Huntstand, ONX, and Huntwise are probably the three best hunting apps on the market for the U.S. But, which ones are the best whitetail hunting apps for you to eliminate your confusion in the woods and help you harvest more whitetails? 

In this article, we will be looking at the three best whitetail deer hunting apps and their strengths and weaknesses. It is worth noting that each has its own strengths and weaknesses, and it is up to you to decide which app would best fit your needs within your budget. 

HuntStand: Best Whitetail Hunting App Overall

The huntstand app stands out as probably the best hunting app on the market for all things whitetail deer. It offers a wide range of pricing options for all different types of hunters. Here is a list of the most notable features of the Huntstand. 

Features of Huntstand Whitetail Hunting App

Rut Map

Huntsand has an annual Rut Map (U.S. Only) which allows you to anticipate when the rutting activity will be most prevalent in your area. They use data that they receive from deer ranches all over the country to get the best information. These additional features are great for planning hunting trips around school, work, or other obligations.

This also includes a whitetail rut map if you are concerned about hunting in another state. You will always have access to a detailed view of critical rut information.

Weather Conditions

Hunstand also gives you the current weather forecasts that can guide you as you choose tree stands or another stand location based on wind speeds, wind direction, moon phases, temperature changes, and all the other most current conditions.

Satellite Imagery

Monthly satellite imagery is updated to ensure that you have the most up-to-date data about possible clear-cuts, controlled burns, and logging on both public land and private land. Mapping is an important part of scouting in the last 5 to 10 years. When entering a new hunting area for hunting trips, new public land, and even new private land it is essential to get the best information possible.

Whitetail Activity Forecast

7 – Day Whitetail Activity Forecast will give you an indication of when the best hunting times are on any given day. The deer movement times shift quite a bit as the moon phase changes, wind directions, and barometric pressure.

Mapping Features

Detailed Crop History Layer (United States Only) that will allow you to have a good knowledge base on the different types of food sources in the area you wish to hunt. 

Whitetail Habitat Layer will allow you to see different types of habitats within a given area. This can become extremely helpful when trying to find new bedding areas, food sources, and travel patterns while scouting new public land. This mapping feature becomes a powerful collection of tools for whitetail habitat suitability.

Property boundaries and land ownership data (United States Only) allow you to find new public land to hunt and possibly reach out to property owners about permission to hunt on their land.

I plan on using this feature a lot because finding new land is always important whether it is public land or private land. This is not limited to just 1 state of your choice. You get all 50 States. 

Trail Camera Storage

Trail Camera info and pictures right on your phone with heat map and ai tagging system to name game. Up to 40 GB of data to be saved. The trail cameras that you may have can be hard to keep organized.

Huntstand pro whitetail users are able to easily store the most important big game images for easy organization.

Looking for a new trail camera? Click here for the 21 Best Trail Cameras.

Property Ownership Map

Detailed hunting & public land maps can be used to put different layers on the map. You can be able to see topography maps for elevation and many more different layers to help you track and locate deer.

They have up to 7 base layers that you can utilize. Topo maps, new map layers, and lots of other layers make for a much better scouting and hunting experience come fall.

Waypoints and Drawings

Draw your own lines for food plots and management areas (includes measurements to get a better idea of the tools you will need). This is great for hunters who own land and are looking to do some management projects and need to map things out before starting the project. 

Sharing with Family and Friends

Sharing locations of different hunters can be a perfect way to stay safe while hunting whitetail deer with family and friends. You can also have a property manager that can contribute to the sharing. I see this feature as being useful for hunters of private properties and leases.  

Stand reservations allow you to share where and when you are hunting with family and friends that may hunt on the same property. By knowing where people are hunting, you can avoid “skunking” their hunt by using proper entries and exits based on wind direction.

The social aspect of the app allows you to invite shareholders, club members, or family hunters to a group that allows you to make stand reservations or just talk with other members about hunting. Hunting is more fun in a community. 

You can make it like a hunting party online!

Huntstand offers two different pricing packages based on the different options that you would want. If you primarily hunt whitetail deer, I believe that the Pro Whitetail Package is the best hunting app package.

You also will receive a FREE TRIAL of Hunstand Pro upon confirming your email address after creating an account. The free app version is limited to what you can find on Google. 

Hunstand & Conservation

As a company, they act on their commitment to helping keep the environment rich for hunters. I always appreciate spending money on the best tools and the right apps that will help me have a successful hunt.

However, it seals the deal when a company also gives back to a cause that is important to help preserve the great outdoors.

Activity Guide

Activity guide to help you choose when to hunt and why. The huncast activity guide is meant to help you choose when your next hunt will be. Being at the right place at the right time is half of the battle with whitetail deer hunting.

You can have a great game plan, but if the deer do not show up then it may feel that you are doing something wrong. However, these app features give you the added bonus of having an idea when the best times to hunt will be happening.

Windcast Feature

Windcast will give you a scatter plot of how your scent will travel to help ensure that you do not get winded. You can also get a percentage of how good a hunting spot will be based on the wind direction.

