October SettersWe toyed with the idea of getting gps collars for years but never followed through. Now that we’re using them I thought sharing our experience might be useful for others who are considering it.
OLD EARS
Neither of us can hear as well as we used to and that’s what led to our first purchase. We’ve used beepers to keep track of the dogs for a long time but Lisa always struggled to figure out the direction. Then a few years ago in Wisconsin she was getting frustrated as direction became harder to identify. One day Prince pointed a Grouse and, despite being able to hear the beeper well, she had no idea where it was coming from.
That was the last straw. It had gotten to the point where hunting was no longer fun and that’s just not acceptable. Enter the Garmin Pro 550+. Lisa encouraged me to get one for myself but I resisted the temptation for a couple years – until I had an experience that kind of forced my hand.
I was out with Dusty when she went out of sight on top of a ridge. I could’t hear the beeper and she stayed out of sight for too long so I went up to see what she was doing. I still couldn’t see her or hear the beeper. Then I heard a faint beep and eventually saw her 600 yards out (I obtained the distance from Google Earth) running full speed down a ridge away from me. We use the tone on the e-collar for “come” so I pressed the button. She usually responds to this but she kept running so I shocked her and she immediately turned and came straight back to me.
Here’s what happened. There’s a rifle range about two miles down the canyon we were hunting and someone started shooting there. She heard the shooting and headed towards it, presumably to find the birds they were shooting. That was a freak situation but it really scared me. No one wants to lose a dog, especially in that remote country where they could run for days without coming to a road or ranch.
I’m as stubborn as any mule when it comes to change – I still use a flip phone – and I have no interest in spending my hunts watching a screen like it’s a video game. But fear is a great motivator so I got my own Garmin Pro 550+.
Jason Gooding recommended that model for its simplicity and it was definitely the right choice for us. Neither of us have any desire to learn how to use the more advanced features – we just want to know where the dog is.
GAME CHANGER
It’s hard to imagine how much of a game changer this has been, for both of us. It’s one of those things you do and immediately realize you should have done it a long time ago.
The transmitter isn’t much bigger than the one I was already carrying. It has a small screen that displays an arrow pointing to the dog and the distance in yards. It also notifies you when the dog is stopped and (theoretically) on point. My eyes aren’t any better than my ears but I can easily read the display without using glasses. I carry it hanging down in front of me and it’s simple to lift it and glance at the display.
PEACE OF MIND
What’s most important is the peace of mind that using GPS collars brought to our hunting. If a dog gets turned around, chases a deer, dense fog rolls in, or any number of other things that could result in getting lost we now have a way to find them. While it may never happen we don’t have to worry about it as much as we used to.
In addition to that expected benefit I’ve been surprised how much I end up using the gps. It tells me exactly how far the dog is so we can now accurately describe their range. We often hunt in rugged terrain and/or thick cover, so the beeper can be hard to hear – even at very close range. Wind complicates it further by making it harder to guesstimate the distance – depending which way it’s blowing the beeper can sound further, or closer, than it is. Now I find myself regularly glancing at the transmitter to confirm the dog is just out of sight hunting normally and not doing something I need to worry about.
If you’re on the fence about getting a GPS collar you should probably pull the trigger and get one – I think you’ll be glad you did. It has certainly taken much of the stress out of our hunts and made it much easier to just enjoy being out with the dogs.
Cliff
GPS collars are game changers these days, for the dog owner and the dogs. Garmin products in particular are very user friendly and have feaures to make hunting experiences more enjoyable. Battery life is awesome and units are extremely reliable. Thanks for sharing your story.
Great topic. I also agree, and have the same problem; not being able to determine direction of sound. I bought a Garmin Alpha unit which addresses my hearing problem well enough but as you suggest the extra features get in the way. The 550 handheld device was recommended to me on a stop at Lion Country Supply earlier this month and I will probably get my credit card out of the holster on that account. The transition from a bell or beeper can be a struggle. With those, we have a continuous stream of information we process automatically as we go through the cover. The GPS device tends to suck our attention off what we are doing and onto a screen. Simplicity is key. Learn to look quickly and sparingly at the receiver, so we can keep the joy of the day forefront and the instant gratification of control in check.
JC,
Your experience suggests our decision to keep it simple was a good one. One clarification – we still run the dogs with beepers so there wasn’t any transition. I still use my ears to keep track of what’s going on and the GPS is more of a backup when I can’t hear the beeper. It’s still surprising how much you can tell about what the dog is doing just from the sound of the beeper. Even though direction can be tough to tell I can still gain those insight into the dog’s behavior by listening.
Cliff
Certainly, all these points made are excellent and very helpful, depending on our personal needs. In my case, hearing direction has been accomplished due to my top of the line hearing aids programmed for outdoor sounds. Signal bounce can be a problem in the mountains, but I try to use my ears similar to the way I used the antennae in radio tracking wildlife. For my “peace of mind”, since I spend a lot of time alone in the mountains and on streams, I carry a Garmin InReach Mini, which has a GPS (for me) built in. It is a satellite communicator which enables me to keep in touch with home, or whoever I want. It has preset messages that I can select and send, topo maps & aerial photos, plus a SOS can be sent with this device. I find this to be very helpful and it gives people at home peace of mind.