Range Finders...Worth the Cost?

[TooTaxed]

I'd appreciate your comments on the range finders you have or have used...pro and con, limitations. I would use to about 400 yards.

Any particularly good deals out there?

 

[EShell]

I have a Leica 800 and like it. There are quite a few on the market these days at less cost than a Leica and at 500 yards or less, your choices are more plentiful than if you need to range greater distances.

If you do much long range shooting, a good LRF is a HUGE asset, since most folks simply cannot reliably "judge" range, even with known size targets. Even if not used while hunting, it can be used for practice and is a great aid to learning.

They are of limited usefulness in extremely bright sunlight, in bad weather or in areas where the view to the target is obstructed by brush, etc., so one cannot afford to become too dependent on the LRF.

 

[Omnivore]

I've owned a couple of them, and tried several more belonging to friends. I keep coming back to Leica as the "real" rangefinder, as in, it just seems to work the way you want as opposed to the ways in which the others work.

Go the cheap route and you'll end up getting a good one eventually anyway, after having experienced fristration. Save your money and the frustration-- wait until you can afford the good stuff. That's my opinion.

 

[TooTaxed]

I already have a BORS with 4 x 14.5 x 50 Leupold mounted on my ahigh-grade M1A...but thats a bit of an anomoly...those are normally mounted on the Barrett .50-cal sniper rifles. (To see a video on those, click on the "Optics" tab on the Barrett website, then click on the video tab.) I'm inquiring about the hand-held units...

 

[Sunray]

"...would use to about 400 yards..." For what? Range finders are ok if you're hunting from a blind/stand, but they're too slow if you're not. Learning to judge distances is far better.
A typical whitetail is about 36" top to bottom. 'Withers to brisket'. Learn what that looks like at up to 400 yards. Mind you, if you can't hit a 9" pie plate, every time, at that distance and have your rifle sighted in for long shots(know the ballistics of your hunting ammo), don't even think about taking a 400 yard shot.
Varmint hunting with your deer rifle and load/ammo is fabulous practice for long range shooting. So is NRA target shooting.

 

[Tamlin]

I looked at numerous brands of range finders, and the best one, with the clearest optics, was Leica, hands down. Did some internet searching, and picked up a great deal on the 1200 model. Yes, 1200 yards is excessive for hunting situations, but as with guns, you can never have too much power. (plus, it's just great to be able to range things in for fun - like when I take it to the zoo.) Because the optics are so clear, I use this in the field now instead of my regular binoculars. My suggestion is do what I did - go to your local Sportsman's Warehouse (or wherever) and look through them in person - then do some internet pricing on the one you like the best. Although I ended up liking the priciest model the best, I saved over $100 on it by doing internet pricing.

Good luck.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

I have a Bushnell 400 - an older model that was a gimme several years ago. The furthest I have successfully ranged a HIGHLY reflective target (like a street sign) is 240yds.

That tends to make it pretty useless for me since all of the cartridges I shoot are flat enough that I don't need to adjust at 240yds (assuming I need to shoot a street sign at that distance for some reason). In actual use against non-reflective targets, the range is bad enough that I could just as easily make a good guess myself.

I can see where it might be useful for archery; but I've been real disappointed with that particular model.

This is not to say that Rangefinders don't work - just merely to point out some of the frustration involved in going the cheapie route (the way I got this rangefinder was the guy who bought it gave it to me after he got sick of it and bought a decent one - I guess he had too much of a conscience to try and sell it to some unsuspecting third party).

 

[glockman19]

TooTaxed,

How do you like BORIS?

I am going to build a Remington 700 VLS in .308 and I plan on topping it off with BORIS

I currently use a Remington 700 CDL in .30-06 for hunting with a Bushnell elite 3200 and a Elite 4200 6-24x40 on my SA M1A.

I am currently signting with mil-dot recticle and would love to veriry my ranges with a range finder.

I like the Bushnell 1000, or 1500 with their bullet drop compensator for the .308.

 

[TooTaxed]

The BORS (Barrett Optical Ranging Sight) is astounding...it is actually a computer, determining range and bullet drop for a specific tuned-in load. The Mark 4 Leupold it's tied to is great in itself. It's expensive...Barrett's price is $2700 for the combo. It's a perfect match for the .50-cal Barrett sniping rifles, for which it was developed.

However, on a .308 Win it's overkill...most useful for ranges 500 to 1,000 yards (and over!). A hand-held range finder is both practical and far cheaper. The BORS is also both heavy and "chunky" looking.

That said, it is rather fun!

 

[Wilco]

great info, thanks guys...