18 replies to this topic

[Brant]

Looking for a Laser Rangefinder for xmas. From my limited research it seems like you get what you pay for. The better ones seem to handle smaller objects at more distance. They also seem to handle rain, windows, etc better than the cheapies. I was looking at the Nikon Monarch 800. Please share any recommendations, issues, or problems with these things. It is primarily for coyote hunting.

[ShooterJohn]

Just for coyote hunting it won't be necessary as the distances won't be great enough to matter. Now if you were big game hunting or say ground squirrel hunting a good rangefinder it a great help. I have owned several and tried many and the one that most guides use it what I have. The Leica range finders are the best at ranging small game and working in the worst conditions in varying light. I have a Leica 1200 and it performs flawlessly. Save your money and buy one you won't be disappointed.

[Rimrock]

Plus 1 on the Leica. I have a Leica 900 and it serves all my needs.

[Brant]

They appear to be the cream of the crop in the reviews. I just read one where they used the Leica 900 on safaris. In the review they mention that the CRF series units do not incorporate trigonometric software for angle compensation. What does that mean?

[ShooterJohn]

Shooting up and down hills. Know your gun and cartridge and if you know the range you are golden. Know your gun and how it shoots makes all of the difference.

[Desert Fox]

They appear to be the cream of the crop in the reviews. I just read one where they used the Leica 900 on safaris. In the review they mention that the CRF series units do not incorporate trigonometric software for angle compensation. What does that mean?

Your bullet will hit high when shooting uphill or downhill. Angle compensation equipped Rangefinder will automatically gave you the corrected distance when ranging in an angle. This feature is very handy when hunting in a mountainous terrain where there is a possibility of an uphill or a downhill shot. Leupold have these on their RX-III and IV rangefinder. They're reasonably price but it's made in China. I never use one but a friend has one and he like it a lot. I use the Swarovski Laser Guide Rangefinder for several years now and it's one of the best out there IMO. Before that I used the Nikon 800, and it was a fine rangefinder but it has a limited ranging capability for the type of shooting I do, so I switched to Swaro. Save your money and buy the best.

[Brant]

When you say the Nikon 800 has a limited ranging capability - what kind of shooting are you doing at what range?

[TonyS]

I bought a leupold rxII and I'm very happy. Has all the stuff mentioned plus a button to figure out, 'how cold is it, anyway'?

[Brant]

I have a bowhunting buddy with a Leupold and he complained the buttons are too loud and it has too many bells and whistles (I think he said 13 modes and he mentioned the thermometer) when he is trying to get a quick measurement up in a tree in the dark but he ius a whiner. I on the other hand love techy gadgets loaded with features. He is the one that sent me to Nikon as a best bang for the buck buy.

[ShooterJohn]

Go to a store that carries them and try them. Point them at everything big and small and the better ones will show themselves. Out in the field something against a broken background will really show you the difference.

[Brant]

I am headed up to Cabela's today!

[Jerry]

I bought a Leica CRF1200, and it is a GREAT rangefinder! It has great glass that is perfect for using as a reliable monocular as well. I played with a Nikon yesterday at twilight, and the Leica smokes it easily in image quality. Plus, I like an uncluttered view, and the 1200 is perfect for that. In Illinois, I dont really need to have any trigonometric functions...flat farm ground as far as you can see lol.

[Brant]

Fairview Heights? Wow - right across the river. I am south on Tesson Ferry rd in Missouri between Arnold and Fenton. My airplane is based at a buddies hangar near Breese, Illinois so I drive past FVHs all of the time. Are there any places south of the metro area in Illinois to hunt coyotes? I have hunted near Valdmeyer on the Mississippi by Waterloo.Back on the rangefinders - I just got back from Cabela's where I kept the very cute sales girl busy for over an hour while my son and I tried rangefinders. We have a huge Cabela's with a mountain in the middle so there was a variety of targets. The Leica CRF 1200 performed well. I also was impressed with the Leupold's TBR 1000 display and features. I was disappointed on the Nikon's black display. They all gave readings within a yard of each other. I couldn't really test targeting at significant distance.Chuckhawks review of the Leupold TBR 1000http://www.chuckhawk...d_RX1000TBR.htm

[ShooterJohn]

Leupold is New to the rangefinder game but they stand behind their equipment as does Leica. If you drive over your Leica they will replace it for you. As for Chuck Hawks take his reviews with a grain of salt. His reviews often depend on his relationship with the manufacturer.

