2 in 1 question, GPS and Knife for a new hunter

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newshot

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Well, I took the hunter education course today and I can't wait to get out there. Having said that, I need a lot of stuff! I will be in and around Southern Ontario (around Nonquon for sure, and then finding other spots) after small game and eventually deer. I know about regs, seasons, bylaws etc.

I am looking for a gps that will get good reception and has good maps for the bush in Southern Ontario. Any recommendations? It definately needs to be able to track waypoints and store points in the memory. I will also have a compass and paper maps for backup.

I am also wondering if anyone can direct to a decent knife (under 100.00) sufficient for field dressing a deer.

I don't want to buy garbage and learn from my mistakes, so I am hoping I can learn from your experience cgn hunters!

Thanks :)
 
Dont know anything about gps, only use a compass and map.

Always bring two knives. a larger one for hacking things in camp and a smaller one about 4 inches for doing the finer things like gutting and skinning.

The larger knife if razor sharp can also cut the rib cage on a large deer, western style if thats what you do?

Ive always liked smaller knives, just my opinion.

Buck knives have worked great for me, if youre lucky you might find both sizes for around 100 bucks. Good luck...:)
 
Garmin has worked well for me. I just purchased a Garmin 550 X-over.
It has a SD card slot.
I also bought the BC Backroads Maps on a card and all I can say is it's great.
I have a Garmin Rino 120 and a 130. I bought the Topo Canada for them and they
are decent enough but the Backroads Map just made life a whole lot nicer. We do a fair
bit of back road exploring and with all the little lakes south of here, it's far easier to know
where I am out there. The Rino series has a radio function with the ability to find one another. All I can say is it's great to be able to know where your hunting partner or partners are if they all use the same unit. (s) Rino 110-120-130-520-530 all compatible.
The 5 series has the card slot to use these Backroad Map cards in. They are not limited to
B.C. either.
Study them some to learn the features.
There are forums out there that talk about all the different makes, models and plus and minuses of the different brands.
I do bring spare batteries and a compass just in case.
Cheers.
Looky.
 
Buy a Garmin GPS and a Mora (sometimes called Frost) knife. They are cheap, but supersharp and work really well. And, if you happen to loose one, you get a new one under $ 20.
 
Get a small knife for skinning, with a high carbon blade(maybe an Ontario pilots survival knife) and somthing big for hacking at bone, etc (tomahawk, hatchet, large bowie)
 
How useful is a GPS? I just spend lots of time in the bush, explore a little more each time I go out, make note of significant features, follow old fence lines/trails/creeks or the edge of swamps. Google maps is handy for getting a good idea of the general layout.
 
Radioworld will be at the Toronto Sportsmans Show in March and may ave some discounts. Lee Valley in Scarborough and the Canadian Outdoor Equipment Co in Missisauga carry nice Mora's for a decent price.
 
My Garmin GPS with the Quad Helic antenna will lock on satellites even when I'm in my basement , let alone tree branches over head.
I have had a Legend "C" and it was very good and now have the Garmin 60 CSX (quad Helic antenna) and I luv it ! I have the blue water maps and Topo Canada.

As a butcher by trade I have not seen a better knife for the money with regards to the steel or quality better than Gerber.

Their steel in my opinion is soft enough to be easily sharpened , yet tough enough to hold a edge. No matter what knife you buy I also feel the Lansky sharpener is a dandy set up ! I am a proficient knife sharpener with a common stone, due to the fact I have done it for a living , and can make the angles equal. But the Lansky is very good indeed.

EDIT: What tenexx said about Radio world. 5 min from Bass Pro Shoppe in Vaughan. They have the best prices of anyone and are very helpful. Ask for Paul or Dianne

Best of luck in your purchases
Be Safe out there !
 
Last edited:
diemaco said:
How useful is a GPS? I just spend lots of time in the bush, explore a little more each time I go out, make note of significant features, follow old fence lines/trails/creeks or the edge of swamps. Google maps is handy for getting a good idea of the general layout.
Click to expand...

If you can get them all figured out and get comfortable with them, they are
priceless. Speaking from experience, I got spun around in the bush a bunch of
hunting seasons ago while moose hunting in an area unfamiliar to me. I figured
if I stumbled on a moose it would be his lucky day. Took me a while to figure
out the way back to where I started. With a GPS, you can mark a way point at the beginning of your trail and on a kill site and find your way back to the site with out any problems.
Mine gives sunrise, sunset so no problem with legal shooting times. Gives elevation, moon phase and oodles of other useful stuff. Can send messages, pan the topo maps, the list is pretty long.
Each one has its own capabilities.
 
As a new hunter, you have long list of items to buy. You better identify your requirements and budget accordingly. It also depending on if you are hunting small or big games, day or over night trips...

If money is not too big of an issue, it is better to buy goods at the high end than to buy the cheap entry level products and upgrade in a year or so.

Spending money is always fun. Knowing the money is well spent is fun and satisfying. :)
 
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I appreciate it! The reason a GPS is first on my list is so that I can begin practicing with it, just going for hikes etc. It will also help me practice with a compass, as I will need to brush up on those skills. I need the knife early too because I like knives. :)

Danny Boy said:
As a new hunter, you have long list of items to buy. You better identify your requirements and budget accordingly. It also depending on if you are hunting small or big games, day or over night trips...

If money is not too big of an issue, it is better to buy goods at the high end than to buy the cheap entry level products and upgrade in a year or so.
Click to expand...

I could not agree more. Money is an issue, but I would rather spend $200.00 once then $50.00 10 times. "Spending money is always fun. Knowing the money is well spent is fun and satisfying." Very true words!
 
