How to Use the onX Hunt Tracker

The onX Hunt Tracker records your path as you travel and saves your track on the map as a blue-dashed line. The Tracker also provides information about your trip duration, distance, and average speed. Once saved, you can view Tracker data in the My Content menu.

To access the Tracker, tap the Tracker button in the bottom-right corner of the onX Hunt App. When you tap the green “Start” button to begin recording, the blue dot that shows your location will turn red to indicate that the Tracker is enabled. As you travel, light blue dashes will appear on your map. After you finish recording, you can change the color, style, and weight of the tracked line in the My Content menu by tapping the ellipsis (three dots) next to any saved track and choosing “Edit.” For complete instructions on how to use the tracking feature, read our support article.

How to Trim a Track

It happens to the best of us. We remember to turn the Tracker on, we successfully get back to the truck, and shortly after we get back to the house, we realize we left the Tracker on the whole way home.

With the Trim Track option, fixing tracks takes seconds. To trim a track, tap “My Content,” navigate to the track you need to trim, tap the ellipsis, and choose “Trim Track.” Use the green slider to trim the beginning of a track and the red slider to trim the end of a track.

Need a visual? Watch the video to see the Trim Track feature in action.

Tracking Online vs. Tracking Offline

The onX Hunt App uses your device’s built-in location services to record each point along your path as you travel. You can use the Tracker online or offline. In online mode, the Hunt App uses cell towers to determine your path. When offline, the Hunt App is disconnected from the cell network and uses GPS satellites instead. Depending on your surroundings, either setting could be more accurate.

When to Use the Tracker in Online Mode

– You have a strong cell signal, meaning you’re likely connected to at least three cell towers.
– You find yourself in thick tree cover, which can block GPS signals.
– You want to record a quick trip near a town or city.

Tracking in online mode generally works best in populated areas where the Hunt App can connect to enough cell towers to triangulate your position accurately. If you notice your location bouncing around on the map, this indicates your device is having trouble locating you, and you may get a more accurate reading in offline mode. There are apps available for download on your device that will provide you with information about cell towers and signal quality in a given area, such as “Open Signal.”

When to Use the Tracker in Offline Mode

– You’re away from populated areas.
– You’re in hilly terrain that may block cell signals.
– You’re unsure of the quality of cell coverage you’ll have in a certain area.

By default, the Hunt App will be in online mode until you tap the “Go Offline” button in the Offline Maps menu. Unless you have maps saved for offline use, the onX Hunt App downloads the map information you see from the internet, so it requires an active wi-fi or cell network connection.

Even if you have a strong cell signal, your device may only be connected to one or two towers, decreasing the accuracy of your location services. In these scenarios, your recorded track may not match your actual path, and you may see the line make odd jags and turns. If you see this happening, consider going offline.

Device Settings Related to Tracker Accuracy

If your tracks do not follow your path accurately or you see a straight line when you save your track, check your mobile device settings. Most mobile devices have power or battery-saving features that can be disabled to increase accuracy. If extending battery life is not critical for your trip, turn off any battery-saving settings for optimal tracker accuracy. Additionally, many Android devices have a “Location” setting that can be set to “High Accuracy” mode.

Tracker Use Cases

When used properly, the Tracker becomes an indispensable Map Tool for anyone who spends time outdoors. By giving you a visual representation of your movements, the Tracker can help keep you safe and serve as a surefire way to find that perfect spot time and time again. The ways you can use the Tracker are infinite—here are a handful of use cases to help get you started:

