Review:
I've been using and testing the Garmin GPS 12 (Global Positioning System) for about 5 years now. It's one of the best hunting-related purchases I have ever made. It has helped me to enjoy my hunts more than I ever did before, and I feel it has made me a better and more successful hunter because of it.
When I got this GPS I started hunting where the game took me, without regard to which direction I started from or where I needed to end up that night. I'm very good with maps and have a good sense of direction, but instead of always checking to see where I am on the map, I just hunt and go where I need to go. At the end of my hunting day, I just bring up the waypoint that I marked as my starting point, and head straight back to it. It's really that easy.
The Garmin 12 is very easy to operate. You do not have to be a technically-minded person to use this product. You can make up to 500 waypoints. It is quick to aquire the satellites with an open view of the sky. The waypoints are pretty much all I use, I don't really use the other functions.
It is equally as useful hunting in the Rocky Mountains as it is in the Pineywoods of east Texas or the rolling plains of Kansas. It's great for marking the location of a tree stand to get to more easily in the dark. It's also great for scouting, to mark the location of a big antler rub or an elk wallow. And when you have your animal down and need to go for help to get it out, forget the orange flagging tape trail. Just mark it with your GPS.
For you duck hunters, it is great for you too. Especially since a lot of water looks the same. It will help you find your way back to your honey hole in the dark.
I take my GPS with me everywhere I hunt.
There is only one drawback in my opinion, and it is a problem with most GPS models, not just the Garmin 12. It aquires satellites more slowly and in general reacts more slowly in very thick, heavy timber with no view of the sky. Once you have aquired the satellites, though, it works fine, although perhaps a little more slowly. You will sure be grateful for it if you are lost, though!
Be sure and carry an extra set of batteries. It doesn't do you any good if your batteries go dead.
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Pros:
Compact, light, tough, very practically useful, great price
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Cons:
Sometimes has difficulty aquiring satellites from under a heavy forest canopy, without a clear view of the sky
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