It blows my mind how many people dont know or wont learn land nav/logistics.. I've always had a great internal compass and I sharpened my skill while in the marines... I will NEVER be lost... I talked to this 18yr old person a few years ago and she had no idea where the directions were... she couldnt tell me what's north or south. She didnt even know the sun rose in the east!!! Our younger generations need our guidance more than ever now!
Great Video, hardest Landnav course I ever took was with the SAS. We had 12 hours to study our maps and they taken away right before we started the three day ftx. Amazing how much you can remember under pressure. CSM Chapa
Talk about overlooking the obvious. That third back azimuth trick is great and I never thought of it. These Land Nav videos are GREAT! Keep em coming! Equally amazing is Riggs ability to reacquire that exact same huge stick at your starting point. Good boy Riggs!
Liking it. Next level simple exercise for walking on a bearing is triangles. Place a small difficult to see marker at your feet. Set you compass to an initial direction and walk 100m in that direction. Add 120 degrees and walk another 100m leg in that direction. Add another 120 degrees and walk another 100m leg in that direction. How far are you from your start marker? 5m? 1m? How close you get depends upon both your skill level and the type of ground and vegetation you are moving through. This example uses legs of 100m and adding 120 degrees at each apex but the leg length can be anything you choose and clearly subtracting the 120 degrees also produces a triangle.
Land nav is a perishable skill, use it or lose it. These videos are great for new and experienced folks, they help keep the techniques fresh in our minds between our trips into the field. It’s the subtle attention to detail you may not even catch that demonstrate an understanding of the finer details, like when he slings his weapon to the side when shooting an azimuth. I’ve seen many soldiers scratch their heads wondering why their compass is ‘broken’, not realizing they’re trying to shoot an azimuth next to a chunk of metal. Great videos, keep ‘em coming.
Watching your videos, especially the lad nav one , makes me think of my DAD , he was a Cambodian Vet , he would always have us kids in the woods , teaching something… Like we’re are we now, how far from the car , what’s our ETA , to our destination… Luckily he would usually ask my older brother, and I could learn from his mistakes … Keep it up brother, and GOD BLESS….
If it's OK to post two comments on this episode. I would like to see a video talking about the UTM Central Meridian for each zone and how each zone has an arbitrary central meridian set at 500K making it east to figure out if a location is East or West of that zone's central meridian. A video from Bill Stoker on this topic would be excellent. I hope you agree.
I was waiting for that last tip. North end in the dog house on the way out, south end in the dog house on the way back. Yay!!!! (Me in the doghouse when I get home 'cause I stopped for a beer or two.) This was in a special situation, but crawling through and surveying caves, iron lodes are a constant problem. You need to take a back sight every time you take an azimuth, to cancel the compass error caused by the iron. This doesn't happen above ground very much, but there are large iron nodules laying on top of the ground at Shasta lake in California. So it does happen. Know your ground. Truing your compass against known landmarks and your map will help a lot. There's two trails. The one out and the one back. Visual back sights are always in order.
I thought when you got to No3 method, you were just gonna keep facing 190, then just rotate the bezel 180 , turn around and move off...I was close. Cheers Stoker Love the videos Mate👌
I didn't know the Camenga compass clicks were three degrees until you told me in another one of your videos; however I did know that the increments on a Suunto or Silva compass are two degrees along with flipping the compass around to find your back azimuth, which I learned from Kjellstrom's Be Expert With Map And Compass.
Gotta admit stoker, I didn't think #3 was going to be something I didn't know but that's a pretty cool hasty way to reverse without doing a 3 point turn. Never heard or thought about that.
Always like your land nav videos! I use the fourth method, I put the South end of the dial on the bezel marker. If I am going around an obstacle, I use the East and West indicators to make 90 turns.
I wasn't an Infantry Soldier ( I was a 3rd shop Armor 91F, now retired) so I didn't do much land Nav training. I did have to re-school myself each time before going thru PLDC, BNCO and ANOC. It defiantly is a skill that if you don't use it, you loose it!
