Laser Rangefinder thread -best value that actually WORKS out to 400 yards

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Laser Rangefinder thread -best value that actually WORKS out to 450 yards

OK, for several years I had this $179-new-back-then Bushnell "Yardage Pro 400", which appeared to work and did work perfectly well / very well, just testing it around the neighborhood, and when bowhunting. THEN, I went on my first open-terrain type elk hunt in December, and it just flat didn't work at long range. So what happened was - saw several elk; getting ready to take a shot; could NOT get a reading with many tries - this is absurd because the elk were out in the open and easy to hold the crosshairs of the rangefinder on and it was broad daylight- so the "400" model was junky, as it didn't even work to 325 on an elk, let alone 400 (some bulls were closer but no bull tag). As a result, I hit low - thinking the elk was 340 to 350 yards, when in reality, it must have been 365-370 yards - I still filled my cow tag but just barely. Could have easily gone south and ended up just wounded / lost. I would have used the right holdover had I known what the actual range was. So of course I sold the junk rangefinder (well it's not "junk" - it worked fine at shorter ranges; just not the longer ranges).

So what's the best budget-y, user-friendly, easy-on and automatic-off ranger which WILL reflect on a deer or elk out to 400 yards or even maybe 450, just to be safe? Thanks. Preferably under $300, but I'll go as high as I need to go for a user-friendly one that works reliably to 450 on fur (i.e. a not-so-reflective surface).

Any good, unbiased laser rangefinder review sites?
 
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Vortex Ranger 1000..360-380$..1000 yard reflective and 500yd deer.Fully Unlimited lifetime warranty even if you buy it used.Great customer service and great products..Buy once,cry once.
 
I won a "Halo Xtanium 1000" It tested out to 750 on brush & trees. I have not tried it on an actual deer though.
I had a couple of budget rangefinders & returned them all as the quoted ranges were horribly shy of the specs. The 600 yd couldn't do 200 & so on in the same place against the same brush & trees.

I'm used to the "perfect conditions exaggeration" but most of the RF specs were in the realm of pure fantasy!

http://www.amazon.com/Wildgame-Innovations-Xtanium-Laser-Finder/dp/B00TP8IFCI
 
Would a horse or cow do you (I can guarantee to find them way more easily):confused:
I'll try to find a tan/brown(ish) one & work out a max that'l read reliably.:D
 
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I went with a Nikon Aculon but only use it to sight in my rifles. My scopes have bullet drop compensator cross hairs. I have found it more efficient to hunt this way so I am not playing with a range finder when I should be looking through my scope waiting for a clear shot.
 
I have a Nikon 600 that will usually range a deer, pig or coyote to 400 yards. It'll do the 400, but if you want more range on a critter further out you will need to spend more money. If I knew for sure what would range small brown critters out to about 600, I might buy one. But, no stinking way I'll spend a lot of money just to wind up with some high dollar gear that still restricts me to 400 yards.
 
I have experienced fumbling with a rangefinder and not being able to get a read.
And it was one of the German rangefinders rated to 1200 yds.

At longer ranges,precise ranging is necessary. 25 yds matters.

But at most normal hunting range,we just need a pretty good idea of the range. Our trajectory can handle a 50 yd error. Or we need to know "Its too far"

For those purposes,just learn how the mil-dot system of ranging works.

You don't need a mil-dot to use the principle. A duplex and a reasonable knowledge of your target size will work.

Measure your duplex.If you have variable,pick a power.Max is easiest.
Measure it with a 100 yd sight in target.

12 inches? Fine! If it were a 12 in target,and it fit the duplex,range would be 100 yds. Ah,but if it were an 18 in target,the range would be 150 yds.If the 18 in target fits center crosshair to post tip,300 yds.

My 6X by 42 mm Leupold standard duplex is 2 mils..close enough to 7 in at 100 yds. If a 14 in pronghorn fits,its 200 yds.Center crosshair to post,400 yds.Smaller?Too far!!

Its easy,its already in the scope,and it takes no time or fumbling if you just develop the skill

An embarrassing admission,after the action on a pronghorn hunt.For some reason,couldn't get a read at about 300 yds on a pronghorn with a Lieca 1200.(good rangefinder).I wasn't hunting,just failing at the rangefinder.Braced,steady.I don't know what the problem was. This was early dawn.We fumbled long enough that opportunity went away.

Same day,same rangefinder,the hunter got a read,and a one shot clean kill at 635 yds with his AR-10 T .308.

Reflecting on the events of the day ,it occurred to me how the frustration of the first opportunity was unnecessary.

That animal turned out to have been about 300 yds.

The rifle was equipt with a Leupold 3.5 to10 X M-1 scope with a Mil-Dot.

The shooter was just accustomed to using the laser technology,and did not practice ranging with his Mil_Dot. It was not second nature for him to use it.
Had it occurred to him to MilDot range the 300 yd Pronghorn,it would have been a good,easy shot.

Another lesson learned the hard way.
 
