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Guys i need some advice on a rangefinder

1K views 34 replies 28 participants last post by  Planetcat 
#1 ·
i am looking to buy my first rangefinder. am i just stupid or do these things only read up to 100 yards? like with the archers choice model, it says 5-100 yards. i thought they went out like 800 yards. maybe this is a stupid question, i dunno. but i want to be sure of something before i buy it. what are all you guys using? im wanting to get a nice one, as i prolly wont buy another for some time. any and all advice is appreciated. thanks.
 
#4 ·
archer's choice has angle compensation and is for archers so it's not necessary to see past 100 yards. Unless you're going to be 30+ feet up in tree stands or shooting in very hilly terrain or hunting mountain goats I don't see the need. I have a prostaff that goes (supposedly) to 1000 yards.

Archers were putting the smack down on game from tree stands and at odd angles long before archer's choice. I'm not saying I'll never own one, but at this time it's not needed for me. That being said I'd get a prostaff or monarch and call it a day.

Just my .02
 
#5 ·
Not everyone hunts from stands. In the NW such as Idaho and Montana much of our hunting is in mountainous terrain over a long distances. Having a trajectory rangefinder is valuable to us when setting up on a rutting bull at the last moment. I also tend to hunt deer in the late fall during migration in the steep and deep of the Frank Church wilderness. Some shots are extreme.
 
#16 ·
Not everyone hunts from stands. In the NW such as Idaho and Montana much of our hunting is in mountainous terrain over a long distances. Having a trajectory rangefinder is valuable to us when setting up on a rutting bull at the last moment. I also tend to hunt deer in the late fall during migration in the steep and deep of the Frank Church wilderness. Some shots are extreme.
+1, I was gonna post something along the same lines, you can even find those extremes here in OH and all over he country where it would be beneficial.
 
#6 ·
well the only reason i was looking at something over 100 yards is because i am going to guide for illinois whitetails this fall. i just wanted to have the option to have one in the truck in case one of the guys forgets his during the gun season. but thats only 7 days out of the whole season. maybe i should just get the archers choice and be done with it. the other reason for wanting one is i will have the wife hunting with me this fall. i want to have it for her. we hunt seperately, so it would be nice for her to take it with her.
 
#7 ·
Yea, angle compensation in a LRF seems unnecessary if you mostly hunt treestands. However, out West, where it can often be very steep and we do lots of spot and stalk, so shots tend to be longer range, the ARC comes in very handy. However, 100 yards is too limited of range for me. I want to know how far away it is when I first spot it and that is often 300 to 500 yards. Nikon also makes the RifleHunter 550 which has angle compensation but handles longer ranges.

I've been in several situations (both uphill and downhill) where I ranged deer at 100 yards, but the angle was close to 45 degrees, so they were much closer.

Ray
 
#8 ·
If you are going to get one get a good one and be done with it. Personally I live out west and would not set foot in the hunting woods without a range finder that has angel compensation. The Archers choice model is great but if you are a guide then I would throw that one out. The rifelmen 550 is a good choice as well as the leupold RXII bow with give you alot more range for both gun/bow hunters. There are other great options as well in none angel finding RF if you feel that is unnessaccery for were you hunt. Hope this helps and good luck
 
#9 ·
You flat landers could easily get by

You guys in Illinois could easily get by with the Bushnell Yardage Pro Sport 450. I believe it is around $150 just about anywhere " even Cabelas, go figure!". If you got some cash to spare get one of the higher end models and you could probably pass on those new binoculars.
 
#12 ·
The Leupold and Nikon with ARC technology are good for about 600 yards. One of my clients whacked a bull 2 years ago a 379 yards. My RX tends to be limited past 500 yards but I don't generally get too hung up on that. It has bow and rifle compensation info. Ver nice IMO. Like I said though I also like the Nikon even though I don't own one. My Leuy has been awesome and I wouldn't have it anyother way since I guide and hunt rifle and bow. It works for almost every situation except extreme long range.

SOOOOO, if you shoot extreme ranges beyond 500 I suggest the 1000-1200 yard models and make you sure you know your caliber and bullet BC etc so you can be dead on. IMO.
 
#17 ·
Leaps and bounds better than Swarovski is the:

Lecia CRF 1200

Red readout
works in absolute darkness
you can actually range animals at 6-700 yds
the size of a pack of smokes.
one hand operation
battery is good for all season (prolly longer but I change mine anually)
 
#18 ·
I'm with ya on this one too. I bought the Swarovski and had some serious trouble with it on several occasions. I owned several Leicas and never had the first minutes trouble out of them.

Bought the Leica Geovids 10x42's and never have looked back. Absolutely love 'em.

The Swaro's might have been an isolated unit as I know they make top notch equipment, but I really like the leica overall as far as design, function and reliability.
 
