Purpose of Long Range Finders?

[Sytes]

Never took a shot beyond... 350-400 yards and that is rare.

Outside of those ethical 1000+ yard howitzer elk hunters (shiny hook), what is the purpose of 1000+ range finders?

I'm in the market for a new range finder and looking at the Leupold RX600i. PM to route Pat's way in the next few weeks.

Any reason for hunting to look at longer range finders?
Archery and rifle use. Suggestions for better bang for the buck range finders?

 

[schmalts]

Reliable readings. Range finders are marketed at the distance they will read under a PERFECT condition. So, that being said if you want to range targets at 800 yards I would get a range finder that is marketed to range 1200+ instead of one that is 800 or 1000. I like one that reads farther than I shoot because during a stalk or planning a stalk I have ranged the animal at 1200 yards or more, then ranged shooting spots between me and the target to know where I need to sneak up to so to get inside my range. Example, I see a big buck bedded 1400 yards out. I range a rock pile directly between us that is 900 yards out. Simple math says if I make it to that point I have a 500 yard poke.

 

[Wildabeest]

I’ve got an RX-1600i TBR. I bought it because it was on sale at a price that was below ones with less range, not because I had any need to range out that far. I checked it on a 1000 yd gong at the range and it was spot-on. I’ve also checked 20-50 yds in 2 yd increments, 50-100 in 5 yard increments, and 100-200 in 10 yd increments since I was concerned that the longer range might make it less precise at shorter range. But it was spot on for all of that. So I wouldn’t pay more for the extra distance, but not would I shy away from the longer range models for the same or less $.

 

[Dsnow9]

^ what they both said. Nice to range distances on a stalk in. It would of come in handy a couple times to have one that ranged further. Shouldn’t have that issue anymore.
Also I like to use it at the range to practice far shots even if I never plan on hunting that far. Nothing boosts the 300 ya confidence like ringing steel over and over again at 800+.

 

[Sytes]

Top info guys. Appreciate your take on the advantages of extended range finders.

Stalking aspect. I've had to rough gauge distance to a ridgeline when closing distance on elk and that makes sense to have a range finder for that purpose...

Especially when viewing price point between say, Leupold RX600i vs Leupold RX-1300i TBR w/DNA Laser Rangefinder.
Roughly only $70 more, on average.

 

[ida homer]

As mentioned, great for planning stalks.

Think about the pre RF days. Spot some elk, “sweet if I get up to that knob, should be about 400 out.”

Gets up to said knob, 900 yds. That day is about shot.

You’ll also have a hell of a lot easier time ranging lopes in flat terrain, with a quality RF.

 

[Bigjay73]

Same as you, I dont shoot far, 300 yds max, but yeah, its nice to know how much farther I have to stalk. They do help on the range when I'm shooting 1000 yds, well, attempting to shoot 1000 yds lol

 

[Wildabeest]

Think about the pre RF days. Spot some elk, “sweet if I get up to that knob, should be about 400 out.”

Gets up to said knob, 900 yds. That day is about shot.

I find that Onx is really helpful for this as well. You can usually identify some features of both your target location and the elk location that will allow you to pinpoint them on the OnX satellite view. Then use the line distance tool on OnX to measure the distance between them. I find that easier than trying to do trigonometry in my head based on range finder distances and angles.

 

[ida homer]

I find that Onx is really helpful for this as well. You can usually identify some features of both your target location and the elk location that will allow you to pinpoint them on the OnX satellite view. Then use the line distance tool on OnX to measure the distance between them. I find that easier than trying to do trigonometry in my head based on range finder distances and angles.

True, that’s probably a better way to do it.

We take these niceties for granted, but it really is crazy how much time/energy they save. Just 2 mistakes on stalks in big country can eat up a 3 day hunt quickly.

 

[amo16]

It's pretty well been covered, but I've used them to help determine if a stalk is even viable. An example would be to range a bear on a distant hillside and find out it's 2500 yards away with a lot of elevation change with less than an hour of shooting light left. I use OnX for this too, but sometimes it's hard to find good landmarks to identify. Also, as was already mentioned, you get better reliability with the more powerful units. When the sun is bright and you're trying to range a soft target you can usually range anywhere that's within shooting range, which can't be said of the 600 or so yard models. I've got a Leupold RX-2800 TBR as my primary rangefinder right now and anytime I use my old one it just leads to frustration.

 

[Stocker]

Long range shooting competition. It’s a lot of fun to shoot 1400+ yards. I however won’t take a shot at an animal over 400, maybe an antelope out to 600 if conditions are good.

 

[brockel]

Practicing 700-1000 sure makes those 400 yard shots seem like chip shots

 

[vanish]

Suggestions for better bang for the buck range finders?

I haven't looked at the market in a couple years, but the Sig Kilo models were leagues better value ( distance vs accuracy vs price ) than anything else then.

 

[PaRn]

Following. Im looking for a range finder for rifle out west. Big difference from Pa treestands.

 

[Don Fischer]

I've got a Leupold RX-11, no idea how far it works! Got it many years ago and just in the past four or five years started carrying it. Now at my age I find it easier to sit on a stand of some kind for more than 3 1/2 min! Sit there and range thing's around me so if something shows up I have some idea how far it it. Limit myself to 300 yds but the vast majority of shot I take are 200 to maybe 250 yds. Also started carrying my bino's in the past several years. I've always hated carrying stuff I didn't figure I'd need. But at this point the range finder and bino's save me a lot of walking!

 

[GearJunky]

lots of good input... Sig kilo was a far better value last time i looked into them (about 3 years ago).

 

[MT_Chad]

Sytes, handle a leica before you get the leupold. The leica is in a different league in my opinion for not a lot more money. Check eurooptic for the best deal on the leica.

 

[ThunderNocked]

Never took a shot beyond... 350-400 yards and that is rare.

Outside of those ethical 1000+ yard howitzer elk hunters (shiny hook), what is the purpose of 1000+ range finders?

I'm in the market for a new range finder and looking at the Leupold RX600i. PM to route Pat's way in the next few weeks.

Any reason for hunting to look at longer range finders?
Archery and rifle use. Suggestions for better bang for the buck range finders?

So from my understanding of marketing/technology and talking to people and companies the farther units are better for real hunting.
I am looking to Sheep Hunt in Alaska and though I don't want to shoot over 400 yards, it means that I need to accurately range out to 600. The RX1300i that I purchased said it will range out to 13oo yards, on a reflective surface like a Metal Roof. 1000 yards for a large flat surface, think tree line. 800 yards on a deer sized soft/flat target. So by buying the 1300 I'm limiting myself to hitting inside 800 yards to start accurately ranging my animal so that I can get to that 450 yards.

 

[3855WIN]

Reliable readings. Range finders are marketed at the distance they will read under a PERFECT condition. So, that being said if you want to range targets at 800 yards I would get a range finder that is marketed to range 1200+ instead of one that is 800 or 1000. I like one that reads farther than I shoot because during a stalk or planning a stalk I have ranged the animal at 1200 yards or more, then ranged shooting spots between me and the target to know where I need to sneak up to so to get inside my range. Example, I see a big buck bedded 1400 yards out. I range a rock pile directly between us that is 900 yards out. Simple math says if I make it to that point I have a 500 yard poke.

The Sig I purchased from you has been outstanding.

 

[jt13]

The Sig I purchased from you has been outstanding.

x2

Didn't get mine from Schmalts but my Sig Kilo 850 routinely gives me accurate ranges beyond 1000 yds. Very impressed with it. As stated above, its very helpful for planning stalks and/or translating what you can see with your naked eye to dropping a pin in the right place on OnX