Range Finder Question

[bigv]

What are you guys using for range finders with that drop compensater ...or whatever its called? Looking for something better for bow hunting but use for long range rifle as well. Not looking to break bank but something solid. thanks

 

[Kurtr]

Are you wanting it to tell you shoot to distance because of angle or you want ballistic solutions. And distance will determine if bank is going to be dropped or not

 

[bigv]

I think more of the angle? Which that would be more a bow hunting feature. I missed a deer with bow the other day. Little longer shot. But got to thinking that while in a tree you may range a deer at 40 but if you were on the ground it would be 37ish. That type of feature...Im not sure what it is called.

 

[Kurtr]

pretty much any range finder will do that now and that close. I had a nikon at one time that was light and would give you shoot to distance that is with the angle calculated in already. 200-300 bucks should get you what you want easy

 

[Yoby]

Nikon Archer's Choice.. That is what I have, been quite happy with it for archery, but for rifle, it is a bit limited. I can get distances out to 180 yrds. anything beyond that is a different range finder. Maybe they make a better one now. This one is 4 years old.

 

[PrairieGhost]

Hmmm to bad I just sold a Nikon 1000 that reached 800 yards with angle compensation. A guy bought it for golf. Anyway, it was a backup to my Swarovski which doesn't have angle compensation. So my new backup is the Sig which reaches 3400 yards. They say. I did range a house at 3215 yards. You will find that for under $500. It should be the last rangefinder you will need. Spend the money the first time and in the long run you will be ahead.

 

[sweeney]

http://www.opticsplanet.com/bushnell-scout-dx-1000-arc-6x21-laser-rangefinder.html

168 bucks you get everything you want. it has a bow mode with true distance and it has a rifle mode with holdover or drop.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNh_VdnzJnE

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use the code treat you get an extra 10% off also so its 150 bucks

 

[Ponyroper]

Bought a new Simmons Volt Rangefinder on EBay for $70 last year and it does a great job for what I need. Supposed to be accurate out to 600 yards but all I need for prairie dogs is out to about 300 yards and it seems to be pretty accurate at least to that distance. I've come to depend on it as it makes a huge difference between a hit or a miss on pdogs. This is very important at ranges from 20 yards to 80 yards because the bullet rise in that distance for my rifle is almost 1.25 inches and when you are trying to hit a pdogs head sticking out of his hole at 80 yards half an inch high or low could be a miss and a long wait for the next shot.

 

[ndskeeter]

Leica 1600B.....I use it for everything and I couldn't be happier.

 

[Retired Educator]

I think more of the angle? Which that would be more a bow hunting feature. I missed a deer with bow the other day. Little longer shot. But got to thinking that while in a tree you may range a deer at 40 but if you were on the ground it would be 37ish. That type of feature...Im not sure what it is called.

Perhaps we sometimes overthink ourselves. If you are in a tree stand 12' in the air and are 40 yds from your target, the distance to the base is actually about 40.2 yds. Does .2 yds. (7 inches) really affect your hold at that distance. Perhaps a little closer if said target is 3' off the ground, assuming a deer is about 3 feet at the shoulder.

I shoot a bow at 60# and the difference between my 20 yd pin and 40 yd pin is a little over 1/2 ". It's enough that if I use my 20yd pin instead of the 40yd pin I will miss, but not by much. From 20yds to 40yds my bow doesn't drop much. A miss for sure but most of my misses are from lack of form when needed or some other outside cause.

For steeper angles, such as shooting at a deer standing under your tree, range is immaterial. Proper bend at the waist and other proper form is the key in my mind. I use rangefinders for sure and have a Nikon which i'm happy with but don't really concern myself with angle unless it's very steep. Think about my example above standing in a tree 3-5yds off the ground shooting at a target 40yds away has very little angle so very little affect on the distance.

 

[PrairieGhost]

Retired educator I agree. I switch modes once in a while to see the difference and it's very little. I didn't look for a long range with angle compensation until I went bear hunting in Montana. One spot I sat and watched last spring was 1000 ft above the valley I expected to see a bear. The close edge of the valley was 725 yards. Drop the angle compensation and it was 760 yards. I can't remember if that would have been a miss or a hit, but when I was ready to give it up for the week I pegged an old weather beaten grey cowpie just to check things out. I can see where it would be good in the badlands where your looking down the side of the butt at a deer 50 yards at a 60 degree angle.

