>>511504with most hand compasses you can only achieve an accuracy of 1 to 2 degrees at best, assuming your adjustment for
declination is correct. and that may be a bit optimistic.
and yes those small systematic errors like sighting and reading/recording the measurements are going to effect your
accuracy.
for an idea of how it effects your resolved positional accuracy, multiply the Tangent of 2 degrees times the approximate
estimated distance from the object you are sighting on.
say your sighting on a mountain peak estimated to be 3 miles away from your position.
3mi x 5280ft x (sin(2°) = 0.0348994967025)
= 552.8 feet
so your position may be somewhere within approx. 550 feet of where ever your measurements and calculations placed you on
the map, which is sometimes good enough for basic orienting. depends on what you are trying to locate or navigate to. if
its a campsite, a lake, a river or certain part of a trail system, 500 feet may be close enough to find it from there.
Of course triangulating with multiple compass bearings from multiple different reference points is going to help narrow
down your position much better. Also, an altimeter in conjunction with topo map elevation comparisons can help alot
sometimes.
