Hunt Talk Radio - Look for it on your favorite Podcast platform

Prove me wrong: Map data collection

HAHA, jokes on them, there's a good handful of them that are E-Scouting spots marked. Good luck!

I doubt they're looking at them. It would be easier to just go out and look for the animals then try to decide what whether some guy named Bob has actual good waypoints, or just spots with cool rocks.
 
I kinda look at it like those air traffic control live maps. If the IT guys see the updates of where people are and what they are tagging/marking ECT. They have a distinct advantage. But agree that this is extremely low on the discussion of internet privacy.
 
I kinda look at it like those air traffic control live maps. If the IT guys see the updates of where people are and what they are tagging/marking ECT. They have a distinct advantage. But agree that this is extremely low on the discussion of internet privacy.
Let’s just pretend that I gave you access to every way point in OnX. What would you be looking for and what would it tell you?
 
Let’s just pretend that I gave you access to every way point in OnX. What would you be looking for and what would it tell you?
So I think I'm more interested in the real time data. Let's say I'm hunting unit xx in state xx. The unit is big. I've done my research and I've found my 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice areas and not found elk or deer. If I have access to data from users in the field then I can change my location/tactics and approach. This includes elevation, specific drainages and areas of the unit. So let's say that someone is very active and uploaded multiple waypoints in a 2 day period. I'd be interested in their general area. Opposed to a person that uploaded only a few waypoints over a spread out area. This can also allow me to see where these hunters are approaching a drainage or knob from. So if I'm striking out on my 1st and 2nd options I have a live update on how other hunters are doing. Yes this seems wild and far fetched and I'm definitely not a tinfoil hat wearer but it's just an interesting concept to consider as more and more people upload data and they continue to promote their business. Filtering data is interesting. But live updates I think would be the most beneficial.
 
Let’s just pretend that I gave you access to every way point in OnX. What would you be looking for and what would it tell you?
I would like every elk shed symbol set this year in my home county from mar 15th to June 1st.
I will look for clusters and know where to pick up thousands of dollars worth of sheds this spring.

Every bull elk symbol in elk draw unit #xx during September 2020-2022. I plan to draw it next year and have never been there.
Again zoom out and look for clusters. I will be in elk 9 out of 10 days even in units with 50 mi between elk herds.

How about moose symbols in unit 1 from 2018- 2022.
I bet I find moose in close proximity to the clusters of symbols.

I could go on.
 
I have a couple friends that hunt with guys that work for OnX. Those OnX employees must be looking at the wrong guys waypoints since they seem to struggle in the successful hunting department.

I would imagine that the owners of these companies would be pretty pissed if it became public that an employee of theirs was using clients data for their own use. Seems like that would cause a huge loss of customers and thus $$.
 
Last edited:
I'm with @ImBillT on this, the amount of useless data would so far swamp the useful data that it would negate any advantage unless you were following a particular person around, a task probably far simpler by using their phone than OnX or gohunt... just think of the mind-numbing number of waypoints that mean nothing, you know that there are people who mark their truck every single time they park and run a track every time they leave the vehicle and go farther than 50' not to mention probably more than one person marking all their poops, how do you sort those from the places that are useful? I bet maybe one in 1000 waypoints the general public places are at all useful for locating game, you would need some potent AI to shake out the useful...
on a more personal level, I couldn't actually tell you which of my waypoints were useful or are correlated to seeing or killing game, plenty of them are Escouting reminders that I was interested in an area, and I probably forgot why within 10 minutes...I wish you well data thief, there are some good spots in there but even I probably can't remember which are which if I placed them more than a week ago...
 
Y’all actually name your waypoints? I’m too lazy to do that, so I end up marking a bunch of stuff and trying to figure out why I marked it later. If I can’t figure it out, I know onX can’t.
I'm old. If I marked them like @mtmiller I'd be wondering a year from now why the hell I have a squirrel wpt.
 
Last edited:
So I think I'm more interested in the real time data. Let's say I'm hunting unit xx in state xx. The unit is big. I've done my research and I've found my 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice areas and not found elk or deer. If I have access to data from users in the field then I can change my location/tactics and approach. This includes elevation, specific drainages and areas of the unit. So let's say that someone is very active and uploaded multiple waypoints in a 2 day period. I'd be interested in their general area. Opposed to a person that uploaded only a few waypoints over a spread out area. This can also allow me to see where these hunters are approaching a drainage or knob from. So if I'm striking out on my 1st and 2nd options I have a live update on how other hunters are doing. Yes this seems wild and far fetched and I'm definitely not a tinfoil hat wearer but it's just an interesting concept to consider as more and more people upload data and they continue to promote their business. Filtering data is interesting. But live updates I think would be the most beneficial.
 
