Range finder help

UThunter · Aug 3, 2011

My dad drew a Utah early rifle elk tag this year and wants to buy a new range finder. His gun has a turret so we are looking for a decent range finder in the $250 to $350 range. Any help would be appreciated.

ocara19 · Aug 3, 2011

Leupold RX 1000 TBR..awesome rangefinder that can be set on bow settings or set to popular calibers of rifles to give you MOA (minute of angle) or how much over the animal you are to aim. its worth checking out.

trophyhunter · Aug 4, 2011

+1 on the Leupold great Rangefinder

))))......>

littlejoe · Aug 5, 2011

The New Nikon ??? 1000 is awesome. The colors change from black to red as it gets dark. Instant calculation. I highly recommend. I have not found a flaw in it yet.

Tank · Aug 6, 2011

I will never buy another Leopold range finder again. Sold mine and went to Nikon, choose a Nikon.

judkins1 · Aug 7, 2011

What did you not like about the Leupold? What do you like about the Nikon Tank?

wvbowhunterinalaska · Aug 7, 2011

I found when I was shopping for a rangefinder that the Leupolds had too many functions to keep straight. I went with the Bushnell Scout 1000 w/ARC (one of the smart range finders). Point, push the range button, and get a reading with the true distance with the angle reading. I can't speak for the Nikons, but if my only choices were Nikon or Leupold, I would pick Nikon.
WVBOWAK

Elkhunter96 · Aug 9, 2011

I have a nikon riflehunter 550, been very impressed with it and do not hesitate to recommend the newer riflehunter 1000. With my older 550 model, I can bow hunt since it has the angle adjustment feature and still range animals out to 650 yds. Very easy to use and has worked great for a couple of years now.

Tank · Aug 9, 2011

>What did you not like about
>the Leupold? What do you
>like about the Nikon Tank?
>

The Leupold would constantly take 4-5 seconds to give me a reading. If I was ranging past 150 yds, half the time I couldn't get a reading at all. I picked up the Nikon and the readings were fast and consistent. Elk don't wait around for your range finder to work.

booner76 · Aug 10, 2011

Just hope your Nikon doesnt break, they REALY dont like to warranty them.
They are super fast though.
booner

wooly · Aug 10, 2011

Leupolds are a nightmare too many functions that seem to go out of wack when you need it to work...

idig4au · Aug 13, 2011

+1 on the Leupold range finders. Stay away from them. I was thinking about leaving mine out so somebody would steal it from me, but then I was afraid they would try and use it and then become disgruntled and give it back to me by throwing it through my window!

I use a Leica CRF 1600 and it great. Well worth the extra money and give you the inclination as well the straight line distance. It makes it easy to account for the angle of the shot so you can dial in the right range on your scope.

I am sure the other models suggest by others are great as well, just avoid the Leupolds if you want to maintain your sanity!

Thunderclapper · Aug 13, 2011

Leica. Compact, lightweight, effective.

UThunter · Aug 13, 2011

Wow, I am really surprised at all the negative comments about the Leupolds. I have been researching for a while now, and I have actually liked them the best. I think the read out on them will be easier for my dad to see. Personally I like all the features.
I went ahead and bought the 1000 TBR. I hope I don't regret it!
I would like to buy the Leica, but it is just out of my price range.
Thanks for all your help.

ocara19 · Aug 14, 2011

Great choice!! It really isnt as complicated as others make it sound. To be honest the nay sayers probably dont own one or have first hand experience. The set up is super easy and works like a champ in the field. Ive had ZERO issues with mine.

wvbowhunterinalaska · Aug 17, 2011

>Great choice!! It really isnt as
>complicated as others make it
>sound. To be honest the
>nay sayers probably dont own
>one or have first hand
>experience. The set up is
>super easy and works like
>a champ in the field.
>Ive had ZERO issues with
>mine.

Then you must have gotten the only good one they made. So was your's a first generation one (meaning was it the first model they brought out back about 5-6 years ago)? Also my first hand knowledge came from trying to use one at Sportsmans Warehouse, I figure if it didn't want to work in the store then why buy the POS. Wife was really nice to me that year and got me my Bushnell and I was pleased as punch with it.
WVBOWAK

wvbowhunterinalaska · Aug 17, 2011

I hope your Dad enjoys it UThunter.
WVBOWAK

elkaholic123 · Aug 27, 2011

LAST EDITED ON Aug-27-11 AT 06:38PM (MST)[p]oh well,if it does not work out get the Leica

cowboy57 · Sep 24, 2011

I have the Leopold RX 1000 tbr and I have no problem with it at early mornings or at late evening.you can't beat for the price.

hunt4130 · Sep 25, 2011

Id try to spend a bit more cash and get a lieca. great glass and there rang finders are bullet proof. I dont have much info on other brands. but i hope u find what your looking for.

Mallards_Only · Sep 29, 2011

My Bushnell RF started acting up just before my MT/WY trip and I decided it was time to get a new RF. I had been researching RF's for a while and was pretty sure I was going to go with the Nikon 1000. Stopped at Cabela's to pick one up and compared it with the Leupold and Leicas. After spending an hour comparing and trying all three in different lighting situations, I ultimately went with the Leupold. I wanted to like the Nikon and Leicas better based on what I had read and heard, but in my mind there was no comparison. The Leupolds won, hands down. Better display, easy to use, smaller and compact, angle compensation, ballistic calculation capable, and comparable range capability to the other two. Honestly, I'm not sure why Leica gets such good reviews. The read-out on the Leica's is so small you can barely see it. The Nikon display was hard to see in different lighting situations. I used the Leupold many times on my hunts and never had a problem with slow display speeds. Not sure what Leupold RF you're talking about with slow speeds but maybe you got a defective one. It was fast enough to range and kill a deer in MT and an elk in WY

desertdeer · Oct 25, 2011

i vote for leica. i have a lrf 900. my bro and i were hunting this weekend and ended up sitting and glassing together. we wrer playing the range guessing game and then checking with our rangefinders. in the low light he couldnt range past 200 yards. i could still. i handed him my rf and he looked through it and said holy crap, i asked what he saw and he said he was amazed that he could see through my rangefinder. i looked through his and was not impressed with the glass at all. like looking through a muddy window. both of ours are 5 or 6 years old mine is the leica 900 and his is the nikon 800