Cell phone apps useful for hunting and food plots
Life in the 21st century is much different than it ever has been. Everything people do and how people accomplish daily tasks and goals involves some form of technology.
Surely people can still find their way to the market without a GPS. And we can still grow big and juicy beefsteak tomatoes without any fancy computer application or sophisticated online aid. But even the old timers are toting a smartphone everywhere they go and some even subscribe to dozens of Instagram pages.
Technology has changed the way we go about life. And in most cases, these technological tools have shortened the learning curve and made us better at reaching our goals.
Maps like this one at the entrance of a North Carolina Game Land are great, but hunters can have all that information and more in their pockets as long as they have the right cell phone app. (Photo by Jeff Burleson)
Hunters and property managers are not immune to these changes. Most hunters have incorporated these updates to our hunting culture. Cell phones lacking the smart features are practically obsolete. While some smart phone apps are just time killers, some are very helpful applications that can help hunters and property managers improve their experience.
Weather apps can show predictions on wind, temperature, and a real-time radar. And the basic mapping apps can be helpful for showing locations etc. But developers have created apps dedicated to the hunter and food plot developer that are truly helpful tools.
OnX Hunt is one of the most popular apps
Dozens of hunting apps are available, and many of them contain similar tools for showing topography lines, creeks, weather, solunar tables and feeding times, aerial photos, property lines, and property ownership. Many of these apps also allow hunters to add waypoints and routes for specific locations of tree stands, bedding areas, travel corridors, and food sources. And the measurement tools offer hunters the ability to measure distances and areas as well.
Just to name a few, OnX Hunt, HuntWise, Go Hunt Insider, Base Map, Gaia GPS, and many other apps are available. Some of these apps contain similar features. And some are more for mapping and trail identification for hikers.
Most of these apps aren’t free though. But the cost of the annual or monthly subscription can be negated when their usefulness is realized.
Good for public land as well as private
OnX Hunt is arguably the most popular app used by hunters in the country. This app has a wide range of functionality with lots of useful features for today’s hunter. In addition to mapping, measurement, aerial photos, topography, and weather tools, OnX Hunt shows property boundaries, owner address, game zone, and a link to the state hunting regulations for that area. Hunters scouting new properties in new areas can gain valuable intelligence from this easy-to-use phone app.
Property boundaries for hunting on private land isn’t the only useful advantage either. Many hunters take advantage of the public hunting options.
North Carolina has 2.1 million acres and South Carolina has 819,000 acres of public hunting land. State wildlife maps can be fairly accurate for identifying property boundaries and the lines on the ground will always be well marked. But having these boundaries on a GPS-enabled app can help hunters navigate into these interior areas of the public land units to find those big bucks or duck roosts in real time. And who doesn’t want to visit the 1.3 million acres of public lands in Ohio and Illinois to get a shot at a farm belt Boone and Crockett trophy. OnX Hunt can assist hunters in these other states to unravel the details of these public land options to come home with a trophy.
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