What is the best range finder?

[mhd]

What is the best range finder for under $300? Is it worth getting the angle compensation thing? I need it to be able to range a coyote at 500 yds, or am I just dreaming of finding one in that price range. Not sure if I want to spend $150 on say a redfield or $280 on a Nikon/Leupold. As with everything, I have heard some good and some bad about Bushnell but mostly bad and I was surprised to see that on the bass pro web site ( I was looking at the Bushnell scout 1000 ARC) and under the description it said the range was 1000 yds but only 300 for game,so why do they say that the range is 1000 yds if it will only range 300 yds on game? I am not buying a range finder to range a shiny tin barn so why not put on it how far it can range game?

Anyways any thoughts/recommendations?

I would be using it for archery and rifle hunting.

[NIKON]

Try this link , some good info or try a range finder search

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=158309&highlight=range+finders

[sheephunter]

Bushnell is one of the few that's honest about their range finders. Count on less than 50%, considerably less in most cases, ranging ability on animals vs rated yardage on all stand alone rangefinders.

[elkhunter11]

If you want to be able to consistently range a coyote at 500 yards under most conditions, with a rangefinder that retails for $300, yes, you are dreaming.

[mhd]

Try this link , some good info or try a range finder search

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=158309&highlight=range+finders

Thanks for the link. I have searched most of the range finders just not sure which one would be better.

[sheephunter]

Thanks for the link. I have searched most of the range finders just not sure which one would be better.

The Bushnell typically comes out pretty well when compared to similar priced range finders.

[mhd]

Would like to hear some feed back from guys who have used a $300 one.:thinking-006:

[dfrobert]

Don't want to hijack this thread entirely.....but does anyone have any input on the Nikon Riflehunter 1000 and the 550 model?? Looking for input towards rifle and bow hunting...

[Coiloil37]

I've been using a leica lrf 800 for several years now, it'll range a yote at 500. I picked it up used for less then $300 and it's a world ahead of the bushnell's I used before.

[pikeslayer22]

I have a bushnell and would not recommend one!

[The Bit Runner.]

I have had a bushnell and would not recommend one either. I have a leica 1200, i bought it off a fella on here, best 500.00$ i ever spent. If you could find a used leica they are far and beyond the best one out there IMO.:)

[mad mountain mike]

To buy a quality range finder in the $300 range I would suggest going used. Guys are always upgrading, keep an eye out on the optics trader on here and you are bound to find a good deal on a quality range finder in your price range.

[Scottmisfits]

http://www.leupold.com/hunting-shooting/rangefinders/rx-rangefinders/

I have this one, the RX1000i. I have the one without the TBR, but I'm bowhunting. With TBR it's another $100. This is a great piece of equipment. You can find these ones used as well periodically. They almost replaced the binoculars I had this year. Not for next year though.....��

[JohnB]

Had a Bushnell; sold it and got a Leica.

[elkoholik]

I just bought a new Vortex Scout this year as I lost my Leupold RX1000 TBR. I have so far been impressed and actually prefer the optics over the leupold. Both have good range deer for me so far have been 650yrd +/- have not seen a dog out past 300yrds so not sure. Like the Vortex housing and they have the unconditional warranty with their rangefinder. Cost was 400 or there a bouts.

Cheers, Dave.

[densa44]

I'm in the same boat with the member who started the post. How long do expect the Leica to last? I bought a cheapie range finder and I eventually threw it away. I wish I'd had this advice before I bought it.

[CNP]

What is the best range finder for under $300? Is it worth getting the angle compensation thing? I need it to be able to range a coyote at 500 yds, or am I just dreaming of finding one in that price range. Not sure if I want to spend $150 on say a redfield or $280 on a Nikon/Leupold. As with everything, I have heard some good and some bad about Bushnell but mostly bad and I was surprised to see that on the bass pro web site ( I was looking at the Bushnell scout 1000 ARC) and under the description it said the range was 1000 yds but only 300 for game,so why do they say that the range is 1000 yds if it will only range 300 yds on game? I am not buying a range finder to range a shiny tin barn so why not put on it how far it can range game?

Anyways any thoughts/recommendations?

I would be using it for archery and rifle hunting.

