Has anybody here had recent experience with these. My shooting student Joe Wood bought one several years ago and swears by his.

Sometimes I hunt by myself and nobody knows where I am (sometimes even me) and I am going to get one.

Thanks!

Mike

You mean a Hunters version of an "I've fallen and can't get up" pendant??

Sometimes I do fall and cannot get up. At least until I can crawl over to a tree for an assist. I've always figured my cell phone would suffice in case of an emergency. Wouldn't the 'ping' feature work the same as an emergency locator after a 911 call?...Geo.

This EPIRB is smaller than a cell phone. The signal is satellite relayed. Not dependent on a cell phone tower.
http://www.westmarine.com/buy/acr-electr...EbK3xoCntzw_wcB
Here's a smaller one that can be operated with one hand.
http://www.westmarine.com/buy/ocean-sign...Recs-_-MB-_-PDP

Friend of mine fell, mashed his neck, and couldn't operate the phone. In an unbelevable stroke of luck two other hunters -and ERIC Doctor and an EMT found him, and arranged to get him out

I've hunted and trapped most of my life alone and am under the firm belief if you go into the field preparing for something to go wrong it will. I've had some very close calls but am still here and have some great stories.

I refuse to even take my cell phone n the field with me, my time afield is mine I don't want it interrupted.

If something goes wrong, it will happen whether you are prepared to survive or not. I even tell Emily where I'm going sometimes now. I can't give the marina operator a list of where i'll be fishing in the Everglades National Park though for fear it might get out.

Think I'll check into a personal EPIRB...Geo

I own land in WSTX that joins a state highway, During an ice storm an insurance adjuster slid off the road an into a brush covered ravine. His truck was obscured from the road.

He was very seriously injured and pinned in his truck cab. As there is no reliable cell service in that area. His calls never connected to a tower.

After approximately four days based on information from his cell phone and the coroner, he shot himself. His body was found approximately a week later when someone noticed the fence was down and saw a debris field through the brush. A very sad situation, it gives me the creeps.

Down here in southeastern Arizona in the foothills adjoining the mountains it's very easy to get turned around. My hunting buddy carries a GPS locater(I think that's what it's called) and will scroll in the truck location so he can find his way back. I've been relying on a compass and mental notes of the terrain.

BTW the locator also tells him where his dog is located when it goes on point.

Steve

George, the big selling point of a PLB or EPIRP is the ellimination of "search" from "search and rescue."
Gil

Joe's a pilot, knows how to keep temperature low at home and SAR alerted if needed. I carry SPOT which sends SOS and pre-arranged messages "everything okay at destination" or "okay but assistance needed", before calling in SAR . The messages go to home computer or friends with position on map and satellite photo. I also carry inReach which allows SOS or texting from anywhere in the world. Both are subscription but worth every cent.

There is also a form of insurance that you can buy when you go on hunting or fishing trips in very remote places, third world countries, etc., that will airlift you out of wherever you are in case of an emergency and get you on a jet and get you back to the USA for medical treatment. A friend of mine buys it each time we go to Cordoba, Argentina.

https://theairrescuecard.com/?gclid=CjwK...gIzaBoCUn3w_wcB

SRH

www.findmespot.com

When the SOS is activated it sends a satellite message to the command center along with your exact position. Rescue is on the way. Works anywhere on earth.

Does anyone know if the epirb frequency is monitored away from coastal areas? I wonder if a signal from on land would be brushed off as an error. I suppose it would be a good idea not to have the epirb contact info be the cell phone in one's pocket.

I carry a sat phone when I go remote.

Stan, most forms of trip insurance not only cover medical expenses while traveling and reimbursement of expenses due to unforeseen causes of cancellation of trips, but usually pay for up to $100,000 medical evacuation costs back home. A family I know had to second mortgage their home to evac their son from New Guinea because they had no trip insurance. Gil

If you're skeered it might be time to sit on the porch....

Forget EPIRB The SPOT device is the way to go...

The SPOT device is the popular item in the arctic and provided by most Hunter/Trapper Associations to members. Has saved quite a few.

That'll be the day!...Geo

I spent a week 10 miles off the coast of Belize on a fishing trip a dozen years ago. We stayed in a small fishing lodge (huts on stilts) on a small unnamed Cay with no one else for miles around. I made sure I had the satellite phone with me at all times. Years ago a shrimper friend took his boat about 40 miles off the Georgia coast to fish for snapper and grouper. The boat started sinking and all he had was a CB radio. Ionospheric conditions caused the normal line of sight communication to "skip" to Kansas where a trucker picked up his emergency broadcast. The trucker made a long distance call to Coast Guard Station Tybee which dispatched a helicopter to rescue the two men. Blind luck. An EPIRB would have lessened the suspense. SPOT wasn't around then. Both EPIRB and SPOT utilize satellites. I believe EPIRB uses both US and Russian satellites. Either is better than nothing, but do a google search for Spot v. Epirb before making the choice.

Having spent a long time in the Coast Guard before EPIRBS I can tell you finding somebody is critical to saving them. Time is a major factor live or die. At extended distance time searching is often limited by the Helo's range. You might remember the Replica Bounty sinking. They were at the extreme range of CG Helicopters, able to fly direct to the sinking vessel following a good EPIRB signal.

I can't tell you if Marine intended EPIRBS are responded to by the Coast Guard when activated on land. Or if somebody else monitors the signals.

Boats

I only saw people wanting one for hunting basically in their own back yard....

No one doubts the need in the Arctic or some foreign country.

I hunt an area in a river swamp that is about 10 miles from the nearest house. I was woodcock hunting 3 years ago alone and with my older dog. I had gone out in a cane thicket about a half acre in size, 200 yards from my truck. I had put the keys in my shirt and zipped it up or so I thought. When I got back to the truck, I couldn't find the keys. My vertically slit pocket was open. I went back to the thicket and looked around for the keys. Nada. I was about to walk out at dusk and decided to go back out and look again. I found them in the middle of the patch. They fell out when I was moving through the cane. Wish I could say it was when I bent over to pick up a bird. I have considered buying a small handheld single-side band radio. I am a licensed amateur radio operator (ham). There are relays that pick up weak signals on these handheld radios and relay them. My key loss wouldn't justify an epirb use, but the handheld could've contacted home to bring keys. Haven't moved on the hand held radio, but zip tied an extra key to the frame of the truck. Magnetic boxes are useless on bumpy roads. I also make sure the pocket is zipped.

Per King Brown, Last Dollar, Arctic, Gil and my shooting student Joe Wood I ordered the SPOT unit from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/SPOT-Satellite-GP...PS17DV344AZQ1CK

The Amazon page I linked to has hundreds of reviews on the SPOT.

Thanks!

Best,

Mike

Good choice!

Good choice Mike. You being much older than I, anything could happen.

A chubby old guy like you, if chasing an English Pointer like Skyliner across the California desert, is likely to suffer from a heart attack. Might use your avionics expertise to connect the defibrillator/pacemaker to your SPOT.