for those who use a compass - Magnetic declination calculator

[Brno22F]

http://geomag.nrcan.gc.ca/calc/mdcal-r-en.php?date=2015-07-21&latitude=55&latitude_direction=1&longitude=127&longitude_direction=-1

I came across this website. Just enter the latitude (degrees) and the longitude (degrees) for the area you plan to hunt. Click on Calculate.
Adjust your compass accordingly.

Don't know the lat or long. Go to Google Earth, put your cursor on the area you want to hunt and look at the very bottom of the screen. Lat and long (GPS Coordinates) are displayed there.

I know that the old school compass is fast becoming obsolete with GPS technology so affordable and readily available but there are still some of us old pharts who use the earth's magnetic field and a paper map for navigation.

Happy hunting

[wideopenthrottle]

http://geomag.nrcan.gc.ca/calc/mdcal-r-en.php?date=2015-07-21&latitude=55&latitude_direction=1&longitude=127&longitude_direction=-1

I came across this website. Just enter the latitude (degrees) and the longitude (degrees) for the area you plan to hunt. Click on Calculate.
Adjust your compass accordingly.

Don't know the lat or long. Go to Google Earth, put your cursor on the area you want to hunt and look at the very bottom of the screen. Lat and long (GPS Coordinates) are displayed there.

I know that the old school compass is fast becoming obsolete with GPS technology so affordable and readily available but there are still some of us old pharts who use the earth's magnetic field and a paper map for navigation.

Happy hunting

I am not even 50 (will be in 6 months) and would never rely on satellite based instruments as my sole means of navigation....good for way points etc but being 2 k back in the bush when it gets dark and have the batteries die really sucks...also when traversing moderately open country the damn thing goes to sleep and takes several minutes to re-aquire a satellite link...the one I have even points a random direction until it has dialed in again which makes quick checks while on the move dubious... just my 2 cents...oh ya thanks for the link!

[MichelD]

Batteries have never died in my compass.

[Brno22F]

Same here. I have had my Silva Ranger compass for over 30 years and the batteries have not gone dead. Must be something wrong with it.
Planning a trip to Atlin area in the near future so a compass declination adjustment is in order. Thought the web link might be useful to others hunting far from home.
Agree with Wideopenthrottle. There are some amazing electronics available today but they don't work well when the power runs out.

[BCbillies]

Will always bring a compass as they are about as faithful as an old dog. Neglected to bring a topo map on a week long goat hunt last fall and I felt like a part of me was missing . . . never do that again.

[Walksalot]

This is the site I use.
http://www.magnetic-declination.com/

[BiG Boar]

My iphone has a compass. Always wondered what it was for. Neat. So it tells you which way is up eh?

[gunsandhoses]

I am not even 50 (will be in 6 months) and would never rely on satellite based instruments as my sole means of navigation....good for way points etc but being 2 k back in the bush when it gets dark and have the batteries die really sucks...also when traversing moderately open country the damn thing goes to sleep and takes several minutes to re-aquire a satellite link...the one I have even points a random direction until it has dialed in again which makes quick checks while on the move dubious... just my 2 cents...oh ya thanks for the link!


I dont know know about you - but I really struggle to see my compass in the dark....

If you are going to (and I do) rely on modern technology like a GPS or Cell phone, it's prudent to carry a method of replenishing its power source - my Oregon 600 use two AA batteries - it really is no big deal to keep a couple in my pack as a backup. My delrome inreach and iPhone 6 uses built in batteries - so my LinearFlux portable charger nestles right next to those AA's.

in the last 20 years of using GPS for navigation I have never once been left flat/ blind or clueless....

[wideopenthrottle]

Same here. I have had my Silva Ranger compass for over 30 years and the batteries have not gone dead. Must be something wrong with it.
Planning a trip to Atlin area in the near future so a compass declination adjustment is in order. Thought the web link might be useful to others hunting far from home.
Agree with Wideopenthrottle. There are some amazing electronics available today but they don't work well when the power runs out.
same for me I have had my silva ranger for 25 or 30 years..i swapped out the baseplate to a military version (the scale was in mils on the military compass instead of degrees) and put the compass bubble from a standard compass on it ....it has the radioactive glow lights so no worries in the dark either

[Walksalot]

I dont know know about you - but I really struggle to see my compass in the dark....

If you are going to (and I do) rely on modern technology like a GPS or Cell phone, it's prudent to carry a method of replenishing its power source - my Oregon 600 use two AA batteries - it really is no big deal to keep a couple in my pack as a backup. My delrome inreach and iPhone 6 uses built in batteries - so my LinearFlux portable charger nestles right next to those AA's.

in the last 20 years of using GPS for navigation I have never once been left flat/ blind or clueless....

If you are using your compass in the dark I hope you have a head lamp so you can see where you are going. I have navigated many miles in the dark, in the woods, using my Silva Ranger compass. If you are using your GPS or cell phone in the dark, in the woods, I hope you have a head lamp to see where you are going.

[HarryToolips]

Awesome thanks for that Brno...I'm old-school and use a compass + other old school methods for navigation and I'm only 32, but your right, it is becoming for the most part faded out due to technology.. as stated above, too many things have gone wrong with tech-users, so I'll continue to stick to the old-methods..plus they're more fun as they are more of a challenge...

I usually find the areas I go even hours from home may only change the declination by a few degrees compared to what I have it set from home, so I'm usually too lazy to change it..I guess I should start..

