Rangefinders?

Had a Leupold, it died, their lifetime warranty does not apply to their chinese made rangefinders. However, they did sell me a replacement at a very steep discount. Brother had the same thing happen with his Leupold and went Vortex. Not a big Vortex fan (their red dots have been giving me a lot of grief lately) but for a rangefinder I would look there at that price point.
 
I have a bunch of "Timex's" I've had a Leupold for about 10-15 years that I paid the most for. It doesn't work like it did when it was new and the max range it will read now is about 500 yds. for a reflective surface, maybe 350 otherwise. I mainly use it for bow hunting so its not a big deal to me. I bought a Bushnell a couple of years ago that still ranges pretty well. I think that I paid about $250 for it. I doubt that it could range 1K tho.

I've bought a couple of Sig's for Christmas presents most recently. This year I'm giving one of my kids a Sig Buckmaster. I got it at Optics Planet, and after the email signup discount it was about $120. He's a bowhunter too, so he doesn't need extended ranges.

I'm pretty sure that all electronics have limited warranty's, and the advantage of the higher priced ones is the distance they can range. For what the OP described, there are ton's of options in the <$300 price range.
 
Something to consider...... Everything is a ware item including rangefinders.
With the electronics involved it's not really a "buy once cry once investment"
The emitters and receivers have an expected lifespan, capacitors resistors and other bits have expected lifespans.
If your range finder manages to makes it significantly out of warranty, then it's probably survived longer than it was expected to.

I think I paid $250 for my Midas..... Or five bucks a month if it died today....

So in my opinion... And again, just my opinion..... Buy the performance you need today, and assume you're going to be replacing it eventually.
 
Last edited:
I would also suggest a vortex.
I have I believe? a 1800? and I didn’t pay that much for it.
it is 3-4 years old, using the same battery that it came with, and is working wonderfully.
 
IME all of them are going to be accurate on a deer sized animal at about 1/2 the range they claim. If it is advertised as a 1000 yard range finder then you can probably range a house at 1000 yards. But a deer farther than about 400-500 yards just won't range accurately. Buy more than you think you need.

I have a Leupold that does what I need.
 
I have a Bushnell that has been ticking (🙂) along for over 10yrs, ditto the "half the rated range" unless you can talk a dear into holding a reflective pie plate. When I have to replace this one, I will be looking for one that includes elevation and doesn't require a 9v battery. I bought my grandson one off Amazon a couple years back and he uses it for golf and target shooting, it ranges out to 600yrds (probably rated over 1200) and was less than $100 on the black Friday sale it includes elevation, and a compass reading. It also locks on a pin (whatever that is). I like his because of being rechargeable and the elevation reading now that I better understand shooting for distance.
 
Anchorite said:
Thinking about getting one. Longest shot at my lease would be 400 yards, most are far less.
Appreciate any experience and feedback. Not looking to invest in a RF, really want a Timex-level, not Rolex-level, if you get my drift.


Thanks
Click to expand...
I have a Vortex and have been very happy with it.
 
LoonWulf said:
Something to consider...... Everything is a ware item including rangefinders.
With the electronics involved it's not really a "buy once cry once investment"
The emitters and receivers have an expected lifespan, capacitors resistors and other bits have expected lifespans.
If your range finder manages to makes it significantly out of warranty, then it's probably survived longer than it was expected to.

I think I paid $250 for my Midas..... Or five bucks a month if it died today....

So in my opinion... And again, just my opinion..... Buy the performance you need today, and assume you're going to be replacing it eventually.
Click to expand...
What aggravated me about my Sig dying was I didn’t actually use it a lot, just time.
 
Walkalong said:
What aggravated me about my Sig dying was I didn’t actually use it a lot, just time.
Click to expand...
Yeah thats annoying. Id expect it to last longer if not being used as much.


Oh i forgot theres a cheap one on Amazon thats been working well. My dad bought one, and i gave one to my ffl buddy.....
Dis guy....
AOFAR HX-1200T Range Finder for Hunting Archery, 1200 Yards with Angle and Horizontal Distance, Shooting Wild Waterproof Coma Rangefinder, 6X 25mm, Range and Bow Mode, Free Battery Gift Package https://a.co/d/dFzRt08
 
Anchorite said:
Thinking about getting one. Longest shot at my lease would be 400 yards, most are far less.
Appreciate any experience and feedback. Not looking to invest in a RF, really want a Timex-level, not Rolex-level, if you get my drift.


Thanks
Click to expand...
Most all of the rangefinders on the market today do a decent job measuring distance and most models have angle calculations built in. The main difference in price is quality of the glass which can have a big impact in your usage since it's kind of difficult to range things you cannot clearly see. After making sure whatever model you consider is waterproof and shockproof (because let's face it at some point everything gets dropped and wet), it's going to come down to image quality. Much like other inexpensive optics (scopes, binos, etc) the cheap rangefinders tend to be fine in good lighting, but suffer a bit in shadows or early/late day when it's near dark. Also, most models (both cheap and not so cheap) have black led display of the data which is not easy to read against a dark image, so looking for a red or green readout is a good idea. So it's going to be a bit of tradeoff for you depending on realistic expectations and how much you want to spend. There are perfectly serviceable units for $75 on Amazon all day long if you stick with close to 5 stars and at least 1k reviews that will range just fine. You won't likely get decent glass until at least $300-400.

Personally I like the models which use common batteries (9v or AAA) as opposed to the specialty camera batteries since those tend to be harder to find when out on a long hunting trip though it's cheap enough to stock up online when you buy the original unit. Also, the idea of a rechargeable device is a no-go for me because once the battery loses it's ability to recharge (maybe a few years lifespan) you won't likely be able to fix it.
 
Most all of the rangefinders on the market today do a decent job measuring distance
Click to expand...

^^This. Believe it or not, I have a Simmons cheapo from Walmart, under $100 new, that has about a 600 yard rated range and seems to be perfectly accurate out to at least that distance on any known object I've tried. I bought it before the darned things recognized angles, and a new one that would do that is tempting, but given that I haven't used it much and am still on my first battery, I wouldn't say I needed to upgrade.
 
I have a vortex crossfire hd 1400 rangefinder and I like it. My buddy and I compared ranging a shrub at 900ish yards according to Google maps, with his rangefinder and mine and they were only like a yard of from each other. So either they were both off the same amount or they were both pretty spot on
 
Well, I've got the "timex"........a Bushnell "prime"...........theoretically good to 1500 but in reality more like 7-8 on a good day. Still, for most uses its quite good and very accurate. Picked it up on a Natchez sale for right at 1 C note. Does all that I need it to in Florida.
 
I have a Vortex Razor HD 4000. It's great for what I do, but for short range eastern use would certainly be overkill. I've had excellent luck with anything from Leupold or Vortex.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
  • Locked
Range Finders
Replies
15
Views
782
Mixed Nuts
M
ECVMatt
  • Locked
Help with rangefinders
2
Replies
27
Views
2K
SamT1
S
G
  • Locked
Is this a good Rangefinder and a good price?
Replies
1
Views
453
Varminterror
Varminterror
D
  • Locked
Looking for a new laser rangefinder
Replies
12
Views
973
redneck2
redneck2
G
  • Locked
Is this a good product?
Replies
1
Views
496
Varminterror
Varminterror
Back
Top