1. Navigating unfamiliar terrain: When exploring new grounds, the Tracker records where you’ve been so you can backtrack when you need to, or understand which areas you haven’t touched yet.
2. Navigating familiar terrain in the dark: Night land navigation is an advanced skill. The Tracker shrinks the learning curve by allowing you to record a track in the daylight for future reference when you’re back in the area after the sun goes down.
3. Illustrating the ideal path to a treestand: Finding the most efficient route to your treestand is critical to minimizing factors that might spook critters. Once you’ve determined the perfect path, record it with the Tracker for yourself and for any hunting partners who might be sharing the stand.
4. Tracking downed game: When you’ve lost sight of a wounded animal, you want to recover it as soon as you can. In scenarios where you find yourself gridding out land, remember to turn the Tracker on so you never have to take the same step twice.
5. Sharing routes with hunting partners: Make coordinating with your hunting partners easier with the Tracker. Share your tracks to facilitate a common understanding. If you’re an Elite member, you can also use Route Builder.
6. Monitoring time and distance: Curious how long that pack out took you or how long it took to get to camp? Getting into the habit of turning the Tracker on for these trips will give you key data insights for future planning efforts.

The post Making the Most of the Tracking Feature in the onX Hunt App appeared first on onX Hunt.

These features, though, are just the tip of the iceberg. They sit on the surface and are used by most hunters. But there are even more features to aid in your hunt beneath the surface. Here are some overlooked and underutilized features of the onX Hunt App that have helped me out in the field.

Wind and Weather

This past spring, I found myself scouring my maps in preparation for a spring bear hunt in my home state of Arizona. This is a water-based hunt where ambush hunting would ultimately be what gave way to success, so knowing the wind direction ahead of time was crucial for e-scouting. The Hunt App’s Wind and Weather feature helped immensely.

If you tap any Waypoint and scroll down beneath the coordinates, you’ll notice a “Waypoint Tools” section. In that section, you’ll see an option for “Wind Direction.” When you click on that, two options will appear, “Show Current Wind” and “Set Optimal Wind.” The Current Wind setting will provide the current wind direction and speed for the Waypoint.

The Optimal Wind setting is something that you can actually set to your liking. Say you need a southwest wind to hunt a certain area. Set the Optimal Wind to southwest, and the App will display above your Waypoint if the wind is good (green), okay (orange), or bad (red). Both settings are a fantastic way to study wind patterns in a piece of country before your arrival. Whether it’s picking the optimal ambush point or planning a route into a glassing spot, the more you know about the wind beforehand, the better off you’ll be.

Motorized Roads and Trails

Back before the days of digital mapping, I’d spend a hefty amount of time staring holes into my precious paper maps, marking areas with a pen, and wondering if I could even get into those areas via the roads. This wondering would then cause me to call the forest service in hopes one of them could provide me with road condition information. Fast forward to today, and all I do is turn on the Motorized Roads and Trails Layer. Done.

On the surface, the Motorized Roads and Trails Layer will highlight in purple any road or OHV trail with known motorized access. This is great in its own right. However, if you click on any road highlighted in purple, some info will pop up on the screen, including the name of the National Forest, county, and amount of acres in the area. Beneath that, though, you’ll see “Motorized Roads and Trails.” This will shine light on road length, if high clearance is required (or a SxS, etc.), the surface type, and even the open dates—all things I’d try and find out through my phone calls earlier in life.

A huge benefit to knowing when these roads are open is not only knowing when you can drive them but also when you can’t. Perhaps more importantly, it tells you when others can’t. I hunt a certain area for bears that has an open road during most of the year, but it’s closed during hunting season. This keeps out a fair amount of folks and provides some excellent hunting as a result.

Line Distance for Stalking

I do a whole lot of spot and stalk bowhunting. It’s one of my ultimate passions. One of the trickiest parts in the equation, though, is planning a stalk, finding the best route, and identifying pre-determined possible places to shoot from. For these reasons, I am borderline obsessive about my Line Distance Tool. The benefits here can easily be used for rifle hunting as well.

Once I have an animal spotted, I’ll immediately try and mark their position on my maps. From there, I’ll begin cooking up the best routes to take in order to close the distance. Once I get a route, I’ll go to “Tools” in the menu bar and tap “Line Distance.” With this little gem, I can literally draw out, dot by dot, my whole stalk in relation to the Waypoint I dropped for the animal. In between each dot, a distance will be displayed. Not only does this give a good sense for the actual distance I need to cover, but it also lets me know when I should be in range of the animal.