If you told another hunter where they could find an elk, could they go kill it? Depends on the hunter. Some could, some couldn't. Some wouldn't even try, if they couldn't drive their side by side within 100 yards of the elk
 
So I think I'm more interested in the real time data. Let's say I'm hunting unit xx in state xx. The unit is big. I've done my research and I've found my 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice areas and not found elk or deer. If I have access to data from users in the field then I can change my location/tactics and approach. This includes elevation, specific drainages and areas of the unit. So let's say that someone is very active and uploaded multiple waypoints in a 2 day period. I'd be interested in their general area. Opposed to a person that uploaded only a few waypoints over a spread out area. This can also allow me to see where these hunters are approaching a drainage or knob from. So if I'm striking out on my 1st and 2nd options I have a live update on how other hunters are doing. Yes this seems wild and far fetched and I'm definitely not a tinfoil hat wearer but it's just an interesting concept to consider as more and more people upload data and they continue to promote their business. Filtering data is interesting. But live updates I think would be the most beneficial.
It’s only a guess, but I think looking at live data puts you so far behind the curve that you’d be better on not knowing anything. You’d just know where people had been. Did they blow the elk out? How long is it going to take you to get there?

1st rifle season I covered 10-12mi/day. I gained over 5000’ of elevation the first day and around 3000’ the next two. Day 3 I went back to the same place I finished day 2. I saw exactly two fresh scat piles, and saw zero elk. I did encounter around 25 other hunters. That afternoon I drove to town, checked some maps using the CPW website to look at things I hadn’t downloaded, called my wife and talked to my 3yr old. By the time I was done, I didn’t have time to get to the spot I wanted to go, so I drove to the closest piece of public on the map, got out, and shot an elk 200yds from the road. My guess is that looking at my data, you’d have ignored the place that I actually shot the elk. Particularly since I didn’t need to drop any way points.
 
It’s only a guess, but I think looking at live data puts you so far behind the curve that you’d be better on not knowing anything. You’d just know where people had been. Did they blow the elk out? How long is it going to take you to get there?

1st rifle season I covered 10-12mi/day. I gained over 5000’ of elevation the first day and around 3000’ the next two. Day 3 I went back to the same place I finished day 2. I saw exactly two fresh scat piles, and saw zero elk. I did encounter around 25 other hunters. That afternoon I drove to town, checked some maps using the CPW website to look at things I hadn’t downloaded, called my wife and talked to my 3yr old. By the time I was done, I didn’t have time to get to the spot I wanted to go, so I drove to the closest piece of public on the map, got out, and shot an elk 200yds from the road. My guess is that looking at my data, you’d have ignored the place that I actually shot the elk. Particularly since I didn’t need to drop any way points.
That's great!!! Congratulations. You zigged when everyone else zagged. 👍👍
 
I would like every elk shed symbol set this year in my home county from mar 15th to June 1st.
I will look for clusters and know where to pick up thousands of dollars worth of sheds this spring.

Every bull elk symbol in elk draw unit #xx during September 2020-2022. I plan to draw it next year and have never been there.
Again zoom out and look for clusters. I will be in elk 9 out of 10 days even in units with 50 mi between elk herds.

How about moose symbols in unit 1 from 2018- 2022.
I bet I find moose in close proximity to the clusters of symbols.

I could go on.
Last year I shot a cow out of a herd of 80+ elk, and heard at least three bulls bugling one ridge over while I was quartering her up. This year I hunted over the ridge, then the drainage is shot the cow in. I found almost zero fresh sign, and around 25 hunters, all of which claimed to have tagged out in that drainage last year. I think the elk are more dynamic than any data analysis. I’m not convinced you could decipher clusters in a beneficial way. Again, do the clusters tell you where the elk are, or where the people are?
 
Last year I shot a cow out of a herd of 80+ elk, and heard at least three bulls bugling one ridge over while I was quartering her up. This year I hunted over the ridge, then the drainage is shot the cow in. I found almost zero fresh sign, and around 25 hunters, all of which claimed to have tagged out in that drainage last year. I think the elk are more dynamic than any data analysis. I’m not convinced you could decipher clusters in a beneficial way. Again, do the clusters tell you where the elk are, or where the people are?
Good point. 👍
 

Forum statistics

Threads
111,107
Messages
1,947,235
Members
35,030
Latest member
Giddyup64
Back
Top