Onx Hunt App Review: Is It Worth It?
For those of us who grew up in the pre-internet era, the idea of mixing apps and the great outdoors can be, well, off-putting.
We here at Rugged Man believe in approaching things from good old-fashioned methods, we always will.
We are certainly not fans of most things that are a product of the modern world. However, here we are, coming together on the internet to discuss hunting methods.
Despite our resistance to and disdain for modernity, one thing that we are absolutely interested in is filling our freezers with the most pure and healthy meat on the planet.
And, if a little app can help us to get into position to make that happen, in a timely and efficient manner, our minds are open to it. Especially if it helps us to identify and stay off of private property.
Today we’re going to take a look at, primarily, the Onx Hunt App and it’s worthiness to hold a spot on your smart phone. We will be exploring some common questions and considerations regarding this modern tool.
What is the Best GPS App for Hunting?
Over the last couple of years I have decided to invest some time checking out my hunting grounds on various apps, and I’ve found ONX HUNT is the absolute best hunting app that I have used.
ONX HUNT is the original gangster of GPS in hunting apps. Every other GPS in the hunting app industry is held to the standard that ONX HUNT has set and they have yet to be surpassed.
OnXmaps was already a GPS mapping app that started making a hunting app, which should tell you a lot about their GPS quality.
Released in 2013, it is still the #2 most downloaded hunting app on Google Play which speaks to a tried and true, enduring effectiveness.
The GPS is amazingly fast and accurate, while also showing you satellite and terrain layout. Whether you are trying to determine if you are on or off your property, or you are going on a serious backcountry expedition hunt; the ONX HUNT app’s GPS capability alone makes it a must have.
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Is Onx Hunt Free?
The ONX HUNT app is free to download, and upon downloading it you get a 7 day free trial of premium. The free version offers some amazing features.
24K topographical map and GPS
Local weather and wind conditions updated through NOAA
Aerial/Topographic overlay to see contours in the terrain
Hunting zones and Game Management Units or GMUs in all 50 states
Waypoint markers for finding your way back to your hike in location
Measuring distance between stands or blinds
Measure your acreage or food plot size
Connect it all to your home computer. This alone makes the app as in depth or more than any other hunting app out there.
Maybe the best part is that whether you are using the free version or have a paid membership, ONX HUNT is ad free! I do however recommend the premium version.
If my last couple of years doing trial and error in hunting apps has taught me anything; it’s that if you do not invest in a basic membership for these apps, you will not use them and they’ll just be occupying space on your hard drive.
If you are willing to spend a little money on it, I promise ONX HUNT will become an indispensable tool to your hunt preparations.
How Do I See Property Lines on Onx Hunt?
Some of the immediate perks to paid membership include access to ONX HUNT’s online Web Hunting Map. This allows you to scout your locations from home, sync your markers and tracking through multiple devices, and unlimited printing of free mapping.
Premium membership carries with it full access to onXmaps’ proprietary GPS maps developed by their GIS team. It not only identifies all public and private property lines, but allows you access to most of the landowners’ names (U.S. ONLY).
This of course comes in handy if you need to examine your boundaries while hunting, but it is also quite useful if you are looking to purchase hunting land, or if you need to contact a landowner you have not met.
Prior to developing ONX HUNT, onXmaps was the only app around that offered real time, GPS fixed checking of property boundaries. This speaks to ONX HUNT’s credentials when it comes to property-line assurance.
How Accurate is Onx Hunt?
Because of the monolith that is ONX HUNT’s proprietary GPS system, it is the most accurate GPS any hunting app has to offer.
I have pins dropped on every stand and blind I hunt, as well as game trails, scrapes, food plots and licks. The GPS system from ONX HUNT could not possibly map them any more accurately.
Of course this makes your familiarity with your grounds more keen, but what I love the most is that it really makes a major difference if you are taking time out of your busy schedule just to replenish a plot, check a stand, or do general maintenance.
I know from my personal experience that it has turned what used to be six hours of work into just under three hours.
Again, if like myself you cannot spend a majority of your time managing your hunting lands then you should be depending on ONX HUNT, not just for its impeccable accuracy, but for all the other incredible features it offers in tandem.
Some of those features are access to every different type of map available. From Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to county and state maps and QUADS. You are able to save maps of both public and private land for use offline.
My number one favorite perk to the ONX Premium App: Digital Map Membership 29.99/year premium membership is the feature for finding: Possible Access Lands, Walk-In Areas, Block Management Areas, and private lands that are open to public usage.
This is huge. If you’re like me, and enjoy the good ole boy method of knocking on a farmer’s door, then this is worth thirty dollars a year to narrow that search way down and find folks who want you to come hunt their land!
Onx Hunt Elite Membership
ONX HUNT has mastered the game in terms of mapping and property boundary tracking and they do offer all these features in a ONX Elite: Nationwide Digital Map Membership for $99/yr. This is certainly for the serious expedition hunter.
If you are going across state lines to pursue big game, you are likely already investing in a hunting app. The ONX Elite: Nationwide Digital Map Membership needs to be the one you invest in. You will not get as much out of any other hunting app, even leading competitors.
Onx Hunt vs Huntstand
I will leave you with this assessment. ONX HUNT is the best app for the avid sportsman, period.
The only competitor that comes close is HuntStand. However, as someone who has used both let me tell you that ONX HUNT is the only way to go.
HuntStand is a bit reluctant to sync with home devices, but most importantly for me the wind and terrain overlays and worst of all, the shot lane overlays are far more invasive to your map picture than the graphics provided by ONX HUNT.
HuntStand can stake it’s popularity on having property boundaries available for free, but the catch here is that you get no access to landowner names or parcel details without a paid membership.
The other catch to HuntStand is that after you invest money in it, it does not offer quite the amount of mapping and land information features of ONX HUNT, not to mention the inferior GPS system which can make ONX HUNT a great crossover app for hiking or camping trips into the backcountry.
Finally, ONX HUNT has a better system for seeking waterfowl than HuntStand. This kind of reliability and versatility makes ONX HUNT the obvious choice for the tech savvy Rugged Man.
THE FINAL DAY AND THE LAST STAND
On my final day of firearm season this year, I went chasing a buck. After nearly six hours in the stand, I was growing impatient and ready to stalk him down.
Three hours before I had heard him grunt away four or five smaller deer, and watched them scamper off through my Nikon Prostaff P5. Ready to take a chance, I tracked him to a fence line so I backed off and waited. The joke was on me because I still didn’t get him.
However, the convenience of being able to pull up the neighbor’s property to see where I should be looking for a first glimpse by observing terrain layout, and being able to drop pins on his game trail was much more detail and accuracy than I have ever had on a hunting app.
ONX HUNT is quite the handy hunter’s tool and can certainly help you keep the freezers full. Give it a try for 7 days for free. What do you have to lose?
Either way, get out there this season, with or without a hunting app and get it done! And, as always, remain Rugged!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ryan Smith is an avid angler and outdoorsman based in central Kentucky.
Ryan spends between 60 and 110 days fishing each year.
He is a carpenter by trade.
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