Thread: Now i need a rangefinder ....

Evening ,
firstly , i spent most of my money on the rifle and swaro , so now i have about 500 bucks left .
I got leupold binos , but they are only for showing me the deer I,m never goin to shoot . ( next ridge , and 1000 mts away ) but then occassionally some animals right on the bush edge that i,m guessing might be around 600 mts .
Now , since i bought the rifle and scope combo capable of delivering a 175 gr pill fairly accurately that far , I,m after a rangefinder that has the goods that i need . Now , I have never owned a rangefinder , and i haven,t really missed out that much without one . But things change ...
like i said , I,m in the market for opinions and a rangefinder . I,ll buy new or 2nd hand something up to about 500 bucks .
So, here,s my own observation so far . Most of what is advertised are probably accurate enough for distance measuring ( no matter the price ) But a fair few are probably bullshitting about how far they can actually measure, despite the price .
I,m thinking i will be needing a max of 800 mts , with an onboard inclinometer , a viewer that can be seen in low and bright light.

Whats peoples opinions ?
cheers
les

Delta would be pretty hard to beat in that ballpark
https://deltaoptical.co.nz/collectio...er-rangefinder

$550 but great unit, if I ever had to replace my leica it would probably be with one of those

Have a look at Sndway on AliExpress... Awesome in terms if value. https://a.aliexpress.com/_m0WKjYM

https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....rx1400-100285/

If budget is $500 buy a Sndway from Aliexpress and use the remaining cash on practice ammo.

Plenty of good units come up 2nd hand, there’s a Sig 1600BDX on TradeMe for $375 orbit now $450. That would be great for what you want

I assume that if you have never owned a rangefinder, you have not shot game at longer distances?
Have you shot targets at known distances (out to 600m) with said rifle?
The reason I ask is that recently I have seen (on You Tube) a lot of clips where people shoot at game at longer ranges (one was 950m!!) and miss/wound animals. They seem to think that if they have a magnum, a dial up scope and a rangefinder it will just happen. Personally that's not what I have found. It takes a lot of skill and preperation to consistantly kill game cleanly at 500m+. Not just the right tools.
Please don't take this as a knock. You may be a surperb marksman and done plenty of practice in the field at the distances you want to shoot If so excellent.
Sndway seem good value.

My Sunday 600 reliably matches much more expensive options out past the 600 mark. No chance I'm shooting that far with current rigs but for about $136 delivered it does what is required. Although I do like the look of the Deltas because I like new toys....

Originally Posted by Shearer

I assume that if you have never owned a rangefinder, you have not shot game at longer distances?
Have you shot targets at known distances (out to 600m) with said rifle?
The reason I ask is that recently I have seen (on You Tube) a lot of clips where people shoot at game at longer ranges (one was 950m!!) and miss/wound animals. They seem to think that if they have a magnum, a dial up scope and a rangefinder it will just happen. Personally that's not what I have found. It takes a lot of skill and preperation to consistantly kill game cleanly at 500m+. Not just the right tools.
Please don't take this as a knock. You may be a surperb marksman and done plenty of practice in the field at the distances you want to shoot If so excellent.
Sndway seem good value.

I'll just echo this if I may.

Having "a rifle and scope capable of -FAIRLY- accurate..." is only about 20% of what's required to be in the killzone at those ranges. And what kind of impact energy will your 175 be delivering out there?
And then how are you going to recover the animal shot?

You should be able to get a reasonable estimate of distance by your compass and topo map surely, how did you "guess 600" ?

Originally Posted by 11mms

I'll just echo this if I may.

Having "a rifle and scope capable of -FAIRLY- accurate..." is only about 20% of what's required to be in the killzone at those ranges. And what kind of impact energy will your 175 be delivering out there?
And then how are you going to recover the animal shot?

You should be able to get a reasonable estimate of distance by your compass and topo map surely, how did you "guess 600" ?

HI, thanks for your commentary .
I did purposefully not say too much about the rifle , but i think its reasonable to ask about my confidence in the rifle . So , for all , its a 7mm prc and its not my first rifle ( after some 50 yrs of hunting ) I load , and that 175 gr has about 2100 ft/sec at 600 yards and 1750 ft/lbs energy . . The rifle shoots half inch groups and on a good day i can put 3 roads on a 10 inch gong . Now to that 600 mts/yards . That spot is my usual spotting "spot " and its been measured many times over the yrs with mates who do own rangefinders . Now, honestly i have never shot an animal that far out . But over the years it just seems to me that we are reaching further and further out because the gear has got better .

Originally Posted by Shearer

I assume that if you have never owned a rangefinder, you have not shot game at longer distances?
Have you shot targets at known distances (out to 600m) with said rifle?
The reason I ask is that recently I have seen (on You Tube) a lot of clips where people shoot at game at longer ranges (one was 950m!!) and miss/wound animals. They seem to think that if they have a magnum, a dial up scope and a rangefinder it will just happen. Personally that's not what I have found. It takes a lot of skill and preperation to consistantly kill game cleanly at 500m+. Not just the right tools.
Please don't take this as a knock. You may be a surperb marksman and done plenty of practice in the field at the distances you want to shoot If so excellent.
Sndway seem good value.

HI, thanks for your commentary .
I did purposefully not say too much about the rifle , but i think its reasonable to ask about my confidence in the rifle . So , for all , its a 7mm prc and its not my first rifle ( after some 50 yrs of hunting ) I load , and that 175 gr has about 2100 ft/sec at 600 yards and 1750 ft/lbs energy . . The rifle shoots half inch groups and on a good day i can put 3 roads on a 10 inch gong . Now to that 600 mts/yards . That spot is my usual spotting "spot " and its been measured many times over the yrs with mates who do own rangefinders . Now, honestly i have never shot an animal that far out . But over the years it just seems to me that we are reaching further and further out because the gear has got better .

@chainsaw
i like the look of the Sig 1600BDX

@Preacher
I like the look of the Snday 600 too !

I got my Rangefinder from Cabelas a few months back. Cabelas brand was on special at 99 dollars US . At the time I think it landed at my door for about 220 Nz dollars. Its awesome value . Cabelas Intensity model . Had great reviews. I saw not long ago on special again.

+1 for AliExpress. Can't fault my one after 2 years of use.