Beeper collar vs GPS

PTM

PTM

Active member
For my pointing dog friends, do you prefer to use the GPS collars over the beeper, if you prefer the beeper collar what are the advantages? Does the beeper spook late season roosters?
 
I can't think of a single reason why I (or anyone for that matter) would want a beeper collar over a GPS (other than cost, I suppose) but in my opinion a GPS collar is worth every cent. Frankly, the piece of mind in knowing where the dog is well worth the money. I always feel bad for the dogs that have those damn beeper collars constantly beeping right behind their ears too.
 
I've had both, and my GPS collar is hands down my preferred collar. If cost wasn't an option,. GPS hands down.
 
V-John said:
I can't think of a single reason why I (or anyone for that matter) would want a beeper collar over a GPS (other than cost, I suppose) but in my opinion a GPS collar is worth every cent. Frankly, the piece of mind in knowing where the dog is well worth the money. I always feel bad for the dogs that have those damn beeper collars constantly beeping right behind their ears too.
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Could not agree more. I hunted my dog with a beeper for several years before buying a GPS. For me, the beeper was a tool to locate the dog only when necessary, ie, I could turn the beeper function on and off from the transmitter. It was "off" unless I needed to locate the dog. Fortunately that wasn't very often but it was a PIA when it happened.

GPS provided peace of mind and instant knowledge that I didn't have with the beeper. I don't call to the dogs as much because I know where they are.

Last year we were hunting a field in Nebraska that was overgrown with head-high kochia. It was just too thick. We decided to pull out of the field and regrouped on the edge. My dog was 200+ yards away, but still deep in the weeds. She had lost track of us. She couldn't hear me call, and I would not have been able to hear a beeper if she'd been wearing one. But I knew where she was. I fired one shot in the air. The GPS collar confirmed that she heard it because the distance started closing immediately.

And my dogs run a lot closer than some.
 
matto said:
Could not agree more. I hunted my dog with a beeper for several years before buying a GPS. For me, the beeper was a tool to locate the dog only when necessary, ie, I could turn the beeper function on and off from the transmitter. It was "off" unless I needed to locate the dog. Fortunately that wasn't very often but it was a PIA when it happened.

GPS provided peace of mind and instant knowledge that I didn't have with the beeper. I don't call to the dogs as much because I know where they are.

Last year we were hunting a field in Nebraska that was overgrown with head-high kochia. It was just too thick. We decided to pull out of the field and regrouped on the edge. My dog was 200+ yards away, but still deep in the weeds. She had lost track of us. She couldn't hear me call, and I would not have been able to hear a beeper if she'd been wearing one. But I knew where she was. I fired one shot in the air. The GPS collar confirmed that she heard it because the distance started closing immediately.

And my dogs run a lot closer than some.
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You bring up a good point about calling to the dogs. One of these forums, a member had posted that hunting had turned into a 'video game' with dependence on electronics and looking at a screen with a bunch of beeps. Which, oddly is ironic given the noise beeper collars make and people hollaring at their dogs. Admittedly, I will call a dog, or turn the dog, but mine do run big and I prefer it that way. Even in the THICK stuff, (like you mentioned) you can lose a dog damn easy, very quick. Knowing EXACTLY where they are is piece of mind enough for me. Since they are my family, well, I need that piece of mind and safety.
 
Good timing on this post. I was hunting in NoDAk opening weekend and I lost my younger lab Brady for about 90 minutes in an
over the head standing cornfield with windy conditions. That's the first time this has ever happened to me. I had seen it happen to
friends with bigger running pointers. In retrospect, I think we caused the issue because we pulled out of the cornfield about halfway through which was where our vehicles were. I think Brady just kept going and could not hear me whistling, calling, or his collar tones. Not a beeper. I have been using the TriTronics Sport Combo G3 from about 10 years ago. After he didn't respond to whistles, calls, horn honks and shell shots while waiting at the vehicles, we walked down to the end of the cornfield, spread out wide and started back toward the vehicles. We eventually found him hunting back by one of the guys so happy ending, but scary situation.

So---what GPS collar system do you recommend and why? I'll need 2 dog capability. I haven't started looking or researching yet. One hunting buddy recommended the Garmin Pro 550 Plus with track and train 15 (TT15). I don't want to take a chance of this happening again.

Thanks-Tom
 
Tom, it depends a little on your budget (like everything in life, sadly) and your wants/needs. I have a Garmin Alpha 100 and I love it. I use it with 2 dogs and I find its easy to use (I will admit I'm in my 30s and pretty tech savvy when it comes to learning new gadgets). I can easily see both dogs on the screen and run the tone/shock when needed. The Alpha units have a larger screen that can display a map as well so if you buy an Onx map chip, it will overlay the land boundaries too. I do find myself using the compass on the Alpha to display where my dogs are and their distances more than the map. But the map is handy to know if I'm on public or private. I used it this weekend to confirm if we were still on public when the signs were a little wacky on a back corner of some public land I was hunting.

But if all you want is just a general direction and distance of your dog, the 550 is a good "economy" model.
 
I have springers so don’t need anything in regards to dogs on point. For this reason and the cost difference i went with the 550 plus. I have never had to use it to find a dog but it is reassuring to know it’s there if I do. I hunted many years with out it and never needed it but the situation you describe is what made me buy it. Now I wouldn’t run my dogs with out it. Have debated getting an alpha unit so has more details but the price keeps me from doing that. Maybe some day.
 
