OnX Hunt supplies a robust instrument for hunters. Its mapping skills, private-public land boundaries, and satellite tv for pc imagery are extremely regarded within the searching group as a result of they’re invaluable within the discipline.
Nevertheless it has way more to supply than even most energy customers notice.
I just lately traveled with onX leaders to study extra concerning the app and apply it throughout a grouse hunt in northern Minnesota. What I realized opened my eyes to an entire new manner of scouting.
Thousands and thousands of hunters use onX Hunt each season, and for a decade, I’ve been one among them. However with a refresher course from onX’s on-staff consultants, I realized about some options that assist you to actually dial in on particular habitat sorts. These options permit hunters to focus extra time on seemingly honey holes and fewer time on burning boot leather-based.
So, let’s break down a few of my favourite hidden capabilities. When you haven’t tried these, you’re lacking out!
Most of those settings are discovered below the “Layers” tab on the underside left of your telephone display screen when logged into onX. I’ll clarify the place to seek out every setting as I focus on them.
1. Bushes, Crops & Soil
What it does: That is my new favourite set of map layers. It’s a robust scouting instrument if you realize what cowl you wish to discover. This layer highlights particular forms of bushes, crops, and soil by means of an in depth set of dialogue bins.
It provides 10 layers: Timber cuts, historic wildfire (which incorporates the yr of the hearth), U.S. crop distribution, wetlands, acorn-producing oaks, thermal deer cowl, deciduous versus coniferous bushes, coniferous tree distribution, deciduous tree distribution, and younger aspen forests.
Use circumstances: The Bushes, Crops & Soil layers needs to be a place to begin for scouting for a lot of searching kinds. It provides you a tough concept of what you’ll discover on the bottom whenever you begin strolling a given piece of land.
For instance, grouse searching in northern Minnesota, our crew was considerably unfamiliar with the particular space we have been staying among the many huge nationwide forest of the area. So we used “younger aspen forests,” “timber cuts,” and “historic wildfire” to hone in on areas the place ruffed grouse are inclined to populate. Whereas not 100% correct, it labored to place us in the precise course. As soon as on the bottom, we might instantly inform if the nation was what we have been searching for. More often than not, it was.
The place to seek out it: Open “Layers,” after which scroll under “States” to “Bushes, Crops & Soil.”
2. OnX Sprint
What it does: Like several app, onX can distract drivers. So, onX Sprint permits the app to perform completely on the bigger dashboard screens of most trendy autos.
Use circumstances: This one’s fairly easy — preserve your eyes on the street. For these searching pheasants, for instance, onX Sprint lets you navigate to publicly accessible parcels extra safely than by means of the on-phone app. It really works with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integrations. Study extra about onX Hunt In Sprint.
The place to seek out it: Simply plug your telephone into your screen-equipped automobile, and the app will combine robotically.
3. Compass Mode With Rangefinder
What it does: This slick compass function orients the map to the course you’re dealing with (nicely, that your telephone is pointing) whereas concurrently breaking your display screen into 4 equal segments marked by their scale. This provides you a really clear “rangefinder” so that you perceive the size of the land in entrance of you.
Use circumstances: When searching new areas, it may be difficult to guage map scale — like whether or not a creek is 500 yards or 2 miles away. So whether or not navigating in thick terrain, mountains, or the duvet of darkness, the Compass Mode with Rangefinder lets customers rapidly estimate distances. It’s extremely helpful and intuitive.
The place to seek out it: Open the onX Hunt app and click on the “compass” image within the backside proper. It’s going to then flip right into a “rangefinder” image, which you’ll be able to click on to get precise distances to particular factors by touching them on the map.
4. State-Particular Layers: Forest Disturbance, WI Sport Hen Layer, Timber Cuts
What they do: This instrument reveals forest disturbances like logging or fireplace and particularly managed grouse habitat. It shows them clearly on the map and notes the yr of the disturbance.
Use circumstances: Grouse want early successional forests to thrive. Grouse hunters ought to key in on these kinds of forests to seek out good chook numbers. The factor is, they’ve traditionally required a whole lot of boot leather-based to seek out. Not anymore. Use these layers to rapidly decide what yr the timber was harvested and hone in on key habitats.
Minnesota has the Forest Disturbance Layer, which reveals color-coordinated cuts by yr; Wisconsin has areas highlighted in peach shade for grouse and purple for woodcock. Each present information on county and state lands. When you’re searching federal lands, activate the Timber Cuts layer to get comparable intel. For grouse, the best cowl is from 5 to fifteen years outdated. After all, you too can use this data for different recreation species.
The place to seek out it: On the onX Maps Hunt app, scroll to your particular state, after which search for forest disturbance, timber cuts, or recreation chook layers.
5. Doable Entry Layer
What it does: This instrument provides customers a view of lesser-known but doable public entry lands.
Use circumstances: The Doable Entry layer in onX Hunt might be very useful for grouse hunters because it reveals publicly accessible lands that is probably not clearly marked or extensively identified, reminiscent of timber firm lands, sure state-owned properties, or areas with shared entry rights. By figuring out these further entry alternatives, hunters can develop their huntable territory, uncover much less pressured areas which will maintain extra birds, and guarantee they’re inside authorized boundaries.
The place to seek out it: The Doable Entry Layer is positioned throughout the State Layers dialogue on the app.
6. View Shed
What it does: Hidden away on onX’s desktop-only, elite-level Terrain X scouting instrument, it permits customers to forecast their view from scouting areas to seek out the absolute best glassing or vantage factors.
Use circumstances: This one’s for western huge recreation hunters. View Shed is a super-cool scouting instrument that’s out there solely on desktops. It permits customers to preview their vantage from any given level. For instance, for those who dropped this pin excessive on a ridge, it might present you what areas you would count on to see from that time.
This might be very useful for hunters searching for good glassing areas in new searching areas. This can be a scouting instrument greater than something, nevertheless it’ll save a ton of legwork when wanting to seek out new glassing or long-range searching factors.
The place to seek out it: Log into onX Hunt. You have to be an elite member to entry this one. Click on into Elite Instruments, after which log in to labs.onxmaps.com/. View Shed is then seen as a binocular image within the higher left nook. When you haven’t been to this web page earlier than, take pleasure in. It’s like Google Earth on steroids.