Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting
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Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting
It amazes me to see so many people on social media complaining about the maps on their mobile apps. They strictly rely on these apps. Maybe someday these apps will compete with Google earth or caltopo but until then, imo you have to use a desktop source to coincide with your mobile apps. The imagery, time feature and topo lines are far superior on the desktop. Transferring pins from desktop to your mobile app is extremely simple as well. Place the pins you want on Google earth in one folder, save as kmz, open OnX on your desktop, upload file, done.
- ThePreBanMan
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Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting
I completely agree. I find OnX to be woefully inadequate. In my area the resolution and image quality is awful, there are no property line information, the topo information is inaccurate and incomplete, and trail maps on WMAs are entirely missing and nonexistent. Withy OnX the more you zoom out the worse the view gets, denying you access to the complete picture. Meanwhile, Caltopo and/or Google Earth have all that information. The resolution on Google Earth is outstanding, plus being able to look at historical imagery is something completely missing from mobile apps. CalTopo's maps are exceedingly accurate and have much better resolution. If you're limiting yourself to the use of mobile apps alone when in the field, you're limiting yourself.
That said I do use my phone. But I use Google Maps. That because I can take a map from Google earth, with all my mark ups, etc, and export it to Google Maps making it accessible from my phone. That includes historical imagery, waypoints, trails that I may map out or trace from a cal topo overlay, etc... I can also export that info on to my Garmin GPS 64S.
I ran into a couple of guys in a WMA near my house last season... Just by chance - and their luck. They were lost and didn't know how to get out of the woods... I mean completely turned around. What were they relying on for navigation..... OnX and the GPS "compass" in their cell phones (which is complete garbage). I lead them out of the woods using my Garmin 64S. Showed them trail maps, topo maps, and the way out. They were completely amazed. None of that information was available in OnX. Plus the GPS "compass" on phones is junk. Because it uses GPS to determine your direction you need to walk in a straight line for a bit for it to get it's bearing. Hard to do through the woods when you have to navigate obstacles, etc. They couldn't get their bearings... Meanwhile, my GPS with a REAL magnetic compass, showed them the way.
I think they learned something that day.... I learned that lesson myself once. I was relying on an app (US Topo MAps Pro) which I think is vastly superior to OnX by the way, and much cheaper as it's a 1x expense of 10.00 just to buy the app. But I digress... Anyway, I got turned around just like they did trying to navigate out one night. The GPS compass couldn't get a bearing and it burned me around several times. But - I had old faithful on me..... a magnetic compass. That showed me the way home. I bought my Garmin that night and never looked back and I still carry a real compass....
That said I do use my phone. But I use Google Maps. That because I can take a map from Google earth, with all my mark ups, etc, and export it to Google Maps making it accessible from my phone. That includes historical imagery, waypoints, trails that I may map out or trace from a cal topo overlay, etc... I can also export that info on to my Garmin GPS 64S.
I ran into a couple of guys in a WMA near my house last season... Just by chance - and their luck. They were lost and didn't know how to get out of the woods... I mean completely turned around. What were they relying on for navigation..... OnX and the GPS "compass" in their cell phones (which is complete garbage). I lead them out of the woods using my Garmin 64S. Showed them trail maps, topo maps, and the way out. They were completely amazed. None of that information was available in OnX. Plus the GPS "compass" on phones is junk. Because it uses GPS to determine your direction you need to walk in a straight line for a bit for it to get it's bearing. Hard to do through the woods when you have to navigate obstacles, etc. They couldn't get their bearings... Meanwhile, my GPS with a REAL magnetic compass, showed them the way.
I think they learned something that day.... I learned that lesson myself once. I was relying on an app (US Topo MAps Pro) which I think is vastly superior to OnX by the way, and much cheaper as it's a 1x expense of 10.00 just to buy the app. But I digress... Anyway, I got turned around just like they did trying to navigate out one night. The GPS compass couldn't get a bearing and it burned me around several times. But - I had old faithful on me..... a magnetic compass. That showed me the way home. I bought my Garmin that night and never looked back and I still carry a real compass....
- stash59
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Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting
Just got my 1st smart phone don't have a map app on it yet. But I have looked at maps/aerials on other peoples phones. And I agree. The small screens and zoom capabilities. Just don't show enough detail, IMHO. Plus don't most phone apps only have 1 year/season available. Being able to go back in time on GE. Has shown me land/terrain features that can't be seen on pics from other later years. Studying known tree species from a known area, in different seasons. Gives me a good idea what tree species exist on chunks I've never stepped on. Especially if aerials from multiple seasons are available for this new area.
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Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting
I agree. You can see trails, guesstimate tree height and tell how thick the brush is on google earth. You can even see fences. OnX is terrible at best for judging the terrain, woods and details. It’s only good use to me it being able to tell where the line is. And marking spots I want to scout in person. I use 2 monitors and have onX on one and google earth on the other. Sometime I I split screen and have historical wind direction pulled up.
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Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting
ThePreBanMan wrote:That said I do use my phone. But I use Google Maps. That because I can take a map from Google earth, with all my mark ups, etc, and export it to Google Maps making it accessible from my phone.
PreBan, I would love to here more detail on how you are doing this.