[Jerry]

SJ, thats what I heard about Leica too, one of the reasons I bought it lol. Brant, I didn't look at your location, world gets smaller everyday though! Yea we have plenty of coyotes around here, I'm trying to teach myself how to call and get some. Called one but he was in a bad spot. You should come out to our farm in Millstadt sometime, I have my own 600yd range, our other property is one huge field and I'm hoping to hit 1000 yds since it is sittin empty this year. That ground has some dogs running around too.

[Brant]

Jerry,I fly around Scott AFB 5 mile airspace limit once in a while and land at a buddy's runway south of Trenton. We have the critter calling down pretty well and mainly use an electronic caller with MP3s. We are firearm deer hunting now (as of Saturday) but were coyote hunting a few weeks back near Perryville, MO.What distance do you guys think might be max (coyote) for a Leica 1200 in perfect conditions? I wonder how much "stretch" there is in the advertised non-reflective deer ranging maximums put out by the manufacturers?

[sangerpb]

http://www.natchezss...p;prodID=NK8365Best deal I've found, it works great. I had one till I let my dad borrow it and some punks stole his entire golf bag!This one if you want the best and money is no object.http://www.tactical-...rupulse360.htmlLaster technology claims to have their tech in this bushnellhttp://www.google.co...b...&sa=title#p

[tawnoper]

Just for coyote hunting it won't be necessary as the distances won't be great enough to matter.

This right here is the truth. For predator calling they just ain't necessary. A flat shooting rifle is way more handy.If you just want one I'd get the Leica. I bought the 900CRF and it's a really nice piece of gear. Funny thing is the first one I bought worked for all of 15 minutes...don't know what happenend. Called the place I bought it from and they exchanged it for another...no problems since.Main reason I bought the Leica...besides their solid reputation was they have an illuminated readout which is nice in low light. I thought it may work well for night hunting but truthfully trying to accurately range a set of eyes is next to impossible. You WILL get a readout...of a rock or bush a 100 yards in back or front of the eyes. I've tried it...that coyote is 260...no wait 175...no wait 340 yards away haha. Once again...flat shooting rifle takes out the guess work for stuff in reasonable range.

[Brant]

Well I finally was able to test both a Leica CRF 1200 and a Leupold RX-1000 TBR in the field on real objects (deer decoy). As far as clarity and brightness goes I could not tell them apart although I see the obj lens is 2 mm larger on the Leica. I liked the red OLED auto-adjustable reticle on the Leupold slightly better than the Leica although they both worked fine. The Leupold does a good job of adjusting the brightness of the reticle to the light conditions. I spent a lot of time ranging a deer decoy (only thing I had) at various distances out to 500 yds. Both in an open field and against the background of a hill. I had more luck scanning back and forth across the decoy to get an accurate reading with the Leupold. I have no idea why but I found it easier to distinguish the readings of the background and targets and figure which was the true reading of the decoy. The Leica would seem to keep the original reading longer when I crossed the decoy and require more steadiness on the target (slight software differences or maybe just me?). I liked the Leica's 7x (Leupold is 6x) and the carbon fiber case. It also is more resilient to water according to specs. They weigh the same and are nearly the same size. The Leica is about $200+ more than the Leupold. The Leupold has more bells and whistles for better or worse. The main reason I selected the Leupold was for the inclinometer and TBR. The guy with the Leupold says he uses both functions with his airgun in our very hilly terrain successfully. It will become a part of my backyard yard terrorist toolset. I am always guessing the very close distances (25-100 yds) and trajectory is relatively poor with my airguns and 22 CBs. Both units seemed very high quality with the edge to Leica in terms of durability in my opinion. The Leupold was more in the best bang for the buck category and it has allowed me a second xmas present. I thought the Nikon 800's black reticle was tougher to see in cluttered and low light conditions and didn't consider it further. http://www.leupold.c...er-rangefinder/http://us.leica-came...aster/crf_1200/Review from Field and Streamhttp://www.fieldands...angefinder-2009Review from GunBlasthttp://www.gunblast....pold-RX1000.htm