What rangefinder?

[MichelD]

I'm looking at the Bushnell Yardage pro Trophy rangefinder in the SIR catalogue for $266.99 or the yardage pro Scout for $339.99.

What do you use?

Are these cheap Bushnell Rangefinders junk or do they do the job?

[model88]

I have the new Bushnell 1500 Elite, so far so good. I have a buddy who has the Scout, his only complaint was that it ate batteries very quickly.

[BlacktailStalker]

Bushnell yardage pro in camo, had it for 5 years now and used it 1000's of times and it JUST went to half life on the battery meter.

[ribber]

Hello , Ive used a Nikon Monarch 800 for quite a while and only bought 1 battery, a little Cr-v 2 that costs about 16.00$

[Sitkaspruce]

Just like bino's or a spotter, buy the best you can. The only one, in my opinion, is the Leica. I have used both Bushnell and Nikon and the Leica out shines them both. You can find used ones on the web for $300 or so, just look around. I found mine for $285 and it was still in the box w/ the warranty card. The 800, 900 or 1200 are all great. I have the 900.

[The Dawg]

I bought a Bushnell Yardage Pro from Steelco...I love it, works great !

[lapadat]

I've also got the Yardage Pro which, I believe, is Bushnell's most inexpensive Waterproof model which is a must in my books

[todbartell]

Ive owned, actually still own (who knows where I threw it) a Bushnell Yardage Pro500. It was alright 5 years ago but now its a clunky paperweight. This past fall I picked up a Bushnell Elite 1500 ARC after testing side by side the Leica 1200 Rangemaster, Elite 1500, Leupold RXIII, & Swarvovski models.

Swarvo has wicked optics, better than most $700 binoculars, but its over a grand and I didnt care for the orange display as I found it hard to read during broad daylight. Ranging out to 1300 yards isnt too difficult on trees.

Leupold RXIII looked wicked according to the advertising, but I was very very dissapointed. Terrible optics and a cluttered display & complicated setup. Only could reach 800 yards on trees.

Leica 1200 Rangemaster is very compact, and powerful, which is both good for hunting. Nice optics too. At $750 or so it isnt too bad of a price either, lots of bang for the buck.

In the end I went with Bushnell Elite 1500 for a few reasons. Its powerful, ranging 1200-1300 yards on trees isnt out of the ordinary, my personal best is 1600 yards on a reflective object. Cool features like the true ballistic range for angle shots, and it will tell you your bullet drop out to 600 yards for most any cartridge. Price isnt too bad either at around 500 bucks. Downsides is its a bit bulky compared to the Leica, and optics arent as high end as the euro stuff.

http://usera.imagecave.com/ws6/CallAirSupport.jpg

[ryanb]

I have a 1500 Elite. I have ranged mountain goats at 1100 yards with it (that shot looked tempting for about 0.119 seconds). The only major complaint I have with it is the size, definately larger than some other models, but nothing really compares to the performance you get for the price.

[Steeleco]

I bought a Leupold RXII. The first one was a POS. Sent it to Korth in Alta they sent me a new one. The new one is great. Not field tested yet but around the neighbourhood it's working fine. It it a little cluttered like TB said of the RXIII but I'm still happy.

[tracker]

I have the leupold rx II
works great batterie last a long time to.
Still only one I have owned .:|

[steel_ram]

I had the Bushnell Yardage Pro 800 and then purchased the Leica 1200 scan when I got a good deal. The Bushnell is a little easier to use but obviously poops out at greater range. Both were bang on out to 500. The Leica seems good out near it's max. 1200 yds. My only criticism would be that the trigger button takes aome pressure to activate causing you to pull of target. Remedied with a sold rest.

[StoneChaser]

Used the Bushnell Compact 500 for a while, and then a Bushnell Compact 800...both were too bulky.

Ran a Bushnell Legend for a few years and still have it... love the size and a great finder...especially for the $$$...it is my second choice for sure!

Tried the Elite 1500 and Leica 1200 Scan for a few days each in the field... too damn bulky for my liking.

Just before Christmas I picked up a Leica 1200 CRF...and I have finally found THE rangefinder.

Super compact (a must or you'll not pack it...trust me), great optics, super easy to hold and use (the scan feature is awesome) and VERY fast...touch the button and you have the range.

Most importantly, it is very reliable, consistantly giving me ranges on deer out to 800 yards, trees past 1100 yards (some past 1300yards), and it'll pick up a coyote no problem at close to 600 yards (furthest I've had a chance at ranging so far).

Pricey yes.....but you'll not need another. Buy it from the get go and never look back!

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y284/StoneChaser/CRF.jpg

StoneChaser

[GoatGuy]

BUY THE LEICA'S!!

I toasted two pair of bushnell's before deciding I didn't need another pound of useless weight hanging around my neck. Water damage apparently - that means no warranty and they offer you another pair of useless rangefinder at "cost". Garbage in, garbage out.

Used the leica's before and they're much, much, much better - pick up animals, not just shiny objects, all the way out to max range.

[Mr. Dean]

Super compact (a must or you'll not pack it...trust me), great optics, super easy to hold and use (the scan feature is awesome) and VERY fast...touch the button and you have the range.

Most importantly, it is very reliable, consistantly giving me ranges on deer out to 800 yards,

I have a Nikon Laser 800 S that does the same. It costs ~ $400

In addition to the above, it also has two target priority modes and is waterproof.

To be fair, I haven't handled a Lecia. I was only looking at the 500 buck and under stuff.

[wetcoaster]

I have a bushnell yardage pro and haven't been that impressed with it. It requires something with big reflectance (Tree, Rock, taret on a stand) a deer in a field is a challenge. It is functional but friends of mine have other models that work better. hunting is a game of seconds and I find I waste to many dicking with this thing trying to get a reading.