I’ve also used the Line Distance Tool when recovering animals in thicker country, particularly after cross-canyon shots with a rifle. By using the Line Distance Tool to determine where you’re standing in relation to your glassing spot, it can give you some perspective on exactly where you are relative to the range that the animal was at originally. In thick country, things never look the same once you get there. You may think you’re in the right area, but the Line Distance Tool could tell you you’re 100 yards too close. In that case, it’s time to climb.

The Sky’s the Limit

I’m one of those guys that will buy something, figure out a basic understanding of how it works, and then lay down a remark along the lines of “this thing does way more than I know.” Digital maps are no exception to that for me. Using what is on the surface will get you by and do it well. However, if you take the time to dive into the smaller details and put some exceptional effort into your mapping, you might be surprised at how handy these tools can actually be. They are on our side and want us to be successful out there.

What I’ve outlined above is just a fraction of what onX Hunt can do. Nonetheless, these things have helped me out in a big way. Little by little, variables that could otherwise encroach on our experiences can be chipped away because of a little more effort. Exceptional effort will provide exceptional results.

The post onX Hunt’s Overlooked and Underutilized Features appeared first on onX Hunt.

It’s no secret that the mountainous terrain and big woods of the northeast make up one of the hardest places to hunt mature whitetails. Beau Martonik helps shorten your learning curve by breaking down what to look for using the onX Hunt App.

In this five-part series, Beau details many different hunting scenarios and couples e-scouting using the onX Web Map with boots-on-the-ground scouting to help confirm that his target locations are worth a sit during the season.

From breaking down the big woods to timber cuts and creek bottoms, this comprehensive series on how to scout and hunt the mountainous regions of Appalachia is sure to help you find more success in the big woods this fall.

The Tools You Need

Timber Cuts Layer

We’ve compiled data from timber harvest projects on federal public land into the Timber Cuts Layer. Use this layer to hone in on areas with young growth and, therefore, a higher density of forage.

Custom Waypoints

Mark up your prospective hunting areas with fully customizable Waypoints. By setting Waypoints on potential stand locations, pinch points, and other areas of interest, you can cut down on your scouting time and make the most of every minute you spend in the woods.

The post How To Hunt Appalachian Mountain Bucks appeared first on onX Hunt.

We tend to think of land in one of two ways—it’s either public or private. If it’s public, we’re free to roam and pursue our favorite species. If it’s private, we stay away until we are able to obtain permission. With trends in private land access moving in the wrong direction for hunters, it can feel like hunting pressure is only increasing on public land. There is another category of land, however, that can be easy to overlook.

This land goes by many names across the country—Block Management in Montana, Hunting Access Program in Michigan, and Cooperative Wildlife Management Units in Utah, for example. More broadly, these programs can be called Walk-In Areas. In each of these cases, the state wildlife agencies have partnered with private landowners to open up recreational access to hunters on private land. It is up to you to research your state regulations in order to determine what you must do to lawfully access these lands, though, as the requirements are varied due to the nature of these state-administered programs. Additionally, not every state utilizes this type of arrangement.

onX Hunt provides Walk-In Layers for states in which these programs exist. You’ll find the Layer under the State Heading in your Layer Library, and walk-in areas on your map will be outlined in black and covered with a grid of red dots. As with many of our layers, these red dots will fade as you zoom in, allowing you to view markups and Basemap features without obstruction.

As you’re gearing up for the fall and scouting new hunting areas, make sure to turn on the Walk-In Layer in your onX Hunt App to see what opportunities may exist near you. Some of these areas receive heavy pressure, but a little research and recon might just open up a productive new area.

The post onX Hunt Walk-In Layers—Your Ticket to Private Land Access appeared first on onX Hunt.