#19 ·
I use a Bushnell Scout 1000 for archery season. It's fairly inexpensive ( I think it was $200 after rebate) and works really well without all the complicated settings. Just point and shoot. I've found that most rangefinders claim a little more distance than you actually get out of them.
I also have a Leica 1200 that I use for Rifle season. It's an awesome unit. Extremely fast and works in all conditions. It's quite a bit more money, but I can range an Elk out to about 950 yards, even though I can't shoot that far. The new Leicas are very light and compact, so if $$$ isn't a consideration for you, I'd definitely consider that one.
 
#21 ·
I started out with the Bushnell 440. Decent for the money but very poor optics at low light. I worked well close up, but once you hit 200yrds it was not very consistent and in the rain it didn't range past 100yrds. I will admit that I loved the 4x though. For archery and close ranges the field of view was so much better than higher powers.

I then bought the Nikon Monarch 800. The $359 seemed like a lot but I wanted a good one. I have always been pleased with my Nikon scopes so why not. It is a good range finder, absolutely idiot proof and always gave great ranges up to about 450yrds. BUT....the optics were horrible IMO. Very bad in the low light crunch time when critters come out to play. I expected better from Nikon optics.

I then acquired a Leupold RXII. Again, I have been very happy with my Leupold scopes. And this thing has that True Ballistic(angle compensation) technology. Unlike the Nikon, this one is not idiot proof. DO NOT lose your owners manual:wink:. The optics were about the same as the Nikon, thus disappointing in low light. The True Ballistic....well it's quite the gimmick here in the midwest. Maybe rifle hunters in the mountains could find it useful but I ranged all kinds of distances from heights up to 35ft and never saw more than a 1-2 yard difference between laser line distance and horizontal(what you should aim for) distance. Simply not needed IMO.

This week I bought a brand new soon to be discontinued Leica CRF900. WOW!! For less than $100 more than my Nikon I now have GREAT low light optics. Truly idiot proof functions..push button get range.

I got it off the UPS truck the other morning before it even left the terminal(amazing what you can do with a gun and uniform:eek:). I worked that day and drove around ranging things for fun. It works fast and perfect. In the past with the above range finders I found that I was lucky to range about 60% of the max range on non-reflective targets. So, let's see what this baby can do.

Did you know that from 1st & Green St to the Lafayette Life Building is exactly 900yrds? Wow, 900...didn't know it would do that. It then began to drizzle rain. I drove around a bit and then parked and in the rain I found that it is 923yrds from Ferry & Perrin to the Lafayette Bank & Trust tower. WOW again, in the rain over 900yrds. But are these buildings(old limestone) considered reflective targets?

I drive home to the country and pick a 1/4 section hay field. I range a fence post across that field(1/2 mile). 881yrds is what it read off a fence post. Holy crap! This thing is the real deal.

I then waited for low light and began playing again. My woods is very mature with a heavy canopy just leafing out. Thus it gets very dark very early in there. I could range and see things later than I've ever been able to in the past. It was like looking through a rifle scope that can add 20 minutes of hunting light. Very impressed with the low light optics.

So, IMO....don't waste you money on a top end Nikon/Leupold/Bushnell etc...pay the extra $100 and pick up the Leica CRF900. You won't be sorry. I am only sorry it took so long to figure this out. As far as the CRF1200 that Rodney talks about. Great item also, but about $150 more and I'm not familiar with what it does that the 900 doesn't other than 300 yrds. And for me, I am not capable of taking 900yrd shots, much less 1200. Sorry for the long winded reply and good luck in your decisions.
 
#22 ·
My NIKON hits out to 1000 but really never used it farther than like 3-400...would love to have one like the archers choice considering I really use it only for archery and groundhogs. If your looking for an archery one go with the archers choice its awesome
 
#25 ·
I have the Leica 1200 for rifle hunts and a cheap Bushnell POS something or other during archery hunts. The rated numbers they have are for reflective targets, such as rock or metal. They will usually only read a non reflective target such as a game animal as far as 70-80 % of that. My Leica has actually put out readings of 1300+ yards when the conditions are just right.
 
#27 ·
My buddy has a Lieca and its very nice. He had a Nikon 800 for about 2 days, took it back and got the Lieca. The red display is very nice. Simple to use, other issue was the cost of it.

I have had both Nikons and Leupolds. The RXII is nice but it a ton of features and if you don't read the manual and play around with it, it could get you upset.

Myself I have an Archer's Choice on its way. It will meet all my needs for bowhunting and Nikon's are very simple to use.

If you need the yardage Adam and need one at a decent price, look at the 550 Riflehunter by Nikon. It will meet all your needs.
 
#28 ·
thanks for all the input guys. shows me yet again why i love this site. i think i have just purchased a nikon laser 800 from the classifieds thanks to outback1. hopefully that will take care of my needs.
 
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