How do you range when hunting?

[chainring]

Ive got an LRF, and I really have to work to find something that will bounce that laser back. Sometimes I can ping a prickly pear cactus or a dense cedar tree out to 300 or 400, but usually I'm just out of luck. I can't even range a deer stand over 250 yards. I nailed a truck at just over 1000 yards once, but as a rule, unless its a reflective billboard then I got nothing.

How in the heck do you folks range when hunting? Do I need to spring for more LRF or are the higher end units just capable of more distance rather than more capable of ranging marginally reflective targets?

 

[silentbushmaster]

Spend a little and get a good LRF and then make up a range card for the area you usually hunt for fast info or if your LRF goes out.

 

[Catwhacker]

I had a Leupold RX3 that would range cedars to about 600yds on a GOOD day. I bought a Leica 1600 & it'll range cedars to 13-1400yds ANY day. It will range sage to 750-800. I've had repeat reading out to 1900+yds when the moon & stars lined up just right lol. I'm afraid I'll have outgrown the Leica before long though. I've been seriously thinking about a vectronix. If you decide to upgrade, I'd get more rangefinder than u think you'll need. Now I wish I'd gotten a vectronix in the first place, but didn't think I'd outgrow the leica.

 

[Glockin' Bob]

If I'm setting up at an overlook I'm going to hunt for the day, I use the LRF early in the morning before the sun is up to maximize LRF distance. I will sometimes draw a sketch and mark distances to landmarks, angles if they're significant.

 

[kraigWY]

I use a mil dot scope. I know the size of the animal I'm hunting. Lets say I'm hunting antelope. From the back of the shoulders to the bottom of the stomach is on the average 15 inches.

The vital area of the antelope is about 9 inches. So what I do is get a zero that allows me to hold in the center of the vitals and my round wont be over 4 inches high or 4 inches low.

Which means if I sight in at 250 years I'm good without any hold over or under to 300 yards.

So looking in my scope, if the critter fits inside 1 and 1/2 mil (1.40) then its in range.

If its farther then that, then you normally have plenty of time to adjust.

Same thing works on Elk and Deer, just different sizes.

I use a range finder but they are almost impossible on the prairie to range anything. They work better in the mountains, but sill batteries have a tendency to go south just when you need them.

 

[bh-ltr]

Spring for more range finder. I just got done using my Vectronix Terrapin on a foggy rainy day today and got everything I pointed it at. Even ranged the logging outfit on the next ridge over at 2120 yards away. Farther than I ever plan to shoot.

 

[kraigWY]

Isn't always better to range a fence, road, tire. rock or whatever before?

As you can see in the below picture of my camp, there is not a lot of fences, roads, tires, or rocks, where I hunt antelope. Besides I don't like aiming my rifle at things I don't intend on shooting.

I'm hunting antelope in this case, if I see one, I range it, with Mil Dots, if its out of range of my PBR, then I adjust.

 

[mark5pt56]

You can also get maps of the area or if you have cell service, download maps or maps ruler, allows you to see "overhead" and you can drag your finger from known point to another, etc to determine range. If in same area all of the time, do a range card as mentioned above. Maybe even google earth prior to at home?

 

[mark5pt56]

Kraig-I'm guessing I see at least one dual use item? That stool is for High Power you do?

As you can see in the below picture of my camp, there is not a lot of fences, roads, tires, or rocks, where I hunt antelope. Besides I don't like aiming my rifle at things I don't intend on shooting.

I'm hunting antelope in this case, if I see one, I range it, with Mil Dots, if its out of range of my PBR, then I adjust.

 

[kraigWY]

That stool is for High Power you do?

Yeap, getting too old to set on the ground, takes too much effort to get up.

 

[chainring]

....You could also get a less piece of shit LRF...one that belongs in the field than the golf course....

But...but...my bushnell is in REALTREE camo!!! It HAS to be for hunting!! I hear you...was afraid that might be part of my problem...

Holy smokes, guys, tons of good info. Thanks for taking the time to respond - great stuff. I'll be digesting and making use of it, along with saving up for a better LRF.

 

[Archer762]

I use Bushnell ARC 1600 binos and can range trees at 800, sometimes all the way to 1500+

I hunt in the Oregon coast range, where it's either very dense, or a very large clear cut with stumps.

 

[KYpatriot]

Range your lanes beforehand with a better rangefinder. Any of the leica units will do what you need for hunting.

 

[kraigWY]

Range your lanes beforehand with a better rangefinder

Find and dandy if you're hunting from a blind, but I don't hunt that way.

No blinds, not lanes, you go from one ridge to another, one rise to another. Not much to range on the prairie, but if you know the size of animals you hunt, then the Mil Dot System works great.

You know where the animal fits in your Mil Recital, you know what range, if it's beyond your point blank zero, then adjust, either by clicking or using other dots.

Besides my scope doesn't use batteries which have a tendency to crater, especially in extreme cold weather.

Range finders are fine, but they have their limitations.