Topographic maps give this hunting GPS app a three-dimensional view of a landscape. By illustrating elevation changes, hunters are able to locate peaks, valleys, saddles, and slopes—all critical terrain features for locating game. While reading a topo map may not be quite as easy as looking at satellite imagery, we’ve put together a tutorial to help bring you up to speed. By combining your newfound knowledge with unique features like hill-shading that make our Topo Basemap even more useful, you’ll be prepared when you hit the woods.

How To Use Contour Lines

The cornerstone for all topo maps is the contour line. The vicinity of contour lines to one another indicates the elevation lost or gained on any slope aspect. Contour lines close together represent a steep increase or decrease in elevation, while lines further apart represent a gentle slope. Spaces with no lines indicate flat ground.

The lines work by connecting points on your map that represent the same elevation. Every fifth line in the sequence is a thicker line referred to as an index line, and somewhere along that line is the exact elevation. To determine the elevation change in each contour line simply take the difference in elevation between two index lines, then divide by the number of intervals between the index lines.

Find Shapes for More Info

Contour lines will form shapes that define terrain features. Knowing these features and how they are typically depicted by contour lines is the key to extracting the most information from a topo map.

Some of the major features and their shapes are:

Cliffs – Marked by extremely close contour lines, indicating a sudden drop or rise in elevation

Valleys, Ravines, and Gullies – Contour lines in a U-shaped pattern will indicate rounded gullies, and V-shaped lines will indicate sharp valleys and gullies. Both the U and V shapes will point uphill toward higher elevations.

Ridges and Spurs – Contour lines will form a pattern of Vs and Us pointing downhill.

Peaks and Summits – Large circles with smaller and smaller circles within them. Peaks will be represented by the smallest inner ring or circle.

Bowls – Contour lines will form a semicircle that rises from a low point.

Saddles – Contour lines will form an hourglass shape with rising contour lines on each side.

The post How To Read a Topographic Map for Hunting: Contour Lines, Cliffs, & More appeared first on onX Hunt.

As temperatures begin to warm, it’s time to be thinking about morel mushroom hunting. With onX Hunt, you can create your own morel mushroom map and mark spots near you that are likely to hold morels. Then you’ll be the first to fill your mushroom sacks in the field.

What Are Morel Mushrooms?

Morels are mushrooms that belong to the genus Morchella and are prized by chefs and gourmands around the world. With their nutty, earthy flavor and almost meaty texture, they can stand alone in a dish or accompany hearty proteins like wild game and steak. And while morels can be obtained commercially, the best way to score a haul is to take to the woods and find them yourself.

Growth and Soil Type

Morels can be tricky to find because they so often blend in with the surrounding vegetation and soils. They tend to prefer loamy soils often found near creek beds and river bottoms and the disturbed landscapes found near old burns and logging projects. When conditions are right, there may only be a few days between the morels being large enough to pick and past their prime, so checking a spot only once in the spring isn’t likely to work out.

Common Topography

Early in the season, concentrate your searches on south-facing slopes that receive the most sunlight. These areas will be the first to hit the minimum temperatures for morels to grow. As the spring progresses, widen your search area to include likely habitat on north-facing slopes as well. Also, make sure you don’t ignore river bottoms and forest edges.

Burn Areas

One of the most likely areas in which to find morels is burn areas. Ideally, you’ll have identified sections of forest that experienced fires of moderate intensity during the previous summer. Use onX Hunt’s Historic Wildfire Layer to identify past burns—these areas are never a bad place to begin your search.

Trees Worth Identifying

Another common strategy is to identify particular species of trees near which morels are often found. In the East, these may include elms, ashes, tulip poplars, and old apple orchards. In the West, cottonwoods in river bottoms and aspen stands are good places to start your search. Use onX Hunt’s Tree Species Data Layer to e-scout from above.

When Is Morel Mushroom Season?

