UTM Grid Reader | Military Map Protractor

This is the Bison Tactical custom UTM Grid Reader.  Since 2016 Bison Tactical has participated in a 24-48 hour land navigation race called the Sniper Adventure Challenge [ http://competition-dynamics.com/ ].  The main focus of this event is land navigation.  The provided maps are 1:24,000 scale on a UTM grid.  However we have been running a larger set of maps using a 1:12,000 scale so we can see more detail.

In the main picture (a digital prototype), the pink/red is actually white around the outside edge (in the real life tool), and the slot cut lines are displayed as red lines.  See the other pictures for more information.

We struggled to find the best tool since most UTM Grid Readers we prefer (also called slot tools) use a 1:24000 grid.  The slot tools feature a slot along the vertical axis which make marking a point super quick and they are easy to read.  We wanted a 1:12000 grid slot tool, but they are extremely rare to find, and we tried using a corner marking tool, but they are not nearly as easy to use as the slot tools.

We will often run 2 maps, a small 1:24000 map for more of an overview, and a 1:12000 map for double the detail, and so having both slot tools on a single UTM Grid Reader or Military Map protractor is a huge benefit.

Finally we often use the tool to check or get an azimuth or direction reading.  To do this, we run a string from the center of the UTM Grid Reader to the point on the map, and then check the edge of the tool for the direction we can use on the compass.  When the Military Map protractor is rectangular, it is less consistent to run the string.  My teammate from Max Ordinate Academy (Marine Scout Sniper) runs a string in a loop tied around the UTM Grid Reader which makes it much more effective.  This is why the design of the UTM Grid Reader is a circle instead of a square.

1:12000 UTM Grid slot tool

1:24000 UTM Grid slot tool

Circular compass rose around the exterior 360 degrees.

diameter of the tool is approx 6.25″

Durable and commercially produced for us by one of the leading protractor makers in the USA.

String not included, shown just for illustrative purposes.  String shown is “guts” from 550 cord.

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