Selecting a Range Finder
By Dave Braun
I spent many sleepless nights deciding which laser range finder to buy.
This article will highlight my logic for picking a rangefinder. The
technology is constantly changing and the price / performance is making
the selection much more difficult.
I expect to use my range finder for archery and rifle big game
hunting. It must be able to be used with one hand. I also will use it
for turkey and varmint hunting as a secondary consideration. I have a
limited budget and needed to buy it in the fall of 2006. I was
considering range finders in the $300 price range. I planned to use
the rangefinder in California, Arizona and Utah. Archery mule
deer hunting is the most important type of hunting that I expect to
need the precise accuracy of the rangefinder. The areas I hunt have
steep mountains and some wide open places. I wish I had a range finder
on my CA. antelope hunt. It would have saved me the follow up shots
needed. I under estimated the range significantly. I guessed the range
was 250 yards, when it was really 350 yards. My .308 hit the front
shoulder
a bit low and it was not the clean kill that I had hoped for.
Increasing my effective range with my compound bow an additional 30
yards and being able to reach out to 500 yards with my rifle is
what I want to accomplish.
I had a chance to try out many different range finders from Leica,
Bushnell and Leupold in various different stores. Some of the earlier
models were a bit bulky and
really needed two hands to get a reading. I considered getting a
Leupold range finding Binocular model but I liked my current Leupold
Wind River 10X50 binoculars better and the range finder did not have
the
options I was looking for. Besides it was well over my budget.
My first range finder was an optical parallax type and it was so bad I
never took it hunting. I didn't have the confidence in the device and
it took too long to get a reading and hunting situations demand a quick
decision or you will miss the opportunity. Even in the best lighting
conditions I could not line up the two images to get a reading. I
bought it in a bargain bin with out ever trying it. I was not going to
make that mistake ever again. I wanted to look through it and try all
the buttons BEFORE I buy one again.
I went to many different sporting goods stores to look at laser range
finders. Many of the sales people really didn't know much about the
range finders they were selling. When it came to the advanced options
on the Leupold RX-II most didn't know how to set up the True Ballistic
Range (TBR) features. At first glance I thought it
might be too much technology to deal with during the
excitement of the hunt.
While reading a local newspaper I saw an advertisement that Fowlers Gun
Room was having a Leupold Sale and that Leupold sales staff were going
to be present to ask questions. Since I had narrowed the candidate
range finders to either the Bushnell Scout or the Leupold RX-II. I
liked the scout's user friendly operation and the slightly lower
price. I like Leupold rifle scopes much better than the Bushnell scopes
I had on my earlier guns. I also love my Wind River Binos. So I was
leaning toward the RX-II but the feature rich options were a bit
confusing at first. The Leupold salesman really knew his product
and he took some time to explain all the features. He showed me how to
set up the BOW range and how to set the TBR for my .308 ballistics.
This made my decision easy. I purchased the Range finder and he even
threw in a Leupold hat.
The Leupold RX-II (Part Number 61460) has a clear and brighter optics
than others in the
price range and works well even when wearing glasses. It is very light
and easily works with one hand. This model has Mossy Oak
Obsession camo. I highly advise using the range
finder for a few weeks to get used to ranging objects. Try using the
features to filter out near by brush and using the RAIN mode if
possible.
I take my rangefinder with me to the archery range all the time. I
shoot my Mathews Switchback LD while wearing my binocular rig and range
finder. It doesn't get in the way of shooting my bow and I shoot at
varying distances and angles and I have become very confident in my
ability to get the exact range to the target bale and pick out the
correct color sight pin. You really should practice with the range
finder while you are shooting your bow. Precise ranging has me
confident shooting out to 70 yards, but the BOW mode with TBR only
works out to 60 yards but if it's a level shot, I
could just use the actual range instead of the True Ballistic
Range.
I had a chance to take my range finder Bow hunting two days and it
worked well while I pre-ranged trees and rocks so I would be ready for
that buck that I let walk bye the prior season. I had a serious
knee injury that has me sidelined for the rest of this year. I hope to
be ready for spring turkey season.
TOP