Range finders?

[shanej.]

Guys,

What brand of range finder does everybody use?

I really want the Leica 1200 yard gizmon...but she is a bit pricey...

Leupold makes a couple that are a bit less pricey...

Whatcha all using?

Shane

[rdnck]

shanej--Get the Leica 1200 and don't look back--Shoot straight, rdnck.

[powderburner]

The leica is a dandy .....
however this last week I was up in Idaho on the snake river canyon right next to a sportsman warehouse and we took about 6 brands out to the canyon and run them all .the red numbers on the leica were hard to see and it was harder to get a reading off it past 800 yds you have to hold them real still to get a reading. The winner hands down was the cheapest the Bushnell Elite .rated for I think 1500 yds ,it is not near as touchy as the others and is 200,00 less

I had saved the bucks to get the leica but changed my mind after the side x side run .........Dean

[ironramrod]

Powderburner,

Were the Bushnell distance readings also the easiest to read at typical hunting distances (e.g. 400m or less) as compared to the others you tested? Also, how consistent were the distance measurements between the units you tested, when sighting on the same object?

Regards

[powderburner]

They all tested very accurately , what made the most difference was holding them steady ,if they moved at all they would not give a reading shooting the points on the far wall of the canyon you could go from 150 or so to where none would read. I hit a white house at 1196 or something like that and I could hold the elite on it to measure while the Leica ,and the Nikon wouldnt read ,, Mostly me I'm sure but the small size of the Leica was a boondoggle for me after about 800 yds . I could occasionally get a reading at just under 9 with it but had to really hold it down , if you were puffin and gruntin while hunting this would be a real drawback ,,,and this from a feller who has saved pennies for a long time to get the 1200 rf Leica . ..Dean

[rdnck]

powderburner--I got my Leica 1200 after hunting with Josh A. a couple of years ago. I had a Bushnell at that time, and Josh's Leica 1200 would easily give readings on game two to three times as far as the Bushnell I had. I had also previously owned a bulky Tasco that was supposed to be good for 800 yards but gave out around 350. When I got back from Josh's, I bought a Leica and gave the Bushnell to a neighbor who was hunting with a muzzleloader and a patched round ball.

In fairness, I have never tried a Bushnell Elite. I will say that my Leica has always given readings on objects such as bushes and trees that other rangefinders of my experience wouldn't touch and at distances they couldn't reach. Shoot straight, rdnck.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Another vote for the Leica. My Bushnell was no where near the tool my Leica is.

Bushnells may have gotten better, but I won't go back to them.

[Josh A.]

Like Rdnck says I have the Leica LRF 1200 non-scan and it has been wonderful. Its been in the toolbox on my jeep for two years, frozen below 18 degrees and has been over 145 degrees during the summer. Its been on a half a dozen out of state hunts and I can't count the number of times its been fumbled and dropped. Always works well. One battery change in all this time. I won't buy another range finder until Leica has a reasonable size rangefinder in a binocular for under $1000.

Josh

[shanej.]

Guys,

I was reading on another forum that Leica...and a couple other big name optics are made in BEaverton Oregon by Leupold...is that right?

And I just got Cabela's Shooting catalog that shows a Leupold Binoc Range Finder good to 800...on sale for $499...

But it says ...does not give "true ballistic distance"? What the hell does that mean?

Mostly I want to be able to judge range more accurately...for hunting...as we all know sometimes there is not a lot of time to fiddle around with gadgets...

We have a small captive herd of Bison here in the city park...8 to 10 animals...as I drive by...I range them by eye...

But out in this part of the country...ravines and gullys...seem to stretch distances....especially at the odd hours when game is most likely to be moving...

Shane

[powderburner]

I also have an OLD bushnell and that is exactly how it works .. half of what it is rated .........

Notice I said I tried them all side by side and the elite worked best in the test I Did ... The elite is new technology and is totaly different than the old timers .. I am not pushing anything here just letting you know what I found out in my testing..... Dean

[rdnck]

powderburner--If the new one works, it works. It's just that we haven't seen one in this neck of the woods. I'm all for saving money, that's for sure. I do know that if I hadn't bought the Tasco and the Bushnell first, trying to cheap out, I could have had a world class rangefinder three years earlier and only spent the money once instead of twice. See you at Quigley? Shoot straight, rdnck.

[dozer]

What are you going to use it for? (sounds like a dumb question doesn't it?) I have been carrying an old Bushnell since they started making them. It's a large, bulky PIA when hunting. My buddy just got a Nikon that isn't quite as easy to read, but it fits in his shirt pocket. Major advantage.

YMMV, but if you are hunting with it, get a combo finder/bino. My opinion from years of packing both. Less to carry you don't put down the bino to range and so on.. Once you go past 500 yds, it really doesn't make much difference. It only tells you you need to get closer. Once mine starts reading 250, My blood starts getting a bit warmer.
Gus