it realigously for it to pay off.  Compass is by far the best way to go.  Just get a Tom Tom for you truck, and spent the money on a pair of hiking boots

ha ha
hummm
i had a tom tom ha ha and it got stolen.
thanks for the words.

[Bearhunter]

If your hunting partner gets one you will always know where he is at, and then you will never fell lonely out there, and you could even vibrate him with the 530 if you felt like it, your right they are for some hunters and it sounds like you found the right model for you.  Shiet, Id probably leave that new cot of yours at home and just bring the LUV sac on your hunting trip.   You gonna have the new partner help pitch your tent for ya aswell?  SORRY CROIX

[backwoods_boy]

im glad you think you are funny 

[croix]

I've got the Rino 120 and hunt with a LOT of guys that have Rinos. I think that they are great. They absolutely go through some batteries, but with a car charger you can charge batteries every night.

I have seen the new 530 hcx (a hunting buddy of mine has three of them) track through very thick timber in deep ravines. Huge improvement over my 120. I also like the ability to send/receive positions, which you can't do with other handheld gps. It's really handy when your buddy has an animal down and wants help. All he has to do is mash a button and I have his position and can walk right to him.

I like to keep waypoints and tracks over a few days so that I can see what ground I've covered and where I am seeing consistent signs. Combined with the topo I can identify funnels and escape routes. I just think that they are way more than just a way out of the woods or something to keep you from getting lost.

Biggest drawbacks are cost and batteries, but I haven't personally met anybody that was unhappy with one.

Rick

[Crunchy]

The 530 battery pack will llast a day and a half maybe to.  I bought the extra battery pack for 40 bucks.  I hunt a lot of area that I am not always  100% familiar with.  With the Rino I dont have pay close attention to where the hell I am at.  I hunt until its dark, check Rino and it tells me shortest route to camp.  Some guys dont like them but I sure as heck do.  Beside group I hunt with uses them so we always drop one or two elk on opening day.  One guy heads to pack frames (hidden) can send GPS waypoint to where pack frames are at, and others to help skin, quarter and pack out.  Cant think of how many times I needed to find the closets road, or way point.

[M_ray]

Wow I am agreeing with Crunchy!!! Bone I'd have to say if you got lost its cause you didn't know how to use your GPS and if it didn't keep the signal it was a cheap one!!! I have the 530HCx and i find that the battery last a long time I'm not sure whats going on with some of your but I left it on in my pack and it was at 23% of life after being on over 30 hrs! I do carry a compass too and would use it if I had too but the 530HCx is more than just a Radio and Gps. I also find the maps and tracks to be useful during a hunt or scouting to see if there is an area that I haven't covered and I use it scouting to find the best roads and landings to get an animal to if needed. I have transferred data to mapsource on my PC to study the tracks and the terrain after hunts. But like crusty says when you want to get straight back to camp or to your partner you can do that really easy. I think most of the battery and transmition problems were with the first Generation rinos so I wouldn't personally buy anything other than a 530HCx ... I have no problems with keeping satellites locked on even inside my house.

[BK Dave]

 

I have had my 530Hcx for 2 years now, and have had No battery problems what so ever!! I would have to say, that after owning 3 gps's now the Garmin 530Hcx has got the Best battery life hands down.
As far as the satellite reception goes, you "can't beet it"!!! best Gps .
For those who venture off the road more than 50yrds, I recommend it

[bobcat]

I can't believe all the negative views of using a GPS unit for hunting/scouting. I can't imagine being without one. Mine saves me a lot of time in both hiking, and in driving. I can understand if you're the type of person who only hunts the same area year after year, then there wouldn't be as much need for a GPS. But I am always scouting and hunting new areas. Why not take advantage of the latest technology? I'm pretty sure I've saved enough in gas by having a GPS that the money I've saved has paid for it.

[Curly]

Bone I'd have to say if you got lost its cause you didn't know how to use your GPS and if it didn't keep the signal it was a cheap one!!!

Or maybe Bone tried one of the early ones....?  I used to use an old Eagle gps (about 12 years ago) and it could only lock onto 6 sat's at a time and there better not be any sort of tree cover.  And it weighed about 3 pounds..........       Oh, and the government used to scramble the sat signals due to security concerns, so if you used a gps more than about 8 years ago then they were only accurate to a couple hundred yards anyway.

[billythekidrock]

I can't believe all the negative views of using a GPS unit for hunting/scouting. I can't imagine being without one. Mine saves me a lot of time in both hiking, and in driving. I can understand if you're the type of person who only hunts the same area year after year, then there wouldn't be as much need for a GPS. But I am always scouting and hunting new areas. Why not take advantage of the latest technology? I'm pretty sure I've saved enough in gas by having a GPS that the money I've saved has paid for it.

I agree, not only do you learn new areas quicker,but I have also learned more about my local areas by using the gps. The "new area" learning curve is faster and it helps you remember those little spots you may forget.

I am always looking at my gps map software trying to find new ways in, patterns in my waypoints and learning state/fed vs private land.

[halflife65]

What Billy said...

I study my mapping software and figure out waypoints of where I want to be and put them in my GPS before I leave the house.  It's huge when you are looking to find land features that might be interesting and you're in the dark.

[WDFW-SUX]

If I was you id save my money and get some boots that are less gay