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How to Buy a Laser Rangefinder

Golf and Hunting: Priority Differences
Reticles and Aiming Points
Distance
Power
Magnification
Picture Quality
Diopters
Battery Life
Size and Weight
Horizontal Mode
Scan Mode
Other Modes
Conclusion

Determining how your laser rangefinder will be used is the first step in ensuring that you choose the most useful model for your application. There are rangefinders for hunting, golf, and surveying. This article will deal mainly with golf and hunting rangefinders.

Golf and Hunting…Priority Differences

When a rangefinder reads the first object in its line of view and ignores further objects, the rangefinder is said to be in a first priority mode. If it ignores the first object and sees past it to a more distant object the unit is said to be in a second priority mode.

First priority rangefinders are extremely useful on the golf course. There is generally nothing between you and the flag, assuming the flag is not hidden. All golfing rangefinders are in the first priority mode. If you want to range on the flag that is maybe 100 yards away, it will read 100, and not, say, 130, which may be the trees in back of the flag.

Second priority rangefinders are more useful for hunting. A second priority rangefinder used as in the previous paragraph would certainly read the trees at 130 yards and ignore the flag 30 yards closer. In hunting situations you are often in a blind or screened somewhat by limbs or leaves. A hunting rangefinder, or second priority rangefinder would ignore the first object in its line of view such as the branches, and read the most distant object, which may be a deer.

Can you use a golf rangefinder (first priority) for hunting? Absolutely. Can you use a hunting rangefinder (second priority) for golf? Certainly. But the product most closely designed for your intended purpose would be more user-friendly and not require multiple readings or switching modes to ensure the correct distance. Some laser rangefinders offer options to temporarily switch from second priority mode with a “pinpoint” or “bullseye” button (effectively switching from second to first priority) or switching priorities semi permanently.

Reticles and Aiming Points

A reticle is the crosshair (or aiming point or circle) you see when looking through your rangefinder. Some reticles are made of black lines that you superimpose over the object you want to range. These reticles are often impossible to distinguish against a dark background, or in low light conditions such as shadows. Some reticles (or aiming points or circles) appear illuminated because they are actually LED lights. The brightness of these LEDs is invariably adjustable. The issues with LED reticles is that in bright conditions they may be drowned out by the ambient light so they cannot be seen, even at the highest settings, and in the evening, when your eyes are accustomed to the night, the reticles or circles are so bright that they destroy your night vision even at the lowest settings. You are not able to see past the bright reticle. The aforementioned issues with reticles also pertain to other information within your viewing screen such as yardage numbers and modes.

The best of both worlds, in my opinion, is a black reticle and information with a button for backlighting. The backlighting is much less intense than in an LED, and gives you the capability to view your information in all light conditions.

Distance

Rangefinders are sold and marketed under names that imply the maximum readable distance capable with that unit. This causes the most common misconception that consumers have with these units. A unit may be labeled as a 1500 yard rangefinder, and it may be, but only under ideal atmospheric conditions on highly reflective large surfaces!

For instance, without a lot of glare and air pollution and heat waves on a cool day under a cloudy sky, you may be able to range a smooth white metal pole barn at 1500 yards. Add sun or rain or snow or heat mirage, or lessen the size or your target, or darken the color, or increase the texture, then NO! Maybe many hundreds of yards less. In perfect conditions you may see your pole barn at 1500 yards, a dark rocky hill at an oblique angle at 1100 yards, a huge truck at 900 yards, a tree at 700 yards, and a deer at 450 and a flag on the green at even less. Most times a deer may be read at around one third of the maximum stated range, and almost always well under half the distance. Check the manufacturer’s specifications.

Power

The more power or maximum distance stated, the further you may range small objects. If you want to range a deer at 400 yards and buy a 400 yard rangefinder, you have most likely wasted your money.

Magnification

Generally a 6x or 7x magnification level is fine, and most have appropriate magnification levels. 6x simply means that the object appears 6 times closer through the rangefinder than with the unaided eye. Keep in mind that distant objects are not necessarily easier to range on with more magnification, but more magnification means a darker picture and smaller fields of view. Practically, magnification levels are not something I would base much of my ultimate choice on.

Picture Quality

A good picture means good glass and coatings. Good glass is expensive, and so are the coatings that cover it. A Leica or Swarovski rangefinder may offer the ultimate picture, but the extra expense may not make sense on the golf course or another application. To me, as a hunter, it is very important.

