This OnX Hunt App Review covers, Layout & Ease of Use, Parcel Information Layer, Federal, State, and Public Land Parcel Layers, Aerial, Hybrid, Topo Maps, Measure Tools, Tracking and Track Library, Offline Maps, OnX Maps Web Application, OnX GPS Chips, and Subscription Pricing.
I believe these topics are the most important to discuss when deciding if the OnX Hunt App is right for you.
OnX Hunt App Review
Key Features Discussed:
- Layout & Ease of Use
- Parcel Information Layer
- Federal, State, and Public Land Parcel Layers
- Aerial, Hybrid, Topo Maps
- Measure Tools
- Tracking and Track Library
- Offline Maps
- OnX Maps Web Application
- GPS Chips
- Subscription Pricing
OnX Hunt App Layout & Ease of Use
OnX is laid out very simply and it took no time at all to figure out how to use it and is one of my top GPS hunting apps. I have found many GPS apps on the market can be quite confusing to use at first. OnX is one of the simplest to learn, while still being feature-rich.
When you open the app you will have a dashboard below the map. In this dashboard, there are 5 main tabs to choose from which makes things clean and simple. These tabs are “Map Layers” “Off-Grid” “My Content” “Map Tools” and “Tracker” as shown in the photo below. Everything you need can be found within these 5 tabs.
OnX Hunt App Parcel Information Layer
The paid versions of OnX give you the option to toggle off property parcel information so you can see where you are in relation to property lines. I can’t say enough good things about OnX with its helpfulness in finding out the owners of parcels. OnX has made it so easy to determine what house owns a certain property just by looking at the parcel information. It saves hours of headaches trying to find out who owns what parcel of land and talking to a bunch of different landowners.
In Maine, you can access anyone’s land as long as it is not posted. Often, I end up scouting a property first before I ask permission so I can figure out if the property is even worth hunting in the future. If the property is worth hunting, I will make a point to still ask for permission and OnX makes this a breeze.
OnX Hunt App Federal, State, and Public Land Parcel Layers
There is a lot to like about OnX but arguably my favorite aspect of OnX is that you can toggle on/off Federal, State, and Public land parcel layers. This is super handy because you can quickly scan the state you are hunting and find places that are likely to be open to the public. I use this feature all of the time to find new places to scout and hunt.
When possible, I prefer to hunt on public land so that I don’t have to ask for permission. It’s always nice to have a handful of public land areas in your portfolio of places to hunt when hunting season approaches. OnX makes it very easy to find these overlooked public land areas because it highlights these parcels so they stand out from the private land parcels. In the photo below you can see these highlighted areas.
OnX Hunt App Aerial, Hybrid, Topo Maps
OnX also has an excellent quick toggle button on the bottom right hand of the home screen that allows you to switch from aerial, hybrid, and topo maps very easily. Although the topo maps aren’t super detailed, they are quite good and usually give me detailed enough information for 90% of what I’m using it for.
OnX Hunt App Measure Tools
Measure tools are a must-have for me when scouting and hunting. I like to be able to measure distances and areas to estimate how long an area will take to scout or to determine how many miles I have back to my vehicle at the end of the day so that I can estimate what time I need to leave the woods to get back to the car around dark. This app has the option to measure both lines and areas.
OnX Hunt App Tracking
You can record the path you’re walking by clicking the “Tracker” Tab. Here you will find a big green button that says “Start” when you want to stop tracking there is a big red button that says “Stop” making it straightforward to use.
OnX Hunt App Review of Offline Maps
Another dynamite feature of the paid version of OnX is the option to download offline imagery. This allows you to always have a map in the background of your app, even if you don’t have phone service. I use this feature a lot when I am tracking bucks in the snow in remote areas of Maine, where service is rare.
This offline map feature gives me more time to hunt at the end of the day because I can find my way out to the nearest logging road easily. This feature also makes me much more confident when I’m in the big woods. It’s easy to get lost in remote areas, but OnX helps me feel comfortable going anywhere. This way I spend a lot less time thinking about getting lost or figuring out how to get back to my car at the end of the day, keeping me in the woods longer.
To do this, it does require a yearly subscription. Downloading offline maps is very simple in OnX. First, you navigate to the “Off-Grid” tab, then you choose the option “save a new map”. Next, you select the area you want to download, and then OnX will download it for you. After downloading is complete, you can use this offline map anytime, even without service.
PRO TIP: I like to keep my phone in airplane mode when using it offline. Since I don’t need service to load the maps anymore this allows my battery to last so much longer.
OnX Maps Web Application
The OnX Maps Web Application is one of my favorite features. With this feature, you can use your computer browsers to open the OnX phone app. This allows you to have a much bigger screen. Additionally, you can import and export KML files from Google Earth onto the website application. This information is then seamlessly transferred to your phone application. I believe this website application could replace Google Earth in the future altogether if it keeps improving. For me, this alone is worth the subscription price.
OnX Hunt App GPS SD Chips
Another awesome feature OnX provides is an SD chip that can be used in many Garmin GPS’s. I personally haven’t used this feature but I feel like it is worth mentioning in this post. The OnX website lists the Garmin GPS’s that will work with the SD chip. I really like that this SD chip can be updated so that the information on the chip doesn’t go out-of-date. In addition to buying the chip, OnX gives you a free year membership for the OnX App. This is nice because you’ll have a backup if either your phone or GPS stops working for whatever reason.
OnX Hunt App Considerations
The location icon in OnX is a circle. Because it is a circle, to determine the direction you’re facing in relation to the map you need to double click the ‘find location’ crosshair icon just below the map type quick toggle button. However, when you do this the entire map adjusts and throws off the north orientation. This is probably the worst feature of this app that needs to be fixed. In my opinion, this is unacceptable and I even use other GPS Apps just to have an arrow that points in the direction that I’m looking at while maintaining my north orientation.
There needs to be an option to keep a north orientation and have a triangular location icon that points in the direction I’m facing instead of the whole map moving. A setting to toggle this option would be great. The video below will help visualize what I am describing:
Subscription Pricing
Currently, OnX Hunt charges $29.99/year for Premium (a single state). Elite costs $99.99/year but gives you information for all 50 states. If you’re looking to get more information and/or to start your free trial you can head over to OnX Hunt App Website.
OnX Hunt App Final Thoughts
I hope you enjoyed this OnX Hunt App Review. If you have any questions or comments leave them in the comments section below or feel free to contact me on social media.
If you’re wondering what other GPS Hunting Apps are available you may like my post:
