Thread: Ideal distance for a range finder

There are all sorts of range finders / rangefinder binoculars out there with varying distances of ranging achievable.

Ideally I want to get the best option first off (European rangefinder binoculars), but that's probably a while off yet. As a short term stop gap measure I was looking at getting a rangefinder such as the Sig Kilo 850 or something similar in partnership with my existing binos/spotting scope. If the Sig specs are to be believed they can range a deer up to 600yds. Given I wouldn't be shooting past 500m, is there something I'm missing with the longer range rangefinders.

Knowing a deer is 1000m away would be great to know, but seems overkill information, given shooting distances are under half that distance.

Happy to be schooled on the subject.

For a hunting situation, just get Leica handheld rangefinder.

They are the reason the Swaro and Ziess stopped making handheld rangefinders and only do integrated binocular ones now.

When they say 1000m / 500m that's usually in perfect conditions. some range finders range further some days.Some days that 1000m might only range 500m
Say i range a animal at 800m ( i don't shoot that far) i might range a rock or patch of bush and think if i get over there the shot will be x amount of meters, and then go hold on if can get in to that gut its only 300m shot,

Get the combo bino, one less piece of crap to lug around with separates & pissing around swapping items around when you do spot an animal with a bino only.

Use mine for estimating time to travel along a ridge, also as mentioned above to figure out where to take a shot from, and
how long to get there from where you are now.

Useful too when finding it hard to locate a fallen animal. Range back to the location you shot it from then swing a radius.
I'm having no issues with a low cost 1000m SNDWAY from Aliexpress

The 1000m model should still return a 500m measurement in less than ideal conditions.
Buying the <500m model might mean letting some animals walk in poor atmospheric conditions when they don’t return a distance.
They’ll also handle less reflective targets better too.
Used to roughly pay about $1 per meter, no idea on that now?

I have the Sig 1250 and it returns out to 500m on most days on rock faces etc. I swear it used to get 800 ish. battery is still showing half. Cleaning the lense didnt help. So i need to replace that battery and see if that improves it.

Mine cost ~400. 2 or 3 years ago so considerably cheaper now. Even better range finders for that sort of price.

I'd suggest you double your maximum hunting range. As said above the upper value is optimistic, and only really achievable in ideal conditions. Also, look through whatever you want to buy - optics in cheaper rangefinder are not the best, and can be dark enough to be useless at twilight.
Plus 1 vote for Leica handheld - they are exceptionally good.

Had Bushnell and Leupold hand held ones and they work OKbut not a patch on the Leica 1000 I now have. It will range past a 1000 but never fails on 500 -600 yard measurements.I would go that way the Bino/Rangefinder combo's are heavy ...ish.

Originally Posted by uk_exile

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I'm having no issues with a low cost 1000m SNDWAY from Aliexpress

In that regard, I got in a Longshuo "1200yd" version solely for use with my PCP on rabbits. Cost about $110 landed all up. Turns out it's amazing value for money. I took it out the other day on a centrefire varminting session and gave it to my son to play with. From a vantage point, I asked him what it read and compared it with what my Geovids read. The three objects were ~ 200, 465 and 846yds away. The Chinese one gave readings within 2yds of what my Geovids said. Make of that what you may.

I know a few people who say the similar things about the cheaper aliexpress ones etc.
Just the body is not the same standards. They wouldnt trust it in weather or to take any sort of drop.

Shot a small Fallow in a scrub filled gully 300m downhill the other day, had my rangefinder for exact distance, took a compass bearing on it from a prominent rock I would see from down the bottom, then went after a pig I had seen in the opposite direction, got it and was able to come back and find my fallow, rangefinder and compass put me within 5m before the search actual started. In the habit of ranging features about me regularly as I go along so I always have a rough distance already in my head for those unexpected pop ups.

Originally Posted by Nugget connaisseur

I know a few people who say the similar things about the cheaper aliexpress ones etc.
Just the body is not the same standards. They wouldnt trust it in weather or to take any sort of drop.

Those are from Ali.
Agreed on the mechanicals- unlikely to take a trashing in the long run

I picked up a second hand Leica from here years ago and has never let me down. meters/yards. i think its the 800 model the newer one, there was a new model coming out at the time and every body was selling to upgrade.
Dont have to buy new