Broadly speaking, morels can be found from late March through June. The most likely dates for a particular area depend on the region of the country and how quickly the spring sun begins to warm the soil. Simply put, the sooner things warm up, the sooner morels will begin to emerge. A general rule is to wait until soil temperatures reach approximately 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

Morel Progression Map

As the morel mushroom season unfolds, morels progress most commonly by altitude, but also by ground conditions (such as wildfires from the previous year. Early season morels come up at lower altitudes, along river bottoms, and as the season progresses they begin popping at higher altitudes. Remember, morels grow when ground temps are between 45 – 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

You can build your own morel progression map using onX in part by marking Waypoints in areas where you found them in the previous season, noting the elevation and the date you found them. You can also build a progression map by looking at historic wildfires in onX Hunt, as shown below.

A Note About Poisonous Morel Mushroom Look-Alikes

It is important to make sure the morels you’re picking are, in fact, actually morels. A number of similar-looking “false morels” can often be found in the same type of habitat, and some of them can cause intestinal distress or worse. One common method to identify false morels is by slicing them lengthwise and examining their core. Legitimate morels will have a hollow core, but false morels will be solid all the way through.

Learning the difference between real and false morels is critical, so refer to field guides and other sources before consuming any morels you harvest.

How to Set Up Your onX Hunt App for Morel Hunting

While understanding where morels are likely to be found is critically important, utilizing the tools provided by onX Hunt can give you an edge as you begin your search. Note that the screenshots shown below are to be used for reference only—there’s no guarantee that you’ll find morels in the areas shown.

Using the onX Hunt iOS or Android Mobile App

Step 1: Click the link below to create an account and begin your free 7-day trial. Enter a valid email address and password, then select ‘Start Your Free Trial.’ After successfully creating an account, select the state in which you intend to hunt morels.

Step 2: After creating an account you’ll be prompted to download the onX Hunt App from either the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Go ahead and download the onX Hunt App. If not prompted after creating an account, searching ‘onX Hunt’ in either app store will work too.

Step 3: Once you’ve downloaded the Hunt App, log in with the email address and password you used to create your account.

Step 4: Turn on public and private land boundaries by tapping on the ‘Map Layers’ button, selecting your state, and turning on the state’s Private Lands and Gov Lands Layers.

Step 5: This is a big one. Turn on the Historic Wildfire Map Layer—this is the starting point for many successful morel hunters. To turn on this Map Layer, tap ‘Hunt Map Layers’ from the main screen, tap ‘Trees, Crops, & Cover’, and tap ‘Historic Wildfire’ to turn the Map Layer on. Once you return to your map, you’ll be able to see where wildfires have occurred, how intense they were, and the year in which the land burned.

At this point, you’re set up for e-scouting morel locations. Find the areas you want to check out and easily determine if they are on public or private land. Alternate the Basemap between Satellite and Topography to get the lay of the land, or use the Hybrid Basemap to combine both options. Then, zoom in on the areas that look promising to see them in more detail.

Mark locations of interest with custom Waypoints. You can even change the Waypoint icon to a mushroom to distinguish your spots from locations you’ve marked for other reasons. Stay safe in the backcountry by sharing your Waypoints and other Markups with your favorite morel hunting partner.

Download Before You Go

Conserve your smartphone’s battery life and leave nothing to chance by downloading Offline Maps for use when cell service is not available. Tap the ‘Offline Maps’ button, tap ‘New Map,’ move your map to the area you want to save, tap ‘Next,’ choose your desired level of map detail, and tap ‘Save’ to download your Offline Map. Remember that your position on the map will always be represented by a blue dot—even when you’re in Offline Mode.

Using onX Hunt in the Field

Before you take to the woods, make sure you’ve checked the weather and determined if morels are likely to be growing. Also, confirm that you’ve downloaded Offline Maps of the area. When you arrive, set a Waypoint where you park so you can find your way back. Additionally, use the Tracking feature to plot your course as you move—this is especially helpful if you realize you’ve lost something along the way. Add Waypoints as you go to remember particular locations, and attach pictures to your Waypoints so you remember why you set the Waypoint in the first place. And remember to switch over to Offline Mode when your cell service starts to fail.

