If you want to get a job done right, you need the right tools. Carpenters don’t go to work without their hammers; fisherman don’t head out to the lake without their depth finders and hunters will have their weapon in hand.
But how about the tools that give us an advantage before hitting the woods? Sure, you can sit in the same tree for the next five years and never pay attention to the wind — you may even have some success. If you put in the extra effort you can have more fun, make new adventures, and hunt smarter than most.
Here are three Apps that every hunter should have on their phone —
OnX
I am always daydreaming about where my next hunting trip is going to be, and I cannot imagine what life would be like without OnX. Ten years ago it would have taken me weeks to dig up the information that OnX delivers in seconds — Here is what you get with this powerful app:
Parcel data: Has there ever been a time when you drove by a cornfield and thought, “I’d sure like to have access to this farm, but I don’t know who to ask?” Now all you have to do is pull up the app and find out who owns the property and how many acres are included in that parcel. Sure, you could drive down to the County Clerk’s office, or maybe even pull it up online if you’re tech-savvy enough — but that takes time, and you might forget. With this app, you’ll have your answer within seconds.
Access data: If you’re planning an out-of-state hunt, knowing where the public hunting land areas are within that state can help you narrow down your location. Let’s imagine that you want to hunt a WMA in Western Kentucky, but you want to hunt water access only to get away from the crowds. Simply zoom into the WMA at about the 1-mile view, scan the river banks, and you’ll see boating access points. (You’ll also have access to trails and trailheads for entering and exiting public land areas.)
Mapping views: If you are serious about deer hunting, you no doubt understand the advantage of being able to read a topographical and satellite map. By using these views, you can locate funnels, saddles and other terrain features that will give you an edge. With OnX you get three primary views; Satellite, Hybrid, and Topo. Not only will you get the view from above, but you can also download these maps to your phone. So, when you are out of cell range just switch to “Off-Grid, ” and you have the map and a full-blown GPS that will operate like your Garmin.
Adding Waypoints: Like any good GPS, OnX offers a way to place Waypoints on the map. You’ll have plenty of options for icons to use while setting your markers ranging from; deer, tree stand, vehicle, and the list goes on.
Multiple states: Going back to that point of daydreaming — I have hunts mapped out that I will not go on for five or more years. Land features do not change — sure, a farmer could wipe out a section of timber, but it’s highly unlikely a ridge or saddle will be knocked off the map! If you are thinking about doing a DIY hunt in the future, I implore you to go ahead and bump up your subscription to an Elite Membership and unlock all 50 States. If you’re anything like me, you’ll soon have 1,000 waypoints marked across the country!
Clean interface: There are tons of great apps on the market, but most are clunky and filled with advertising, or plain out slow and outdated. Not OnX — with their recent updates, this app is fast, user-friendly and overall one of the best tools you can have in your bucket.
Weather Underground
As a hunter, you should have a weather app on your phone. I’ve personally gone through every weather app in the app store to find the one that gives me the best data, and where I want to see it. When I pull up my weather app I want to look at these essential features, and I want to see them fast and know that it’s accurate — Weather Underground is the best I’ve found
- Hourly Temps
- Wind Speeds and direction
- Barometric Pressure
- Radar
- Sunrise/Sunset Times
There’s always something new
There are new apps coming out all the time, and the ones I’ve mentioned continue to get better. Is this the end all? Nope. But it’s a really good start to helping you decide what apps to load.
Let us know what your favorite hunting app is by commenting below or contacting us on Twitter @chasethemtn
