The first thing I'll tell you is I don't believe one hunting app ought to do everything. Hunting doesn't work that way. Different parts of a hunt call for different tools, just like I don't skin a deer with my binoculars or sight in my rifle with a pocketknife. Good equipment has one purpose, and the best equipment does that purpose well. That's why I still carry more than one hunting app, and I don't feel the least bit guilty about it. Every one of them earns its place for a different reason.
The app that's probably surprised me the most over the last few years is HuntIQ. It isn't trying to be another mapping app, another weather app, or another scouting app. There are already some mighty good products that handle those jobs. HuntIQ took a completely different approach by focusing on the part of hunting that doesn't get nearly enough attention. Recovering your deer after the shot. That's something every deer hunter hopes goes perfectly, but if you've hunted long enough, you already know it doesn't always happen that way. That's the reason HuntIQ sits at the top of my list. It was built for the one job I never want to take lightly.
I've carried OnX for years, and I honestly think it's one of the best mapping apps a hunter can own. If I'm learning a new property, checking ownership, or making sure I stay on the right side of a fence line, it's hard to beat. Ol' Red swears by it, and I can't blame him. If your biggest concern is knowing exactly where you are, OnX is a solid choice and has earned the reputation it has today.
Brandon has become a HuntStand fellow, and after spending some time with it myself, I understand why. It's a handy app for organizing your hunting season. You can keep up with stands, cameras, trails, food plots, and just about anything else you want to remember from one season to the next. If you're the kind of hunter who likes keeping detailed notes, HuntStand does a mighty fine job.
Tommy is our scouting expert around camp, and he's become a big fan of Spartan Forge. I'll admit I've spent enough time using it to appreciate what it offers. If your goal is studying terrain, learning how deer use a property, and putting together a game plan before the season starts, Spartan Forge is a powerful tool. Tommy probably knows where every saddle and pinch point is before he ever parks his truck.
Then you've got Bubba. If there's a weather change coming, Bubba probably knew about it yesterday. He keeps HuntWise open more than anybody I know, and if weather plays a big part in how you decide when to hunt, I can certainly understand why. Weather has always mattered to deer hunters, and HuntWise gives you plenty of information to help make those decisions.
I've also spent time using DeerCast, BaseMap, and several others over the years. Every one of them has something to offer, and I honestly believe today's hunters have more good information at their fingertips than any generation before us. Whether you're looking for maps, weather, scouting information, or deer movement predictions, there are a lot of quality products on the market. That's why I don't spend much time arguing over which one is "the best." Most of them are the best at what they were built to do.
Where my opinion changes is the moment the hunt changes.
The second I squeeze the trigger or watch an arrow disappear through a buck, everything I was thinking about five minutes earlier goes right out the window. I don't care about property lines anymore because I've already made the shot. I'm not worried about tomorrow's weather because tomorrow hasn't gotten here yet. Scouting is over because I already found the deer I came to hunt. At that point, I've got one responsibility left, and it's the most important responsibility I'll have all day.
Find my deer.
That's where HuntIQ separates itself from everything else I've carried. It wasn't designed to replace OnX. It wasn't built to compete with HuntStand or Spartan Forge. It isn't trying to become another weather app. It was designed for one purpose, and in my opinion, it does that job better than anything else I've used. When I'm trying to make good decisions after the shot, slow myself down, pay attention to the evidence, and recover a deer as quickly and ethically as possible, HuntIQ is the app I'm opening.
I've heard people compare HuntIQ to every hunting app on the market, and I think that's missing the point. Comparing HuntIQ to a mapping app is like comparing a skinning knife to a rangefinder. They're both useful, but they were never intended to do the same job. The hunting industry has some outstanding products, and I still use several of them every season. HuntIQ simply fills a gap that I didn't realize existed until I started using it. It focuses on the part of hunting that matters most after the excitement wears off.
The older I get, the more I realize recovering a deer isn't just part of the hunt. It is the hunt. Everything we do before the shot is leading up to that one moment, and everything we do afterward ought to be about honoring the animal by making every reasonable effort to recover it. If a piece of equipment helps me do that better, it'll stay in my truck, my pack, or my pocket. If it doesn't, it'll eventually wind up collecting dust on a shelf in my garage with a whole lot of other things that sounded like a good idea at the time.