How To Conserve Smartphone Battery Life While Using onX Hunt

onX Founder Eric Siegfried used the onX Hunt App on a 10-day hunting trip in Alaska—find out how he did it. Also, learn some additional tips on saving battery life while using the onX Hunt App.

E-Scouting Using Web Map

During your e-scouting and planning phases, consider using the desktop version of onX Hunt, the Web Map, to take advantage of a larger screen and all the features discussed above. Open any web browser, head to the onX Hunt website, and select ‘Log In’ in the upper-right corner.

Once you’ve logged into the Web Map, turn on public and private land boundaries as well as the Historic Wildfires Later. Mark locations using Waypoints—they’ll sync seamlessly to a mobile device logged into the onX Hunt App under the same account.

Additional onX Hunt App Features for Morel Mushroom Hunters

Wind & Weather

Markups (Waypoints, Lines, and Shapes)

Access and Road Status

Trails, Trail Slope, and Trail Mileage

A Final Note on How to Pick Morel Mushrooms

Coming home with a full sack of morel mushrooms can be one of the highlights of spring, and the feeling of satisfaction that comes with finding a patch of woods full of morels is hard to beat. Check the regulations in your area to make sure you’re on the right side of the law, learn to distinguish between real and false morels, and plan ahead to make sure you’re concentrating your search in the right spots. Good luck on your hunt.

References

MeatEater – The Total Guide to Morel Mushroom Hunting

MeatEater – Regional Strategies for Morel Mushroom Hunting

Practical Self Reliance – Morel Mushrooms: How to Find and Identify Morels

Field & Stream – How to Find Morel Mushrooms This Turkey Season

Outdoor Life – 12 Tips for Finding More Morel Mushrooms This Spring

The post Morel Mushroom Maps With the onX Hunt App appeared first on onX Hunt.

Often thought of as merely the Guinness Book of World Records for hunting, The Boone and Crockett Club was the first wildlife conservation organization a young nation ever knew.

Spearheaded by some of the most famous figures in American History, like Theodore Roosevelt, George Bird Grinnell, Gifford Pinchot and General William Tecumseh Sherman, the Boone and Crockett Club saw wildlife as a great treasure of the nation. At the time of the club’s founding, in 1887, wildlife was seen as a limitless resource, a notion that saw some species teeter on the brink of extinction and others tumble over the edge.

The situation was so dire, had the Endangered Species Act been law in 1887, every species of big game we hunt today would have been listed as endangered or threatened.

Relocated to solely live in memory.

A cry went out by some to outlaw hunting altogether.

The club, however, decided the only way to conserve the American species was to well regulate ongoing hunting. Regulated hunting was the only way to maintain interest and importance in wildlife, solidifying hunting as the pathway for wildlife advocacy and a conservation tool.

The club was also largely involved in promoting limited seasons, bag limits, licensing fees and permit ideals, like the Lacey Act, the Pittman Robertson Act, Federal duck stamp and others, to help fund the future of wildlife populations, as well as the notion of fair chase.

The club is also best known for defining what it meant to be a true sportsman—one who hunted for personal reasons and not profit, who abided by a code to follow the rules, hunt with honor and respect, and with a concern for the game of tomorrow. The name given to this code was fair chase.

Record keeping for big game species began after the founding of the club and is often what they are solely associated with today. Many hunters and non hunters alike, however, don’t realize the record keeping process is integral for tracking population trends for all species.

In the 1950s, through the use of the big game records, conservationists finally saw what they were looking for.

Wildlife was coming back.

Since then, club records have been used to monitor the peaks and valleys of mule deer populations, the plummeting numbers of caribou and other species as well.

While these records may appear to be a list of names and numbers in a book, they are in a very real sense proof of successful conservation made possible by sportsmen.

Today, the club has a new challenge in ever improving technological advances.

B&C and onX Hunt Look to the Future of Conservation

For a club founded in history and tradition, Boone and Crockett and its members are also well aware that technology and modernization can help strengthen hunting’s core message and base population.