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Normally I'll range distinct objects at various ranges rather than wait till I see a coyote or deer, so I'll know the approx range without having to fumble with the RF. That approach works most of the time, but not all of the time.
 
That's my usual approach too.
I still use a range card with the info on it so I can just glance at a "picture" with accurate distances on it.

GP%20card%201_zpsxakf8km0.jpg
 
Very nice. As much as that old school ranging method is interesting, I'm going to do it the faster and easier way.

So I'm interested in some more input - what other designs in the $250-$400 range are high values, scoring high on ease of use, and long range capability?

Any good review sites you recommend? This is a gear thread; I want to compare and contrast features and benefits of the best and best values out there for this specific product category; thanks. :D

So far we have:

--Vortex Ranger 1000
--Halo Xtanium 1000

I'm gonna change my requirement to 400 yards reliably on deer fur instead of 450 yards.

How do you know which set of cross-hairs to use? I think you still need to know the range.
Click to expand...

Exactly.
 
I'm going to head over to a local farm this weekend with horses & cows scattered across several large paddocks.

What I plan to do is range several at extending ranges several times each using the Halo Xtanium 1000. When the range varies between reads, or fails to read, I'll consider that maximum viable range. I'll post the results & pics back here on Sun or Mon, depending how hectic the weekend gets.

It'll be interesting as I've had good reads on plants out way beyond the 400~450 you're looking for, but I don't know how fur compares to leaves as a target. It should be interesting.
 
Good,well founded techniques.

I tend to walk in in the dark. Things are sometimes quite exciting at first light.
Creating a range card at that time might be a bit distracting in my circumstances.
Cool if you have an established stand.
My situation is typically more mobile/fluid.

IMO,once again,for 308,30-06,270,etc class rifles, if you become proficient in applying MilDot ranging technique to your Duplex,you can easily determine range well enough to place your shots within the first 350 or so yards of trajectory.It can be second nature with a little practice.

You can also determine "More than 350,or 400 yds" .That is important.

Then you can use your nice laser,or GPS,at your leisure.

For my Pronghorn rifle,assuming 14 in body height,and a 7 in duplex,if the body fits the duplex,200 yds. Center crosshair to post,400 yds.Interpolate from there.

Its just too easy to waste.
 
I usually do the range-card earlier by a few days. I find it helps to walk the plot as well so I like to do that on a different day so I don't spook everything in sight!;)

I'm fortunate & unfortunate in being restricted to bout 3 good places to do this. Because of the limitation I can put more effort into carding each location.
 
So what's the best budget-y, user-friendly, easy-on and automatic-off ranger which WILL reflect on a deer or elk out to 400 yards or even maybe 450, just to be safe? Thanks. Preferably under $300, but I'll go as high as I need to go for a user-friendly one that works reliably to 450 on fur (i.e. a not-so-reflective surface).
Click to expand...

Just any FYI, after hunting with guys who use RFs and my personal experience, the trick doesn't seem to be if it will range off a given item such as a deer or elk, but if the user is actually ranging off the animal or something beyond or in front of the animal. In other words, user error tends to be a big part of the problem with using RFs.

Despite the crosshairs or other reticles inside rangefinders which are supposed to help you with aiming, you may find your sweet spot for best measurements for a given unit to be slightly off from the exact crosshair. This likely won't matter at short distances and bigger objects, but can at longer distances when objects appear much smaller. In my unit, the sweet spot is at the top of the reticle icon, not in the center of it.

For critical shots, I would suggest ranging the animal more than once with different "looks." Range the target, look away, range again, ideally on a different spot on the animal. If the numbers don't jive within a yard or two, then you may be ranging something other than the animal.
 
I'd think that's a good reason for higher magnifications as well, allowing the "target" to be bigger & so easier to accurately aim to range?

***UPDATED with data & pics***

OK, I got to go to the farm to range the herds of cattle & horses, not.

As usual the animals weren’t cooperating but I did manage to find a solitary black cow off to the side & a small herd of horses over the other way.

Unfortunately the lay of the land meant I couldn’t get to 450 yds, or even 400. The best I could get was 373, so that’s where the test ended. I have no doubt the extra 25 yds would have been no problem for the laser, but the size of full sizes horses & cows was, even at 8X magnification. The Halo Xtanium 1000 has a “dot in an open crosshair “ reticule, not the dot shown in the advert but the dot subtended the whole flank of the horse & was tough to keep on target long enough for the laser to do it’s thing. I used the “Horizontal range with incline" mode so there are horizontal distances elevation was minute, about a 2 degree slope so I’d just ignore it.

Results:
Black cow
198-199-198

Brown horse:
373-375-371

Black cow from the others side:
283-280-279

Pics show what it looked like & an approximation of the 8X view through the R/F.

Blk%20cow%20198_zpszsopjlb9.jpg


Horse%20373-375-371_zpstlnltmvk.jpg


black%20cow%20283-280-279_zpsu5n20xfi.jpg
 
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