Range Finders

[DanO]

I bought a rangefinder back in the 90s before they had the adjustment feature for shooting downward out of a stand. I noticed in the last OOD magazine there was an article on the newest and shiniest rangefinders.

In order to avoid the downward adjustment I tend to just range a tree trunk on the horizontal right out of my stand. If the deer is close to the tree I'm confident I have the correct distance on the shot.

Anyone else still using the first generation rangefinders for bow hunting? Am I missing out?

[MikePal]

A couple of practice days in a stand with the older range finder will give you the confidence you can make a manual adjustment in your POA.

[Ridger]

Rangefinders are great tools, and very handy for bow hunting where a couple yds can make or break a shot.

I think you have to look at your application to determine what features are of value vs cost. For example, the avg bow hunter sitting 6 yds (18ft) in a stand shooting at an animal 40 yds horizontally from the trunk will have <0.5 yds added to shot distance from the stand.

That said, if you are making shots at long distances with major elevation changes, than those features become much more applicable and valuable to have.

[rf2]

Mine has angle compensation. To be honest, I don't really find it very useful for archery hunting. It's a "nice to have", but not absolutely necessary for me. The corrections are usually pretty minor at the distances I shoot at, and I often don't have time to pay attention to them when in a hunting situation. Sometimes I don't even have the opportunity to use the rangefinder at all because the animals are already too close for me to move around much.

[sabmgb]

I have 2 and neither have the angle feature. Like rf2 I wouldn't be reaching for the finder when I see a deer in range. I range land marks in my shooting lanes and become familiar with them before hand so I know the distances

[DanO]

Yeah that's my experience as well. Can't ever remember having time to actually range an animal right before the shot. I usually have the tree next to the deer ranged before he walks in. It might be a different story with a rifle or ML where you are hunting a field and have time to range?

[brent]

Angle compensation is just another marketing ploy to get people to spend more money.

Not needed in bowhunting.

[gbk]

Angle compensation is just another marketing ploy to get people to spend more money.

Not needed in bowhunting.

True words!