With this knowledge in hand, the club took a partnership with onX Hunt and digitized their trophy records and transferred that data into a heat map, allowing for a comprehensive view of trophy and population concentrations.

Trophy records of animals, which are integral to monitoring big game populations, are now a valuable asset any hunter can monitor and use to their advantage. The new digital database works as a layer for the onX Hunt App and Web Map, showing concentrated areas where trophy class animals were harvested. Whether you are rattling in whitetails in Ohio, glassing the Arizona desert for Coues deer, or watching an Alaskan mountain range for sheep, the layer has trophy data for every North American big game animal you can imagine. The layer is not only perfect for hunters targeting high quality animals in their own state, but also comes in time for those planning to apply for out of state tags.

The Boone and Crockett Layer is available under the Nationwide Layers folder as part of the onX Premium and Elite Membership level. Premium and Elite Members will have full access to this layer as part of our partnership with the Boone and Crockett Club. 

Last updated: May 2021.

The post onX Partners With Boone and Crockett for New Conservation Layer appeared first on onX Hunt.

We’re hunters, and so we design products for hunters. It’s pretty simple. We won’t send you into the field with a product that we don’t use ourselves—we’re our toughest critic when it comes to testing, trialing, and improving our tools. And while we’re headquartered in the mountain town of Missoula, Montana, many of our in-house staff originally hail from the eastern half of the country—a breadth of knowledge that means we’re always weighing the usefulness of Hunt App features for all manner of hunters.

Wind & Weather

At onX, we believe in the power of weather to affect our hunt, so we’re proud to announce the arrival of our new Wind & Weather feature in the onX Hunt App. Enjoy live weather reports, weather forecasts, wind direction, sunrise/sunset times, and barometric pressure—all curated within the onX Hunt App to keep everything you need in one convenient place.

Map Tools: Line and Area Measurement, Tracker

Wondering how much seed to buy? Use onX’s Area Shape Tool to determine the acreage of your plot and the Line Distance Tool to measure distance point-to-point.

The Tracking feature in the onX Hunt App records your path as you travel. Turn Tracker on, and the blue location dot will turn red when Tracker is recording your path. Pause Tracker, and the dot will turn yellow, resuming its red color when you resume tracking. Once you’re finished, save your track for future reference—along with a visual representation of your path, the Tracker will record your time, distance traveled, and average speed.

Drop and Share Waypoints

Any hunter who places multiple trail cameras appreciates the ability to mark camera locations. Many of our onX staff deploy nearly a dozen cameras, and the ability to reference a Waypoint to see where you placed a trail cam can be very helpful come September when you aren’t entirely sure where you put a couple of your experimental cameras.

Use Waypoints to mark your truck location (with hunting on the mind, it’s easy to forget just where you parked), tree stands, and even promising-looking wallows and fields.

Hunters can share Waypoints to onX and non-onX users via text, email, or any other messaging apps. The sharing feature is a great tool to allow family or friends to know the location of camp or a planned route in case of emergency.

Private Land Ownership Data

One of the most utilized tools of the onX Hunt App is extensive private/public property boundaries. Our maps show clearly marked property boundaries, public and private landowner names, and more—giving you everything you need to stay legal and ethical. With more than 121 million private properties listed, gaining landowner permission may be one of the most obvious uses of onX. We have the most accurate and up-to-date property ownership available on the market, making it easier than ever to contact landowners to request hunting access.

When you see a stud buck munching on soybeans in late July, onX makes it incredibly easy to send the landowner a letter, stop by and knock on the door, or even look up landowner information in the Whitepages. The onX Hunt App also provides useful information such as acreage of the property and management unit details, making it easy to do your homework.

Conservation and Partner Layers

We’re proud to partner with a number of nationwide conservation associations. Through developing specialty layers, supporting various events and ongoing projects, and sharing marketing efforts, we embrace organizations that support wildlife conservation and public lands efforts. While we also partner with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, and other western groups, two of our purpose-built layers have special use for eastern hunters.

