The best Garmin watch for hunting can have more meaning than just telling time. It’s a valuable tool, and it helps execute our daily activities. If you attend a dinner party, you’ll need a dinner watch. If you go fishing, you’ll need a fishing watch; if you go hunting, you’ll need a watch.
Hunting watches are unique. Hunters like the thrill of being outdoors and away from life’s troubles; hence they can quickly lose track of time or wander into uncharted territories. With hunting watches’ technology, they don’t have to worry about them.
You can also use a hunting watch to predict deer movements instead of waiting hours for them to come out of their hideouts. It eliminates a large portion of time that would have been wasted if you waited for the deer to come to you.
Benefits of Using a Garmin Watch For Hunting
It has remarkable GPS tracking.
Garmin offers the best handheld GPS accessories, which are handy when integrating the built-in GPS for marking and tracking your hunting routes in the deep woods.
This watch is also the best when hunting with dogs. Hunting rabbits accompanied by your dog is fun, but you’ll need to keep checking on the dog occasionally. A Garmin watch lets you easily track and see the dog’s direction.
Used for mapping
Garmin watches save the location you are at when you go hunting. It has a GPS to store coordinates (latitudes and longitudes), which is handy when mapping your review.
Most hunters like to look at the stored coordinates after a long and tiring hunt; this is easier with a hunting watch that has a GPS. They must press a single button and save their coordinates, then move to the following location.
Send text messages without using a phone.
The Garmin hunting smartwatch contains all the smart notifications you’ll need for outdoor activities. After a long hunting day, you can check your phone notifications, emails, and text messages on your watch, and you don’t have to wait to go home to check your phone.
Used in weather updates and forecast
Instead of spending a lot of time texting and guessing about the weather conditions, use a Garmin Fenix hunting watch. It has hourly, daily, and weekly weather forecasts.
It will also prepare you to expect either cold temperatures or adverse weather conditions so you can focus on beating the wild.
It contains a Barometer, Altimeter, and a Compass.
Carrying these sensors is inconvenient for a hunter who is supposed to carry a hunting gun rather than a compass while in the forest. So, having such a watch containing all the sensors is very helpful.
The Altimeter helps to record the altitude, especially when climbing a mountain. Barometer reads the changes in air pressure to alert you when a storm or bad weather is coming. The onboard compass gives you primary bearing and direction.
The Top Best Garmin Watches For Hunting
Garmin Fenix 6
The best hunting watches money can buy. It tracks adventures, performs well, and has GPS mapping on almost every outdoor activity. It contains a lighter and slimmer chassis and optimized battery management.
It has a robust design to withstand harsh outdoor environments and elements such as mud, water, and extreme temperatures. It’s not sleek and looks a little monstrous for people with slender wrists.
It is controlled using buttons instead of a touchscreen, which makes it easy to operate in windy and wet environments such as underwater. No accidental commands can occur when operating this watch since you use buttons.
Its screen is the most significant design upgrade. It has a resolution display of 1.3in, 260×260 offering. This upgrade makes a lot of difference, and the text display is much more apparent.
It has a sensor to measure heart rate and heart rate when submerged underwater. It also comes with a pulse oximeter integrated and branded as ‘Pulse Ox4’ by Garmin to allow the user to track their body’s oxygen absorption.
Other features include:
- Stress tracking
- Incident detection that sends emails and automated SMS, including the GPS location and your name to the listed emergency contacts
- Elevated HR sensors
Fenix 6 can track many activities, such as swimming, running, cycling, Yoga, and skiing. It can also track cardio during high-intensity workouts.
Pros
- It has activity tracking, which is detailed and accurate
- The best device for outdoor tracking
- It has a long battery life
- Its design is unbreakable
Cons
- It has limited functionality
- It does not include many new features compared to Fenix 5
- It’s expensive
- The connect IQ store is a bit clunky
Garmin Vivoactive 3 GPS Smartwatch
The Garmin Vivoactive 3 is the best watch to buy if you’re shopping using a tight budget. The premium features are not included, but it’s an excellent quality-to-price ratio watch. It’s usually designed for runners and can be used on hunting trips.
It’s made from durable materials, can withstand harsh conditions, and is easily cleaned at the end of the hunt. Its case is manufactured from stainless steel and plastic and is a silicone band.
It contains gorilla glass which is resistant to scratches and gives the watch robust dial protection. It’s available in different colors like gray, black, and white.
Garmin Vivoactive 3 watch can access 15 GPS, preloaded, and sports apps, including swimming, running, Yoga, and many more. Log into the IQ store of Garmin and choose any smartwatch-free face you can be used to make payments. When you rest from hunting, you can use this watch to buy refreshments. Its model also comes with a heart rate monitor and a stress monitor, which depend on the variability of the heart rate.
This watch is also compatible with Android and iOS mobile devices, which means you will be getting notifications on your watch when you are hunting. Its battery lasts for about seven days.
Pros
- It’s compatible with Android and iOS
- Has a heart rate variability
- It has up to 15 GPS, which is already preloaded
- Affordable to people on a budget
Cons
- Has a weak water resistance (50m)
Garmin Tactix Bravo
This Garmin watch is one of the best-rugged watches hunters use when they compare the price-to-quality ratio.
It’s durable, knurled, black, anti-reflective carbon shaped like a diamond and coated with a stainless steel EXO antenna, providing increased rust and abrasion resistance.
It’s a GPS watch premium built and has highly sensitive GPS for route finding and positioning. The GPS also comes in handy in tracking deer in deep forests.
