Here's a picture of a Swedish optical rangefinder manufactured by WILD during WWII that we use for long range hunting. The optics are 10x's clearer than that of any today and is "more" accurate than any moderen "laser" range finder. (it's the bazoka looking thing out front)
The downfall, it weights around 40 pounds so not very portable & it ranges in meters not yards (but who can't do the math?)
Here's a site selling one for under $300..A pretty good buy in this day and age
http://www.samcoglobal.com/access.html