Laser Rangefinders

[Yar1180]

I've always wanted a laser rangefinder. If I wanted to use it primarily to measure distances to targets for 3 gun, steel plate matches, and uspsa would I need a fancy one or will a less expensive one do. One of the 3 gun clubs I shoot has their long range steel painted black, and another has it painted white. Will this factor much into laser rangefinder considerations.

Mostly this will just be a toy and something to help he learn about my rifle and ammo.

[jbullgpd]

color shouldnt matter, I have a bushnell one that works good for me. I use it for hunting and shooting. I wouldnt go $20 cheapo but you don't have to go to high end, they have the new ones that measure down or up angle and adjust for difference but you shouldnt need that for your application.

[Religious Shooter]

...they have the new ones that measure down or up angle and adjust for difference but you shouldnt need that for your application.

Amen to that. My RXIII says there isn't much of a difference in most targets. Even the ones that are up on a hill 300+ yards (straightline) away that's probably close to 200 feet above the the shooter.

I'd first see how much $$ you want to spend. If it's just for three gun I would get the fastest processing one. I would prefer that is at least 6X. Having a higher power let's you see the terrain better and can stand-in for binos --- helpful if you shoot irons and need to use a landmark as an aiming point because the target isn't well defined.

[EricW]

For 3-gun, just about anything will work. The color of the target does become an issue at longer ranges, poor ambient conditions, etc.

There have been so many changes in products, it's tough to know what's "good" now. I would go to a store that will let you take the finders outside and run them side by side against one another. It's really the only way to know how much you're willing to pay versus what shortcomings you're willing to put up with.

Just over a year ago, I found the shortcomings annoying enough that I said to hell with it and bought the Swaro. My guess is that a lot of rangefinders have now closed the performance gap for less bux. When I bought, it wasn't even a contest. Even the Leicas sucked next to the Swaros.

[smokshwn]

Try this for pretty good information

Rangefinder Review

[3GunF1Guy]

I too also want one but with the price and for as inaccurate as they are I purchased a Garmin E-trex GPS. Now I mark my spot and walk to the target and see how far it is. WAY WAY more accurate than a range finder and about 1/3 the price. It is not as versatile but for target practice it works great.

Scott

[smokshwn]

Scott,

I am glad you posted that. You are gonna put on a lot of miles at RM3G checking target distances for us

[Noah Gladstone]

They can come in handy for tagets beyond 200 yards and in special situations like Ft Benning when trying to hit a car with a grenade launcher.

[M.E.Anglin]

You'll also find it handy for shooting slugs as well

[3GunF1Guy]

I use it for practice. If you want a target at 700 yds, park the truck, walk 700yds with gps, set target, walk back to truck and shoot. Or Mark a spot, DRIVE 1000 yds with gps, set target, drive back, shoot. Acurate to +or- 15'. Can't do that with a laser. And I did say "for target practice it works great".

The air is not that thin for me at the RM3G but I'm not going to hike just for fun. That remind me..I better start working out

Scott

[bigbrowndog]

you can also do it that way with a range finder, it works especially well when your target won't register. Walk to where you want your target and range your truck. it generally is covered with good reflective surfaces, and its BIG. this works well with some of the cheaper models of RF's

Trapr

[Bronco]

Unless you have a differential set up that GPS depending on signal can be off from 35 to 150 ft. Try going back to the same spot twice it wanders quite a bit. The range finder I use is well under that. For three gun all you need is a good 500 yd. model, but as with most shooting equipment buy the best you can afford because you'll find other uses for it.

[Spaceghost]

If your rangefinder is having problems 'bouncing' off a target, wait for Scott to walk out with the GPS and then bounce the laser off him for an accurate reading...

Sorry.. couldn't resist.

Here is what I want.. someone must already have built it, the military or someone. And yes, I know about the scopes that are also rangefinders. I want a picatinny mounted range finder for my forearm that can zeroed for my point of aim and has a remote (wired or wireless) display that adheres to the top of my scope. This would allow anyone to retrofit their scope with a rangefinder..

The electronics exist, it is a matter of packaging them in the right way. Acquire target, squeze rangerfinder button, confirm distance in display, jerk trigger!

[MI_Packer]

Stores like Bass Pro and Cabelas will take back the rangefinder if it doesn't work for you. So don't feel married to to your decision if it doesn't work out.

You could buy three on a credit card and return the two the don't work out in real world use.

[Yar1180]

I was at the local gun store the other day and they had some laser rangefinders so I asked to look through a couple. The only one they had with batteries was a leupold rx1. I used it to range find a street sign fairly easily but it had problems with black and white targets. This was a deal breaker as that is what I need it to do. Does the fact that I was aiming out a window effect the range finders ability? I'm thinking I might head down to another gun store across town and give it another try.

[M.E.Anglin]

I was at the local gun store the other day and they had some laser rangefinders so I asked to look through a couple. The only one they had with batteries was a leupold rx1. I used it to range find a street sign fairly easily but it had problems with black and white targets. This was a deal breaker as that is what I need it to do. Does the fact that I was aiming out a window effect the range finders ability? I'm thinking I might head down to another gun store across town and give it another try.

yea, they don't work through windows