Range Finders???

[Bronco72]

Howdy,
I have a Bushnell range finder and it works just great if you have a bush, tree, fence or something large enough to read a distance off. However, if you are out in a flat field it will not read off a squirrel or other small critter. Do any of you know of a range finder that will??

John

[CJ in Wy]

Nuthin eye safe will range worth a hoot on that small of a target...Exept maybe a Wild but they are 3' long and 30#
The Geovids will range a prairie dog mound to 6-700 yards on a good day but???
If you are going to shoot the same area for a while it might pay to put up markers every 50-100 yards. I've shot a couple of tournament towns that had plow furrows every 100 yards for range purposes, it works great but its hard to find a landowner that will do this AND let you use it. The wheel tracks of an irrigation system is also handy if you can set up to use them.
Bottom line is the Bushnells work about as good as anything else for the $.

[Rick in Oregon]

Bronco: CJ pretty is pretty much right, but I'll add that I won't (read: can't) pony up for a Geovid either, although the ones I've used will range a PD or squirrel mound as far as you'd ever shoot, but the Leica LRF-1200 will also range mounds, not the rat itself, out to a bit over 400+ yards....IF, and it's a big IF, the unit is held perfectly steady while ranging.

I made a bench-mounted device used in conjunction with a spotting scope bench tripod to hold my LRF-1200, and using it this way, I can get accurate readings on mounds out to the limit of the caliber range I use on ground squirrels and PD's.

I took a piece of 14ga. mild steel, weleded a 1/4-20 nut on the back aligned with a clearence hole for the tripod screw, used rubber bands to secure the LRF to the plate, and bingo, a bench-mounted rangefinder that works.

Cheap, effective, and extends the useful ranging capability of these little units by about 50% when ranging very small targets. Leica brought their own version of theirs out, but this one won't cost you a dime.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g66/packrat1/P1010050.jpg

The key to using these hand-held rangefinders is holding them steady so the beam does not bounce everywhere in a wide arc, magnified in a cone by distance to the target. This little device does just that, and pops off the mount in seconds to use in the hand-held mode. :)

[Darrel in Minn]

Nice setup for ranging. I have a 800 myself and it is good for all purposes of ranging. When I call coyotes I range a bush, sage, some object, or a hill before I call. Nice looking bench and clean. Darrel

[Bronco72]

Hey,
Now I am getting somewhere.
Thank you
John