garmin astro 220

[hoghunter91]

any one like tha garmin astro 220?? is it a good system or are there better?? have tha money to buy one just dont know what to get any ideas??

[Wormy Dog Kennels]

 personaly I love my Garmin, have been very pleased with it, thats all i run on my poy lickers, but i have heard that the quick track is really good too, with the garmin it has the tendancy to loose the dogs from time to time, luckly i can always pick them back up. Where from what i have been told the quick track, never loses contact with the dog, i guess it is personal preferance, I would rather look at my dogs on a map on the garmin, than listen to a beep on an '' old school system'', jmo, ................W.D............

[Bump]

Where have you been? You cant beat the Garmin

Unless your dogs are consistantly ranging out over a few miles....I can imagine hunting with anything but the Garmin. I dont think there is another GPS system on the market...that can compete yet. Buy a long range antenna and topo map...money well spent!

[got2catchem]

any one like tha garmin astro 220?? is it a good system or are there better?? have tha money to buy one just dont know what to get any ideas??

Leon, Come hunting with me one of these days and I'll show how the Garmin works. I also have a Quick Track 6000 and could show you that too. Hell, your only 10 miles down the road.

[stoked]

ive hunted gps from the beginning and had one before most. i hunted the dc30 before they released them to the general public. i have a lot of experience with the garmin. in my opinion, it has it's flaws like everything else, but it's cheap and one of the best tracking systems out there. i don't keep dogs that don't hunt. garmin has the technology that other systems can't touch. just look at the pics on this board. so many people are running gps now. why do you ask, cause it's the best way to make your hunt run smooth, which is what we all want. don't worry about range, the make long range antenna's if you are having issues. most peoples dogs dont get out far enough to completely loose signal without getting it back, mine included. my dogs average between 300-800 yards and i dont have any problems until they get over a 1000 yards, but it still does pretty decent. its the best thing in the world to know and see what your dogs are doing! good luck.

[lonewolf]

I love mine! Don't think I would enjoy the hunt as much without it!

[kevin]

I like the concept, but the collars are junk.  They aren't reliable yet.  They can't hold up to constant use, 3, 4 or 5 days a week.
I don't think I know anyone that really uses them that has not had a problem at some point with them.

 My opinion

[Circle C]

I run both Garmin and Quicktrack on my dogs, each for a different reason.

Garmin - gives you a good idea of what your dogs are doing, and their relation to other dogs on the hunt. The reliability and battery really leave something to be desired.

Quicktrack - can't beat the old school reliability, and longevity of the batteries in the collar. If I have to leave the woods for an emergency, I won't be fighting the clock to locate my dogs worrying about the collar battery dying.


This past weekend we put 5 dogs on the ground, right off the bat 2 dogs were out 1.25 miles, in and out of range on the GPS...we had 3 other dogs hunting within a few hundred yards... If I only had Garmin collars on the dogs, I would have had to pickup the 3 dogs hunting nearby and haul ass to the other 2 dogs before the got too far out of range.  Running both systems we were able to continue the hunt and let both sets of dogs work out tracks.  One of the dogs that had rolled out came back in, the other did not.  We kept hunting with the 4 dogs nearby. In time, the Garmin dropped signal at 3 miles on the one dog, with no need to be concerned as he still had a radio collar on him.  After a while, the group of 4 dogs located a hog in a creek bottom, and had him bayed.   Had we picked up the original nearby dogs, in order to go after the other long range dogs, we never would have bayed the hog in that creek.     That my friends is a real world hunt, and that is why I continue to run both GPS and Radio collars on my dogs.

[catahoula_cur]

I have to say, I like mine. Knock on wood I haven't had any problems yet, and I have had it for almost a year now. The only thing I would recomend is to buy the portable long range antenna if you are hunting in thick stuff. Over all its the best thing I have invested in when it comes to hunting with dogs. JMO

  

[cantexduck]

Dang Stoked, how did you get in so good with Garmin?

 I like mine alot. it allows me to see what my dogs arnt doing.

   Takes the geuss work out of where your dogs are.

