Rangefinders

[MarkB]

I would like to hear everyone's opinions and experiences, I have heard that the Leica's are the best, but what about the Bushnell and Nikons??

[TexasDoc]

Hey Mark,I like my Leica 1200 alot,it is very clear and easy to use. Before that I tried the Nikon 400 and buckmaster 800,i also tried the Bushnell yardage pro 1000 and had a lot of problems with the Bushnell it spent more time in the shop then the Field. the nikon Buckmaster worked good on sunny cool days but hated the rain and heat. but the Leica works in all weather and is very Accurate even at the 800 to 1000yd range I have been using it for the past 9 months and found it to be easy to carry and the Batterys last longer then either of the Nikon and Bushnell's did.

I would spend my hard earned money on the Leica again,


TexasDoc

[Bobcat]

I have the Nikon 800 yd. model. Like Doc said, it works ok, but if I were buying a new one I would get a Leica.

Bob

[slammy]

I have the Bushnell Yardage Pro 400. It should be called the Yardage pro 300 as it's hard to range anything past 300. It seems fairly accurate when checked against others, it just won't perform as advertised. What else is new? Glad to hear positive comments on the Leica, especially the all weather operation.

[CoonDawg]

MarkB, if you really want the best rangefinder the Russian units can't be beat. They will range out to 12 miles , but like technology will run about 3k+

[MarkB]

Hmmm, $3K is a little bit out of my price range. But hey, do the math, if a 800 yard rangefinder runs $400, you're getting a heck of a deal spending $3K for one that will reach out 12 miles!!
And by the way, I have become a big fan of the equipment made on that side of the globe. I recently bought a CZ 527 American in 223. To me it's the best of both worlds, light enough to carry all day, and accurate enough to make the fellas with the heavy barrels blush.

[CoonDawg]

There was one on e-bay a while back and they were asking $2000, have seen them sell for as much as 10K

[jdickey]

Hey Slammy... I've had real good luck with my Yardage Pro. Had it for about 5 years now. Checked it out with a surveyors transit 2 years ago and it was dead-on at 300 yds and 18 in. short at 450 yards!

[texasshooter]

Mark,

This past summer I had the opportunity to use, in the field, A Nikon Buckmaster 800 (which is the same as a Bushnell Compact 800), A Bushnell Yardage Pro 1000, A Newcon Optik1500 LRM and a Leica 1200. All of these were used in the same light conditions ranging prairie dogs, which is probably as good a test as any. And the hands down winner was........... The Leica 1200. The real problem is that I own all of the above... except the Leica. You can see that if you add up what I have spent trying to find an alternative to the "expensive" Leica's, I could probably have two of them by now. By the way, you want a good deal on just about any rangefinder other than a Leica? ;D

[CoonDawg]

Texasshooter I'll take the Nikon if its free

[Mikie]

Texasshooter what do you want for the 800 or 1000. I used a nikon 400 and it very well.

[texasshooter]

Mikie,

I have already given the Bushnell 1000yd to friend that did not have anything to use. As far as the Nikon Compact 800's go, I dropped them and the display shifted to one side. I kinda monkeyed around with them to try and get it back centered. When all else failed.... I hit the opposite side of the Rangefinder with my open hand and it centered right up again, but I am not confident enough in these to sell them to anyone. They appear to work OK, but I would not feel right selling them to anyone. They are good size for carying while hunting, so I think I will go ahead and keep them. But as I said before, this is one area that I wish I hadn't tried so hard to find a less expensive alternative. For all the money I have spent on three different range finders, I could have bought the Leica 1200 and saved some money.

[GonHuntin]

I have a Bushnell scout and it works great for my needs. Why did I go with Bushnell?.....well, my cousin worked there for awhile and she got it for me with a big employee discount.......made it difficult to buy anything else!

[Texpppr]

Gosh if I had a range finder on my belt too I don't know where I would put it. . I seem to have a full belt. Knife, Binoculars, GPS, Digital camera, shooting stix and a fanny pack in the rear. I bet if you got used to using one expecially if you were stalking in big country you would find room.

[texasshooter]

I gave up on the fanny pack a long time ago. I had to upgrade to the backpack to carry all the stuff. Then there is all the extra batteries that you need for the stuff