Laser Rangefinders

[AZRedhawk44]

I find myself in need of a laser rangefinder.

Considering the Leupold RX-1000 TBR as well as the RX-IV.  Figure I might as well buy decent once, rather than regretting it in a year or two.

One of the things holding me back is the lack of the typical Leupold lifetime warranty, like on their scopes and binocs.

I want something that can consistently and accurately report the distance on non-perpendicular paper targets out to at least 750 yards.  The entry level Bushnells and the 550/600 rated units don't appear to be able to do this.

Anyone got pointers, particular model recommendations given my warranty concerns, and possibly good online vendors?

[Northwoods]

Been a while since I've looked into rangefinders.  IIRC you won't find any that offer a lifetime warranty on the laser or related electronic components.  I've seen some range-finding binoculars/rifle scopes that had that warranty on the optics portion, but that was it.

[Monkeyleg]

I sell Bushnell rangefinders. I can get Leupold, but I don't push them. A lot of people think there's too many bells and whistles on the Leupold models. The Bushnell rangefinders actually sell better. The most common problem with  them is an LCD display that's defective. That's a problem that shows up the first time you turn the rangefinder on, not later on.

When you say "non-perpendicular," what exactly are you referring to? Not perpendicular to the line of sight?

[AZRedhawk44]

When you say "non-perpendicular," what exactly are you referring to? Not perpendicular to the line of sight?

They work great when you point them at a white reflective billboard, 500 yards away.

Not quite so great if the surface is non-reflective and curved or not perfectly perpendicular to the line of sight of the laser.

I need one that will work for "most types" of targets out to 750 yards.  I'm okay with it not working on deer out past 500.  Ideally, it'll even work for paper/cardboard out to 1000.

[HankB]

I recently got a Leupold RX-1000 . . . standard model, no internal inclinometer to go wrong. (Had almost $200 worth of coupons to use at Cabela's, and they were including a Leupold hunting knife, a "$79.99 value" (yeah, right. Divide by 2.) free with the purchase.

Because of the way the optics are layed out, the Leupold unit is clearer than LCD units; the Leupold's OLED probably uses a dichroic beamsplitter to place the reticle & data in the field of view, whereas LCD units have the LCD in the primary optical path - so looking through an LCD unit is sort of like looking through sunglasses by comparison.

The OLED display is bright and will give a much better view 90% of the time, but in extremely bright sunlight the OLED display gets washed out; if you KNOW condidtions are going to be bright, an LCD unit is better. To draw an analogy . . . remember when pocket calculators came with red LED displays? Most of the time they showed up very well, but if your calculator was in direct sunlight, it was nearly impossible to read. On the other hand, LCDs work best in bright light, but if things are dim, they don't show up as well.  (I suspect if you were hunting polar bears on a bright sunny day on the snow-covered tundra, you'd have a problem seeing the Leupold's display.)

Overall, OLED is generally superior to LCD, but not 100% of the time.

I've ranged up to 900+ yards on large objects with no problem, except earlier this week we had some mist & light fog; under those conditions, I had a problem ranging on a building 774 yards away. I've only ranged deer up to 200 yards or so (my town has a large number of urban deer) but I'm sure I'd be able to range them at a considerably longer distance if I had a longer line of sight.

The unit is very light and compact, so it's easy to tuck in a pocket or carry on your belt. Leupold thoughtfully included a belt case with elastic and a magnetic clasp so you can get it out without the r-i-i-p-p-p-p of a Velcro closure. I've heard that some people think the unit is too light - they have a hard time holding it steady with one hand. (I disagree with those people.)

Overall I'm happy with it - so far, it does what I want it to.

[AZRedhawk44]

Well, I ordered the RX-1000 with no inclinometer.  Yay.  New toy.