ARC is not important for bow hunting IMO. Hunting in a 20 ft tree stand with your target being 30 yards away.....the difference between true distance vs the angle compensation is virtually nothing. I would not think ARC is important for ranging coyotes either. Coyote hunting on flat land right? Rifle hunting in the mountains, foothills, coulees ARC can be an extremely useful tool at long ranges. Not in your $ range but there are a couple of binos with an incorporated RF. Bushnell Fusion 1600 (with ARC) 10 X 42 for $850 ish. Seen them selling used on this sight for $650. I have a pair, used them on sheep hunting and love them. One tool for glassing and RF. I have ranged over 1600 yards, not on an animal of course.....how could you possibly hold on an animal at 1600 yards freehand. Leica Geovid......way outside your $ range (no ARC). I replaced a Nikon 550 Riflehunter RF and Nikon Monarch ATB 10 X 42 binos with the Bushnell Fusions. I do not regret it.

[hunter11]

just bought a bushnell legend 1200 with arc from ws for 339 and did not use it hunting yet but i took it out and tryed it while walking my dog in the park and i was very happy with it so far i range buildings at 900 and people at 350 i even ranged some geese at 267. i would have bought the laica but its double the money.p.s. at wholesale sport you have 30 days to return it if you dont like it.

[mhd]

I have a bushnell and would not recommend one!

Which one?

[pikeslayer22]

Chuck Adams Arc

[HunterDave]

Read the fine print! I had a look at a Bushnell 850 that was on sale at Can Tire during hunting season. It was only capable of ranging a deer out to 200 yds. :sign0161:

[mhd]

Chuck Adams Arc

Thanks I was looking at that one to,guess I will keep looking.

[pikeslayer22]

Good for bowhunting, probably was my mistake when purchasing it. Anything under 100 yards in good light its fine, bad light or any other obstacle no good. Same as Hunter Dave stated for this one but worse.

[NIKON]

just bought a bushnell legend 1200 with arc from ws for 339 and did not use it hunting yet but i took it out and tryed it while walking my dog in the park and i was very happy with it so far i range buildings at 900 and people at 350 i even ranged some geese at 267. i would have bought the laica but its double the money.p.s. at wholesale sport you have 30 days to return it if you dont like it.

X2

I have one , used it in deer season...... lots of ranges past 500yds side hills bush lines ,........ i find ranging animals past 400 yds tough to hold on them... maybe i'm just alot shakier then i was:sHa_sarcasticlol:....lol ... i found range a rock or hillside near your intended target works well for me
Very happy with it for the price

Nikon

[.300ultramag]

Had a leupold rx4 from a few years ago, lost it out in the middle of no where, looked for it for a couple hours, couldn't find it. Splurged and bought the Leica crf1600, best money spent on hunting gear in a long time, was consistently ranging out to 1400, hand held, it would of been crazy to strap it to a tripod and really see how far it would go.

I lost it out elk hunting, about 15 km from the nearest road, I can draw a map if anyone wants to go look for it, me and my partner couldn't find it after 7 hours of searching.

Bought a Bushnell ARC 100 for like 340 bucks, and I really wish I would of spent that money on another Leica, like honestly, I have never seen something that is just over double the price perform a thousand times better.

[top predator]

Had a leupold rx4 from a few years ago, lost it out in the middle of no where, looked for it for a couple hours, couldn't find it. Splurged and bought the Leica crf1600, best money spent on hunting gear in a long time, was consistently ranging out to 1400, hand held, it would of been crazy to strap it to a tripod and really see how far it would go.

I lost it out elk hunting, about 15 km from the nearest road, I can draw a map if anyone wants to go look for it, me and my partner couldn't find it after 7 hours of searching.

Bought a Bushnell ARC 100 for like 340 bucks, and I really wish I would of spent that money on another Leica, like honestly, I have never seen something that is just over double the price perform a thousand times better.

Couldnt agree more. Have the Leica

[dieselboy20]

Don't want to hijack this thread entirely.....but does anyone have any input on the Nikon Riflehunter 1000 and the 550 model?? Looking for input towards rifle and bow hunting...

I have a Nikon Riflehunter 1000 and it works well. Have compared a ton of yardages with my brother in laws Leupold and they all come out the same. The Optics in the Nikon are better IMO than the Leupold. Only thing I hate about it is at last light it changes the reticle to a red colour to make it easier to see it but the whole view changes to a red color and you can barely see out of the damn thing period. But it has to be quite a bit into last light for that to happen. Happened to me ranging a coyote this last summer.