[Brno22F]

You are welcome Harry.
A degree of declination may not be much of an issue unless you are compassing for several miles. Guys coming way up north from the lower mainland or east Kootenays would have to adjust declination by a lot. I threw the lat and longs for Vancouver (49 - 122) Hazelton (55 -127) and Atlin (59 - 133) into the calculator and the results are as follows.

Vancouver declination 16 deg 21min
Hazelton declination 18 deg 49min
Atlin declination 20 deg 10min

A 4 degree difference in declination could get a fellow way off track in a hurry.

[forestwalker]

Hey Guys
After having a compass for many years and never really using it I'm starting anew and have begun to take it on all my hikes and hunts within the last year. I am encountering problems however finding maps to go with my compass, it seems everyone these days is getting their maps from google earth. I've tried locating some airphotos in the closest hub to me (williams lake)for areas i'm planning to hunt this fall but nobody seems to carry them anymore. Where do some of you guys locate your topog maps of certain areas. I remember the old forestry foldup maps but haven't seen any for a coons age, I'm going to try the forestry office in Williams Lake. Even our local surveying company doesn't carry maps for sale anymore. Does anyone have any other suggestions as to places to contact or look for good detailed maps suitable for long stretches in the woods. I, like many, steer away from GPS and modern equipment, I don't trust them and like to cling to the old ways.
Cheers
Rick

[Brno22F]

Here is a link to the Natural Resources Canada - National Topographic System maps
http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/earth-sciences/geography/topographic-information/maps/9765

You can download a pdf of an index map and find the one for the area you will be hunting. There is also a list of outfits that can print them for you.
I like to download a Google Earth image of the area I hunt and laminate it along with a portion of the NST topo map so I have satellite image(google) on one side and topo map on the other.
For those who are more tech savvy like my younger son, he was able to produce a satellite image with the topo lines overlaid on it using ArcGIS. Taking it on the sheep hunt next week.

[Sixer]

Hello guys:

Have any of you had a compass go bad?? I.ve carried a Suunto M-3 for quite a while and when I brought it out this spring it was off, WAY off 50+ degrees I don't know what happened to it.
the store I purchased it from many years ago was good on the return and replacment( no M-3 in stock so for now an A-10) even the guys at the store could not belive it, we lined it up with many diffrent models
and was always WAY out. Was always stored in the same local so no wierd magnetic contact. I would like to hear your stories...
SIXER

[wideopenthrottle]

Hello guys:

Have any of you had a compass go bad?? I.ve carried a Suunto M-3 for quite a while and when I brought it out this spring it was off, WAY off 50+ degrees I don't know what happened to it.
the store I purchased it from many years ago was good on the return and replacment( no M-3 in stock so for now an A-10) even the guys at the store could not belive it, we lined it up with many diffrent models
and was always WAY out. Was always stored in the same local so no wierd magnetic contact. I would like to hear your stories...
SIXER

it will happen if there is an air bubble in the liquid filled center....
it also happened with an old compass I found while timber cruising...a wee bit of the paint (with some corroded metal attached to it) from the needle had come off and was floating around affecting where the needle points to

[HarryToolips]

You are welcome Harry.
A degree of declination may not be much of an issue unless you are compassing for several miles. Guys coming way up north from the lower mainland or east Kootenays would have to adjust declination by a lot. I threw the lat and longs for Vancouver (49 - 122) Hazelton (55 -127) and Atlin (59 - 133) into the calculator and the results are as follows.

Vancouver declination 16 deg 21min
Hazelton declination 18 deg 49min
Atlin declination 20 deg 10min

A 4 degree difference in declination could get a fellow way off track in a hurry.

You bet it will!!

[HarryToolips]

Hey Guys
After having a compass for many years and never really using it I'm starting anew and have begun to take it on all my hikes and hunts within the last year. I am encountering problems however finding maps to go with my compass, it seems everyone these days is getting their maps from google earth. I've tried locating some airphotos in the closest hub to me (williams lake)for areas i'm planning to hunt this fall but nobody seems to carry them anymore. Where do some of you guys locate your topog maps of certain areas. I remember the old forestry foldup maps but haven't seen any for a coons age, I'm going to try the forestry office in Williams Lake. Even our local surveying company doesn't carry maps for sale anymore. Does anyone have any other suggestions as to places to contact or look for good detailed maps suitable for long stretches in the woods. I, like many, steer away from GPS and modern equipment, I don't trust them and like to cling to the old ways.
Cheers
Rick

I think your on the right track with the forestry office...

[HarryToolips]

Hello guys:

Have any of you had a compass go bad?? I.ve carried a Suunto M-3 for quite a while and when I brought it out this spring it was off, WAY off 50+ degrees I don't know what happened to it.
the store I purchased it from many years ago was good on the return and replacment( no M-3 in stock so for now an A-10) even the guys at the store could not belive it, we lined it up with many diffrent models
and was always WAY out. Was always stored in the same local so no wierd magnetic contact. I would like to hear your stories...
SIXER

If you have the leveling bubble it can go bad, I think that's caused by a slow leak somewhere and the liquid coming out...also don't ever store it around ferromagnetic objects or any metal objects for that matter... are you sure you were holding it level and you didn't have it near any metal when trying to take a reading?? as a rule for myself I don't even trust electronics near mine ever..

[rides bike to work]

http://youtu.be/nn3V43TNu94