Educate Me About Laser Rangefinders

[billt]

I've always wanted one, but know little about what makes one "better" over another. For those of you who own them, what kind do you have? Are you happy with it? What about using it in direct Sunlight? All I know is the farther they read, the more they cost. I'm thinking about getting one when I set up this new Kimber .300 Win. Mag. I just bought. Just seems like a nice unit to have. I've never been much good at judging distance, and the technology seems to be getting reasonable enough. Are there wholesale places that sell them cheaper than the major outlet places like Cabela's? Thanks in advance.  Bill T.

[alfsauve]

Well, not only how far away they'll measure, but how close.   My Bushnell won't read less than 11yds.   When you're on a hot range and want to know exact how far your target it (5? or 7? yds) yes, I wish it worked better up close.

Also how well they work in adverse conditions.  Rain, snow and very bright sunlight.

How narrow is the "beam", the measurement.    If you have a clear field to your target, then fine.  But what if there is a tree just to one side of your target part of the way downrange.   Will the rangefinder ignore the tree?  Or do you get a false reading?   So at 100 or 1000 yds, what's the smallest discernible "target" the range finder can pick out?

Then what about angles.  Up or down angles.   Some of the range finders will give you the inclination and the horizontal distance to the target, not just the straight line distance.

How's that for starters?

Oh stay away from the older model Leupold's.   There were some  problems with them.   Their newest line appears to be better.

[m25operator]

Alf gave some good advice, mine is over 10 yrs old and is a Nikon, very accurate to 800 meters, little finicky to operate, it has like 4 modes, for using through brush, hazy, cloudy days, and rain. It is an 8x, and as far as optics is a little grainy. I compared it for distance with by buddies Leica, and at 500 yards, the readings were only decimals apart, so I believe it. I have not tried it at really short distances, I guess I should, I know they make short range finders for bow hunters who need to know exact distance. If I were to buy another 1, I would look for accuracy, clarity, ease of operation, and finally cost. When looking for any kind of firearm hunting related optic, go 1st to SWFA  www.riflescopes.com, and include their used list www.samplelist.com, let that be your guide as you go to other sights and shop. They may not be the least expensive, but are always reasonable, especially on the used/demo list.

[fightingquaker13]

I'm just going to throw this out there for the sake of getting a discussion started (God knows that'll be a first ) Still and all, here it is. LEARN TO ESTIMATE RANGE! You have bought a very nice rifle and presumably will put a good piece of glass on it. I assume you know how to use mil dots (me I'm still learning ). As a USMC sniper said, we like to operate without batteries. I'm not saying range finders are a fred ("F"ing Ridiclous Electronic Device), but I have seen it taken to absurds. I live about 40 yards (estimated ) from the 14th green on a golf course. There are guys who know precicely because their balls land right outside my yard (or inside it) to avoid a big honking bunker. They then get out of their carts and use range finders on the pin to figure out whether to use a #9 or a wedge. Anyone wondering why I keep all balls hit into my yard, and give them in a bottle bag as a Christmas gift to a friend (usually about 200) has their question answered right there. Like wise there are the close range, range finders for bow hunting. Nikon, did or does make one. Again . If you can't tell the difference between 20 yards and 40, maybe you should learn before shooting at a live target. The point (such as there is) to this is as follows. My advice? You have recognized you have a weakness in judging ranges. Good. Thats the first step to fixing it. Buy a cheap but adequate unit used on ebay.  Use that in conjunction with your mil dot to learn range estimation. I bet you will get bored with the toy before long. You'l have learned a skill as valuable as how to read a topo map, and be a better rifleman for it. But again, I just throw this out there to learn from the replies.
FQ13
PS I taught myself this skill wnen I was 16 and under the existing Fl. law could hunt without supervision. I didn't have a range finder. I did have my granddads old 1973 F-100. His advic, was to use it to measure a familar distance using the odometer and use it as a benchmark. He was a forest ranger and surveyor and purely hated anyone who gave directions without knowing how far a mile was. That I knew before he gave me the truck. The difference between 75, 100, 150 and three hundred yards, I had drilled into my head by driving mail box to mail box in my neighborhood. It literally has become a case of "That deer is 200 yards away as its about 3/4ths of the way from my door to the VanPopperings. Not scientific, but damned if it don't work. I'm still working on mil dot theory and will buy one on my next new scope.

[GUNS-R-US]

Bill, while FQ makes a point that "range estimation is a handy skill" to have, but as most of us here are not USMC Snipers I would just ignore most of what he said. Knowing not guessing the correct distance to your target can make the difference in a good clean kill shot, or a miss, or even worse wounding an animal. With that said I have a Bushnell 600 it's about 15 years old now and still works great. I think I paid about $300 for it. They do work better in cloudy weather than in bright sun light. IMO if your going to shoot at unknown ranges over 200 yards on regular basis I think it's a good idea to have one. Mine has monocular view window but binocular objectives and is a 4x power. It works well for the 100-300yrd distances I typically have to hunt in. As it can lead to too many things to carry when hunting you might want to consider them as a replacement for your binoculars and purchase a range finder with enough visual clarity to work in that capacity. Good luck and best wishes I hope you find a winner!

[Sponsor]

[fightingquaker13]

You're missing the point of my post guns. I want accomplish two things. First to have people like you actually answer Bill's question. But secondly, to have peoople give tips on how to use mil dots etc to estimate ranges sans batteries.
As long as we learn something, its all good.
FQ13

[billt]

One thing I've always wondered is will they work in darkness? And do they project a visible Laser beam like a Laser sight does?  Bill T.

[GUNS-R-US]

One thing I've always wondered is will they work in darkness? And do they project a visible Laser beam like a Laser sight does?  Bill T.

You're missing the point of my post guns. I want accomplish two things. First to have people like you actually answer Bill's question. But secondly, to have peoople give tips on how to use mil dots etc to estimate ranges sans batteries.
As long as we learn something, its all good.
FQ13

FQ I've used a mil dot scope and I think it's great for the military shooter who has a deep Federal pocket book for the ammo cost it takes to effective learn how to use it. It's not an easy system to learn, Range estimation only really works well if you know the size of you target. When hunting very few things come in a predetermined size thus using a mil dot scope to estimate the range of the deer or elk is a little difficult. And if your trying to shoot at extended ranges 300+ yards I would rather know than guess my range.

[GUNS-R-US]

One thing I've always wondered is will they work in darkness? And do they project a visible Laser beam like a Laser sight does?  Bill T.

They do technically work in the dark if you can read the display (mine isn't lit) and it's an IR beam so if you had some NVG's I think you could see it, but not to the necked eye. Mine has a little digital cross hair around a box for sighting on the object you wish range.

[tombogan03884]

FQ, the things you say are true enough, however they are useless to some one like me , I can only see out of one eye, which makes range estimation very tricky to impossible.

http://www.mil-dot.com/Mil_Dot_User_Guide.htm#Math