Range finders

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Looking for opinions (both good & bad) on the various models of range finders out there......I know NOTHING about them at all, so all opinions are welcome.
Thanks in advance...........

[Jack]

Expect most rangefinders to work on game at about half the stated maximum distance. In other words, a rangefinder rated at 800 yards will work on a deer/elk, etc to about 400. An 800 yard rangefinder will range steel buildings at 800 yards, but not game.
Many people make them now- and I suspect several brands come from the same factory, and only the brand name is different.
If you can afford it, the Leica is really excellent.

[skeet]

As Jack said. The Leica is the better of all the affordable ones. I happen to have a couple and they will range a deer or Elk to about 75% of their rated yardage. The Bushnells etc as he also stated about half maybe less in less than optimum conditions. My Leica 1200 I have ranged elk with to about 900 Yds in optimum ..a bit less on the less than ideal days. Oh and keeping them as still as possible helps a great deal. A friend has a set of the Bushnell(?) binocular type and they seem to work well but they are clumsy and heavy. But do double duty for him. That also brings up a second issue.. If you are hunting mountainous timbered terrain..a GOOD pair of binocs is really necessary. I have a nice set of Leupolds. Personally for hunting I really don't think it is necessary to have the very expensive German types of binocs..unless you do this hunting stuff for your living. Then they are a tax write off LOL..Fabs would love that.

[buckhunter]

I was looking at a few this weekend. There are a bunch made by Wildlife. I was advised to stay away from the. No battery life. Seems to suck them dry after a couple of shoots. I was looking at a Bushnell Yardage Pro which will be fine for what I do. Basically bow hunting on the ground. Don't take this as a recommendation as I have not used one yetg.

[Catfish]

For bow hunting any of them will work. I have owned several different brands and modles. The 1,200 yrd. Leica`s are the best I`ve ever owned, but are still along way from what I want. I mainly use mine for coyote hunting and past 400 yrds. I have to range something close to them. The best thing to do is to buy the best you can afford, but there is alot of difference of oppenion on which are best in the lower priced ones, and personally I never like any of the cheaper ones I`ve owned.

[Jack]

By the way, one of the secrets of using any of them is holding them steady. The laser reads a rather small area, and any sort of shake from your hands will move the laser off target. If you brace them as well as you can, lay them on a sandbag, or even use them mounted on a tripod, you'll discover that your rangefinder works at it's best.

[dovehunter]

Can these things work on something as small as a groundhog? I have no need for one for deer hunting as my shots will usually be under 100 yds.

[Jack]

Dovehunter, at least some can. I can range a groundhog out to 650 (farthest I've tried) with my Leica 1200. IF I hold it steady- I often tripod mount it if I'm sitting in one place.
Another thing you can do with any rangefinder- if you can't get a good reading off the groundhog itself, you often can get a reading off the mound from his hole, a nearby rock, etc.

[rainydays]

I picked up one of the Bushnel Elite 1500's when they first came out. For the money, it has been a very good rangefinder. It gets used mostly for shooting prairie dogs. Ranging a dog is pretty hard, but ranging a nearby mound works pretty well. The optics themselves are pretty clear and the 6X power is nice.

[Larryjk]

I saw a story in either American Hunter or Gun Digest that proclaims, "Sniper Rifle That Aims Itself". I thought the usual media will have a ball with that and then the Brady Bunch will be dunning congress to make them illegal. It is a new rangefinding scope that the military wants that will also calculate the wind deflection and adjust itself so a dead-on hold up to 1/2 mile will be standard. Kind of like a Burris unit on steroids. Can't wait to hear the rest of the story.