Garmin Alpha 100 Reviews?

Flying Forester

Flying Forester

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Sep 20, 2015
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Jensen Beach, FL & Fircrest, WA
Does anyone use the Garmin Alpha 100 for their gun dogs?

I am considering one for my golden retriever as we work on her training and such. She's a great dog and while she's not prone to wander very far, it would make the wife a lot more comfortable if we had a tracking device on her should she take off after a deer or whatever. We also need an e-collar as we get farther into her gun dog training. Having both in one unit sounds ideal.

Other than the gut-wrenching price (a major "con") what are the other Pro's and Con's?

Thanks in advance!

Markus
 
My 2 cents - tracking collars are primarily for "treeing" dogs that hunt on their own significant distances from the hunter. I assume your retriever will be upland or waterfowl hunting where she will largely be within sight. Proper training (and the ecollar) should take care of fly-away or deer moments. As such I would skip the tracking collar all together. If you chose otherwise, one downside of multi-use devices are that if you want/need to replace one functionality or the other you are stuck with the cost of replacing both - for example if the e-collar functionality stops working or you want one that has different features at some future point.

Personally, I would get a decent mid-level hunting e-collar, e-collar condition the dog, go through hunting training with the dog, hunt with the dog a few times and see if running far beyond your comfort level is a problem, and then only if you need it buy a gps specific collar, a dog that size can wear both no problem.
 
I have one. It would be way overkill for an upland bird hunter. As stated, you can get far cheaper and do all you need to do. I hunt predators with my dogs.
 
FWIW - I would divide any claimed range by 2 to get a better sense of actual utility (by 3 if heavy woods).
 
I have used one for four years on a wire hair pointer. They are an excellent unit, and well worth the money in my opinion for a dog that is going to range out hunting. There were many times when I could not see my dog at all given the cover and/or terrain.

However, I do not think it would be worth the money to purchase one for a golden retriever. I would do as the others have suggested and get a standard E-collar and simply use that.
 
Northwoods Labs said:
The handheld unit basically like a GPS though, so you can use the On-x chip correct?
Click to expand...

Yep.

And to correct a statement above, they are not just for treeing dogs. They are also designed for pointers as well.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
They are designed for any dog that will be out of sight for more than a few brief moments. Generally, flushers don't fit the bill. However, if you have a dog that gets a wild hair and will run, it might be for you as well.
 
JLS said:
And to correct a statement above, they are not just for treeing dogs. They are also designed for pointers as well.
Click to expand...

The reference to "my 2 cents" was to signal opinion not fact. You could use them on any dog, but in my opinion overkill for the vast majority of dogs including rangy pointers. But of course others are free to have a different opinion.
 
VikingsGuy said:
The reference to "my 2 cents" was to signal opinion not fact. You could use them on any dog, but in my opinion overkill for the vast majority of dogs including rangy pointers. But of course others are free to have a different opinion.
Click to expand...

They certainly aren't overkill when you're trying to find a 24" tall dog on point in 36" tall CRP or sagebrush, but of course your free to have a different opinion.
 
Good to know about being able to use the chip.

I think a big part of GPS collar use depends on where one hunts. In northwest Wisconsin where I hunt it is extremely thick timber and wolf country. You wouldn't want to lose a dog in that. I can only imagine there are plenty of places in the west that one would not want to be dealing with a lost dog, especially if they do not know the country.
 
JLS said:
They certainly aren't overkill when you're trying to find a 24" tall dog on point in 36" tall CRP or sagebrush, but of course your free to have a different opinion.
Click to expand...

I agree 100% I use one for Upland. It is my GPS for Block Mgmt Boundaries and as stated above I hunt some thick cover and it vibrates when he is on point and I know where he is. Not sure why anyone would think this is overkill for Upland hunting

Pete
 
PeteE said:
Not sure why anyone would think this is overkill for Upland hunting
Click to expand...

Certainly room for differing opinions, but "not sure why anyone would think" is a bit of an overstatement don't you think?

Why would I think it? Based on decades of hunting with upland dogs (including the thick north woods of MN for grouse) without ever seeing a dog lost or having real difficulty finding a dog on-point. That and the hundred years of successful upland hunting by thousands of hunters & dogs before gps collars existed. Not saying others may not find useful, but in the areas I hunt gps collars would be the unusual exception (in fact I have never seen one in use in the field) not a need to have.
 
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