[Lefty-Canuck]

^^^^^^^^

You bring up an excellent point....get a range finder that does not have a black LED display.....in low light it will drive you crazy.

LC

[wwbirds]

have the leica Geovids with rangefinder and have had the Leica 1200 for many years. Couldnt be happier.

[Gbuss]

I have the Nikon. It is good and fairly accurate. Water proof and vary clear. Was able to range a family of yotes at 450 yrds this summer. To bad I was bow hunting.

Gordon.

[bingo1010]

Another plug for the leica 1600, have got ranges to 1999yds, not always of course. Pretty hard to beat, i really like the compact size as well.

[mhd]

I have a Nikon Riflehunter 1000 and it works well. Have compared a ton of yardages with my brother in laws Leupold and they all come out the same. The Optics in the Nikon are better IMO than the Leupold. Only thing I hate about it is at last light it changes the reticle to a red colour to make it easier to see it but the whole view changes to a red color and you can barely see out of the damn thing period. But it has to be quite a bit into last light for that to happen. Happened to me ranging a coyote this last summer.

Thanks for the info.How far can you range a coyote with it?

[mhd]

I have the Nikon. It is good and fairly accurate. Water proof and vary clear. Was able to range a family of yotes at 450 yrds this summer. To bad I was bow hunting.

Gordon.

Is that the Nikon 1000? Does Nikon have any warranty on their products?

[H380]

just bought a bushnell legend 1200 with arc from ws for 339 and did not use it hunting yet but i took it out and tryed it while walking my dog in the park and i was very happy with it so far i range buildings at 900 and people at 350 i even ranged some geese at 267. i would have bought the laica but its double the money.p.s. at wholesale sport you have 30 days to return it if you dont like it.

I've had this same model for 2 years , ranged coyotes to 600 yds and deer over 800 .I'm satisfied with it and can't see spending more money for something that is likely gonna get lost . Don't bother with any of the cheaper models as that is exactly what you'll get .I'm sure some are better than the 1200 but I can't afford them , I originally boughter cheaper and it's a waste of money .

[ramguide]

I have the geovid 15x56 with range finder and the leica 1600 range finder. All good equipment but I believe I have found the very best range finder to date. It's made by G7 which is mike and Aaron Davidson from long range pursuit. This thing is amazing as far as ranging in snow, sleet, or rain. My leica doesn't even compare to the G7 rangefinder. You can also put your ballistic info into the range finder and it will give you hold over for any distance. You can calculate wind with it also, not the speed of the wind. Example, you have a ten mile per hour cross wind you hit a button on the side of it which goes up in 10 mile per hour increments and it will give you the hold for MOA at that range. It sounds complicated but its very simple to use. Trust me I used to have the Leupold range finder and hated it.
Go to www.gunwerks.com and look up the G7 BR2 ballistic range finder
This is not a cheap range finder, but if you want the very best this is it!

[mhd]

I have the geovid 15x56 with range finder and the leica 1600 range finder. All good equipment but I believe I have found the very best range finder to date. It's made by G7 which is mike and Aaron Davidson from long range pursuit. This thing is amazing as far as ranging in snow, sleet, or rain. My leica doesn't even compare to the G7 rangefinder. You can also put your ballistic info into the range finder and it will give you hold over for any distance. You can calculate wind with it also, not the speed of the wind. Example, you have a ten mile per hour cross wind you hit a button on the side of it which goes up in 10 mile per hour increments and it will give you the hold for MOA at that range. It sounds complicated but its very simple to use. Trust me I used to have the Leupold range finder and hated it.
Go to www.gunwerks.com and look up the G7 BR2 ballistic range finder
This is not a cheap range finder, but if you want the very best this is it!

If you don't mind me asking, which Leupold was it? What did you not like about it?

The G7 sounds nice but it's WAY out of my price range.

[ramguide]

I didn't like the fact that it was a little on the difficult side to figure everything out with it. As far as it's operating functions. Don't get me wrong, I sure didn't give it enough time to get adjusted to it. I just wasn't wowed with it from the get go, the G7 on the other hand has the wow factor.

[Jordan Smith]

G7 is great but it's not the best. If you want the best check out Vectronix.

