rangefinders?

Looking to get my first rangefinder and thought I would ask here first. What do you have and do you like it?

I would like to stay under 200. Will be used out of the tree for bow and would carry it gun hunting as well

Thanks
John

John Luebker wrote:

I would like to stay under 200. Will be used out of the tree for bow and would carry it gun hunting as well

Thanks
John

Just remember John, you get what you pay for. FYI, if a range finder says it’s a 800 yard finder, it is actually a 600ish yard finder. 1000 is actually 800ish. Look to brands like Leica.

A Leica rangefinder will start at $700 and go up from there. Hes looking to spend under $200. A good light duty range finder on the cheap.. look at Nikon, bushnell or Vortex. They both have a model or two in the price range you are looking at. I used a $179 bushnell rangefinder for years…and it served me plenty well. Now i have a Leupold TBR1000i. Like mine some models have ballistics that you might not need for your personal application. Make sure to get one that fits your needs, not a bunch of technology you wont use. After being in the sales industry I would recommend staying away from low end models from WILDGAME INNOVATIONS HALO models. They had a very high return/defect rate.

I’ve got the Leupold TBR1000. I like it because the display is in red letters vs. black. It’s also American made.

Whatever you get, but sure it has ARC. Lots of good choices on the market today.

Thanks guys. I have been doing a lot of research the past few days. Arc is limited for the sub 200 market. Bushnell was the only one i found and to be honest i haven’t read the best reviews on Bushnell. I am really wonder if arc matters that much in flat land WI, the research i have done says not much if you don’t have extreme angles.

I am looking at the nikon prostaff 5 ($175) or nikon aculon, and leaning more toward the aculon ($130) it seems to have all good reviews and I think it will fit my usage. I was surprised that the prostaff 5 didn’t have any angle compensation it looks like I would have to jump to the prostaff 7 to get that. I thought I read in a previous thread in this forumn that the prostaff3 had it, but my research is showing something different.

I know the Leica and leupolds are great range finders but they just are in “scope” for now. Maybe once I hand this one down to my daughter i will upgrade to a slightly nicer one.

Thanks for your feedback and please if you think i am making a mistake by ignoring the ARC feature I am all ears, from what I have read I am just not convinced that it is worth paying extra for…

You know your shots and angles better than anyone so I would rely on your gut. The arc is for extreme angles. I like to play a bit of a game when I’m bored during that first couple hours on stand. I start ranging items from right under my tree out to 60-80 yards to see how the angle compensation varies. From a 16 foot tree stand, I can’t recall it ever being off by more than a couple yards.

Thanks for your replay kooty – the couple feet is what I have been hearing as well.

I think I will lock in my final decision and plan to upgrade in a yr or 2 once my daughter wants this one

What was the final decision? I’m kind of in the same boat as you but I’m going to wait till next year to pull the trigger. Right now I’m using a Wildgame Innovations range finder that was pretty cheap and I’m not the biggest fan of it… but it does work for now

I am leaning towards the Nikon ACULON – Amazon has them for 129 and from what I read people seem to like it. If I wanted to spend up to 250 I think the prostaff 7 would be the one I would get because it does have the “ARC” feature, but my budget of 200 was set and for me to max it I would have to feel I was getting something more and something that I really should have and to be honest right now there isn’t much of a difference between the prostaff 5 and the ACULON (the prostaff 5 is more water proof) I will buy tonight and review it over the next couple of months

For a cheap rangefinder, I actually use a Simmons. Have for 4 years. It goes golfing with me, turkey hunting, bow hunting, muzzleloader hunting, coyote hunting, basically anywhere with me and it has never given me an issue and is very accurate. I remember when mom got me it for Christmas, I was like, “Simmons is garbage”, but my tune has changed a little. I don’t use it out west for elk hunting or anything, but I just don’t see where the value is in the $700.00+ dollar ones, they’re not a scope or a pair of binos. Anyway, this is the one that I was hesitant to endorse before using, but now would all day, any day. Good luck!

http://www.amazon.com/Simmons-801405-Rangefinder-4x20LRF-600/dp/B003X082A4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1411580060&sr=8-2&keywords=simmons+lrf+600

I have used the nikon pro staff for years. Great rangefinder. Sadly, its GONE. No clue where it went. I’m guessing it fell out while tracking a deer.

Anyways, this year I needed one fast and had a limited budget so I bought a Wild Game Innovation XRT Halo?

I think thats what it is called. Anyways, let me start by saying I am not a fan of WGI at all for many reason I will not get into here and now.

BUT… I will say this. So far so good, this range finder is on the mark and sitting next to my buddy with his $300 finder we are reading the same within 1 yard +/-.

I paid $89.99 at Fleet Farm on sale from $129.00 or close. I also get a $20 rebate putting the final price tag at $69.99. I’ll let you know in two months when it stops working how great it is then

But so far so good.

http://www.bowhunting.com/publisher/hunting-news/2014/9/23/halo-xrt-precision-rangefinding-at-a-great-price

link to review

At that price, it’s worth the risk.

kooty wrote:

I’ve got the Leupold TBR1000. I like it because the display is in red letters vs. black. It’s also American made.

Whatever you get, but sure it has ARC. Lots of good choices on the market today.

THis is what i have. Awesome unit. Great clarity in low light too.
Small and compact.

I like the feature that allows me to judge the deer size. It has some lines on the screen that you can change the distance on. So let’s say you want it at 24″, it’ll adjust width on screen based on the the distance your looking at to help you judge animals at longer distances away.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Leupold-reg-RX-i-TBR-Compact-Rangefinder-with-DNA/1161086.uts?productVariantId=2884357&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=34-246441954-2&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=03148004&rid=20

I have a Nikon Prostaff 5. Not even sure why I bought it because it took this post just to remember I have it!!!! I just dug it out and ranged a few things in the back yard. It doesnt work through glass windows.

Yeah i have read that on many comments but i dont think that glass windows are just only an issue for the prostaff 5

I actually ran mine through my window yesterday just for the heck of it…Wanted to make sure batteries were still good. It ranged the house across the street @ 87yards.

Thanks a lot! I wont be sharing this little tidbit with my wife.
Accusing her of dirty windows does not equal quality time in the field.

Nikon’s stink, IMO. I burned through 2 last year. The housing of my first one (Nikon – Archers Choice bought in ’12) started to break down after about 6 months. Had to tape it together. The second one I bought last fall wouldn’t work at all, when the temps got to single digits. Both were in the $175 range.

Like someone else said – you get what you pay for. Yeah, I could have returned them and gotten new ones, but I decided to just reboot and buy a Leupold RX800i. Been very happy with the performance. Construction is better as well.

is there special landards that you can purchase to make sure you don’t lose them? i am looking to get one and follow this thread and see what i can get into for not to much money but decent quality for just beginning to hunt bow.