What range finder to buy?

[cwocarsten]

Gimme your thoughts on a range finder upgrade. I have a compact bushnell 800 and want to upgrade. I am thinking of the bushnell ARC 1200, but heard leica makes a good one.

[Mik]

My Brother has the Lieca 900 , its small in size,very compact,light and i believe is 7x. I had the opportunity to use it and loved it. If i did not already have the Lieca BRF's that would be my choice.

[Triggerman]

Totally recommend Leica. You can actually range the distance the model indicates. Coyotes at over 1000 yards is a reality and I have ranged other objects over 1200 yds. I have tried Bushnell and in my opinion they suck. They simply would not range deer in many cases over 200 yds so unless you are a bow hunter, I'd buy either the Leica 900s or 1200's which I have.

If you want a deal and want to save some dough buy the older rectangular model they work great as well.

The glass is so good that if you are bowhunting you can leave the binoculars at home.

[gbear]

Another vote for Leica

[chainsaw]

I have the leica 1200 now and would not own any thing but

[cwocarsten]

So far it is looking like leica is the winner. Thanks everyone for your input. I spent top dollars on my swarovski binos and now its time to invest in a good quality range finder. Cheers.

[mikeinajeep]

I have the bushnell 1500 elite and love it. Not too pricy and seems to work perfectly.

[yukon john]

leica 1200 best one on the planet, I have tried em all

[Sitkaspruce]

Leica all the way.

I picked up an old 900 (LRF)scan for $200 down in the states a couple years ago and it has not let me down. I have heard some bad things about the newer one handed model (CRF), but the internet being the net, you just never know. I would do a little research on sites like

www.24hourcampfire.com (http://www.24hourcampfire.com)
www.canadiangunnutz.com (http://www.canadiangunnutz.com)

and a few others. They have lots of info and look in their buy and sell along with the one here and see what comes up. Lots of guys with way too much money, buy a new product, use it for one hunt and then sell it to try something else. That is how I found my Leica. Used one hunt for 20 minutes and wanted the newer one....sold

Cheers

SS

[kloosterboer]

I don't own a range finder but have been looking in to getting one and think the Leupold rx1000 TBR is worth a look.

[mikeinajeep]

NASA will rangefind for you for $2500 a pop if money is no objected. They use down looking sats and it is super acurate. but maybe not worth the money at 50 yards or less.

[Hank Hunter]

intelligent post Mike

[mikeinajeep]

I love this site and come here whenever I can,,, but everytime someone comes on here and asks about anything they want to buy for hunting, they are given the name of some super pricy toy off everyones wish list. I am laid off right now and cant spend big money on things but my rangefinder works perfectly for as far as my crossbow will kill anything and was not 700-900 us. I mean I want a barret 95 but I would never tell someone to buy one.

[digger dogger]

i only paid 600 for my leica, wait till you NEED a range finder, its not a lot of $. i paid 3500 bux for a fly in hunt, we found 2 legal rams, one was way over the nose, by the time we were gettin into position they busted us and went up, and over. when we found them again, they were on the next mountain well ahead of us, so we thought, we won't catch them so we letter fly.. we left with s.f.a.. i bought a leica 2 weeks after. very happy with it...

[deer nut]

I am happy with my Bushnell 1500. Ranged an elk at 900 yards no problem. I am selling it on this site only because I want another rifle!! I need a bush rifle more than a rangefinder now that I live on the Island!!

[Kudu]

I have a scout 1000 arc, does everything I need for both bow and rifle...

[Gilmore]

I have a scout 1000 arc, does everything I need for both bow and rifle...

...and Cabelas has that rangefinder/trail cam combo on for $399 right now. Pretty sweet deal!



https://www.cabelas.ca/index.cfm?pageID=79&section=&ID=19166

[Krico]

Leica does a great job. I love the red display for reading distance when light is low, and the background is dark. Try that with the black display on most others...