These hunters’ watch also has Altimeter, compass, and barometer sensors for tracking outdoor expeditions and adventures. Therefore, it’s the best watch for hiking, hunting, and fishing. It is waterproof to withstand showers and splashes in wet environments.
It comes with a three-ring interchangeable strap made of nylon to fit comfortably. Its protective stainless steel bezel and buttons make this watch look rugged even in hazardous weather conditions.
Its battery life lasts up to three weeks in the smartwatch mode, 22 hours in GPS mode for deer hunting, and 48 hours in UltraTrac battery saver mode.
Pros
- Its compatible with Android and iOS gadgets
- It’s waterproof (100m), used for swimming
- It has exceptional compatibility with the night goggles
- It uses signals from three different satellite networks
- Its GPS/GLONASS positioning has a high sensitivity
Cons
- Could be good
Garmin Instinct
This watch is the most rugged timepiece in terms of quality-to-price ratio. It contains a standard GPS signal and picks its data from GLONASS and Galileo satellite networks to give you more reliable coordinates even in an unpredictable environment.
Garmin Instinct contains an in-built altimeter, barometer, and compass to help you navigate your hunting routes. Trackback is another feature found in this watch that aids you in navigating back the same route to where you started.
It’s made using the U.S. military standard 810G, and the end product is an impressive, durable device resistant to water (100m), shocks, and temperature. Its body is made from a fiber-reinforced polymer, forming a rugged and easy-to-clean plastic.
A mineral glass is combined with a dial widow for further protection from damage. It also has a display that is easy to read even during bright sunlight.
And since Garmin Instinct is a smartwatch, it has additional functions contributing to your well-being during a hunting trip. They include:
- Stress monitor
- Activity Monitor
- Heart rate monitor
The watch is compatible with iOS and Android devices so that you can connect your phone, and after enabling all notifications, the watch can do the rest.
Its battery life is rather impressive. The regular smartwatch mode runs for 14 days without charging. In GPS mode, it runs for 16 hassle-free hours, and when in Ultratrac battery-saving mode, it runs for 40 hours.
Pros
- Rugged body
- Trackback feature
- Signals from three different satellite networks
- Resistant to low temperatures, shocks, and water
- Barometer, compass, and an altimeter
Cons
- It’s expensive
Garmin Fenix 5X Plus
This outdoor watch is perfect for hunting adventures if you’re willing to spend much more money than budgeted. It’s the ultimate multisport GPS watch that estimates your heart rate from your wrist to ensure your wellness.
It’s a premium GPS watch used for hunting, and it features a Pulse Ox sensor which is adaptive and placed on the wrist. It comes in handy when you’re hiking high-altitude mountains. It will help in estimating your blood oxygen saturation.
Its design is made from scratch-resistant, scratch-resistant sapphire lens and a stainless steel carbon shape like a diamond titanium bezel and a strong back case. Another feature is the TOPO map which is fully colored and used to explore uncharted deer areas and track them.
Altimeter, barometer, and compass also are helpful when venturing unbeatable paths while hunting. With the MSPR function included, this watch is best for military hunting.
The GPS in the watch can play and store songs, a nifty wearable entertainment gadget when hunting solo. It has a storage of around 500 songs and playbacks, accompanied by Bluetooth headphones.
With the multiple GPS networks, GLONASS, and Galileo satellite reception, you can track hounds and locate deer in challenging environments. Its battery life can last up to 22 days in smartwatch mode and 14 hours with music.
Pros
- It comes with a barometer, Altimeter, and a compass
- It has a multi-networking navigation
- Its TOPO mapping is full-colored
- It uses a wrist-based heart rate
Cons
- No refunds after the purchase
How To Choose the Best Garmin Watch
Choosing the right hunting watch can sometimes be overwhelming and complicated. Therefore, I wrote this overview to help you make the right decision. With different features explained, it might be easier for a hunter to choose.
Don’t compromise the comfort of your wrist, so pick a Garmin watch that’s comfortable and suitable to wear while shooting. You can also choose the best Garmin watch by checking the following features:
Durability
Hunting is an activity that increases the risk of damaging your watch. Hence it would help if you had a good quality watch that would protect your screen from being scratched by tree branches. Consider buying watches with gorilla glass, mineral crystal, and power glass.
Ensure the band, and the case is made of durable materials such as silicon, titanium, and stainless steel. It should also be water-resistant in case the weather changes while hunting.
Appropriate appearance
A competent watch for hunting should camouflage to avoid unnecessary attention. Its flashy and reflective colors shouldn’t distract the animals you’re hunting.
Functioning GPS
All Garmin watches used for hunting have an inbuilt GPS to navigate data from Galileo, GPS, and GLONASS satellite networks.
Battery life
Ensure your hunting watch can at least last a whole day. On GPS, more battery life is 10 hours, which is better since it’ll keep you company all day.
FAQs on the Best Garmin watch for hunting.
Which Is the Best Watch For Hunting?
Garmin Instinct is the best and the most powerfully built GPS hunting watch when going for extreme hunting trips since it can withstand harsh environments. Its 100m waterproof makes it the best smartwatch for hunting and fishing.
Is the Garmin Watch Distance Accurate?
The distance accuracy measured by the GPS Garmin watches about three meters. Hence at any given time, your device will save your location within three meters of your actual location. This device can also record more distance while stopped in areas with degraded GPS signals.
What Is GLONASS?
GLONASS, an abbreviation for Global Navigation Satellite System, is a Russian satellite-based navigation system that works alongside GPS (Global Positioning System) to deliver information to compatible devices.
Conclusion
There you have it. The top 5 Garmin watches for hunting. With one of the above options, you can make your hunting trip a breeze.