Most guys in Texas hunt close to the truck or use a GPS, but a map and compass are about as fail safe as it gets (and cheaper).
I know the basics.
How do I get good?
I know the basics.
How do I get good?
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Practice. Use ur GPS to set locations with makers. Go back to ur truck and find them. Or pick out locations with known coordinates and go find them. Know ur pace. I teach my scouts map and compass navigation but it takes plenty of practiceComment
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Depends on your area that you will practice. Your map will make a big difference as well.
Need a place with some variation in typography, creeks and woods.
The woods force you to use the direction of compass with slight changes typography in as you can't see distance.Comment
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PracticeComment
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North Texas Orienteering Association
How to use a compass
Last edited by Froggy; 05-28-2014, 09:09 PM.Comment
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Try to find some orienteering courses in your area. Other than that, try to go out and practice. Most areas of texas are not good land nav areas due to the lack of identifiable landmarks for shooting azimuths/back azimuths/triangulation. Not a lot of mountain tops, etc.
Practice your pace count and get it accurate using a known distance course that you set. Learn how to orient your map with the compass. Knowing exactly where you are on the map is the most important step unless you can triangulate with two other known points.
I'm rusty now but used to teach a little land nav in the Marines. Now I can find my way to the nearest Whataburger with an iPhone app.Comment
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You need to get a protractor so you can get your azimuth off your mapComment
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Get a good map with topography and a good compass and practice. A military land navigation manual from an Army/Navy store or the Boy Scout Field Guide (if you can fine one) are good sources. I used to be able to get you within grenade range with an 8 digit grid coordinate. I wonder if the Lt. ever found that box of grid squares?Comment
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The grid squares were in the same box as the 100' of shore line.Originally posted by W-O View PostComment
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Yep. Right next to the cans of back blast and the bubble pump for the mortar sight.Originally posted by Corn Sack View PostComment
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We always kept our back blast next to the exhaust samplesComment
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That's what I'm talking about!!!!! Go back to the basics!!! I swear the last EIB train up we went on all the little twerps had an app with MGRS data. My compass never ran out of batteries.
Now your going to need a protractor. Best by far is from Ranger Joes, if you don't know how to cut them. Get a good compass one with the tridium in it. And a map MGRS either 1:50,000 or if you want a big one 1:25,000. I'm sure you can get the land navigation from the army off of google. Then learn resection and intersection really well. And you will never be LLMF!!!Comment
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Join the Boy Scouts.
Get a quality compass, I always liked Silva. Simple and durable.
I learned how in Scouts. It was a lot of fun. We would plan and take long backpacking trips and use nothing but map and compass. It was a ton of fun using it in the mountains and desert.
We would also have competitions and orienteering races. There was a lot of practice, so it became a pretty simple thing.
The Boy Scout Handbook has a good starting guide. The booklet for the Orienteering Merit Badge also has quite a bit of information.
Look at some of the references in this bibliography:
REI used to teach a beginner orienteering course, not sure if they still do or not, but it is worth looking in to.
The Sierra Club is now basically a bunch of nutballs, but they have a bunch of resources on orienteering. If you can endure the tree hugging, there is a lot to be learned there.Comment
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