Depending on the compass, you might not have to do anything, just use the white instead of red needle. Can also work in the dark, depending on your compass. 60 clicks sounds very error prone to me.
Must know ones' pace count, in steps to meters ratio (map on hand), as an example, a fast pace, fast walk, mountainous or flat terrain. This is an important attribute when conducting land navigation day or night. Airborne!
I’ve been using state parks and wild life preserves to hone my nav skill. Still not confident but getting there. The this woods of VA look a lot like GA.
many times when I start out from a linear feature (such as a trail, road, creek), I will "aim off" either right or left of my starting point.....especially if I'm leaving my truck. That way I will know which way to turn to find my truck once I make it back to that linear feature.
For a short distance you won’t get too far off with this method. But without following a bearing to a specific visible point and repeating, your lateral drift could get you way off over greater distance. Am I wrong?
PAUL navigation and using self mapping and incline degrees can definitely help with accuracy but in land nav none of this stuff is pinpoint (fatigue,time of day,pack weight,terrain changes, linear distance on paper vs actual distance over inclines etc). You already know brother. We get lots of folks out of Ft Campbell who are working towards OCS or SF selection for land nav. We run em thru the ringer a few days using all the tricks. Land nav is NOT a perishable skill. I get sick of hearing that. It only perishes because one is lazy. Knowledge is power. Mobility is crucial. Stay safe!!
Be careful in the new locations. You may stumbe across stuff some people may not want found....its no longer JBL and such as your former grounds we where used to seeing.
I saw in another video you were talking about being in NE GE. In FL there is no open carry of any weapons. Where in your area do you find the open land to hike with a rifle and kit and not get the police called? I'd absolutely love to ruck with my kit but here in FL my area is so populated and theres nowhere I can legally do so. After a quick search, it looks like open carry of a rifle is legal in GA, but is this just public land? Im sure people see hunters with rifles out, but seeing someone hiking with a dog in kit and an AR would likely raise an eyebrow in my area. Is this just some sort of WMA land?
360 degrees in a circle. 180 gives you the back or reverse azimuth - so if you went 0 your back azimuth would be 180. If you went 90 - it would be 270. If you went 300 (you’d subtract the 180) and it would be 120 Hope that helps
Riggs - 'walk softly and carry a big stick'! Good basic compass skills - that's what we like. If it's too complicated - just follow Riggs!
Flipping the compass around for a back azimuth...
So logical and simple that it completely slipped my simple mind.
It blows my mind how many people dont know or wont learn land nav/logistics.. I've always had a great internal compass and I sharpened my skill while in the marines... I will NEVER be lost... I talked to this 18yr old person a few years ago and she had no idea where the directions were... she couldnt tell me what's north or south. She didnt even know the sun rose in the east!!! Our younger generations need our guidance more than ever now!
Good puppy running around having fun in the woods.
Great Video, hardest Landnav course I ever took was with the SAS. We had 12 hours to study our maps and they taken away right before we started the three day ftx. Amazing how much you can remember under pressure.
CSM Chapa
Talk about overlooking the obvious. That third back azimuth trick is great and I never thought of it. These Land Nav videos are GREAT! Keep em coming!
Equally amazing is Riggs ability to reacquire that exact same huge stick at your starting point. Good boy Riggs!
Ive only ever gotten lost twice while hunting, both times in thick mountain laraul. It's the worst feeling in the world!!
Sounds like paradise to me
Riggs knows the way back!
Liking it. Next level simple exercise for walking on a bearing is triangles. Place a small difficult to see marker at your feet. Set you compass to an initial direction and walk 100m in that direction. Add 120 degrees and walk another 100m leg in that direction. Add another 120 degrees and walk another 100m leg in that direction.
How far are you from your start marker? 5m? 1m? How close you get depends upon both your skill level and the type of ground and vegetation you are moving through.