[c.miller]

Collars are not built for the abuse we put them through, charging the collars is also a trick. Garmins range is not very reliable, I get around 1.2 miles max and after thats is your guess. Other than that they a great and save alot of time looking and waiting on dogs you can tell if their coming or going and thats nice.

[mississippi hog]

love mine.. only problem is the range but we run quicktracks for backup. One time the garmin (with map) really helped out on catching a good boar. The track was real old and the dog was trailing for a good ways then losing it at a road. When the dog got to the road he would lose the track and come back to us and start over. After the 3rd time watching him turn at the road on the garmin screen we decided to give the dog some help. We drove to the spot on the road where the dog was tracking to and got him on the other side. There was the track, and the dog set off on it again.. Well, same thing again, he would trail to a large creek then follow down creek and end back with us at the road re-running the track. So.. off we go to the spot where the dog was losing it at the creek. The boar had made several loops in there the night before and had trails all over the place. But by looking at the garmin, the dog hadn't been on the opposite side of the creek. We'll we crossed the creek and there was one set of tracks leaving out.. Got the dog across and on the tracks and, well... 30 min. later had a nice boar hog caught. If not for the garmin, we wouldn't have been able to help the dog out in spots he was loosing the track at. Definately worth the money...

[stoked]

Dang Stoked, how did you get in so good with Garmin?

 I like mine alot. it allows me to see what my dogs arnt doing.

   Takes the geuss work out of where your dogs are.

I had  a lot of issues with the dc20's. I was very frustrated to say the least (in the end.) I typed a long letter about the issues I was having and my frustrations. I also told them about the weaknesses the collars had. I didn't just talk to some random garmin rep, I got to the big-cheese. He wanted to work with me, so he shipped me a new dc30 before they released them to the public. The deal was that I would give him all the feedback about the new collars. I've kept my end of the bargin and they're already looking into a newer collar design. I told him about the dc30's charging issue. It's a pain trying to keep them clean, cleaning them, and getting them to charge. I have also told him about the antenna design. The collar doesn't run through the tracking collar loops very well because of the little box that's mounted to the collar strap (I forgot the name of it.) Anyway, the standard collar length isn't long enough either. Also, the collar still has a weak spot for water to get in. It's not anywhere near as bad as the dc20, but still has issues. Additionally, the collars are junk and fall apart if you hunt them hard. They need to go back to a biothane collar. Anyway, I can go on and on. Looking forward to the dc40, if that's what it's going to be called.

[stoked]

I run both Garmin and Quicktrack on my dogs, each for a different reason.

Garmin - gives you a good idea of what your dogs are doing, and their relation to other dogs on the hunt. The reliability and battery really leave something to be desired.

Quicktrack - can't beat the old school reliability, and longevity of the batteries in the collar. If I have to leave the woods for an emergency, I won't be fighting the clock to locate my dogs worrying about the collar battery dying.


This past weekend we put 5 dogs on the ground, right off the bat 2 dogs were out 1.25 miles, in and out of range on the GPS...we had 3 other dogs hunting within a few hundred yards... If I only had Garmin collars on the dogs, I would have had to pickup the 3 dogs hunting nearby and haul ass to the other 2 dogs before the got too far out of range.  Running both systems we were able to continue the hunt and let both sets of dogs work out tracks.  One of the dogs that had rolled out came back in, the other did not.  We kept hunting with the 4 dogs nearby. In time, the Garmin dropped signal at 3 miles on the one dog, with no need to be concerned as he still had a radio collar on him.  After a while, the group of 4 dogs located a hog in a creek bottom, and had him bayed.   Had we picked up the original nearby dogs, in order to go after the other long range dogs, we never would have bayed the hog in that creek.     That my friends is a real world hunt, and that is why I continue to run both GPS and Radio collars on my dogs.

I think circle c has the right idea. nothing wrong with extra tracking. I know it's gotta suck to put all that on every dog, cause im about to pull my hair out just vesting and putting tracking and shock collars on. It's a long process to say the least. You know how they are too, always wanting to love on you while your trying to vest the other dogs. Putting their heads on top of your hands and wanting you to pet them. For crying out loud, if I could vest and collar a dog from waist high while the dog was clipped along with all the others like in the boat, I would be a happy man.