Get Lost - With OnX
- daylelstahl
- Apr 8, 2019
- 4 min read
I get asked all the time from people who know how unforgiving the Breaks can be & especially from my girlfriends, "Dayle! How do you not get completely lost when you are wandering around the Breaks or the mountains looking for elk?" I always have two answers. One answer is I have an amazing guide and partner with me 99% of the time, my husband Eric. He has been blessed with the gift of location and direction. All he has to do is look at an area, a map, or his OnX Hunt App one time and he's got it memorized and knows exactly where he is at for the rest of his life, lucky little booger. I wish so much I had that gift, but sadly I wouldn't be able to find my way out of a wet paper sack if I needed to. So, the other answer is, "Thank the Good Lord for OnX Hunt App!" You can literally get lost outdoors but as long as you have OnX, you will be able to find your way home.
Let's be real. The best part of being out in the middle of nowhere is having no service, but it sure is nice to make it back to reality without getting lost. The GPS in your phone still works with OnX even when there is no service available (Don't forget to download your maps before you go). We always put our phone in airplane mode which saves the battery and still allows us to use the app. They also have chips for your GPS also which Eric has used for years prior to getting the app on his phone. He usually used the chip for landownership and tracking down who owns property he hunts whether it’s private or public. Ever since getting the App, the normal handheld GPS hardly gets used since your phone is so convenient and handy.
The OnX Hunt App tells me where I'm at in real time and helps me avoid making the mistake of ending up somewhere I'm not supposed to be. Eric and I archery hunt on public land, but we are often times surrounded by private land that we don't have permission to hunt on. Thankfully, OnX guides us away from making the detrimental mistake of shooting an elk that's off limits. As a respectful hunter and outdoorsperson that is not a mistake I'm willing to make. And honestly, if I didn't have access to OnX I would not be comfortable in unfamiliar territory with just me and my lousy sense of direction. It sure is nice to know you aren’t trespassing and risking ruining your time out in the field getting in trouble because you can’t tell boundaries without fence lines or you thought a certain section of land was public. Likewise it is nice to know where you can hunt that you never knew was public.
With millions of acres of private and public land recorded in their system I know that I can always be comfortable wherever I'm at knowing that I will make it back to camp and even more importantly home to my little girls. I'll be honest, after last archery season, I'd probably still be trying to find my way out of the mountains or Breaks today if I didn't have OnX. So if you're looking for a lifesaving product to add to your hunting and/or outdoor pack, the OnX Hunt App is a must have!
While OnX saves my butt in the field, it also helps a ton before hunting season ever begins by scouting. Scouting is a huge part of archery success, but with our busy schedules and our crazy little girls it's hard to make frequent scouting trips to our favorite hunting spots. So Eric uses OnX and its map overlays as a major tool to help us find "our honey hole" or what could be a great area for elk. The layers are great tools to help you search for elk. We all know the elk like to hang out where they have easy access to food, water, and cover from predators. We mark our waypoints we want to check out and then make a point to get to those places looking for signs of elk. Using these tools saves us a ton of time & energy. There are many features on the App including tracking your position so you can find your way back out and creating trails.
For the cost, OnX is one of the most helpful and inexpensive tools you can have for a successful hunt. There are plenty of gadgets out there you can spend a lot more money on that you will hardly if ever use, but I guarantee you will use the features that OnX provides! OnX can be used for lots of different purposes, not just for hunting. So if you are a realtor or just like to get out and explore – take a look at OnX and what they have to offer.
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