Don't put all your faith in onx!

[tim]

I have been dealing with the forest service law enforcement on a certain individual going where he should not be going.
While talking to the USFS law enforcement officer, they told me they are coming across people using onx, and it is wrong.

use onx if you want, but verify with the latest maps from the area agency. I do not have the app, but I do have a gps chip from when
it was huntgps. huntgps does not show my driveway on the correct property. just an example.

 

[JimP]

Everything that I have used OnX for they have been spot on. At least they have if the fence lines that I have checked out are correct. It also has the proper locations for my 4 corners of my property.

Remember they say that they go off of county data and perhaps US Forest Service maps. Everything is fallible, it you input bad data you get bad data out.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

You are right about most of the data being correct. But they depend on county information (as you said) but the counties can be wrong! They county changed the name of my road several years ago and it still has not been corrected on their maps. I put my current address in my gps and it say no such address, put the old address in and it shows up. My chip is wrong too.

Just sayin....................

 

[JimP]

The one thing that I don't like about the OnX now is that you need to get a subscription to their stuff to obtain a update. I'm not sure on just how often they get the county records to update their stuff. I did see on my Colorado one that it took 2 years before I saw the update showing my new neighbor as being the owner of her home

I may have to get one and update my 2 chips and then cancel it.

 

[nv-hunter]

Has anyone checked the dates on printed government maps lately. Bet they are even more outdated then onx.

As for the law enforcement officer what gps unit is he using that stands up in court?

 

[WapitiBob]

No gps is going to stand up in court.

 

[Bonecollector]

Like any other tool, use it cautiously. Trust but Verify

 

[kidoggy]

no it MUST be correct. here in Idaho it is the hunters responsibility to know what is public and private . no longer the land owners responsibility to post. if this is so , it only stands to reason that the courts MUST accept gps as gospel.


of coarse ,we DO NOT live in a rational society.

 

[RICMIC]

The GPS map overlay that the county has for my property does not coincide with the US Geological survey markers. Therefore the county plat book is also off (in my case, 34'). A GPS itself, even working with accurate information is not exact, but is generally within 16' or so (or so Garmin claims). Look at all the property disputes between neighbors that can only be legally settled by hiring a surveyer. Even having an accurate and up to date map in the field with you isn't the answer, because you have to use your GPS to determine your location.
So, what's a guy supposed to do?

 

[DRUSS]

this is interesting topic. I agree about the accuracy issues as I see plenty on my onx also. This year I hunted 2 new areas for myself and hunting partners and 2 different states. when researching for landownership and talking with fish and wildlife and state police (each state has different agencies who cover wildlife laws and enforcement) to find out who I could obtain the most current information on property lines to confirm we were not trespassing both states agencies (for hunting wildlife) told me that they use onx currently and if I had the latest updates I would have the same information that they would be using to determine boundaries.
I am not saying or promoting that its the best way or a good way just what came up for me this season.

 

[JimP]

What it comes down to is that there is very little data that a user can use that is going to be 100% accurate. Maps depend on a human drawing lines, GPS chips depend on correct information from the data programmer. At work we used to say bad data in results in bad data out. All we can do is to use the data on both a GPS and a paper map to come to a conclusion of where we are located at. In most instances there is a fence as a boundary, now did they place that fence line using precise surveying lines or was it from this tree over to that tree?

I have had one instance where a so called property owner ordered me off of his property as I was standing on a BLM road that went through it. It came to the point that I told him to call the sheriff and that I would sit right where I was at until the sheriff got there to settle the dispute, he decided that it wasn't worth the hassle and left. Come to find out he didn't own the property but the property had reverted back to the BLM but on the GPS it still had the old property owners info on it, but it still wasn't the person that confronted me.

I have since came to the conclusion that I will stay as far away from unmarked private as I can, if the property line is just a imaginary line I'll stay further away from it. It just isn't worth the hassle.

 

[88man]

The only thing close to 100% accurate is a physical survey! Overlays can be off.

