range finder

[davyt63 1,844]

hi

I'm tinkin of purchasing a range finder but not sure which one? to buy.i have a budget of £200/£300 sterling,any one have one or could recommend a decent make n model

regards

 

Davy

[aaronpigeonplucker 32]

http://www.ukcamo.com/storefrontprofiles/p...3633&dfid=1

this has had good reviews in a magazine i read.

[SNAP SHOT 194]

look for a second hand leica lrf scanmaster 1200....

 

excellent.... but you may need just a little more cash..... not much...

 

 

you won't be sorry....

 

buy once cry once...

 

 

Snap.

[ezzy6.5 0]

I've had Bushnells and now i've got a Leica 1200.

 

It depends what you want one for, the bushnells are lighter,easier to hold steady and operate one handed. they dont work at night and in my opinion a little bit less accurate. The Leicas have a bit better optics and will work in the lamp (lit display) but they are nearly impossible to use one handed.

I tried the Leopold ones last year and they are very similar to the Bushnells.

If you are walking around and want a rangefinder in your pocket for checking distance to targets out to 350m in daylight then the bushnells or the leicas will be fine.

I sold mine to buy some leicas and it was a bit of a waste of money, Yes they are better optically but not so good that they will replace binoculars.

 

Just my opinion, Ezzy.

 

P.S if you come across the Leicas in 'Safari' colors they are usually a bit cheaper.

[Mr_Logic 5]

Leupold or Bushnell work pretty well. I had a Bushnell which I broke (oops, that's why I should have used the carry case as well as a pocket!) so I am also in the market. Zeiss do one which got very good reviews as well.

 

Am off to the game fair on Friday to have a butcher's

[jamie g 17]

lieca all the way 1200

[welshdragon 6]

Bushnell Pinseeker Tour V2 Golf Rangefinder FROM AMAZON

 

W.D

[bedrock 16]

JSR do a cheap one me thinks

[jonher 0]

I recently got a Nikon Monarch 800 from the US and I'm very happy with it it cost $200 off that auction site

 

It's the only range finder I've owned so I'm no expert, but the other night I was testing it off the balcony and my best reading was 925 meters, though this was from the window of a house which is a highly reflective surface and it took several attempts to get a reading, mainly due to my hand shaking, but still I was impressed

 

I was ranging the neighbours plantpots, garden gnomes and other random garden stuff easily at 200-300 meters and was getting an instant reading and that is further than I'm going to be shooting anilmals!

 

The optics are good, I had no problem seeing the house at 900 meters although my hand shaking was making it dfficult to get the reading. It is small, waterproof, easy to operate with one hand and easy to read the LCD display.

 

I would recommend it for the money

 

ATB

Jonathan

Edited July 22, 2009 by jonher

[riflehunter 1]

Save up a few bob more and get yourself a Leica, you will never need another rangefinder.

[Deker 3,453]

£200-£300 buys a very acceptable rangefinder for 400-500 metres/yards.

 

Personal view, but for Air Rifle/Rimfire thats all you need for sure, and I would not be looking to rush out and spend any more.

 

I'm at the Game Fair from Saturday and they are on my list to look at and hopefully get a deal!

[Mr_Logic 5]

Right then, here is what I found out earlier on while at the Game Fair, and also with experiences of my Bushnell from before.

 

Firstly the Bushnell. That was about £180-odd IIRC. It was OK for ranging to about 200 yards on fox/deer sized objects. Trees were OK to about 450, but anything beyond that was a joke. Optically it was crap too, resembling the cheapest of cheap rifle scopes.

 

For all its sins though, it was a very good little tool, and came in unbelievably handy on numerous occasions. I was very annoyed when I found it smashed in my pocket.

 

Now, at the CLA today I had a good look at Leupold's entire range, Bushnell Scout (the replacement for the one I had), Leica CRF800 and CRF1200, Nikon 500 and Zeiss' offering.

 

Results:

 

LEUPOLD

 

RX-I and RX-II optically bearable, ranging poor.

RX-III and RX-IV - couldn't get the them to work right despite the Leupold man (he couldn't either, and resorted to pointing at them in the brochure)

RX-1000 - new. Man said that they could be bought but are pretty rare right now. That was much better - glowing red display and good ranging, optically good. I'd have been quite happy with one but he said they'd be around the £400 mark.

 

All the Leupolds had quite cluttered rets, and most do their true ballistic ranging, which simplifies compensating for angle of shot. All well and good, but in the field I can't be arsed - I want to know how far away something is!

 

BUSHNELL

 

Awful, avoid. Not up to the Leupold and the same kind of price. It's got a rubbish display, poor optics and average ranging. In fairness, the scout isn't meant to be competing with the bigger names and expensive toys, but it shows the difference at either end of the market.

 

NIKON

 

Very good. Quick to range, good optics. Not illuminated so ruled out for me, but if you can find one at the right price it's a good tool. Slightly bulky next to Leica and Leupold, but it is not much! Ret slightly cluttered, but not annoyingly so.

 

ZEISS

 

Optically very good, ranging pretty good, but far too big. £430 and a good buy at that price, but not really pocket sized - surely that's the point of a range finder?

 

Nice simple display, and easy to use.

 

LEICA

 

I came to them almost last, just needed to check out the Zeiss first. Instantly came back and bought one. Took me no time at all to make that call. I plumped for the CRF800, which is a show special price of £359. Optically it's excellent, bright and crisp and clear, and really does scream high end glass. The display is very simple - push the button and you get a square to tell you where you're aiming plus the number of yards away. That's it, simple and uncluttered.

 

I tested it at night when I got home, quite happy ranging a lamp post at night at 310 yards, which is a lot better than a Bushnell or low end Leupold. Now, it's a lot more money, as a percentage, too. Equally, it's worth it - it's compact, simple and quick & easy to use. Optically it's great, so out at night wondering on distant foxes, I am expecting this to sort things nicely.

 

Therefore, conclusion is simple - if you're getting the job done right, go buy a Leica. If you're not, go buy a Nikon. The others, for my purposes at least, just don't cut it.

[JohnGalway 1,043]

.

Edited August 18, 2009 by JohnGalway

[dicehorn 38]

Results:

 

NIKON

 

Very good. Quick to range, good optics. Not illuminated so ruled out for me, but if you can find one at the right price it's a good tool. Slightly bulky next to Leica and Leupold, but it is not much! Ret slightly cluttered, but not annoyingly so.

 

I recently bought the Nikon 800 having used a Bushnell for about 5 years. My Nikon is the iluminated one. My bushnell was a pain to carry around when stalking because of its size - must say the Nikon is ideal. Most of my deer/fox are out to around 350 yds, so technically I see no reason to buy a machine that will take me out to 1200 yds.

 

Thanks to the back light I can easily ping off trees/buildings etc at night with no problem when foxing.

 

You said 'slighly bulky'

 

Nikkon 800 weighs 210 grms Leica 800 weighs 220 grms

 

Nikon 800 is 126mm x 72mm Leica is 113mm x 75mm

 

Paid £215 new for my Nikon off the Bay

[Mr_Logic 5]

I didn't see the Nikon's backlight function; I'm sure it worked well. I did like that Nikon though, just the Leica's better.