This example uses legs of 100m and adding 120 degrees at each apex but the leg length can be anything you choose and clearly subtracting the 120 degrees also produces a triangle.
Land nav is a perishable skill, use it or lose it. These videos are great for new and experienced folks, they help keep the techniques fresh in our minds between our trips into the field. It’s the subtle attention to detail you may not even catch that demonstrate an understanding of the finer details, like when he slings his weapon to the side when shooting an azimuth. I’ve seen many soldiers scratch their heads wondering why their compass is ‘broken’, not realizing they’re trying to shoot an azimuth next to a chunk of metal. Great videos, keep ‘em coming.
Experience suggests that prleople move in circles around a landmark and get lost. Good Fieldcraft explained about features.
Land nav is a class I so am looking forward to.
Watching your videos, especially the lad nav one , makes me think of my DAD , he was a Cambodian Vet , he would always have us kids in the woods , teaching something…
Like we’re are we now, how far from the car , what’s our ETA , to our destination…
Luckily he would usually ask my older brother, and I could learn from his mistakes …
Keep it up brother, and GOD BLESS….
If it's OK to post two comments on this episode. I would like to see a video talking about the UTM Central Meridian for each zone and how each zone has an arbitrary central meridian set at 500K making it east to figure out if a location is East or West of that zone's central meridian. A video from Bill Stoker on this topic would be excellent. I hope you agree.
I was waiting for that last tip. North end in the dog house on the way out, south end in the dog house on the way back. Yay!!!! (Me in the doghouse when I get home 'cause I stopped for a beer or two.)
This was in a special situation, but crawling through and surveying caves, iron lodes are a constant problem. You need to take a back sight every time you take an azimuth, to cancel the compass error caused by the iron. This doesn't happen above ground very much, but there are large iron nodules laying on top of the ground at Shasta lake in California. So it does happen.
Know your ground. Truing your compass against known landmarks and your map will help a lot.
There's two trails. The one out and the one back. Visual back sights are always in order.
Daniel Boone once said that while he had never been lost in the the woods he did get “bewildered “ once for 3 days…
Randall Actual is calling you out, sir!
Why?
back bearing are amazing and using the cocked hat to find out where you are, by using back bearings...
Nice. Have been planning on getting a 3H for awhile and will be ordering it this month from your Amazon site. Keep them coming.
Mike
I thought when you got to No3 method, you were just gonna keep facing 190, then just rotate the bezel 180 , turn around and move off...I was close.
Cheers Stoker
Love the videos Mate👌
I Like The Idea Of Using The Sun Or Moon Depending On How Ledged Up Ya Are In A Dark Forrest Or In Caverns, Etc! 😎
but for real, I'm about to hit final night land nav and that 3rd tip is going in the ol' tool belt, time NOW. Thanks Stoker!
I didn't know the Camenga compass clicks were three degrees until you told me in another one of your videos; however I did know that the increments on a Suunto or Silva compass are two degrees along with flipping the compass around to find your back azimuth, which I learned from Kjellstrom's Be Expert With Map And Compass.
Gotta admit stoker, I didn't think #3 was going to be something I didn't know but that's a pretty cool hasty way to reverse without doing a 3 point turn. Never heard or thought about that.
Having some new land to go explore is probably nice. It was really beautiful where you used to be but hopefully you are happy buddy.
I'm glad you brought up the 3rd simple stupid method, for some people that's about the only way you can get them to understand.
Always like your land nav videos! I use the fourth method, I put the South end of the dial on the bezel marker. If I am going around an obstacle, I use the East and West indicators to make 90 turns.
Awesome info, thanks for the pep talk!
I wasn't an Infantry Soldier ( I was a 3rd shop Armor 91F, now retired) so I didn't do much land Nav training. I did have to re-school myself each time before going thru PLDC, BNCO and ANOC. It defiantly is a skill that if you don't use it, you loose it!