I also am of the opinion that desktop/laptop cyber scouting is superior to small screen cyber scouting. Sites like Caltopo and Google Earth allow the user to overlay information on maps and save it in a format that can be transferred to small screen (GPS/phone) via KMZ files. Caltopo is great for easily making topo maps in KMZ format that can be viewed on phone or GPS. GE is great for it's ability to add an overlay of ANY aerial, from ANY source, and convert it into a KMZ file so it can be viewed on small screen. Or, that aerial can just be viewed in GE with all the waypoints, tracks, trails, stand sites etc that you have found. Having that layered information with you in the field is huge.
Example.....
I hunt a 5 square mile area in the north woods every year during early November. Last year I discovered some recently taken aerials on the county GIS site that were taken in late October. They clearly showed most trees had dropped their leaves, but the red oaks were still holding! It was simple to see all the oaks (even to this colorblind hunter). I spent most of a Saturday afternoon piecing together a 5 square mile collage of screen shots of the oaks. I then transferred this to GE via multiple overlays. Then I circled lines around all the oak patches. These circled areas can now be overlayed over any aerial on GE. Or, transferred to a GPS/phone for field use.
Here is a picture of some oaks visible on the county GIS picture, this shows a 4 acre clump of oaks....exactly what I as looking for....isolated oaks!
https://i.postimg.cc/tT2ffbb9/Oaks-18.jpg
Here is a picture of the same area in a typical no leaf GE aerial
https://i.postimg.cc/WpYCwsSn/IR-15.jpg
Here is a picture of the same spot overlayed on a LiDAR topo view (thanks to GE). Notice it clearly shows an old logging trail right next to the oaks. I almost killed a huge northwoods buck last year running along that trail and the actively dropping oaks. He was 12 yards away yet I couldn't get a shot. DAH! I had never been to this spot before, but scouted my way in towards the oaks and set up where I saw some active acorn feeding. The old logging trail was simply a bonus that helped define his travels.
https://i.postimg.cc/JzY59hD6/LiDAR.jpg
All of the photos shown here were "custom maps" on my Garmin GPS with oaks clumps outlined in white (thanks GE) . I was scouting isolated oak areas that appeared active and then setting up to hunt. GE and the ability to overlay info and transfer that to my Garmin had me in bucks all week on that hunt. I hit and did not recover an 8 pt buck (3.5yr old?) on my last evening using the exact same strategy.
- ThePreBanMan
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Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting
KLEMZ wrote:ThePreBanMan wrote:That said I do use my phone. But I use Google Maps. That because I can take a map from Google earth, with all my mark ups, etc, and export it to Google Maps making it accessible from my phone.
PreBan, I would love to here more detail on how you are doing this.
It's pretty simple actually. Export an overlay from Google earth to a KMZ file and then upload it to a folder on your Google Drive. It will now be accessible in Google Maps on your phone under the My Maps section. It will have all your mark ups on it, etc that existed at the time you exported the overlay.
- Dewey
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Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting
How on earth did anybody ever kill bucks without mobile apps or cyber scouting from home? I actually miss the days of paper maps.
- PK_
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Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting
I am honestly real surprised at what I am reading. I haven’t looked at a map on a computer screen in many years.
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- justdirtyfun
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Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting
PK_ wrote:I am honestly real surprised at what I am reading. I haven’t looked at a map on a computer screen in many years.
I am surprised you don't do e-scouting. If I read this right.
You leave FL to go hill hunting and do VERY WELL. Guys that can do that usually have time behind a PC to prep and break down an area. Will you try upping your game with some info here?
You don't have to be the best, just do your best.
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Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting
PK_ wrote:I am honestly real surprised at what I am reading. I haven’t looked at a map on a computer screen in many years.
I am honestly really surprised that you don't do even a little with your out of state trips. Props to you sir!
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Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting
Dewey wrote:How on earth did anybody ever kill bucks without mobile apps or cyber scouting from home? I actually miss the days of paper maps.
What's a paper map? Is that something that Dunder & Mifflin made?
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Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting
tbunao wrote:Dewey wrote:How on earth did anybody ever kill bucks without mobile apps or cyber scouting from home? I actually miss the days of paper maps.
What's a paper map? Is that something that Dunder & Mifflin made?
Had to look that one up. I never watched The Office.
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Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting
Dewey wrote:How on earth did anybody ever kill bucks without mobile apps or cyber scouting from home? I actually miss the days of paper maps.
I'm still rocking old school maps and compass, don't use the app stuff at all.
I get a new areial photo map every year, that has property line and topo overlayed on it. Good compass and away I go.
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Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting
Dewey wrote:How on earth did anybody ever kill bucks without mobile apps or cyber scouting from home? I actually miss the days of paper maps.
Says the guy obsessed with onx and has a whole pile of cell cams
I love digital scouting....cuts down on legwork and makes me more efficient.
- Dewey
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Re: Imo you can't just use mobile apps for e-scouting
Jackson Marsh wrote:Dewey wrote:How on earth did anybody ever kill bucks without mobile apps or cyber scouting from home? I actually miss the days of paper maps.
Says the guy obsessed with onx and has a whole pile of cell cams
I love digital scouting....cuts down on legwork and makes me more efficient.
I use it all but killed plenty of deer without it years ago. Feels good to pull out the old paper topos and aerials from time to time just to remember the older simpler times. Since I have been using OnX on my phone I haven’t killed a buck. So much for it being an advantage and finding the magic pixie dust.
Honestly Onx is pretty flaky lately and not real happy with it. My current position has been floating around a lot and doesn’t want to stabilize. Also marked waypoints are not always exactly where they should be. Not sure what happened but Onx seems to have slipped lately. I agree that the aerial map resolution could be much better. If I need detail I log onto different mapping options.
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