Diopters

Diopters are used to adjust the view to your eye strength to ensure the cleanest, clearest picture possible. They are standard on most rangefinders.

Battery Life

Don’t worry about battery life. Changing a battery once a year is plenty for most folks. If you use your rangefinder extensively, keep a spare. And always bring a spare when hunting or in extremely cold weather.

Size and Weight

Size and weight are very important in a hunting rangefinder. The best rangefinder in the field is the one you have with you, handy. I normally keep my rangefinder in an easily accessible shirt or pants pocket or backpack. I normally don’t like stuff hanging off my belt, so I usually only use my carrying case when transporting it in my luggage or to keep dust off when I’m not using it. Almost all rangefinders come with a carrying case of some kind. Whereas small and light is crucial for hunting, it’s almost the opposite for golf. The Bushnell Pinseeker 1500, for instance, is huge and heavy compared to most hunting rangefinders, but it is generally carried in a golf cart or wheeled bag, and it doesn’t make a difference. In addition, the large size gives excellent purchase for both hands and is very easy to hold steady.

Horizontal Mode

One of the modes I have come to like over the last few years is a horizontal range mode, called various things by different manufacturers. This can be useful for golf as well as hunting when shooting or hitting up or down steep angles. I have had occasion to really use this feature maybe less than one percent of the time I have used a rangefinder. It’s nice to have when you need it.

Scan Mode

This is the truth serum mode. Usually the scan mode is a single button, that when held in the on position will give you a continually changing reading. On the golf course you could use a first or second priority rangefinder in the scan mode and slowly move from left to right, getting readings on the trees in back of the flag. When you reach the flag the distance reading will shoot to a much closer reading, and then back again when you pass it. This is especially useful at longer distances on the course or in the field and is one of my most used features on a rangefinder.

Other Modes

Some rangefinders have so many modes you have to call in the Geek Squad to learn how to use it. In some, the viewing screen is so occluded with numbers and symbols and charts that tell you how high to hold your rifle or how many minutes of angle or mils to adjust your scope or what club to use it’s kind of laughable. If you are one of the few that want to and can take advantage of these options, more power to you. I subscribe to the KISS principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Closing

In closing, bells and whistles and various modes add to the cost of a rangefinder and are rarely used. Get a high quality rangefinder in the appropriate main mode for your most-used application with the most distance available. This will ensure that small targets like deer and flags can be ranged at 1/3 or more or the rangefinder’s maximum capable distance. Buy a good one once and it should last you a lifetime, or until OpticsPlanet has a newer, cooler one you can’t live without.

Happy Ranging!

Steven K. Ledin

Strange, but true. My fish is now at least 60 pounds. It grew 10 pounds even after it died last Tuesday. It continues to grow. The best thing about a dead tuna is that you can eat it. Some of my 70 pound tuna was shipped to me Monday, and it was sufficiently thawed enough last night to prepare.

Pieces from my 80 pound tuna were wrapped in several bags when I got them, so I didn't know what they would look like. When I opened the bags last night I almost fell over. The smaller steak of two in one package was about four inches in diameter and about 10 inches long, and had the most beautiful feel and scent you can imagine. I am more of a meat eater than a fish eater, but this looked and felt remarkably like a choice tenderloin just cut from a freshly killed big game animal, except for the color. It was maybe the nicest piece of fish I had ever held.

With a bit of a Google search I decided on a Moroccan rub made of paprika, cumin, turmeric, anise seed, ginger, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and lemon juice. I cut the fish into half inch thick steaks with my favorite Henckels chef's knife, rubbed them with olive oil, then applied the rub. The thickness of the rub and the coarse black pepper kept the fish slightly off the surface of the cast iron skillet. This favorite skillet once belonged to My Shirley's great great grandmother. The finish is so smooth it looks like a black mirror. I heated some olive oil and seared the fish for about two minutes on the first side and about a minute on the other until golden brown, with the heavier parts of the rub leaving nice scorch marks all around. The house smelled fantastic as this 90 pound tuna offered up its flesh over heat.

I went out to the garden where our rainbow Swiss chard is proliferating nicely. I harvested a beautifully varied colored bunch with the help of my favorite outdoor grilling and gardening light, the superb Pelican 2680 HeadsUp dive headlamp. I trimmed the stalks and chopped and sauteed them first for a few minutes in olive oil and lots of garlic. I tossed in some Himalayan pink salt just because I could. The leaves cook quickly, so I cut and bunched them into the pan, did a quick stir and covered it for a few more minutes.