Depending on the compass, you might not have to do anything, just use the white instead of red needle. Can also work in the dark, depending on your compass.
60 clicks sounds very error prone to me.
Thanks Bill!
great info with a strong message at the end. Thanks brother for what you do!
Great vid. I had no idea about the 3 deg clicks!
You had me a "inkstick"
Thanks, Stoker!!
Hi. I just love method 3 - simple and effective. Stay safe. ATB.
Informative and beneficial video, especially tip #3!
Tip #4 leave a tennis ball at the starting point and tell Riggs to get and follow.
Must know ones' pace count, in steps to meters ratio (map on hand), as an example, a fast pace, fast walk, mountainous or flat terrain. This is an important attribute when conducting land navigation day or night. Airborne!
Thanks
I’ve been using state parks and wild life preserves to hone my nav skill. Still not confident but getting there. The this woods of VA look a lot like GA.
my reverse azimuth is 'south in the house' from 'dog in the dog house'.
I did not know about the 3 degrees per click aspect. I’ll file that one away!
Mind blown…
Great video. Riggs keep carrying a stick around. You need to get him a rifle. 😂
Nice work Brother, always appreciate you!
Great NAV tip, thanks!
😊thanks for sharing 😊
many times when I start out from a linear feature (such as a trail, road, creek), I will "aim off" either right or left of my starting point.....especially if I'm leaving my truck. That way I will know which way to turn to find my truck once I make it back to that linear feature.
Great video! Very helpful.
So true … 👍
Good video, thanks for sharing, God bless !
For a short distance you won’t get too far off with this method. But without following a bearing to a specific visible point and repeating, your lateral drift could get you way off over greater distance. Am I wrong?
Fantastic content as always. Very useful
Good stuff!
What kind of gun strap are you using in this cuz it's badass how you adjust it to rest on your hip side to your front side?
PAUL navigation and using self mapping and incline degrees can definitely help with accuracy but in land nav none of this stuff is pinpoint (fatigue,time of day,pack weight,terrain changes, linear distance on paper vs actual distance over inclines etc). You already know brother. We get lots of folks out of Ft Campbell who are working towards OCS or SF selection for land nav. We run em thru the ringer a few days using all the tricks. Land nav is NOT a perishable skill. I get sick of hearing that. It only perishes because one is lazy. Knowledge is power. Mobility is crucial. Stay safe!!
Good stuff.
Be careful in the new locations. You may stumbe across stuff some people may not want found....its no longer JBL and such as your former grounds we where used to seeing.
I saw in another video you were talking about being in NE GE. In FL there is no open carry of any weapons. Where in your area do you find the open land to hike with a rifle and kit and not get the police called? I'd absolutely love to ruck with my kit but here in FL my area is so populated and theres nowhere I can legally do so.
After a quick search, it looks like open carry of a rifle is legal in GA, but is this just public land? Im sure people see hunters with rifles out, but seeing someone hiking with a dog in kit and an AR would likely raise an eyebrow in my area. Is this just some sort of WMA land?
Do you have any videos for dummies on how to use the compass
Check out my land nav podcast or playlist
gotta keep your meters and degrees straight
As always, boss outstanding content!!! Curious about any recommendations/links for gear/kits that the UA-cam overlords will not punish you for.
Whatcha looking for?
I would like to learn how to truly read a compus
Just have Riggs drop his Stick at 50 m an you Can you find your way back 😂thank you
I guess I'm stupid, but why was 180 degrees subtracted. Someone please help. Thanks
😮
360 degrees in a circle. 180 gives you the back or reverse azimuth - so if you went 0 your back azimuth would be 180. If you went 90 - it would be 270.
If you went 300 (you’d subtract the 180) and it would be 120
Hope that helps
👍
P.S. , always watch the position of the sun and the time
My preferred way is to walk backwards.
🇺🇸
You just need to know your pace count for a 100 yards
60 clicks
Shouldn't you have discussed how you determine distance while on the move ?
Could have I suppose.