 

[Retired Educator]

yes with extreme angles it may make a difference. A 45 degree angle will add a little less than 1.5 times the horizontal distance. Then again, as I understand how rangefinders work is a reflection of an infrared light off whatever you are trying to range back to the rangefinder. If that is the case why wouldn't that reflection already have the angle distance read? Someone who knows more than me, please answer.


Figured out the reasoning for my own question. Gravity force only affects the horizontal. So if my rangefinder measures 400yds down at a 45 degree angle, the horizontal distance would be 282yds. Hence, I hold for a 400yd shot when I should actually hold for a 282yd shot. I missed since the drop difference on my 270 between 282 and 400 is about 14 inches.

On the other hand, a 45 degree drop or incline is significant and there aren't many instances where this severe an angle will occur. Badlands, down a steep draw, yes. Mountains in western states, sometimes, although when I've hunted in the mountains the area I hunted wasn't as severe as some of the areas in the badlands. Interesting thinking I guess.

 

[Kurtr]

So speaking of bullets. You have a straight line as the crow flies per say to target and get 734 yards well you are shooting at a 45 degree angle you actually have a shoot to distance that is less due to the trigonometry involved. With the ballistic app on my phone it uses the camera to get the angle and figure it in.playing around in Idaho it did not take a huge angle when getting 400 plus to miss. I know guys who run cut charts for their bows when shooting hard angles but I am not a bow hunter so I have no experience with them.

 

[bigv]

Perhaps we sometimes overthink ourselves. If you are in a tree stand 12' in the air and are 40 yds from your target, the distance to the base is actually about 40.2 yds. Does .2 yds. (7 inches) really affect your hold at that distance. Perhaps a little closer if said target is 3' off the ground, assuming a deer is about 3 feet at the shoulder.

I shoot a bow at 60# and the difference between my 20 yd pin and 40 yd pin is a little over 1/2 ". It's enough that if I use my 20yd pin instead of the 40yd pin I will miss, but not by much. From 20yds to 40yds my bow doesn't drop much. A miss for sure but most of my misses are from lack of form when needed or some other outside cause.

For steeper angles, such as shooting at a deer standing under your tree, range is immaterial. Proper bend at the waist and other proper form is the key in my mind. I use rangefinders for sure and have a Nikon which i'm happy with but don't really concern myself with angle unless it's very steep. Think about my example above standing in a tree 3-5yds off the ground shooting at a target 40yds away has very little angle so very little affect on the distance.

Thanks for the ideas on range finders..I'll check them out. And yes I agree with you on this. I just threw those #s out. That is a close shot which probably doesn't have much of a factor. However two misses that bother me. One last week I ranged at 52 yds. When ranging back to tree stand from ground it was 48. Not sure what to think of that?? If that mattered..whatever. Last yr while bow hunting in the black hills I missed a mulie at which I ranged 44 yds up a very steep bank. Shot right under him. I understand you are to shoot a tad lower on angled game. Angled up or down-shoot hair lower. Had I done so on this one I would have bagged him.

 

[aron]

I would give the Sig Kilo 2000 a good look. It is a $500 unit that is on sale from SWFA for $350 right now (unfortunately they are backordered). It has the angle comp you are looking for and also "long range" capable.

Range finders all work by measuring the "time lapse" from when the beam leaves the unit to the time it returns. This will always give you the line of sight distance (not horizontal distance which what you are interested in). There are sensors and gizmos inside the rangefinder that determine the angle of the rangefinder and will use that information to calculate the horizontal distance (what you want for shooting distance). Most rangefinders have this option.

Your 44 yd shot at a very steep bank (45 degrees) regardless if the bank is higher or lower is 31 yd horizontal distance so you should be using the 30 yd pin instead of 44 yds. Sitting in a 15 ft treestand, angle comp isn't going to be a huge factor. At 20 yd line of sight distance, the horizontal distance is only 19.4 yds.

 

[bigv]

good info aron...so how about a 50 yd shot from stand??

 

[aron]

50 yd shot from a 15 ft treestand is 49.7 yds. Thats why I don't think the angle comp is a big deal from a stand. Even if its a yard difference within 30 yds, it isn't really going to change anything. The angle isn't enough to have a huge impact.

 

[bigv]

thanks!

 

[ndbwhunter]

I just picked up the vortex 1500 and am happy with it so far. Has all of the features that you're looking for, and cost right around $400 after a price match at Scheels.

 

[2400]

For the last 8 years or so I've been using a Leupold RX-IV Boone and Crockett range finder. It's worked flawlessly in tree stands, deer, elk, prairie dog hunting, up hill and down all it needs are CR2 batteries and its good to go. I don't know about the new ones but this one is still working fine.