The plate with the crispy but rare steaks from my 100 pound tuna were right at home on a nice plate with the steaming chard, and garlic scent always counts for good. I topped it with fresh garden zucchini blossoms for both of us. My Shirley had a salad and milk with her meal, and I had some imported Dutch bleu cheese and Ry Krisp crackers with grape juice. For dessert we shared some Amish friendship bread.

I cook all the time, and although My Shirley loves my cooking, she rarely criticizes it like I do. I am terribly hard on myself. Last night, though, there was nothing less than perfect. Outstanding, and one of the best food experiences I have had for months. The light and flavorful crust was so good my wasabi paste and soy sat unused. I had several different dreams about this meal, and I can't wait to tackle another fillet from my 125 pound tuna with a different recipe, maybe on our huge grill, affectionately called the "Mother ship". Bon appetit.

I'm sitting on the fantail of the "Ocean Pearl". I haven't been on an ocean-going fantail for almost 30 years. It brought back a lot of memories. We're in the gulf stream now a few hours off of Norfolk, Virginia, where yesterday we met the good folks from BLACKHAWK!. After our productive business meetings, seven of us chartered the "Ocean Pearl", about a 40 foot fishing boat, and we left from the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia about 4:00 this morning. Captain Steve and his first mate John were in charge of the boat. His passengers stoically withstood the chops and swells for a few hours until John prepared some rods and dropped in some terminal tackle baited with Ballyhoo. These bait fish are over a foot long and have a prominent bill only on the lower side of its jaw. John broke off the bill from the fish and expertly threaded the hook through the bait. Up to around ten rods, all wearing beautiful Penn reels made in the USA trailed behind us.

Hours went by with nothing to note except a gorgeous sunrise and an aircraft carrier in the distance. People were sleeping on coolers and the deck, and my sea legs were long in coming. Then Terry yelled "FISH ON!" and grabbed a rod out of the holder, making double sure the hook was set. What surprised me to no end is that he shouted: "Steve! Steve! Come get this!" So I did. Or rather, the rod got me. I think Terry knew that I was the only one aboard that had not fished like this before, and he wanted to make sure I had a chance. Very generous of him. He could have fought the fish himself or given it to anyone. Quite an honor. Thanks, Terry.

I knew in about 30 seconds that I was in trouble. I really knew that quickly that I didn't think I could bring this fish in myself. I thought we hooked a freaking submarine. My ineptitude and lack of technique must've been hilarious and imbecilic to watch. I am not small or weak. I think upon retrospect, if I would've been familiarized by catching a few smaller fish first, or at least watch someone with proper technique it wouldn't have been quite as bad. I was immediately humbled. There was no fighting chair, just me idiotically trying to hold onto this rod that was begging and straining to go swimming, with or without me. I didn't even know where to put the butt of the rod. Since I'm such a smart guy and incredibly quick-witted I discovered a certain area around my pelvis that seemed to be made for the giant pull of a fishing rod, but after nearly castrating myself I had to rethink that. Luckily, one of the guys strapped on me from behind some kind of pelvic fixture that held the butt of the rod pretty well. Soon thereafter someone put a chest harness on me made to pull the rod up with my back muscles instead of just my arm muscles, but it was too long and couldn't be adjusted while it was on me.

Thank God Bill was there helping me, with both hands on the rod, pushing the rod tip up, coaching me every minute to raise the rod slowly and crank on the way down. I could explain to you how to arm wrestle, and how it feels, and what to expect, but until you do it yourself, you just can't really get it. It was such an eye-opener to feel the raw power of this fish, whatever kind it was, fighting for its life. It certainly wasn't like any big steelhead or king salmon I've caught before. The movie "Jaws" certainly came to mind. Soon Bill was soaking wet and puffing, and I was just an exhausted lump with not much left. I ran cross country in high school, and I felt as if I was sprinting at the end of a marathon. My legs were shaking, I was drenched in sweat, my hands were blistered, my whole body was screaming for it to be over. Finally, after an eternity, or maybe 10 or 15 minutes, the fish came into view. It was a big yellowfin tuna, and Captain Steve gaffed it and brought it on board. I was spent. I was spent. I was spent. The 50 pound fish went into a cooler to chill, and I went into a cooler to drink. Man, thanks to Terry for the honor of the first fish, and thanks to Bill for the help. I really don't think I could've done it myself. I'll do much better next time, but I savored every minute of this delicious experience. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity.

