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Online scouting and hunting tools

topo mapImage via Wikipedia
Well, thank goodness for the internet!! Guess we should all thank Al Gore for creating it :)

Free online hunting tools!! Gotta love them!!

If you're like me, I love to hunt different places in my home state, but also do some hunting out of state. I've got work, family, etc. so time to scout on foot is very limited. So I do alot of pre-scouting using a variety of tools. Using these tools can drastically reduce the areas that you need to scout on foot. You can locate pinch-points, funnels, saddles, foodplots, etc. and then just put the locations on your gps and away you go.

Here are some of the tools that I use:

1) Google Earth - http://earth.google.com
Good aerial photos, and just a cool application to use. Offers maps and satellite images for complex or pinpointed regional searches. You can use GPS coordinates for searches


2) ACME Mapper 2.0 - http://mapper.acme.com/
Uses Google Maps, but also includes different map types including TOPO and DOQ types.

3) USAPhotomaps - http://jdmcox.com
USAPhotomaps downloads all the data to my pc so I don't need internet. satellite, topo, and gps support. It works flawlessly but, it is a front end for Terra Server and therefor, the satellite pics are not quite as good. I have it on my laptop, so I use it in camp when I don't have internet. This tool was created by an individual so I donated to help his cause, since it's some good software.

4) State Wildlife Maps - Many of the states wildlife agencies have maps of there public ground, so check those out as well. I often use a combination of these tools.
Here are a few states that have online maps available:
Kansas - http://kdwp.state.ks.us/
Arkansas - http://www.agfc.com
Missouri - http://mdc.mo.gov/

If you want to print off some topographical maps of your hunting ground, check out MyTopo.com

Feel free to comment on some tools that you use!! Good luck hope these tools help you!!

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2 comments:

Ben G. said...

Steven,

Holy crap I never even thought to use any of these. I've been trying to use county web sites with horrible maps. I have recently found out I don't have nearly as much time for scouting as I use to now that I have a one year old son & another on the way. Thanks for the tips.

Steven said...

Yep, same here when you have little ones it's hard to find time to scout, so these tools help with that. Congrats on the baby on the way.

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