Basic Navigation while hunting !

[Willy_R]

I can't speak for others but I have noticed allot of newer hunters lack any real sense of direction in the bush never mind carry a Map And compass, GPS is great till it breaks or goes flat or you forget to take it !

To me this is a real worry when hunting easy enough to get yourself in trouble with out getting lost to boot .

And how easy do these guys stress when it goes wrong !? I found one poor bloke sitting under a tree sobbing as he was just plain stressed and freaking out !

I didn't feel to sorry for him he had a GPS on him plenty of water And a swag of Jerky ! But no idea how to use the bloody GPS ! so In that State he decided to sit under the tree and read the flaming manual !
But that went to pot when he realised he needed to Charge the Flaming GPS first :shock:
He had walked about 7 clicks in circles basically crossed his own path about 4 times and was suffering from early signs of heat stroke.
He was 1100m from his car ?

My point is we should know how navigate via a Map and compass as it may save yours or somebody else's life.

Plenty of books on the subject, or how about head off to your local orienteering club for a crash course, even tafe has a course now !

And even for these fellas who say the words "mate I was born with a compass up me butt" "I never get lost" that's fine until its your mate who trying to get you out to safety after an accident, unless of course you have a crystal ball up there too ? :shock:

Willy_R 8)

[Dave]

Willy, next time you speak to one of these people ask them how to use the seven pointers ( stars) to find south at night, I bet they have absolutely no idea what the hell you are on about. Basic navigation skill and it has helped me out on more than 1 occassion. We got caught after dark in a tricky, steep little gully once, the track we were on ran out which left us stumbling through the bush in the dark. Common Sense told us if we walked too high we would hit the ridge and the main track, if we walked too low we would hit the creek. No need to sit under a tree and cry over that, the worst thing that could have happened is that we walk a little further back to the car.

Have you ever sat in a car with a driver who has just been " detoured" by some road problem, they get to the next cross road and say "which way do we go now", totally confused because they are out of their comfort zone.

You are right about map and compass...If it doesn't take batteries these days it is obviously no good.:?

[aussiehunter]

what i find is very helpful,get urself bogged numerous times and learn the property by walking home all the time through the bush :lol:

im really getting to know these blocks...

but seriously, in the earlier days every young fella went to scouts etc,i was fortuanate,did the scout scene and the army scene, even spending a few years on boats/diving add.

its so easy to get topo maps of the area ur going to,hav a compass,as been mentioned not hard to learn, plus if u do have a gps which i believe everyone should have along with an epirb,esp if u do a lot on ur own, make sure u know how to use at least the most basic function,walk back and just carry a few extra batteries.

pat :D

[Dave]

http://robert.thegeakes.co.uk/survival/images/fig1-7.gif

Sorry not a very good pic but it will do.

1. Imagine a line throught the Southern Cross's furthest 2 stars.

2. Now add a line at right angles through the middle of two pointers.

Where both of these lines cross, draw a line stright down to the ground...South. :D

[Puk]

Thanks Dave,
I have always been a bit of a city boy, but you will be amazed how many people i have told how to find south like that, even out here in the country.
IMO, this is one of the sadnesses of things like hunting falling by the wayside. This sort of information does not get passed on any more. It seems like a novelty to so many now.

Even things like knowing the prevailing wind direction can give you something of an idea of direction during the day.
Which side of logs the fungus grows on, etc. (Answer: The outside! :lol: )

Puk

[benhohnke]

me and tim were hunting on the cliff and it started getting dark on the way and before we knew it we couldn't see if we walked to far to the right it would have been fatal from a 30m drop. but we got to the bottom of the hill after i broke my sight :cry: walked to the gully and followed that to the creek and then to the road were my big brother was waiting. so my advise is take a torch it will help alot and save you breaking your sight and even your bones :shock: but my hunting areas are all hills so all you have to do is walk down hill to the creek and than to the road and follow that you have to be pretty stupid to get lost at my place.

[benhohnke]

and tim was also in pain from blisters so thats one of the reasons we didn't get out of there before it was dark

[aussiehunter]

we have those magnetic white ant /term,ite mounds.

they point nth/sth :D


pat :D

[ALAN MCKENZIE]

Two things I have always remembered from pro shooting and hunting in the bush was to always be able to find north or south depending on whether it was day or night.
Now that I have confused the **** out of you this is how I do it.
TO FIND SOUTH AT NIGHT
Find the Southern Cross and the two pointers that go with it.
Two pointers under the SC = South East direction
Two pointers horizontal with SC= Southern direction
Two pointers on top of SC = South West direction.

Sun rises in east and sets in west.

Using watch point 12 at sun.
Divide distance between 12 and hour hand and you have a northerly direction.

The saucepan handle always points in a southerly direction.

None of the above is of any use if you havent spent the time to study the area you are in and which direction you headed off in when you started.
Land marks hills ,identifiable features ect

Al

[aussiehunter]

and when its cloudy or raining...

pat

[Willy_R]

and when its cloudy or raining...



You could just follow the bread crumb trail you left coming in ?

Or maybe just maybe buy a map & compass........................ :wink:

[jindydiver]

I love my GPSr (and the laptop with the mapping program) but I never go hunting without a map and a compass. It just seems silly to rely only on batteries to tell me where home is.

[Warlocke]

If I get bushed, which used to happen on the plains out West as a kid, I find the compass points by putting a stick in the ground, mark the top of the sticks shadow, sit down for an hour or so, then mark the top of the sticks shadow again.

In the morning the first mark is West the second mark is East, put your right foot on the Eastern mark, your left foot on the Western marker and you are facing North with the South behind you.

Best time to do it is before noon but just reverse the East west points in the afternoon.

Also the Sun has a Northerly arc so even if the shadows are too long the stick is always North of the shadows path.

Basic, but got me out of the semi-desert country a few times.

[ALAN MCKENZIE]

Aussie hunter,iff its cloudy or raining,find shelter,build a fire and wait for it to clear.
DONT PANNICK ,and iff when it clears and you still dont know which way to go,STAY EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE.some one will find you.
Al

What I need to add is I've spent a lot of time looking for idiots lost in the outback,and have not always found them alive.
HEED MY ADVICE

[Willy_R]

hoooooo yaaaaa :oops:

Again !

If you remembered to take matches and ya bow etc, simply pack a Map and compass and leave the poor fellas like Alan,"At home" to have a nice quiet peaceful weekend.

But then again he might be out hunting too with his Matches and Map and Compass and bow and arrows etc and be far to busy to come look for lost hunters.

[aussiehunter]

mate,u can be sure i wont be panicking..lol

i plan all my adventures,carry all the necassary gear i believe is relavent to where i am going.gps,epirb,sat phone,first aid etc etc

but i always carry the ever reliable map and compass...

that reminds me where did i put that :?

i wont be bothering anyone :D

ill leave that to the weekend warriors from the cities....lol :D

oh yeah,need winch and mud tyres for next wet season :D

pat :)

[Jimmy Alexander]

Map and compass boys and carry plenty of water. Just make sure you can read the map properly, there is nothing worse than that sick feeling when your lost. Always tell someone where your going even when hunting with friends. And keep the wind in your face.

Tread lightly boys and girls.

Jimmy