OP,

I first bought a $200 Bushnell Pro range finder. The optics sucked and I was lucky to range passed 400 or 500 yards with it. On anything. Then I bought a Leica LRF1200. Amazing optics and I could range trees out to 1270 yards. Then I bought a Bushnell Fusion 10x42. Optics are just as good as the Leica, and it's twice the rangefinder. I can range trees out to about 1870 yards, and deer out to 1300-1600 yards, depending on conditions. Just amazing. The Bushnell Elite 1600 has the same RF, but is a monocular, not a set of RF binos. See if you can find one, or else the Elite 1500 within your budget. If not, save up a bit more and get a RF that you'll be happy with for a few years.

[fast_pass88]

i am looking for a range finder as well, today at cabelas i looked at the leica 1000 and the rep there told me it will range a deer at 1000yds under ideal conditions. apparantly leica lasers actual hides and bases their ranging abilities off that, not the reflective target like most other companies do. the guy also said it shoots five lasers (or one laser 5 times) so the reading it displays is the average of those five. which is interesting info, cuz leica's website gives basically no info on them! it looks like i'll be saving my pennies a little longer and getting that over the leupold or nikon...

[blwlaw823]

Does anyone have any experience with Vortex Rangefinder?

[sheephunter]

i am looking for a range finder as well, today at cabelas i looked at the leica 1000 and the rep there told me it will range a deer at 1000yds under ideal conditions. ...

Possibly, if ideal means the deer was wearing a mirror...lol

I haven't used a Leica for a while but that certainly wasn't my experience.

[Rackmastr]

Possibly, if ideal means the deer was wearing a mirror...lol



Haha so true....

I run Geovids, and much like any other rangefinder, they work on the most reflective surfaces. A deer at 1000 yards is a VERY tough target to keep steady on with a rangefinder, let alone get a good reading. The side of a mountain, hillside, rocks, etc at 1000 are more like it.

[Lefty-Canuck]

This may sound odd but also in my experience the lower end models (Bushnell) used to emit a sound when you used them.....this sound is something the animals can hear in close range (bow hunting).

Several times I was in my tree stand and ranged a live animal....made no noise and minimal movement and as soon as I pressed the button for a range, the animal would stop and look right at me......then I listensed to the range finder while pressing the button and I could hear a high pitched buzz noise....I have never heard this noise with my Geovids. I no longer own a Bushnell range finder so maybe the new ones do not do this.

LC

[fast_pass88]

Possibly, if ideal means the deer was wearing a mirror...lol

I haven't used a Leica for a while but that certainly wasn't my experience.

thanks for the input, the counter guy was pretty young and said he got his info from the leica tech guy but who knows. a hunters experience is alot more trustworthy then a salesman lol. how far would your 1000 read? could you range large rocks, trees or mtn sides at 1000?

[sheephunter]

thanks for the input, the counter guy was pretty young and said he got his info from the leica tech guy but who knows. a hunters experience is alot more trustworthy then a salesman lol. how far would your 1000 read? could you range large rocks, trees or mtn sides at 1000?

Like I say it's been quite a few years since I got rid of it but I seem to remember it doing okay on large objects like rock faces to 800 anyhow.

[mhd]

Does anyone have any experience with Vortex Rangefinder?



X2 I am seriously looking at this one,the warranty cant be beat.I was talking to Vortex a couple days ago wondering about the limited lifetime warranty and was told that they have changed it to the lifetime VIP warranty they just haven't put it on the boxes etc yet,some thing to think about.

[mhd]

I am sure there is better range finders out there but I cant afford them and really they are more than I need as I don't plan on shooting more than 500-600 yds. I am looking at the Leupold TBR1000 and the Vortex 1000,does anyone have any experience with either one?

[sheephunter]

X2 I am seriously looking at this one,the warranty cant be beat.I was talking to Vortex a couple days ago wondering about the limited lifetime warranty and was told that they have changed it to the lifetime VIP warranty they just haven't put it on the boxes etc yet,some thing to think about.

I heard they were dropping the "no fault" part of their warranty.

[chaser]

Would like to hear some feed back from guys who have used a $300 one.:thinking-006:

I have a Bushnell that was around $350 and it I think its is all a guy needs unless your shooting out past 600 yards. Everything under that distance I have no problems getting a range. I have had it for 3-4 years now and it is still going great. I think it is called a Bushnell Scout something but im not sure i'll have to check.