[Ruger.270]

Hey guys does anyone have experience with the Nikon Prostaff 550?
It's on @ cabelas for around $220 I think- great price, but what about quality? I do have nikon bino's and a nikon scope and couldn't be happier with them, but 220 seems veeery cheap for this kind of thing new. Its a 6 power.

[srupp]

Leica....

Steven

[wlbc]

Lot's of folks have already commented on Leica, I've heard they are good.

I ended up buying Swarovski. I looked at Leica, Zeiss, and Swaro, in all honesty I could not say which glass was better looking across the street from Grouse River in Kelowna. In the end the I liked the fact that the Swaro was 8x instead of 7x, 1500 yards rather than 900 or 1200, it had a socket for a tripod and it fit my hand better.

If you are into the Leica range the Swaro is only a little more and the Zeiss is probably worth a long look.

First full season this fall with them, they have exceeded my expectations.

[BlacktailStalker]

I'd opt for the CRF 900 or 1200. Either way you'll likely not be shooting the max distance of either and the higher zoom is a disadvantage for finding things closer to you (esp if bowhunting)

[tomahawk]

I have the leica 1200 now and would not own any thing but

X2, it is 7 power and I have used it when needed in place of binos. I have ranged a tree at 1382 yds as well.

[StoneChaser]

Tried 'em all....Leica 1200 CRF!

[Maxx]

Tried 'em all....Leica 1200 CRF!


how does it work in foggy/misty conditions? I ask because I have the 10x42 brf's- and I find it is not able to measure the distances in minor foggy conditions.

thanks

[moosegoof]

bushnell scout 1000 or legend 1200 with the arc feature are good deals for most average hunters,1/2 the price of leica.I have a elite 1500 bush.
which is too big the scout and legend are smaller and more practical, in my opinion

[Maxx]

Just a comment on the Leica warranty, I had sent my Brf 10x42 back to leica for repair 2 months ago as the rangefinder was not able to range past 300 yards recently.

Long story short, they sent me a brand new pair under warranty today because they could not repair my old one. That is what I call good service.

[Bowzone_Mikey]

I run a bushnell 1500 ... done everything I have ever asked it to

[muledeercrazy]

leica.

i would just save untill you can afford them. ideally rangefinding 10x40 leicas.

[.330 Dakota]

Leica all the way, I have the CRF 1200, worth every penny $725.00 at Cabella's Canada. NEVER CHEAP OUT ON A RANGEFINDER---YOUR TROPHY ANIMAL WILL LIVE FOR YOU TO REGRET IT

[GrouseRiver]

The Leica and the Swarovski are top notch units worth every penny. The Swarovski has the longest ranging potential and will go a mile in good conditions and before you say you don't need to shoot that far consider that many times in the field we are operating in less than ideal conditions that will easily cut the performance of any rangefinder by hundreds of yards. The Swarovski is optically superior (excepting the Leica & Zeiss binocular/rangefinder combos) as it utilizes the glass quality found in their SLC and EL binoculars so in effect it is a monocular with top notch glass plus a rangefinder. The downfall of the Swarovski is that it is at the heavy end of the scale, partially due to the high quality armouring that it sports and partially because good glass weighs more than cheap glass and/or plastic.

The lighter weight and reasonable cost of the Leica combined with great ranging capability and compact form make it arguably one of the best all-around hunting rangefinders when you consider price, portability, and functionality. The newer Leupolds have also taken a big step up and if you are inclined to like bells and whistles (that do actually work) and/or you do much of your shooting from elevated positions then the TBR (angle compensation) functionality that some of these models offer gives them an edge in quickly calculating the "ballistic" range to the target.

Having performed side-by-side comparisons of models from all three of the above mentioned manufacturers it can be said that all of them do what they say they will under ideal conditions. As the going gets tough the higher-end units do shine in their ability to deliver accurate ranges quickly and on the first attempt, something that can be critically important in field conditions.

Grouse River