Mark and Kevin caught a fish each, and I think the other Bill did, too. Two of them were Mahi-Mahi, or dolphin fish. Absolutely beautiful fish. I have some of my tuna waiting in the freezer, and fish and game always tastes better when you take it yourself.

We lost an engine coming back. By then the tequila was gone and we were working on other libations. I wrote a love note to My Shirley and tossed it overboard into the gulf stream in the empty bottle. Maybe someone in Norway will find it and know that some guy named Steve loves His Shirley. The "Ocean Pearl" limped slowly home, lumbering with half power straight West. 16 hours after we left we docked. I had my sea legs again and I was still kind of rocking when I was showering that night. It was a long day, and fish, sunburn, sore muscles, and beer make for a deep, recuperative, dreamless sleep.

I thought of one navy ship I was on, the USS Yosemite. It was one of the very first navy ships to have women on board, and I was lucky enough to have one of them as a girlfriend. Tina was one of 80 females in a compliment of an 800 person crew. I wondered how and where she was. I wasn't the best boyfriend, and she wasn't the best girlfriend, but we buoyed each other for the better part of a year. We were in love.

I retrospectively watched the wake trail from our boat. On another ship, the USS Forrestal, I was the last man aft during general quarters. My station was a rocket launcher on the fantail. I often dangled my legs for hours at a time over the churning white water the propellers from an aircraft carrier make. If I fell off nobody would ever hear me scream, and the sharks that perpetually followed the ship because of its trailing garbage bags would have fresh meat. I wouldn't be missed until I didn't answer a radio check or muster. The wake reminded me of those feelings.

The carrier was so huge that you really didn't feel it moving too much, even when she turned. So many times as I lay on the deck and looked at the stars when the ship turned, it didn't feel like the ship was turning, but just the stars. Thousands of miles from the nearest land, no light or air pollution, the sky turned instead of the ship. The stars, the stars, the incredible stars.

Norfolk and its people are beautiful and laid back. We stayed in a bed and breakfast built in the 1860s. The dwelling was built as a courthouse and now is a famous historical building. The furniture was appraised by Sotheby's at over 6 million dollars. Don't leave your cigar burning on the breakfast nook. Outside the building was the oldest pin oak in Virginia. It's called the hanging tree, and you can still see scars burnt in the lowest branch from ropes wrapped around it to hang people from.

My thanks to Mark, Scott, Bill, Terry, Bill, Kevin, Steve, and John for the camaraderie and experiences. Getting to know these folks better will ease the way to better business communication between our companies. Seeing BLACKHAWK! and meeting Mike Noell and his incredible staff is something I will hold in high esteem forever.

Sometimes a practical solution looks to be ridiculous on the surface. Case in point, my latest creation for back door coyotes. It is a handy little six inch barrelled High Standard Sentinel revolver. It's chambered in .22 Long Rifle, and I have it sighted in at 40 yards with Remington Subsonics, one of my favorite loads. I drilled and tapped the receiver and installed a Weaver base I had laying around. It has a flat bottom, so it probably came from a Marlin lever gun or something. With the rear sight removed I have just enough length on the rail to install a night vision riflescope. In this case it's a US Night Vision discontinued first generation D143 with external adjustments, which I like. Since it had a rail on top I installed a Docter mini red dot. Underneath I installed a Beamshot Ultra 1000 laser and a remote pressure pad attached by velcro to the gun's grip. The remote and the mount for the laser were in my laser junk box, and I don't know the manufacturer, but similar items are available on our website.

Since it is a night vision riflescope it must be positioned with appropriate eye relief, which is about 1.5 inches from your eye. I hold the riflescope up to my eye to shoot the gun. This favorite revolver of mine has taken tons of game over the decades I have used it, and it shoots as well as any .22 handgun I own. The scope's reticle, the dot on the Docter, and the laser all converge at 40 yards with the subsonics. Looking through the scope, the laser dot is in the center of the reticle, and in daytime when I can't use the scope or see the laser, the Docter is a perfect aiming device. Ridiculous looking, certainly, but extremely functional. The gun doesn't get bounced around, so the mounting systems are plenty secure for my application. Back door song dogs, beware.