 

[tim]

no it MUST be correct. here in Idaho it is the hunters responsibility to know what is public and private . no longer the land owners responsibility to post. if this is so , it only stands to reason that the courts MUST accept gps as gospel.


of coarse ,we DO NOT live in a rational society.

you just don't know what you are talking about most of the time. This particular instance is a person driving on a closed road in the national forest, but all knowing kiddogy knows exactly what is going on. onyx is wrong on this particular road in the national forest. Actually has nothing to do with private property. The leo was just saying they are running into onyx giving wrong information. take it how you want.

 

[mallardsx2]

Its all based on Tax mapping. Never bet 100% on tax mapping. Trust me on that piece of advice.

 

[taskswap]

We own land in Costilla County and it took a year before our name showed up in the ownership records. OnX didn't show it correctly until a few months ago.

I'm basically done with OnX - Basemap has come a long way and has a better price point so I use that. But in their defense OnX works really hard to keep their data updated. It's a lot of work pulling property records and land-use data and updating everything and they do a better job of it than a lot of other services that I've seen.

That said I agree with Tim above. It's ultimately still your responsibility, and you can't rely on anything - paper maps, GPS, and sometimes even property records can be outdated or just plain wrong. If you really want to avoid confrontation, the best way to do it is to not put yourself in the situation in the first place. If you see a clearly marked fence line staying out is easy. If not, don't go 5' from the edge of public land and wave your GPS around as your "see, I have the right to be here..." card. The best way to win an argument is not to have one in the first place...

 

[kidoggy]

you just don't know what you are talking about most of the time. This particular instance is a person driving on a closed road in the national forest, but all knowing kiddogy knows exactly what is going on. onyx is wrong on this particular road in the national forest. Actually has nothing to do with private property. The leo was just saying they are running into onyx giving wrong information. take it how you want.

sheesh , I were just kidding around . never , even considered some snowflake might take offense. I do however appreciate your acknowledging me as all knowing. it was not necessary but appreciated all the same.

 

[kidoggy]

What it comes down to is that there is very little data that a user can use that is going to be 100% accurate. Maps depend on a human drawing lines, GPS chips depend on correct information from the data programmer. At work we used to say bad data in results in bad data out. All we can do is to use the data on both a GPS and a paper map to come to a conclusion of where we are located at. In most instances there is a fence as a boundary, now did they place that fence line using precise surveying lines or was it from this tree over to that tree?

I have had one instance where a so called property owner ordered me off of his property as I was standing on a BLM road that went through it. It came to the point that I told him to call the sheriff and that I would sit right where I was at until the sheriff got there to settle the dispute, he decided that it wasn't worth the hassle and left. Come to find out he didn't own the property but the property had reverted back to the BLM but on the GPS it still had the old property owners info on it, but it still wasn't the person that confronted me.
which is why he left . he knew it to.


I have since came to the conclusion that I will stay as far away from unmarked private as I can, if the property line is just a imaginary line I'll stay further away from it. It just isn't worth the hassle.

 

[nv-hunter]

The only thing close to 100% accurate is a physical survey! Overlays can be off.

But anymore they use gps to map it and mark the corners

 

[RICMIC]

There are fences running everywhere through BLM and some NFS land. Mainly they fence off different grazing lease areas, protect specific habitat, or were just put up decades ago when someone wanted to "claim" an area for their own use. Snowmobilers see wire everywhere in the middle of federal land that is miles from any private property. In defense of landowners, on our last antelope hunt in north-central WY, a local rancher was the saving grace for one of our guys who had an accident.

 

[taskswap]

Yeah, a fence is just a data point, not hard science. I see fences all over on public land. Some mean the boundary of private property. Some are just fencing off grazing leases on BLM land that you can totally hunt (but please close the gate behind you! - often just a loose section of wire you can pull aside). Still others are old fences from private land that's now public but the fence was never removed.

I've also hunted land posted No Trespassing. Gave me the willies, I checked twice with the town clerk. It was USFS land, but previously private. When the owner passed away they willed it over. Nobody ever took down the sign.

The owner is the owner. It's your responsibility to know, and if you're wrong, it's on you. It stinks that it's so hard to know for sure, but that's the way it is. Still better than Syria...