I've been looking at rangefinders and have gotten different reviews on them. Some say that you need one with incline decline, some say you don't. Some say that it's best to get one for bow hunting and rifle hunting. If anyone use a rangefinder can I get your opinion? Thank you
First off I would not recommend spending the extra money on one that calculates the horizontal distance (incline decline). The very small amount that it varies is not worth it. The most it would change in normal bow hunting situations is maybe 1 yard. Secondly, what rangefinder you choose depends a little bit on where you live and the type of hunting you do. Here in Maine the Nikon 440 prostaff is more than you will ever use. It ranges out to 440 yards. Now some one who lives out west that would probably not do them much good while rifle hunting as game can be 500+ yards away. My recommendation is the Nikon Prostaff 550 or 440. The 550 goes out to 550 yards. I own the 440 and would not trade it for anything. That thing has been used and ABUSED for 5 years and still works just as good now as the day I bought it.
I use a Nikon Riflehunter 550, it's waterproof, accurate to 1/2 yard out to 100yds and 1 yard to 550 yds amd has the ID technology. Works great for rifle season too....best of both worlds. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I was looking at the nikon 550 but will it work as far as shooting out of a tree and if so how accurate will it be
I have a Bushnell Bone Collector. Paid $200 for it. It works just fine. You don't need to spend $500 - 600.
i recently found a deal on cabelas for a nikon archers choice for $190 originally $260 so i picked it up. ive only used it in my yard so far but so far so good for me.
I have the Nikon Archers Choice Max and I love it, you can do both angled shots and flat. It goes out to 250 yards, and when the light starts getting darker it uses an orange colorartion so you can still see the distance, ontop of that you can take multiple distances at a time if the target is moving which I think is pretty nice to have. I would definitely recommend it as far as being used as a bowhunting range finder, even for shotgun/muzzle loader as well
I have owned ragefinders in the past and they were spotty and inaccurate. I looked at reviews on the web and conldn't find anything bad about Leupold, so this year I bought a Leupold RX1000i TBR and I'm in love with it. It's even on point with the distances that google maps has. I disagree with not getting a rangefinder that has incline because when you range from the ground and then from an incline I've seen the distance be off enough to cause a miss on a deer. The Leupold RX1000i has settings for bow and gun. I can't speak for Nikon personally but I have owned Bushnell and they have a lot of QC issues.
I use the Nikon Archer's Choice and I love it. I have ranged deer out to 200 yards just to see if it would do it and it did. I agree that the Incline/Decline is worth it. It you ever hunt on a ridgeline you will see why. Knowing that the Angle is compensated automatically takes any guessing out of the equation.
It will work just fine shooting out of a tree. Dont get caught up on the whole angle thing. The most it will ever be off is 1/2 a yard. If you sit 50ft up it might make a little bit of difference but probably not. Take your rangefinder while your sitting in your tree and range the base of the tree at X distance, now take and range the tree at the same level you are, I guarantee that it is not more than a 1/2 yard off, and dont forget tree dont always grow straight up so some of that could be the tree grew a foot or two away from you.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/15529205?...1=g&wl2=&wl3=13691010670&wl4=&wl5=pla&veh=sem I didnt buy mine from walmart just finding a link for you, I got this one for around 110 on sportsmanguide.com but couldnt find it on there anymore. Anyways 500 yards with angle compensator, cant beat the price. Still in the stan right now so I cant tell you how it perform's but im sure it will be fine.
Nikon Riflehunter 550. trust me this is everything you need and more for a bowhunter. Does the exact same as the archers choice max, but ranges an additional 350 yards to 550 at the same price as the AC Max. dont buy anything but a Nikon IMO. you can pick rangefinders up on newegg.com cheap too. They should beat any retail price that you see.
Just the regular 550 is more than enough for most. If your wallet is deep then the ID would be cool but not needed.
I have had the same rangefinder for almost 5 years now and it works great. I have used it in every hunting situation and in every type of weather and it always works for me. I think you made a good choice.
Only thing I don't like about my 550 is the reticle. It's hard to see in low light conditions. I'm looking to replace mine maybe next year with a illuminated reticle.
