Posted on 04/06/2013 4:25:04 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Are you sure you don’t want one with a high performance / price ratio? (Or, a low price/performance ratio?) Because I have a really crappy one I’ll gladly sell for $28,000, if that’s really what you want.
You’re right. I made a mistake. That’s never happened before.
Busnell 1600 a great range finder I have maxed it out at 1600 yards.
Just from reading reviews it seems that they don’t work very well under some conditions. Have you experienced that at all?
So, I guess you don’t want my rangefinder? Dang.
No, I was just asking if it works under all conditions. I am doing research. I might spend that much, but I’d rather not.
How far do you want to shoot? There are many quality models out to 400 yards, but as you go up in range, so too does the cost. I’ve used 400 yd models <$150 for years, but I don’t shoot long range. My current model, about $250 is good to 800 yds. They all get shaky and hard to aquire targets at greater distances.
The Simmons is rated at 600 yards. The reviews are kind of iffy on that. After looking at the ballistic charts, bullet drop really accelerates after 400 yards. I probably would limit myself to 400 yard shots for that reason. Do you think this one would be OK at 400 yards and under? Any recommendations?
Spend a little more. Anything Simmons is “iffy” in my book.
You should do just fine with that model. I just looked and found the Simmons < $150 on the net.
Here’s what you’ll find when you use it. It works almost OK on a 500yd elk, but it’s tough. It’s doable if you have a rest and a little patience. Smaller targets.... forget it. It works really well on large unobstructed objects or closer smaller targets.
I step out into my driveway and use my pickup bed as a rest. The street sign 4” x 18”? 200 yds, tough, but can be ranged. An airconditioner on a roof at 400 yds is real doable. A stop sign at 300 yds, easy. A 1 foot gong at the range, 400 yds is really tough.
I’d say buy it at that price. It will probably do most of what you need and nowhere near what you want.
This is just my personal experience so take it for what it is worth.
Assuming the sights are correct, 400 yards seems to almost be the magic distance. 400 yards and under, again assuming sights are correct, most good shots can hit a deer sized animal in the kill zone nearly every time.
After 400 it gets way more difficult, so much so that I would not attempt the shot under normal circumstances.
Having said all that, a 600 yard rangefinder should work just fine.
Thanks for the input. I really appreciate it. I am getting this as a new toy, and more than half the fun of getting a new toy is finding the one you want.
Let me start by saying that the optics are important, but not out past 400 yards the most important thing is who you steady it. Probably not even past 200 to 300 yards. At just about any long range distance, you will need some form of monopole or tripod to hold the range finder rock steady so that its target will not be dancing all over the place.
Most ranger finders we use are used for relatively short distances (<200 yards), where you can keep the target (cross hairs) relatively in the same place. When we try to stretch the distance a bit, I always take a tripod.
I have shot at targets 400 yards a way with iron sights and I could hardly see the bulls-eye. Magnification and quality of optical sights is absolutely critical at any real distance. That means it is not so much the quality of the laser chip (there are probably only a few rangefinder chip mfg’s) but the quality of the optics and the magnification power are what will make a difference in how well you can use a range finder at distance.
Personally, I don't feel shooting at anything beyond about 200 yards is warranted. If it is at 400 yards, it means you just need to get closer to what it is that you want to shoot.
i think you have to consider something at 400 yards possibly coming towards you at a variety of speeds and reasons.
One time I was shooting with my Nephew. The rifle was a 98-09 Argentine Mauser in 7.65X55 Mauser. It was a very uncommon rifle for both the workmanship and the fact that it came with it’s original test target in which Herr Ritzman had fired a sub 2 inch, 3 shot group at 200 meters. The bullets were striking about 2 inches above the aiming point.
My Nephew found an old roofers tar bucket about half or two thirds full of tar. We sat it out at a measured 400 meters. We used a car odometer to measure the distance so not exact but still pretty close.
It turned out the rifles iron sights were dead on at 400 yards so we had to make no adjustments. I believe I hit it every single time using the roof of a car as a rest. What really surprised me is my Nephew who is not a particularly good shot, hit the bucket more times than not from a standing position. When it was hit the bucket would move, sometimes more other times less.
That is the reason I decided 400 yards was not really hard.
I later fired at an old syrup cooker from ranges greater than that, then much greater than 400 yards. Accuracy dropped way off. We could hit it about half the time but we are talking about something maybe 8 ft. by 3 ft. Every hit made a loud clang on the cast iron.
At 400 I was confident. At 600 not confident at all.
Much shorter range. Time of day also makes a big difference in performance. My older Bushnell Yardage Pro will not do much over 300 yards in bright sunshine, but will go over 600 yards off houses at dusk.
So a deer at 400 yards on the edge of a field?
What might get tricky is making sure the deer is what you are getting the range on, and not something else nearby. If you have a sporting goods shop that carries this stuff, maybe go try a few.
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