 

[AK Sgt Maj]

I have and old set of Bushnell Compact 800 and I could range trees at 600 yards, and most anything inside that. I got a surplus set of Military Elite 1500, that don't have all of the bells and whistles, they just range in yards or meters. I have ranged trees at over 1000 yards and High Power paper targets out to 1000 yards, without any problems. One time at the 1000 yard range another guy had some kind that he paid $900+ for and we compared ranging and were usually within 1 yard. I think that you may have a bad set. The other thing this ex-military RF has, is a regular 9 volt battery, and I have used them in gear and they seem to last forever.

 

[RobertB]

Become the master of your scope and practice milling as much as you can to learn your limitations. Personally, I have a Vectronix Terrapin and sometimes I carry my Leica 1600 ( which doesn't hold a candle to the Terrapin no matter what any one says) but I practice with my reticle and try to eyeball and do whatever I can to cut out the LRF. I can tell you that myself, shooting a .260, 300WM and a 7STW, if I want to shoot any long range animals hunting I need a LRF. My reticle skills have not impressed me as I have misranged much more than I fell into my field range tolerance. Although my longest field kill was 420 Yds on first shot with no LRF and I perfectly nailed a 880 yd distance using a NP-R1 on deer but didn't try. I would try to be the best I could be and buy the best I could buy. IMHO that will always get you the farthest.

Good Luck!

 

[BigJohn141]

You could also get a less piece of shit LRF...one that belongs in the field than the golf course.

That's pretty funny, I use a Leupold RX800i TBR for golf, I had to figure out something to do with it till bow season starts again. Actually the RX800i does good in the field for ranging stuff but I use a pair of bushnell fusion 1600 arc bios when rifle hunting. When I get to the spot where I plan on hunting I will range a number of objects to get a general idea of ranges. If or when something shows up, I can simply judge the distance from these known objects.

 

[gonzaga]

When I had a Bushnell, I would range trees when hunting. A pinion or a cedar tree would reflect pretty good.
Now that I have spent a little more money on my rangefinder, I don't have to just range trees. If you can't afford a better LRF,
The trees should work for you.
Hope this helps....

 

[calling4life]

I had the bushy 1600arc mono and it would hit trees to 1800, I hit treelines over 1700 in rain, it was effortless sub 1500 on most anything you could hold steady on.

But, I learned quickly that having a bino and a finder wasn't for me, I'll be getting the new one mile bino/finder combo. Range as you glass. I did do as others have said and range any landmarks beforehand as well, I'm just not good enough at remembering.... I use bino's to spot animals anyways, a finder built in allows me to quick get a range when I find the target.

 

[s002wjh]

range finder would be accurate, but you got take it with you. so its best to learn how to use mil-dot for range estimation

 

[tylerw02]

I use a combination of maps, GPS, the range finder, and the reticle.

 

[s002wjh]

I use a combination of maps, GPS, the range finder, and the reticle.

thatll be accurate but seem like too much work

 

[AK Sgt Maj]

I didn't think to mention it before, but if I am setting up with a lot of open views, I do a range card, in the notebook that I carry and range to things on the card, with my RF, like they taught in the Army, except the ranges are more accurate. Most of my friends are ex military, and you just forget that everyone doesn't know these things.

 

[VJJPunisher]

I use a fishing reel on a compound bow. See what I does is paint 1 yard stripes on the line, when I see a critter I shoot an arrow at it, then i can look at what yard line on the line im on and it tells me the yardage, i then pick up my rifle and adjust accordingly........if yer arrer happens to hit the critter just reel it in

 

[MikeeBooshay]

Zeiss RF binos - works well, I need binos anyway and it is one less thing to carry.

Shot a zebra at 420 last year - saw them on the mountain, ranged them, dialed up and shot in just a few seconds. One of the PH's sitting behind me saw that go down and commented " wow, you did that so smooth, do you practice that?"

Yeah, I do actually. Whether sitting in the blinds, walking/stalking I am always guessing ranging, and checking with the binos. When they are right at hand, your estimating skills increase quite a bit, when you get immediate feedback. From there, dialing up is the next step.

One thing that has tripped us ALL up at one time or another, is forgetting to dial back down, after a shot. If you leave that out of your training/practice, you'll do it in the field too. Lost a comp once on the last event. Next to last event was dialing/shooting targets at 500, 650, 800, 1100. Left the scope on the 12.5 mil come up for 1100. Last event was popups at 250-400 - couldn't hit one! Airmailed over the top, being 10 mils high on all. Now I work real hard on remembering to dial back to zero before getting up/moving.

Anyway, back to original question - try a set of RF binos, there are several out there, that work very good, and eliminate one extra item to carry. FWIW, batteries seem to last longer in the binos than the handheld LRF units. Don't know why. One extra 123 battery is cheap insurance though.

 

[tacshooter223]

+1 on the finding land marks and ranging them before hand. Usually look for where I would expect the deer to come from then put them on a range card in a notebook.

 

[shooter.dm]

Ha love the bow idea

 

[VJJPunisher]

I use a fishing reel on a compound bow. See what I does is paint 1 yard stripes on the line, when I see a critter I shoot an arrow at it, then i can look at what yard line on the line im on and it tells me the yardage, i then pick up my rifle and adjust accordingly........if yer arrer happens to hit the critter just reel it in

i do this as well, solid technique

 

[dwt]

I just use a range finder ?