Do I REALLY need a rangefinder?

CatfishSlayer

CatfishSlayer

New member

Curious as to how much a rangefinder will help me while coyote hunting. Last year was my first year and most of the ones I saw were on the move since the action is kind of fast. I hunt alone so less stuff to carry is easier for me(KISS). But I did have 6-7 yotes far off that I possibly could have shot at had I known the distance. I don't hunt anything else where I would need one so maybe help me with my thought process?? Also they are a little more expensive that I thought. I just need something basic if at all. Thanks.
 
Some advantages of a LRF:
You can pre-range distances, so if one comes on you quickly you can have a better estimation than a wild guess.
Sometimes you will have time to range a yote.
Last you can look at an object, guess the distance, then range it and see how close you are developing your "Mark IV" eyeball.
Whether the cost is worth it for you is something you will have to decide for yourself.
 
Depending on the overall conditions where you generally hunt, I doubt that most of your shots in IN would be over 200 yards and the majority under 100..

You seldom need a 1000 or 1200 yard range finder...A quality 400-500 yard will work most of the time...I used to have a Leica 1200 and sold it due to lack of use/need...It didn't work that well on Prairie Dog mounds either...

You need to do like the military snipers do and scout your likely sets and pre range your distances to various objects around where you intend to make your stands (you should be scouting anyway, looking for scat, prints, etc. during the off season), making notes of the distances to various objects in the area (fence posts, trees, buildings, etc) as when a Coyote is moving in on your or your caller/decoy, you won't have time to range it then...
 
Quote:I doubt that most of your shots in IN would be over 200 yards and the majority under 100..



Not always true. while Southern Indiana has more rolling hills than the NW section of it (where I hunt), they still have some big fields. A Range finder is a crucial piece of equipment for me when I day hunt song dogs. I dont necassarily laz the dogs with it but laz reference points in the area of operations before I start to call. I commit the few reference point distances to memory, then have some ability to judge distances of the dogs in relation to the objects I lazed earlier.

I have also on more than one occasion spotted a sleeping dog in a field during the day. The LRF is very good to have in those situations where you can close to a certain, distance where cover will allow it, then laz the dog and dope the shot. I connected on a 306yd dog that was mousing in a field, oblivious to me and my friend that closed from 500+ yds to 306 using a dry ditch.

I have also discovered that while you may not be making a 1200-1600yd shot, LRFs in that yardage category are much better at ranging smaller objects and through prairie dust becuase the laser is stronger.
 
I guess my approach is a little different...My goal it to call the dogs to me...While we have flat land river bottoms and longer shots are possible, stalking one is almost impossible and I want a DRT kill...
 
I think when used regularly, a laser is mostly an educational tool. It can be used to laser a stationary animal out in the open at long distances, like a deer feeding or a rock chuck sitting on a boulder.

But a typical predator hunting scenario for me does not allow time to range an animal. When I use a laser for predator hunting, it's exclusively when I first sit down on a stand and laser different points in my field of view so I have a general idea of what distances I may encounter a shot opportunity. It's educational because you get better at guessing distances if you have a laser to teach yourself with. Most people are horrible at estimating horizontal distances.
 
Originally Posted By: DiRTY DOG
"... or a rock chuck sitting on a boulder."



Lasers don't do well against small targets, especially at longer ranges.

When you are pinging the rock chuck, on a bolder, it is actually the bolder you are ranging - because: first, the rock chuck is too small, and fur is very non-reflective, and second, the beam at long ranges is very large. At 500 yds, it is easily 3 or 4 feet in diameter.

The LRF specs typically talk about beam sizes of 3 or 4 inches at 100 yds/mtrs but the beam is not a sharp circle.

It is a large circle, that has bright place in the middle, but bleeds out on the edges, like a flash light. Beams are measured in "3db down" points, so the 100 yds/mtr spec of 3 to 4 inches, means that the power is 3db down at that measurement - but the full bean might be 8", 1 foot, or more in diameter.

When you ping a prairie dog, you are really reading the dirt and grass in front and behind the PD, cuz the dog doesn't return enough energy to read on the laser.
 
Originally Posted By: OldTurtleI guess my approach is a little different...My goal it to call the dogs to me...While we have flat land river bottoms and longer shots are possible, stalking one is almost impossible and I want a DRT kill...

Oh, they come to me quite often, but sometimes like to hang up, sit on there butts, and look the big wide expanse between me and them. And besides, it's kind of fun watching a song dog tip over a few hundred yards away from ya. That's when it's nice to have lazed some reference points in relation to where the dog is sitting. Past about 250yds- I will be the first to tell ya that I suck at range estimation.
 
Originally Posted By: CatShooter

The LRF specs typically talk about beam sizes of 3 or 4 inches at 100 yds/mtrs but the beam is not a sharp circle.



Cat,
is a beam divergence of 0.4 x 2.4 mil good?
 
Originally Posted By: fw707Originally Posted By: CatShooter

The LRF specs typically talk about beam sizes of 3 or 4 inches at 100 yds/mtrs but the beam is not a sharp circle.



Cat,
is a beam divergence of 0.4 x 2.4 mil good?

2.4 mil is = to 8.5" to the 3db down points - that is a beam that is as large as a garbage can cover at 100 yds.
 
No you don't need a rangefinder, but they are nice to have when you need one. I have a Nikon 600 that is around 7 years old now, and it is in my calling bag with my FoxPro. I will range different objects to get an idea of a few distances and than try to get a yote within 200 yards or closer for my shots, 100 yards is better, but that doesn't work all the time.
 
Originally Posted By: CatShooterOriginally Posted By: fw707Originally Posted By: CatShooter

The LRF specs typically talk about beam sizes of 3 or 4 inches at 100 yds/mtrs but the beam is not a sharp circle.



Cat,
is a beam divergence of 0.4 x 2.4 mil good?

2.4 mil is = to 8.5" to the 3db down points - that is a beam that is as large as a garbage can cover at 100 yds.



Dang, that's a real bummer.
You'd think Vectronix could do better than that.
 
Originally Posted By: fw707Originally Posted By: CatShooterOriginally Posted By: fw707Originally Posted By: CatShooter

The LRF specs typically talk about beam sizes of 3 or 4 inches at 100 yds/mtrs but the beam is not a sharp circle.



Cat,
is a beam divergence of 0.4 x 2.4 mil good?

2.4 mil is = to 8.5" to the 3db down points - that is a beam that is as large as a garbage can cover at 100 yds.



Dang, that's a real bummer.
You'd think Vectronix could do better than that.


It is extremely hard to make a laser with a small enough beam, that puts out enough energy to reflect off of something 800 yds away, and still be picked up on the return.

Take on of those hand held laser/pointers and point it on a white house that is 2 or 3 blocks away... the I.R.beams are larger, because they come from larger crystals.

 
Originally Posted By: fw707

Dang, that's a real bummer.
You'd think Vectronix could do better than that.

Oh they do... just not in the Terrapin... with that size of a beam divergence, about 14" X 7" roughly at 1K... the PLRF10 is about 1/2 the width divergence at that distance, BUT your gonna be paying for it... then take a look at the Vector's that are smaller yet... it boils down to cost, cause the quality is there.
 
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