Rangefinder for prairie dogs

[rg1911]

The difficulty with prairie dog hunting is they're at ground level and often it's a bright day.

My Bushnell rangefinder is pretty useless past 300 or so yards (plus it has a really hard-to-see display).

Does anyone have good experience with rangefinders under prairie dog conditions?

Thank you,
Richard

 

[Goathead1096]

I have never had an issue with either of my Sigs. My kilo 2000 is fantastic, and my kilo 3000 is also great with the added benefit of binos.

 

[rg1911]

I have never had an issue with either of my Sigs. My kilo 2000 is fantastic, and my kilo 3000 is also great with the added benefit of binos.

Can you tell me your longest accurate range to a prairie dog or its mound?

Thank you,
Richard

 

[Goathead1096]

Not offhand, but definitely over 1000 yards in bright sun.
Edit: I take that back, I hit 1340 on a prairie dog last weekend. It was overcast with snow on the ground. I was coyote hunting, so I forgot all about it.

 

[northern50]

For walking around the prairie I take my little Leica 1600. Nice glass, light and works well for prairie dog range.

 

[rg1911]

Not offhand, but definitely over 1000 yards in bright sun.
Edit: I take that back, I hit 1340 on a prairie dog last weekend. It was overcast with snow on the ground. I was coyote hunting, so I forgot all about it.

Impressive. I see SIG in my future.

Thank you.

 

[rg1911]

For walking around the prairie I take my little Leica 1600. Nice glass, light and works well for prairie dog range.

Thank you. I'll look at the Leica, also.

Richard

 

[Yotepilot]

For prairie dogs look at the kilo 3000’s range finding binoculars. I haven’t used them on PD’s yet but I’m betting on 1200-1300 yds. For more info hit me up.

 

[Jack Master]

Have a read here. This explains the beam divergence and how the electronics read the return signals.
How do range finders work

For Prarie dogs the beam divergence is the key factor. Having a tighter beam will allow you to range the dog or mound you are pointed at rather than the ground or mounds around the one you want.

I use a lieca 2000b and have been very happy with its performance. Leica's beams are in the 1.5 mil wide by 0.5 mil tall and has been the most affordable unit with the smallest beam. Most of the other companties won't even advertise their beam size, you have to call and ask them.

For most rangefinders, ranging pdogs over 400yds a tripod really starts to help. This year I repeatedly ranged pdogs out to 600 yds easily. I had to work a bit harder at 900yds and started to struggle over 1000. My unit is about 5 years old so I am sure there new 2800.com will do better than mine.

Leica compact rangefinders

If you want the best option go with a terapinX, but have your wallet ready too.

Here is my spotting set up for pdog hunting with a partner.

 

[RMB]

I just got back from a two day shoot in SD on the Rosebud Reservation. Could not go last year as they shut down for the Covid BS. The weather was a bit cool but the shooting was great. I used the Vortex 4000. "Handheld" I would say that I could range a specific mound at 600/700 yards....when I mounted it on a more stable tripod I could range to 1,400 yards.

PS: the shooting was great, temps in the high 50's, wind was not too bad...the 'pups' were not out yet but still had a ball. Going back out the second week of June....have a lot of reloading to do in 5 weeks! LOL

 

[Pbjunkiee]

If you can find an original terrapin. The etched reticle is obscene!
The laser is dead nuts on too.

 

[wh309]

Leica — worked for thousands of prairie dogs!

 

[bunsen27]

In 2019 PDogs I used my Bushnell Conex, but found it had issues under bright sunlight. For 2020 I had upgraded to a Bushnell Nitro 1800, and it worked awesome, excluding it's connectivity to my Kestrel.

Bushnell Nitro 1800 LRF rolling review and field testing

My Nitro 1800 rangefinder with Applied Ballistics finally came in today. I'll be out on the range this weekend with it to get some video done for Bushnell with it, as well as some other products that have been in the works. I've already had it out today playing with it around town at distance...

www.snipershide.com

My hunting buddies used a Terrapin-X and Sig Kilo respectively. This year they both have a pair of Sig LRF bino's to use.

KILO3000BDX 10x42 mm

10x42 mm binocular with SpectraCoatTM anti-reflection coatings for superior light transmission and optical clarity

www.sigsauer.com

 

[Namekagon]

I have a Leica 1600, and have ranged prairie dogs out to like 960 yds. I have never been dissatisfied with mine. Ranges out to 1500 very reliably (on larger targets anyway, never tried past 1,000 on prairie dogs). One think I like about Leica is they are fast.

 

[carbonbased]

In my opinion, having the rangefinder in a pair of binos saves so much time. I use a Vortex Fury 5000, which is 10x. I've ranged PDs to 800yds (I didn't shoot that far, however). Of course, ranging large objects, like a bluff, out to 2500-3000 yds is a piece of cake but that doesn't really matter if you're focused on those tiny buggers. I don't have the AB version, but if you like using a Kestrel you'll like the AB.

Without bino/rangefinder combo:
Find PD with spotting scope or reg binos > Re-find PD with little rangefinder > Re-find PD with riflescope > boom!

WITH integrated bino/rangefinder
Find PD with rangefinder binos > Re-find PD with riflescope > boom!

 

[nexusfire]

Terrapin X, sig kilo 2400, swaro El range, and Leica binos have all worked well. I use the El range the most.

 

[larryh128]

I have a Leica 1600, and have ranged prairie dogs out to like 960 yds. I have never been dissatisfied with mine. Ranges out to 1500 very reliably (on larger targets anyway, never tried past 1,000 on prairie dogs). One think I like about Leica is they are fast.

I loved my 1600 as well, gave it to my son and bought a 2000 when they came out. Works ok but I never thought it was as good as the 1600. They now have a 2800 I believe.

 

[Travis224]

My leica 2800.com does great.