Archery
Range finder
11/16/15 @ 8:35 AM
What kind of range finder do you guys recommend. Any positives and /or negatives would be greatly appreciated. Had a chance at a nice buckbroadside this weekend. But didn't take the shot cause it looked to far. Looked like it was 70 or 80 yards in the woods. I paced it the next day and it paced out at an approx 57 yards. Had I know that I'd of taken the shot. Thanks in advance.
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I have the Leopold rx1000. I bought it primarily for gun hunting but it has the bow setting with angle compensation. Great small unit and 6x sharp optics. But as was mentioned, now that I own couple Vortex binos and a Vortex scope, I will check then out before I buy another optic. Excellent class and customer service at a price 2/3 what you pay for the "Gold Ring"..........
In my opinion if you ever think you will be hunting out west, get an angle compensating range finder. IF you start shooting at moderate or longer yardages up and down hills it makes a huge difference. I have a Nikon Riflehunter 550, it has pretty good glass and will cover most any use I have for it. If you are only hunting Whitetails in thick cover you could probably get away with an entry level finder but I would stick with the more popular brands.
If you bowhunt, I wouldn't get too worked up about the angle compensation feature. I have a Bushnell that tells me the actual yardage and the yardage as modified by the angle of the shot. In almost all cases they are only a yard apart. If you are shooting high with a vertical bow the problem is in your form and not the angle. Mrt.
I use the Newcon Optik LRM 2200si. It has lots of features including line of sight angle. It may be a little overkill for archery since it can read out to 2000+ yards but I also rifle hunt and long range shoot so its a good for all applications.
Look into the Vortex Ranger 1000. Vortex is a family owned, WI based company located in Middleton WI.They are the only company I know of that offers an unconditional lifetime warranty on all aspects of the product. Their rangefinder ranges from 11 to 1000 yds, has angle compensation, with red read out. The optic quality is very good as well. At 6 power you could leave your binoculars at home and still be covered. You can and will find cheaper rangefinders out there but you wont find a company that stands behind their product like Vortex does!!
I just picked up Bushnell...The Truth...Reason I went for that is it have the Angle option for bowhunters and the sale was 125. To me its top notch because it measures the distance. Personally, I dont need a 400-500 dollar unit that does the same. Especially not while bow hunting. May be different if you are using it for precision shooting at 1000 yards or something....However, for the most part your gauging 50 yards or less so theres not need for a high powered unit.
Speaking of sales if any of you have MC Sports I strongly consider checking things out. They will match ANY store in the country as long as it has an actual store (not amazon or other internet sales). So basically, I went in, saw what they had and found a sale online through cabelas 75 dollars cheaper then they offered it at full price. Pretty nice if you ask me...
I got a Leica a few years ago and really like it because it reads in red instead of black which makes it a lot easier to read in low light. I also have a Nikon ProStaff 7 that is nice but if I were to get a new one I would get whichever one Fleet Farm had on sale that week as there really isn't enough difference between the different manufactures and models to make a difference.
I just have a Redfield Raider 500. It's just a cheap entry level model with no angle adjustments or anything. Works well and the batteries have lasted over two years. I would recommend if the budget is tight. I don't have experience with the more expensive options and I am looking for an upgrade, so I'm invested in this thread as well.
I use a golf range finder made by Nikon. It works good. 57 yds is a hell of a shot to try on a deer. I shoot that far often in the summer during 3d leagues but the farthest I could ethically take a shot at a deer would be 35 maybe 40 yds. Unless you are in an open prairie with no wind, no heavy jaket on, no buck fever and the deer is deaf and blind I would rethink how far your effective range is. It's not worth the risk. A little bit of arrogance can turn in to a whole lot of shiitty when the shot goes south and you can't find your gut shot deer.
Displaying 1 to 15 of 17 posts
