kenman

Just read through statjunks thread about his gps woes last night. My question is this...if you carry a compass into the woods with you, you track a deer you hit a ways, how do you find your way out (in the dark) with a compass? Without a map and being able to recognize terrain features in the dark to triangulate your position, how do you know which bearing to take to find your way out???

I use my compass in conjunction withmy gps. My gps gives me a bearing tothe waypoint I want to go to from my location, Ithen use my compass to follow that bearing.

statjunk

I'd like to see some answers to this post. In my case I was only about 500-600 yardsaway from camp. So I could have just walked in the correct direction and eventually I would have hit home. What happens when you are further and take many more turns.

Tom

Jimimac

Under the conditions you describe with it being dark and no landmarks I would navigate based upon my parking spot or some other known location. If I'm parked along an east/west running road and hunting north of it, I would travel south. Chances are you won't come out exactly where you expected, but once back to the road it's pretty straight forward.

In the days before GPS, I did this many times scouting a new piece of land to hunt.I would determine the general direction a road runs prior to entering the woods to get a feel for my location. I would then spin the compass to the bearing I decided to travel. When it was time to exit the woods, allI did wascome out 180 degrees from the bearing I took on the way in. I didn't always end up back at my exact starting point, but I always got out and never got lost that way.

I'm no expert, but this worked for me many times.

Wheatley

I usually can find my way back to my truck without a compass. I have tracked elk for miles and miles and then just walked the direction I knew there was a road and eventually found it and then followed the road. Look at the moon/stars they will also give you a clue.

TeeJay

If you are west of the road, river, poer line, or whatever. With a Bic lighter or flashlight and my compass I go East. Its a matter of time before you are out. Leave the gps at home!

kenman

Leave the gps at home??? If I'm west of a known landmark (road, power line, etc) then by looking at my compass I know I need to go east. Going east isn't gonna put me back at my truck...it could put me on that road or power line a mile or more from my truck.That would suck the hind teat dragging adeer.

With the gps I know the bearing, I can shoot that bearing with a compass, and get the most direct line to my truck.

TeeJay

What I was refering to is if you had to choose between one or the other. With a compass I can head into the woods a mile and come out in unfamiliar ground, and ill bet I am within a 100 yds of my truck.

muslmutt

I carry a gps, compass, and a 7.5 minute usgs topo map in big areas of national forrest etc. where you could walk for days without crossing a road.I use the gps to plot my position on the map. This way I can double check the bearing given by the gps and get a look at the big picture of where I am. Often there is an easier way out is found this way. Seems like if you have one of those new gps units with the topos and roads in it you could do away with the map.My gps also requires you to be moving at least 1 or 2 miles an hour to do anything more than give a bearing and position. This can be hard to do while dragging a deer inthe Ozark Mtns. Sometimes I carry just a compass in small areas (farms etc..). Always at least a compass, good flashlight and extra batteries. BTW I teach orienteering.

kenman

I've won several orienteering contests in theMarine Corps andin the civilian world. That being said, when I go into the woods I don't write down bearing and how many paces I take in that direction before I travel in a new direction so I can make a back azimuth to find my way out. I was just wondering how people that are quick to downplay a gps unit and bring only a compass into the woods actually use that compass to find their way home.

In the service I have seen people that were competent with map and compass be just a couple of degrees off on one of the legs of their course end up "off the target" by almost a quarter mile.

Bulzeye

I generally use a GPS to mark locations like the car, key features and landmarks, possible stand locations,start of a blood trail, and that kind of thing. When I want to get to one of these places, I consult the GPS to tell me which way to go, and then glance at the compass to see which way to walk to follow that bearing.

I pick a distant landmark along the intended path, and put the compass away until I get there. By picking a distant landmark, I can veer all over the place avoiding obstacles and taking the easiest path, but I know that as long as I get to that landmark, I'm still headed in the right direction. When I get there, I recheck the GPS and compass, pick a new landmark and repeat as necessary.