Hunting Maps

[Game Planner Maps]

Greetings Wapiti talkers,

I've been busy publishing lots of new maps for the Avenza Maps app. I encourage you to consider one If you need a map for your mobile device.
Maps feature:
1. USGS Topographic base map.
2. Roads and trails
3. Surface Ownership
4. Surface water, Springs/Seeps, Water catchments
5. Unit Boundary and Wilderness areas
The Avenza app and maps makes it very easy to move data between google earth and your mobile device. The app is free, the maps are only $12, and there is no subscription.
I just started publishing maps for Idaho and hope to have most of the unit available in a few weeks. Next up will be Oregon and Washington. I've also added about 30 maps for Wyoming antelope, numerous units in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Montana, and Wyoming Elk.

You can browse all my Avenza maps here: https://www.avenzamaps.com/vendor/1245/ ... anner-maps

FYI, Now is the time to act if your thinking about ordering a custom map. Lead times will be increasing as we enter into August and I have a busy schedule of hunts from mid September to early November.

Thanks to all for your support. Please email me if you have any questions ed@gameplannermaps.com

-Ed

[Swede]

I just came back from my week long scouting trip. While out scouting and looking for new places to hunt, I found my GPM to be excellent. My grandson and I could assess a lot of area quickly with these maps, and determine the best way to get around much better than with the old maps I have. Roads and other features are up to date and it is easy to locate. Another feature I like is that the map is as good now as it was when I first got it. Most paper maps would be taped together and details lost.
You can get a Malwart paper map a lot cheaper, but at the end of the day you are still dealing with a paper map. I do think the Malwart map would make a better fire starter.

[RobinHood]

Speaking as someone who has been around the Montana mapping community for a long time, there are a lot of good sources of digital and paper geographic representations available, some free and some for a nominal cost. Montana is unique in the sense that there’s a state agency (State Library) that collects digital geographic data from across the state (e.g., Property Ownership data - http://svc.mt.gov/msl/mtcadastral/). They’re also a source of digital USGS Topo and Aerial data. I’m sure many of you are familiar with the onX Hunt (https://www.onxmaps.com/) program for Garmin GPS units. For Montana much of their Cadastral data comes from the State Library. The third program I use for “desktop scouting” is ExpertGPS (https://www.expertgps.com/default.asp). It has both topo and aerial data, allowing me to mark potential hunting spots and transferred them to/from my GPS. I can also print out a hardcopy map if I think I need one (e.g., backup to an electronic device that could fail).

I’m sure other states have some collection of digital geographic data that is accessible to the general public and onX Hunt has GPS programs for most states, especially for the western US. Also, don’t overlook the local government for the area you’re interested in, many have excellent county level digital mapping information available to the public. Finally, the USGS provides topo and updated aerial data for every state.

RobinHood.................

[Swede]

I recognize I can get Forest Service and other maps significantly cheaper. All are on junk paper and to the scale they offer. Some are large and some are small. The GPMs are more at a scale I want, cover the exact area I ask for, and they show the details I agreed to. They are made to order. They are also waterproof and very durable.
I agree that if you are pinching every penny so you can go hunt, you might not want to spend your last unattached dollar on a GPM, but if you want a quality map that you can write on, and one that will last for many years, I would consider them an investment. I am sure the GPM will outlast a half dozen of the latest coarse paper F.S. maps, and the F.S. doesn't supply you with the scotch tape required to keep the ones they sell together. Plus that, they are not using write-in the-rain paper.