So when somebody asks me what hunting apps I recommend, I don't give them just one answer because there isn't just one answer. If you need maps, get a good mapping app. If you're serious about scouting, get a good scouting app. If weather is important to how you hunt, carry a good weather app. They all have their place, and I wouldn't talk a man out of using any of them.
But if you ask me which app I trust when the hunt is over and the real work begins, my answer is easy.
HuntIQ.
Not because it tries to do everything.
Because it does one thing exceptionally well.
It helps me find my deer.
That's my opinion after a lifetime in the woods. Yours might be different, and that's alright. You asked what I carry and why, and now you know.
One thing I hope folks understand after reading all this is I'm not trying to convince anybody to throw away the hunting apps they're already using. If you've found something that helps you scout better, understand your property better, or make smarter decisions before daylight, then you've already made a good investment. I've never believed in fixing something that isn't broken, and I don't believe every new product has to replace the old one. Most of the time it just fills a different spot in the toolbox.
That's probably why I get a chuckle out of all the "this app versus that app" conversations I see online. Somebody's always trying to crown one winner like every company is building the exact same thing. They aren't. Some companies have spent years perfecting maps. Others have become experts in weather or scouting. They should be proud of that because they've helped a whole generation of hunters become better prepared before the hunt ever starts. I still use several of them, and I imagine I always will.
The place where I believe HuntIQ stands alone is that it doesn't spend its time trying to convince me where to hunt tomorrow morning. It focuses on helping me finish today's hunt the right way. That's an important distinction because once that shot is made, nothing else really matters until I put my hands on that deer. I can always scout another property. I can always check another weather forecast. I can always hang another stand. I don't always get another opportunity to recover the deer I just hunted.
I've had enough long nights in the woods to know how quickly confidence can disappear. A perfect blood trail suddenly isn't so perfect anymore. Bright red blood becomes tiny pinhead-sized drops. Tracks disappear in leaves. One minute you're certain you know exactly where the deer went, and the next you're standing in the dark wondering whether you should keep looking or back out until morning. Every hunter who's been at this very long has lived through those moments, and they stay with you. They certainly stayed with me.
Maybe that's why HuntIQ impressed me more than I expected it to. It wasn't trying to make decisions for me. It wasn't pretending technology could replace experience. Instead, it worked alongside the things good hunters already know. Slow down. Pay attention. Think before you move. Follow the evidence instead of your excitement. Those lessons were true long before smartphones ever existed, and they'll still be true long after whatever app we're carrying today has been replaced by something newer.
I suppose that's really why HuntIQ earned a permanent place on my phone. It respects the hunter enough to understand that experience still matters. It simply gives me another tool to help make better decisions when the pressure is at its highest. That's not replacing woodsmanship. That's supporting it, and there's a mighty big difference between the two.
The older I get, the less interested I become in owning the newest gadget just because everybody else has one. I've reached the point where I want equipment that earns my trust instead of my attention. That's true whether I'm talking about a rifle, a pair of boots, a climbing stand, or the apps I carry on my phone. If it makes me a better hunter, it stays. If it doesn't, sooner or later it winds up in a drawer somewhere collecting dust with all the other "great ideas" I couldn't live without for about three weeks.
So, if somebody pulls up a tailgate beside me tomorrow morning, hands me a cup of coffee, and asks, "Waylon, what's your pick for the best hunting apps?" my answer is going to sound about like this.
If you're looking for maps, buy yourself a good mapping app. If you're serious about scouting, invest in a good scouting app. If weather plays a big part in your hunting, get yourself a weather app you trust. There are some mighty fine products out there, and every one of them has earned its place with hunters across this country.
But if you're asking me which app I hope I never have to use but I'm sure thankful I've got when I do...
That's HuntIQ.
Not because it's trying to be everything.
Because it knows exactly what it was built to do.
And after all these years chasing whitetails, I've come to believe recovering the deer is the most important part of the hunt.
That's why HuntIQ is one of my picks.
Now finish your coffee. Daylight's wasting, and those deer aren't going to wait on either one of us.