National Deer Association Chronic Wasting Disease Map Layer

Built in collaboration with the National Deer Association (NDA), the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Map Layer marks areas with known CWD presence. CWD is a transmissible neurological disease of deer and elk that produces small lesions in the brains of infected animals. It is characterized by loss of body condition, behavioral abnormalities, and death. CWD is classified as a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) and is similar to mad cow disease in cattle and scrapie in sheep. Read more about CWD and how to hunt safely in a CWD area.

Besides impacting deer populations, many states and counties have check stations preventing you from transporting harvested meat. Additionally, the presence of CWD in a particular hunting unit may affect the regulations. If you plan on hunting in an area affected by CWD, be sure to check the local regulations for any restrictions and be prepared to submit a sample of your harvest for inspection.

The NDA CWD Map Layer is a free layer found in “Current Conditions” under “Hunt Map Layers” and includes information about:

• Each county where CWD has been detected, with red shading indicating areas where CWD has been documented.
• Where to find CWD management zones, surveillance areas, testing sites, and carcass disposal sites.

National Wild Turkey Federation Sub-Species Distribution Map Layer

Another nationwide partner layer well-suited to eastern and western hunters, the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) Sub-Species Distribution Map Layer, is a favorite of both eastern and western hunters—and a great resource for traveling hunters looking to find locations to complete their turkey grand slams. NWTF was founded in 1973 and is committed to hunters’ rights and conservation. Recordkeeping began in 1982 and now contains more than 23,000 records in the database.

The NWTF Map Layer can be found under “Wildlife” in “Hunt Map Layers.”

onX may have been founded in the West, but we’re constantly evaluating how to provide hunters all around the country with the best possible tools to allow them to make the most of their time in the field. What’s your favorite use of the onX Hunt App?

header image: Sam Soholt

The post The Top Five onX Hunt Features Eastern Hunters Need appeared first on onX Hunt.

onX has partnered with RMEF for over five years now and product manager Matt Seidel said the partnership was a natural fit.

“We knew we had a tool that helped elk hunters and the staff at RMEF were very excited about helping spread the word about our maps as well,” he said. “We wanted to support RMEF’s missions of conservation and open access to public lands.”

The partnership with RMEF has also paved the way for the new RMEF Layer.

Over the last four months, elk foundation experts worked closely with onX’s in-house GIS technicians to compile decades of conservation data and elk habitat restoration projects. This complimentary layer unlocks a plethora of information regarding conservation projects, public access points and population heat maps, all in the palm of your hand.

Conservation Information From Across the Country

• Find over 500 RMEF Permanently Protected Lands showcasing conservation easements and projects meant to permanently protect vital elk habitat and range.
• Explore 257 RMEF featured access points, along with details like project names, managing partners, whether access is permitted and whether hunting is permitted.
• Heat maps showing the historical range of elk across the country and their current range.

The new layer is another great step in transparency as RMEF members and nonmembers can track projects and see the fruits of the conservation efforts put forth.

Never before has this much information been available on a handheld device. We hope this information helps to make your next elk hunt your most memorable while inspiring a new great era of conservation.

Learn more about RMEF’s latest access project in Oregon’s John Day Headwaters here.

Updated March, 2022

The post RMEF Partnership Brings Access and Conservation Layer appeared first on onX Hunt.

These directions worked on occasion, but were never ideal and left far too much uncertainty while navigating mountain roads.

onX is taking away all the uncertainty in giving directions with Waypoint sharing. Now when you invite your friends and family to hunt with you, you can send them your exact position on the map.

To share your position, make sure you and your friends have the Hunt App updated, then simply select a Waypoint you want to send your companions and tap the “Share” button. You can then send the map and Waypoint via text message, email, or any other method of your choice. Your hunting companion(s) will receive a link that will drop an exact Waypoint on their map.

Waypoint sharing is also a leading safety function as well. Now you can let your loved ones know exactly where you will be hunting, or send meet-up points before splitting up to hunt for the day.

The feature is free for the latest version of the Hunt App and doesn’t require a membership to work.

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