map and compass

[bassmaster99]

i was wondering if anyone knew of some advanced map and compass classes. i know the basics, but i want to get better and learn more to be 100% confident in the woods.

[Alex D. Large]

My advice would be to get a GPS and learn how to use it. If you haven't already. That combined with a few satellite photo's printed from google earth. I purchased GPS ~ 10 years ago and haven't looked back. I upgraded this season to the new garmin etrex 20x. Great upgrade, I can walk around with it in my pocket and it still tracks the satellites. I make tracks of all the roads close to where I hunt so if I go in the woods after a buck late afternoon I can find the nearest road when the sun sets. Same thing for the drag out, find closest road. Mark way-points for downed game, trail cams, deer trails, fishing holes.
Map and compass still have their place, I have one of each in the truck and a compass in my back pack in case the GPS fails or runs out of battery.
I sat in on the hunters safety course last year and they only had the basics as well. Look around in your area for adult ed courses maybe. Unless you take a full blown aerial photo & mapping course, I'm not sure who would offer advanced mapping classes. I took aerial photo & mapping along with surveying back in the '90's when GPS was new to the scene and GPS will blow away anyone with great mapping/compass skills. I don't worry where I am in the woods anytime. That's 100% confident.

[Lobsterman]

you can take a class through LL Bean at the discovery school,when i was taking my guiding test i went there and picked up a great class and i wouldn't rely on a gps maps and compasses always work.

[Hell Fish]

Appalachian Mountain Club offers a Wilderness Navigation course exclusively with map and compass at Pinkham Notch NH. I took it a couple weeks ago and learned a lot. We did some off trail bushwacking as well and the scenery was phenomenal. I will be taking the APC's Off-trail wilderness nav course in October. We will be hiking up a trailless mountain in NH. It didn't look like Beans was offering their map and compass class any time soon as no dates were listed.

[Lobsterman]

Appalachian Mountain Club offers a Wilderness Navigation course exclusively with map and compass at Pinkham Notch NH. I took it a couple weeks ago and learned a lot. We did some off trail bushwacking as well and the scenery was phenomenal. I will be taking the APC's Off-trail wilderness nav course in October. We will be hiking up a trailless mountain in NH. It didn't look like Beans was offering their map and compass class any time soon as no dates were listed.

           the class i took at beans wasnt really offered but they put one together for me i would bet they would do it

[rude the dude]

Gps is a great tool .  But you have to always have a compass and know how to use it. Battery's die. And they can get lost . also you need a compass to orientate  your  gps.  There is information you can search online. And teach yourself. practice  when your in woods  you know.  Always take  a bearing when you start in . 

[Alex D. Large]

It surprises me to hear how little people know about GPS and how to use them. If you know the compass basics, don't waste your time... get a GPS and by all means READ THE MANUAL. Don't have to orientate anything, make tracks or mark waypoint and go to it. Imagine finding your big buck dead with 10 minutes of light left and you're a few miles in. Mark it as a waypoint, go get help cause a 225# deer is a lot to drag for 1 person, then make your way back to the waypoint in the dark. It would take a highly skilled mapper with a map and compass to mark the downed game and be able to get back there in the dark in a reasonable amount of time. In comparison, a compass is like rubbing 2 sticks together while a GPS is like having a bic lighter.

[cjg]

It surprises me to hear how little people know about GPS and how to use them.

I know. I don't get it either. I've been using GPS for years and they have never failed me. How hard is it to replace the batteries when they're weak? If you're that worried carry a couple spares. I wouldn't want to go without a GPS just for the reasons you mentioned. I don't walk around staring at it all day, some days I never even look at it, but I have it if I need it and a compass.
They can be handy for following wounded game too.

[swnoel]

I have 2 gps and a handfull of compasses! While I yet have had  my gps fail me, neither has my compass. To be without either if pure foolishness, especially where the US Department of Defense can shut it down whenever they wish. Can't do that with earth magnetism!  Come on now guys, there nothing wrong with learning how to use a simple compass, it could save yours or someone else's life.

[Step2Jimi]

I hunt in glenville and in Steuben county. I know those properties enough that i have never carried a gps or compass. I don't think that's foolish. I just don't hunt woods big enough to need one. Some day I'm sure ill hunt the dacks or go out west or something where ill need them. Fortunately i learned how to read a map and compass when i was young and I'm young enough to understand todays technology.