Windcast is a unique feature of Huntwise and what sets them apart as one of the best whitetail hunting apps.

Rutcast Feature

Rutcast informs you about peak rut time and when to hunt the rut. This is a great feature to have for a great app. It is nice to have an idea of what is happening in the woods. You can then try to pair the date information to the information that you are receiving as you hunt.

Huntwise gives you access to exclusive deals to help you save on your hunting gear as well. By becoming an Elite member, you can get deals up to 50% off of top-of-the-line hunting products. 

Sharing maps and waypoints with friends and family

Huntwise also has the social aspect of being able to share photos, information, and hunting stories with new or old friends. This is a great way to have more fun and share your lifelong memories with people that care about hunting as much as you do.

Waypoints and mapping out a management structure. Huntwise allows you to customize your maps with drawings and labels for maximum land management layouts.

Huntwise also has dynamic data with many different layers for mapping out a hunting trip. This will help you create your dream property and grow bigger bucks. 

With well over 200 maps, Huntwise offers an amazing way for you to e-scout new land and continue to look at new ways to approach your current land. 

In these maps, you can create unique waypoints. Each waypoint can be personalized for your unique needs.

3D maps available & Offline Maps

The 3D & Offline Maps are important features for going off the grid. You may not be able to do much of your online scouting in an area with no internet connection. This way you can download the maps when you have an internet connection and use them later.

Boundary lines for public and private land in all 50 states

This is one of the differentiating things about Huntwise. They offer boundary lines for all the United States rather than just one state like the ONX (Premium Membership). For me, I have goals of hunting out of my state of residency. This is why I feel that having all 50 states is an important feature.

Log Your Hunt

The Huntwise App allows you to log your hunts in a social or private way. This way you will be able to go back and remember your hunts and continue to improve. It is a nice added benefit of the Huntwise app, but you can always have a log in a notebook.

Whitetail Strategy 365

Whitetail Strategy 365 – which gives you an exclusive insight into deer hunting

Also, one of the reasons that Huntwise is more expensive is their Whitetail Strategy 365 which gives you access to all the most up-to-date whitetail information. 

ONX Hunt: The Overall Hunter

ONX Hunt is a top-tier best mapping app. It offers a wide range of different maps for hunters, off-roading enthusiasts, and backcountry hikers.

However, they do not specialize in whitetail deer hunting. This is what makes them one of the best whitetail hunting apps but not at the top of this list.

If you hunt more big game species than whitetails, this app may be exactly what you are looking for this year!

Public and Private Property Lines

ONX Hunt also can get access to public and private land maps. For private land, you can get the homeowner’s name, tax mailing address, and other information that you may find useful. 

Waypoints and Pin Dropping

ONX gives you a lot of options for waypoints and land markers. This becomes extremely useful for labeling public land that you have not yet hunted. The waypoints can also be personalized for your specific needs and desires.

Satellite, Topo, and Hybrid Base Maps

ONX offers many different types of maps for users to use as they are mapping out areas to hunt. Some of these maps include satellite, topography, hybrid, crop distributions, and forestation maps that you can add to your base maps. The ONX app gives you access to tons of other maps as well.  

The reason that ONX is actually at the bottom of this list is that I feel as if the features are limited for the price point. I have used it for a year but I feel as if Huntstand would be a better investment for

I also believe that for an extra 40 dollars on Huntstand, you get so many great features made just for deer hunters. 

The Final Verdict of the Best Whitetail Hunting Apps

I have personally tried ONX Hunt with a Premium subscription which allowed me access to only one state. However, I will be switching to Huntstand after doing more research about the other 2 main best whitetail hunting apps on the market. 

I am going with Huntstand rather than ONX because I feel as if the Whitetail Package offers everything that I will need to succeed with my scouting endeavors more than ONX was able to help me this year. 

I would choose Huntstand over Huntwise because of the pricing and features you get. With Huntwise, the features that you get are the scatter plot of wind direction with your scent and the log that you can keep in the app. For me personally, that is not worth an extra 50 dollars a year. 

Huntwise has everything that I believe I could ever want to absolutely take my hunting to the next level (especially on public land). I also believe that it is a fair price. Even for the Whitetail Pro Subscription. 

Conclusion

The best whitetail hunting apps can be an extremely valuable tool for all hunters to utilize. If you have any ambition of hunting public land or trying to get permission from other landowners, the best whitetail hunting apps make a huge difference. 

There is no way that anyone will ever be able to tell you exactly where and when to hunt with guaranteed success. However, these apps can help speed up the process of finding new hunting areas and picking the right spots to hunt. 

It is important to not fall into the trap of thinking that these apps will be your hunting savior and ensure you bag a big buck every single year. 

However, if you utilize these tools along with your in-field scouting and knowledge, you will learn faster, plan more efficiently, and execute at a higher rate. 

That is what these best whitetail hunting apps can do for you!

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