Looking to buy a Laser Rangefinder…What do you have??
Choices Choices….Looking for some input on a laser rangefinder. looking at the Nikon 550 or maybe a Leupold, what are your experiences, I want something that will work and be hassle free. I hear some of them are difficult to acquire a reading?
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Viewing 8 replies - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
Bushnell Elite 1500. It has served me very well but……………
If you’ve got the jack, go with the used Leica CRF 800 and never look back.
Paul
Nikon pro staff 550. No complaints!
I bought mine in the mid to early 90’s. There were only two on the market then, Geovid by Liecia and the Swarovski RF-1.
Cabelas had the RF-1 for $3200., remember it was new technology at the time. A friend and I went in together on got a RF-1 at a screaming deal for 2500., or 1250 each. He eventually bought the Geovid, which is a binocular range finder, and gave me my share of the RF-1 for my birthday.
THe RF-1 is a monocular, which is fine for me, I only have one working eye, and the optics are far better than anything made since, they are simply superb.
Yeah I paid a butt load of money for it, but I have used it for surveying fencing jobs, built numerous ranges, and have killed a semi truck full of elk and deer, not to mention varmits with it that I might not have gotten.
Bottom line it well was worth the money.
But it does not have the ARC feature, the angle feature that tells you the correct hold for the range and angle, and for a airguner/archer, that is a very important tool. I get by by ranging the bottom of trees and using that figure instead of the ground to tree top range, and also reducing to memory angles and yardages, but the ARC feature would make it so much easier. Hunting almost full time in a mountainous region for years has imprinted the uphill downhill correction into me, but I sure missed my share of nice bucks and bulls until I learned to hold lower.
Having said that, I would be so much better off to just buy another one with the ARC feature solely for airgunning.
So my advice, get either a higher end Bushnell or Leupold or one of that quality with the ARC feature. If you get better glass you will not need to haul a pair of quaility binos around.
Regards,
Roachcreek
Has range compensation I like it had it 3 years now I think
I use a Bushnell and it works well.
I responded to you over on the yellow
Harry – I have
Picked it up for a C note at a local Academy Sports on clearance.
The good – Picked it up CHEAP! Easy to use – very accurate – Really quick response. Does not eat up batteries
The bad – Dawn and Dusk it may not give you a reading. Objects with little or no contrast it can’t easily discern.
I was ordering one of the Nikon 550 used for $150.00 from amazon before I bought the Bushnell and got beat out by seconds. I mean I was pressing the “buy” button and it said “out of stock” 😥
I went to the local sporting goods stores and asked to try the ones under $200 out and that’s when I happened to run across the Bushnell.
I suggest you do the same in your budget. Go to the store and try them out.
Hope this helps.
Dave
Viewing 8 replies - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
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Like Libertyman said, if you can spare the cash the Leica is the top dog, in both performance and cost.
If you rifle hunt at long distances or under difficult conditions the Leica seems to be the most powerful, and will give a reading on nearly any surface.
http://us.leica-camera.com/sport_optics/rangemaster/crf_1600/
The Bushnell is a decent rangefinder, and some that are available with “Bow Mode” would be great for us airgunners.
http://www.bushnell.com/products/rangefinders/scout-1000-arc/