Personal Locator

[HighDesertSage]

I've carried this in my pack for 6 seasons now: https://www.amazon.com/acr-2880-Res...1_3?keywords=resqlink++&qid=1570187954&sr=8-3

Cheap insurance if you ask me

 

[Tiredofthebickering]

Some didn't. Every year there is always someone who didn't come home and they find his truck at the trailhead. Sometimes their body is found, sometimes they are never found.
Remember this goat hunter in CO who died after laying in pain for who knows how long before his groans were heard. Perhaps if he had a PLB he could have got medical attention in time and survived his wounds.

Colorado Mountain Goat Hunter Succumbs to Injuries from Big Fall

After a successful mountain goat hunt, a Colorado man falls to his death.

www.wideopenspaces.com

Reminder - Be Careful

Not that we go to the hills with reckless disregard, but seems each year a seasoned hunter and friend ends up with some unexpected outcome. Last year it was my buddy David Brinker who impaled his calf on a broadhead when the thick Oregon brush he was pushing through pulled the arrow from his...

www.hunttalk.com

Not to mention close calls from right here in the forum

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Me personally, I wouldn't be worried about hunting in the hills, but if the ladyfriend needs some piece of mind I can think of a couple options:

• Buy an inreach like device, fairly expensive especially to get the tracking feature on it
• Rent said inreach, no idea who rents these around here but I'm sure someone must
• Rent a Sat phone, trees aren't too thick in the hills so it should work if you need to make a call, lower cost and you have the ability to talk for a per min fee.
• Or the cheapest, every night head to a location to make a call. Tell the ladyfriend very specifically where you plan to hunt and let her know "if you don't hear from me by 10pm start to worry and if you don't hear from me by X start to call search and rescue"
  • It's important to leave some wiggle time in there just in case you get an elk at closing light and it takes you a couple hours to get out
  • This is the method I have used my whole life to some extent, along with a decent emergency set up on my back at all times I have never worried nor has anyone who is in charge of my check ins
    • In your case one of the most important things to have on you is going to be a whistle. The human voice doesn't travel very far and you will have a raw throat in no time in the event of emergency. You can blow a whistle for hours without issue... If you fall and break your leg you wouldn't realistically be out there for over 24 hours without someone finding.

 

[MTGomer]

Nearly every lost or injured hiker or hunter would be alive today if they had an inreach. The exception are the ones that die an instant or fast death like drowning, falling off a cliff, bear food.
The ones that break their leg in downfall and lay there for two days and freeze to death would still be alive.
Or just get disoriented in the fog or snow. Happens every year. Even the ones that live would have a lot better time.
Hell, if you use one, one time to get help packing an elk out it is worth every cent.

Wives like them, but one thing wives don’t consider is that although they allow you to stay in contact, that means they also make it so you can let them know that you will be extending the hunt by a few days.

 

[mtmiller]

Nearly every lost or injured hiker or hunter would be alive today if they had an inreach. The exception are the ones that die an instant or fast death like drowning, falling off a cliff, bear food.
The ones that break their leg in downfall and lay there for two days and freeze to death would still be alive.
Or just get disoriented in the fog or snow. Happens every year. Even the ones that live would have a lot better time.
Hell, if you use one, one time to get help packing an elk out it is worth every cent.

We aren't discussing the "unlimiteds" here.....not even close.

 

[glass eye]

And again just recently. With a PLB they wouldn't have been lost at sea. Rescue would arrive on the spot.

Coast Guard suspends search for firefighters lost at sea after Florida fishing trip

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search Thursday at sundown for two firefighters who went missing after embarking on a fishing trip off the coast of Florida almost a week ago.

www.foxnews.com

 

[mtmiller]

And again just recently. With a PLB they wouldn't have been lost at sea. Rescue would arrive on the spot.

Coast Guard suspends search for firefighters lost at sea after Florida fishing trip

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search Thursday at sundown for two firefighters who went missing after embarking on a fishing trip off the coast of Florida almost a week ago.

www.foxnews.com

Are you just debating the value or PLBs? If so, I am not sure who you are debating. Pretty sure we are all in agreement. I am discussing the necessity for one in the Black Hills of South Dakota in October, not ocean fishing or mountain goat hunting in CO. Out of curiosity, have you been in the Hills?

 

[glass eye]

Are you just debating the value or PLBs? If so, I am not sure who you are debating. Pretty sure we are all in agreement. I am discussing the necessity for one in the Black Hills of South Dakota in October, not ocean fishing or mountain goat hunting in CO. Out of curiosity, have you been in the Hills?

Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers. And yes I have been to the Black Hills of SD. I've been around.

ps. I thought this was WARMER'S discussion.

 

[warmer]

Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers. And yes I have been to the Black Hills of SD. I've been around.

ps. I thought this was WARMER'S discussion.

It was mine, but it’s almost like Christmas that I started a thread worth talking about.

 

[Sytes]

It's a value worth having... Better to have and not need then to need and not have.

Wife enjoys following my trail and feels better about the setting. Heck I have it on year round due to travel through dead cell area. Used it once for a person who dodged a moving deer and smacked a standing still tree...

Wife guided me back to camp once... Also nice in the event someone has an emergency on the outside to reach you as well. Also great, "happy wife, happy life" good night messages.

No debate rambling, merely sharing the value PLBs provide... InReach, ftw.

 

[sdkhunter]

Sounds like to me you have permission to get yourself setup with what you need? . If I had the go ahead I’d lean towards something with 2 way messaging like the SpotX.... I’d lean towards buying vs renting just because that way u are set for a few years....

The Hills can trick a person - hunting by yourself can deadly if the wrong thing happens - every year a few hunters or hikers seem to go missing...

 

[Focus]

I used to have a SPOT gen 3 and it was fine for what it was, which was a one-way “here I am and I’m okay” device.

I now have an Inreach Mini and find the two-way texting feature to be really handy. I hunt, fish and dirt-bike in a lot of dead cell areas and like the peace of mind and convenience it provides.

Make sure to pair the Inreach Mini with the Earthmate app on your phone......typing a message with just the Mini is a bit cumbersome.

 

[tjones]

I carry an inReach for the SOS button only. The last thing I want to do while hunting is to swap text messages with anyone. I mainly hunt alone, my wife and myself are good with that.

noun, plural woods·men.
Also woodman. a person accustomed to life in the woods and skilled in the arts of the woods, as hunting or trapping.


Won’t be long and Webster’s will be dropping this word.

 

[onpoint]

I carry an inReach for the SOS button only. The last thing I want to do while hunting is to swap text messages with anyone.

noun, plural woods·men.
Also woodman. a person accustomed to life in the woods and skilled in the arts of the woods, as hunting or trapping.


Won’t be long and Webster’s will be dropping this word.

Dinosaur..............

 

[genesis273]

Last year I had a similar situation. Hunting partner had to cancel his part of our elk hunt due to his house being in the path of a hurricane. Wife wasn't happy with me going alone. Then I introduced her to the InReach and sold her on all the features. Heck, she texted me the other day while I was in the back country in MT for 2.5 weeks to let me know that a lot of snow was about to hit, which we were none the wiser, and we packed up and got out. Not only does she have peace of mind of my safety, but it gives me peace of mind too knowing that she can contact me if something goes bad at home. Well worth the $!
As mentioned before, how did I survive 30 years ago without even a phone!

 

[RockinU]

I never thought a thing about being completely out of touch for extended periods of time until I had kids. Now the 2 way communication serves not only my wife’s peace of mind, but mine as well. It’s easier for me to stay hooked longer when I can check to make sure everyone at home is good.

 

[Wild Bill]

Obviously this individual has some preexisting health issues that may have been a factor, but a personal locator could have possibly prevented this.
I do not have one myself, but I have recently contemplated getting one.
As the saying goes, it's better to have something and not need it than to need something and not have it.

Search for missing man in the Black Hills continues

DEERFIELD LAKE, S.D. (KELO.com) — Search and rescue teams are continuing their search for a man who beca...

kelo.com

Edit: After posting I realized this article didn't state it but I have seen elsewhere that this man in a diabetic and has congestive heart failure.

 

[LuckyGoose]

You can usually pick up an inreach used on here, rokslide, or ebay for $200 (older delorme models) or $350 for the new garmin models. It's around $65 to activate it for a month under their 40 text message plan. Then, when you're done, you very easily sell it.

You can also rent them.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

I was thinking of another work around that I will be testing this fall, but haven't tested it yet...

Maybe the group can weigh in here on an Onx question..

I know Onx often works even without cell signal if set up correctly. So if this is the case, is the phone app able to push up content to the web based app without cell signal??

For example, can I have Onx track my path, then someone sitting at their computer at home can monitor that track? Or does it store that track locally on your phone until cell service enables it to push the content to the webpage?

 

[LuckyGoose]

That won't work. It's stored on the device.