Rangefinders

[BAMA BOW MERKER]

Any suggestions on good ones that won't break the bank? Will definitely be bow hunting. I've had a Chuck Adams edition made by bushnell for many years. However, it fell out of my truck and wasn't found till the next weekend. A couple good rains came through and it doesn't work anymore.

 

[Tennessee Lead]

I have a pair of Bushnell The Truth that serves me well.
Got it off Amazon for $160 I think

 

[TNRifleman]

I have a Leupold Rx 1200 or something like that. It is really good and very accurate. In Colorado this year, I ranged a tree at like 800 yards then came back to the spot 30 minutes later and ranged the same tree and it was off a yard. Not too bad for 800 yards. I have borrowed a friends Nikon 550 the prior year and could not get it to range anything past 320 yards.

 

[muddyboots]

Like my Nikon

 

[Boll Weevil]

I have a Leupold 800i TBR and would highly recommend.

 

[Andy S.]

About any of them will serve you well here in Tennessee, it all boils down to personal preference and how much you want to spend. For a compact model that won't break the bank, I'd look at the Nikon Aculon. It can be had for $150 or thereabouts. http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-8397-ACULON-Laser-Rangefinder/dp/B00EF30VWA

 

[luke]

Had Nikon and it was not accurate over 300 yards.

 

[Mike Belt]

I've had great service out of my Leica.

 

[rstodd]

I found the bushnell truth on sale a palmetto state armory for $99 and free shipping a couple of months ago

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[Headhunter]

Leica.

 

[Andy S.]

Leica makes great RFs, but OP said "won't break the bank". I have never seen a new Leica RF for less than $550 out the door. Do they make an economical model?

 

[Deer Assassin]

I've had great service out of my Leica.

ditto

 

[Mike Belt]

Not sure Andy. I think I paid $400+ for mine when I got it several years ago. I don't have money to burn but I've always been one with the mindset in hunting of spending once to get something that will do what it's supposed to do and last rather than something that might or might not work much beyond purchase and consequently, cost more replacing it than I would have spent initially...not to mention the headache.

 

[Andy S.]

Totally agree Mike. I just have never had a "real" need for a rangefinder, much less a costly one.

 

[PillsburyDoughboy]

Don't waste your time on some of the budget brand range finders. Buy once buy right. I ordered up two range finders to replace a ageing Nikon 800. My Nikon 800 gave me 20+ years of service and I wound up selling it on Ebay to someone for $71. Not bad for 20 Year old Range Finder. It pays to buy good stuff.

The two I ordered up were the Nikon 8397 ACULON Laser Rangefinder and the
Leupold RX650. I had planned to send back whichever one I did not like. It really was not a close race at all.

Specs are about the same on both models. The Nikon kept giving me false reading at anything above 550 yards which was sorta not a big deal as everything I hunt is well under 300 and most times under 200. But you want it to be accurate right?

The Leupold was more responsive and faster at targeting. Clearer optics and generally just felt better in the hand. About the Only thing the Nikon had going for it was the button was a little easier to depress and it seemed to have a little wider field of view which I liked. Not so much that it was demanding me to keep it.

Warranty was identical on electronics but Nikon has bit me before on Warranty so again the nod went to Leupold on this challenge.

I found mine on closeout for $139 at Cabelas and had a $20 Cabelas discount code and free shipping. I think Amazon has them for $177. Well worth the extra $30 bucks you will have to spend over the Nikon.

http://www.amazon.com/Leupold-120464-RX ... =8-1-spell

 

[TNRifleman]

This is the one I have that I mentioned in my earlier post. On sale now at Cabelas.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/bargain- ... _105637680

 

[Andy S.]

For those of you who regularly use a RF, do you REALLY need the 400+ yard capability? Reason I ask is my old RF is accurate out to 500 or so, but back when I carried it, I rarely ranged anything over 250 yards, and that was usually at the range before season. I mainly hunt hardwoods in west TN and never go out west either, which explains why the 200+ yard features are virtually useless to me overall. Just wondering if that many hunters shoot at wildlife in TN at 400+ yards on any kind of regular basis, or if they also use them to range 600-800 yards out west.

 

[Mike Belt]

I've never hunted out west. Early on my experience with range finders was that those that were designed to range 800-1000 yards were actually more accurate at the shorter ranges than those designed for shorter ranges. That may not hold true now???

I was always a woods hunter. Even when I got in the first deer club that had fields and shooting houses on large, long fields I avoided hunting them. The guys were all the time seeing deer in them and taking a few nice bucks. I finally broke down and tried them with good results. What really prompted me to buy my first rangefinder was because I manually walked to every landmark shooting point from every shooting house we had drawing maps of each field with yardages from that shooting house. That got old quick. I was immediately impressed when I bought my first one and I have killed several deer at 500-600 yards. Fast forward to now and I no longer take those shots; not because I can't make them but because it's hard to tell exactly what a buck might have on his head at those ranges. Unless he is an exceptional deer and there is no doubt about it I just watch.

 

[rem270]

I have a Bushnell. Can't remember the model. Think it's a bone collector? It ranges up to 800.

 

[TNRifleman]

For those of you who regularly use a RF, do you REALLY need the 400+ yard capability? Reason I ask is my old RF is accurate out to 500 or so, but back when I carried it, I rarely ranged anything over 250 yards, and that was usually at the range before season. I mainly hunt hardwoods in west TN and never go out west either, which explains why the 200+ yard features are virtually useless to me overall. Just wondering if that many hunters shoot at wildlife in TN at 400+ yards on any kind of regular basis, or if they also use them to range 600-800 yards out west.

Never used mine over 200 yards in TN. I do take mine out west and use it there so having the extended range on it is nice and the price difference wasn't great enough for me to not get the 1200 yard rangefinder. I have also found that you rarely get to the top end of the scale. My Leuopold 1200 wouldn't range anything past about 960 yards.

 

[tree_ghost]

I exclusively archery hunt and a range finder is my second most important piece of gear behind my bow. I rarely if ever hunt over fields or food plots. Usually I'm on a land feature between where I believe they are bedded and the food source. The need for a range finder that will distance me out to 500, 750, or 1000 yards simply isn't needed. However there are 2 main things that I look for in a range finder; first is the ability to see the digital readout in low light. There are a few models that have a red display that I think are awesome. The other thing I look for is quality nitrogen purging to eliminate fogging. I have been killed in the past with early morning conditions and a cheap rangefinder simply can't perform...with that being said I really lean towards the luepold 1000...this is the model I will be using this fall


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[PillsburyDoughboy]

This is the one I have that I mentioned in my earlier post. On sale now at Cabelas.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/bargain- ... _105637680

That's a good deal. They actually had that model on sale at the same time I bought mine for $269 and I debated hard about getting it. It was just really MORE than what I needed and I wound up getting Binos AND a Rangefinder for about what that would have cost me so I went that route.

Great optic for the money.

 

[Andy S.]

Good deal on a used Leica that looks brand new.
http://oldgobbler.com/Forum/index.php/topic,65853.0.html