Range finders, what do you recommend?

[OldNewbie]

I have a Nikon that I think was $150 or so, fine for archery distances.  I use it to put 10-20-30 yd marks around my stands, marked with small bit of survey tape. I stand in the kill zone, and range back to tree where the tree stand is. Once I have the marks set, I don't use the rangefinder on hunt days.

[turkeyfeathers]

Any info on this one ? I manage a golf store. Wholesale is $151. I have a bushnell 1500 from tournament golf many years ago. It works fine but it’s huge. No slope on existing one either.


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[Moho81]

Any info on this one ? I manage a golf store. Wholesale is $151. I have a bushnell 1500 from tournament golf many years ago. It works fine but it’s huge. No slope on existing one either.


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I’ve compared a few golf range finders to my hunting range finder and can not seem to find the difference. They all work the same exact way in my opinion.


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[Marion]

As far as I'm concerned the angle is bologna. At the end what it says is the distance at least enough so at archery ranges the elevation in treestand makes no difference. At least that's what my experience has been

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[BizCT]

As far as I'm concerned the angle is bologna. At the end what it says is the distance at least enough so at archery ranges the elevation in treestand makes no difference. At least that's what my experience has been

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I think it’s more of a factor at long distances. For example a 53yd shot downhill at 77 degree angle on Mt Goat or something.


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[Marion]

I think it’s more of a factor at long distances. For example a 53yd shot downhill at 77 degree angle on Mt Goat or something.


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Right. For the distances we are hunting and the angles here maybe 20 ft vertical drop they are negligible at best

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[Core]

I still cannot eyeball the difference between 30 and 35 yards personally, and when shooting an arrow that can easily be the difference between a dead dear and a wounded one. I simply won't hunt without a range finder unless I'm 100% positive it's within 20 yards. Anything beyond that your eyes can get screwy in a hurry.

I use some cheapy I got for $90 a few years ago. What I wish it would do is work better in the dark and also I wish it had a "hold" function. Currently it only range finds when I press the button, which is hard for a small tree limb at distance because pressing the button can shake it. I wish that after pressing the button it would keep range finding over and over for a few seconds.

Mine doesn't have an angle. If I'm shooting down hill with bow as I always am from stand I will either subtract a few yards or try and range horizontally to a tree away from me.

[moog5050]

19 minutes ago, The Jerkman said:

Right. For the distances we are hunting and the angles here maybe 20 ft vertical drop they are negligible at best

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we have a few ridges where you better aim low or you will miss high.  That said, ACR is probably not really needed if you know that.

[Jeremy K]

24 minutes ago, The Jerkman said:

Right. For the distances we are hunting and the angles here maybe 20 ft vertical drop they are negligible at best

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Just keep the bait pile within 20 yards and yer good . LOL

Edited November 13, 2018 by Jeremy K

[airedale]

I look to a manufacturer with a proven track record and longevity, Bushnell was a pioneer in the laser range finding field. They have developed a good reputation for both quality, reliability along with accuracy and standing behind their products. I picked up a Legend 1200 several years ago and have been completely happy on how it performs.

Al

[Marion]

I've got a Bresser laser rangefinder 800 works great for me up to 800 yards

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[turkeyfeathers]

Look at the size of this thing ( said no woman ever to me ) 

[The_Real_TCIII]

9 minutes ago, airedale said:

I look to a manufacturer with a proven track record and longevity, Bushnell was a pioneer in the laser range finding field. They have developed a good reputation for both quality, reliability along with accuracy and standing behind their products. I picked up a Legend 1200 several years ago and have been completely happy on how it performs.

Al

Ive had a Bushnell Yardage Pro for like 10 years, same battery. Its small and cost around $150 I think. I take it out and range all possible shots that I feel are beyond 25 yards and try to make note of the landmarks

[Marion]

Look at the size of this thing ( said no woman ever to me ) 

I'm sorry to hear that. And my condolences to Mrs. Feathers

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[nyslowhand]

Agree with most everyone, except Biz. He mentioned two separate scenarios, longer bow distances and steep inclines. A RF with angle compensation would mainly be helpful in the later situation.

Any doubts, find a website that will solve (trig) right angle problems. Only tricky part is to figure out just how high you are off the ground within a couple of feet when you're ready to release an arrow to plug that into the trig solver.

[suffolk1921a]

  

I have a bresser 800 and a nikon arrow id 3000. The bresser was $70, the nikon $152, both from Sportsmans Guide. I have tested the bresser to 700 yards and it is accurate. Runs on a 9 volt battery.  I like it, but wanted better glass so I could use it as a monoculer. The nikon is smaller, better quality and comes with a neoprene cover.  Nikon says it is good up to 550 yards. The glass is as good as their scopes, sharp and clear. I have tested it in cloudy, mist and twilight, it is accurate to 250 yards. I have it permanently set on the angular function. 

For your purposes the Nikon would be the one to check out.

 

[Zag]

If u can justify the cost, the have bino's with range finder built in. Look pretty slick but to rich for my blood 

[dbHunterNY]

i have an older now Nikon Riflehunter 1000 that back then cost me $350. display details turn from black to illuminated red in low light. it's got angle compensation as in this part of NE NY there's lots of large ridges, cliffs, valleys, and slopes you're shooting down into.  another thing if you want to range things at 600 yards you don't get a rangefinder that only goes out to 600 yards. it'll be harder to get a reading. get one that goes out to 1000 yards and ranging things at say 600 or 750 will be take much less effort to get a reading. mine goes out to 1000 yards which is nice because that means it comes with 6x magnification. i use it as a rangefinder and binos while on stand where distances are limited.