I just bought a Mora (5150 I beleive) anyways, the one with the red handle with finger gaurd off ebay, brand new for $12 shipped. I can't speak from experience, but 90% of the reviews from the people that HAVE and USE them are excellent. I just bought it to have a good cheap at a dirt cheap price. And as said above, if I lose it, I just buy another one. I have been using a Bear Mfg folding knife for 17 years, my pops gave it to mebefore my first hunt. In all honesty, I have taken care of it very well and it still functions and takes/keeps an edge as the day I got it. Very similar to a Buck knife, the perfect first knife in my opinion. Hell, unless I lose this bad boy, I will be taking it every hunt for the rest of my life.

As for gps, I have mixed feelings about them, but I am guessing it's because I have been dealing with shotty equipment. I bought a garmin etrex when they first came out. My hunting area is basically "fenced" in with trails so I will always eventually hit one and find my way out it I get turned around. But I bought this to mark tree stands, that part it did very well. However, for fun, I decided to use it to get from a stand to a trail, eventhough I knew which way to go, I wanted to check this new toy out. Now, I was in the bush, but never lost satelite reception and the unit kept saying it was accurate between 4 and 10'. It had my going east when I should have been going south. I followed it to it's waypoint and it was no where near where I was supposed to be. Havent used it since.

Again, I know gps have come a long way, but browse the forums, get reveiws of units that people have actually used in the bush, then buy according to what you can afford.

Good luck!
 
There are many good knives out there, and the Mora mentioned above has a stellar reputation for its price point. For less than 20 bucks you get a knife that will take some abuse. The folder by which all others are compared is the buck 110. Cabelas carries a really nice version with a S30V steel blade, which holds an edge amazingly well, but it's a little more pricey.

If I were looking for a GPS right now, I would look for a Garmin 60 or 76 series. They seem to be on sale in many places, I suspect it is the end of the line for them with something new in the pipe. They are excellent GPS units. I personally have the 76 CSX, and it takes all sorts of abuse as my regular hand held, and also when mounted to my KLR 8 1/2 months of the year when not being used in the bush. The thing even floats, and I've had it in the water on several occasions with no issues. The 60 will also float if you use the lithium batteries, they save you just enough weight to make the difference.

I would also encourage you to buy a decent compass and learn to use it. It requires no batteries and is usually dead reliable. Most Silva or Sunto compasses over 20-25 dollars are of good quality in my experience, and if you want the gold standard for bush compasses, the Silva Ranger can't be beat. The book Be Expert With Map and Compass has taught countless people the basics of land navigation. There are all sorts of tricks that you can use in the bush with a compass to get around, especially in hunting situations.

Just my $0.02
 
Thinking said:
There are many good knives out there, and the Mora mentioned above has a stellar reputation for its price point. For less than 20 bucks you get a knife that will take some abuse. The folder by which all others are compared is the buck 110. Cabelas carries a really nice version with a S30V steel blade, which holds an edge amazingly well, but it's a little more pricey.

If I were looking for a GPS right now, I would look for a Garmin 60 or 76 series. They seem to be on sale in many places, I suspect it is the end of the line for them with something new in the pipe. They are excellent GPS units. I personally have the 76 CSX, and it takes all sorts of abuse as my regular hand held, and also when mounted to my KLR 8 1/2 months of the year when not being used in the bush. The thing even floats, and I've had it in the water on several occasions with no issues. The 60 will also float if you use the lithium batteries, they save you just enough weight to make the difference.

I would also encourage you to buy a decent compass and learn to use it. It requires no batteries and is usually dead reliable. Most Silva or Sunto compasses over 20-25 dollars are of good quality in my experience, and if you want the gold standard for bush compasses, the Silva Ranger can't be beat. The book Be Expert With Map and Compass has taught countless people the basics of land navigation. There are all sorts of tricks that you can use in the bush with a compass to get around, especially in hunting situations.

Just my $0.02
Click to expand...

My only problem with the garmin 76s is the buttons are at the top. Its a small thing to complain about but your hand is in the way of the screen I felt as you were using the buttons. That is why I like the 60CSX line. I can use a map and compass fairly well. But I enjoy the outdoors more with a GPS. Alot of that could be because I use the water depth charts ice fishing and save good fishing way points. Also I can send info. To buddies where to fish , or where to meet me via phone text mess.
 
I resisted GPS for years. Being very fluent with the use of a map and compass, I never really bothered. Then, on a scout trip through SK (the Waterhen river system), we got in a tight spot. Reeds 8' tall, and the water was almost standing still. Buddy had a GPS and used it to quite easily get us out. My complaint with the GPS was that it was always 2-300m off of what I knew the map and the ground was telling me. I bought one, but threw it in a drawer since it wasn't anymore accurate than that, only using it for sunrise/set times during hunting.
I mean, I can nav to 50m, with just a map and compass, a GPS wasn't any good. Then I decided to take a class on it this year. Man! Was I impressed. REason it was always off, and most people do not know this, is because it reads info from 1984. Maps around here are from 1927 info. People don't convert their datum calculations. Now I know better and really enjoy my GPS for more than just sunrise/sunset times.
I have a Garmin Legend E-Trex, but recommend the HC.
You cannot go wrong with a Mora knife. I have LOTS of knives but went back to the Mora this year when I found someone selling then locally. I used it to completely process the deer. I highly recommend this knife, and a small folding bone saw (about 4-5" long) for cutting out the pelvic bone. Next year, I think I will take my camera out and video tape my method of gutting a deer. I have never seen it anywhere else and people I have shown it too are amazed.
 
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