Munster has a great post -
I use the older Garmin 320. It has no "training" capability, it's just strictly track. It still corresponds with the older Garmin collars, and is able to correspond with the T5 and T5 Mini. Since it's older, you may be able to find it cheaper. It doesn't have the touch screen (which I like, because I'd think they are a pain in the butt with gloves on in the winter or in snow, or...) I can use it in field trials (I know you can use versions in trials as well). Since it doesn't have shock capability, some of my dogs are wearing three collars - which is ok with me. Regardless, I feel like you can't go wrong with Garmin when it comes to GPS and tracking.
 
PairOfLabs said:
Good timing on this post. I was hunting in NoDAk opening weekend and I lost my younger lab Brady for about 90 minutes in an
over the head standing cornfield with windy conditions. That's the first time this has ever happened to me. I had seen it happen to
friends with bigger running pointers. In retrospect, I think we caused the issue because we pulled out of the cornfield about halfway through which was where our vehicles were. I think Brady just kept going and could not hear me whistling, calling, or his collar tones. Not a beeper. I have been using the TriTronics Sport Combo G3 from about 10 years ago. After he didn't respond to whistles, calls, horn honks and shell shots while waiting at the vehicles, we walked down to the end of the cornfield, spread out wide and started back toward the vehicles. We eventually found him hunting back by one of the guys so happy ending, but scary situation.

So---what GPS collar system do you recommend and why? I'll need 2 dog capability. I haven't started looking or researching yet. One hunting buddy recommended the Garmin Pro 550 Plus with track and train 15 (TT15). I don't want to take a chance of this happening again.

Thanks-Tom
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It's funny you bring this situation up. I was hunting with a buddy - who at the time had a weim who really didn't range out. We were walking and discussing the Garmin and quite literally right after he said he didn't think he needed it, because his dog didn't run enough - his dog jumped a rabbit and was gone. We looked for quite a while for that dog - and he bought a Garmin shortly thereafter.
 
"over the head standing cornfield with windy conditions"

This situation is EXACTLY why I bought a Garmin. Dogs see the birds running in front down the rows and are SO SURE they can catch them. The race is on. In that kind of corn, the hunter can't see the dog very far at all; with the wind the dog can't hear the whistle. In an instant the hunter finds himself in the middle of 160/320/640 acres of tall corn and has no idea where the dog has gone.

I experienced that enough times that the peace of mind was easily worth the Garmin price. I have the Alpha 200i. I think the 550+ is really all I needed.
 
Alpha 100 with TT-15. When I bought, my choices were that, the Astro, and I think SportDog's TEK was out there, but still new. I wanted track and train, so the Astro was out. SportDog's TEK was getting more negative feedback than the Alpha on places like this, so I went with the Alpha. No second thoughts at all and no hesitation to recommend Alpha.

I use the compass screen almost exclusively. But then again almost everything in Kansas' pheasant country is laid out in squares and rectangles. It's pretty hard to get lost. One time my dad thought he put a dead rooster in his game bag, but he must have "missed". We got back to the truck and realized we were short a bird. The tracks on the map showed pretty clearly where it had happened and we were able to go right back to the spot and find the bird (again).

The touchscreen can be a pain, but it's easy to lock and unlock so that inadvertent touches won't get you on an unfamiliar screen.
 
Garmin Astro 320 with newer collars. If I forgot to load my gun I would go out and hunt (run dogs) anyways. Forget the collars and Garmin ... I would be turning around. Both my collars are T5s now. I have a collar for each dog. Usually rotate them, but it is nice to have two. The original DC-40 wore out.

I used a bell until I purchased the Garmin (5 - 8 years ago ... don't remember exactly). Bells go quiet on point - so you better always be paying attention. I did own a beeper collar. Used once. Hated the noise it made.
 
Lost dogs - one of many reasons to own ...

Pointing dogs ... it is great when they lock up and the garmin goes off ... searching instead of calling them (young dog breaks point, bad habit forming?) ...
 
I have used the 550 Plus for the past year and it is a great unit, I just couldn't get over how heavy and bulky it was. It just flat out gets in my way and is too much to wear around my neck (as I prefer). With that said it is geared toward correction with basic tracking features, and that was its intent. However, I just bought the Alpha 10 and have used it for a couple weeks now. It leans slightly more on the tracking/location features vs the correction features like the 550. For me I prefer how compact the Alpha 10 is and do not need the correction power of the 550. To correct a dog with the 10, it is just a button press to stimulate the preset setting of a tone, vibrate, or shock. To change that you have to change a setting with a couple button presses. It is very easy to use and very intuitive. My purpose is mostly tracking (peace of mind in tall grass and no lost dogs) with occasional correction, so the 550 is overkill for me. In my opinion there is a place for both, but the Alpha 10 is my choice.
 
I trained my dog to check in when I beep his collar, I can't hunt him anywhere near a dog with a beeper because all he does is come back to me. To non-users of beeping collars, it is very annoying.
 
Golddog said:
I trained my dog to check in when I beep his collar, I can't hunt him anywhere near a dog with a beeper because all he does is come back to me. To non-users of beeping collars, it is very annoying.
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My beep means come as well. That would be a bad deal.
 
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