Curt Barrett
Active member
Well I got my Bushnell Yardage Pro Scout last Tuesday. Took it out and tried it a couple times after work. Thought you fellas might want to here the pros and cons.
So far I am very satisfied with the Scout. I knew it was small but it was even smaller in real life than it looked. This was the most important thing to me when setting out to purchase another rangefinder. I wanted a small compact rangefinder that I would be inclined to bring with me and that would reliably range out to 400 yards which is as far as I ever plan to shoot. My other rangefinder was too bulky and was just a novelty that got left in the truck most of the time. The Scout is truly palm sized and will drop easily into a small pocket. And very lightweight as well.
It's performance in the field is as advertised. It works much better than my old Bushnell/Ranging 400. I was able to easily range trees and structures out to between 500 and 590 yards. Evergreen trees seemed to range a little easier than deciduous. Bushnell claims up to 700 yards on reflective surfaces such as metal buildings, vehicles or road signs. I tried all these and was not able to get a 700 yard reading but it was probably due to not finding a reflective surface that was right around 700 yards. I did get a couple 600+ readings but had to work for it. 550 to 590 on these surfaces where much easier to get a reading on.
Objects at 500 and under were very easy to get a reading on. Past 500 yards the more finicky it was about the object it was ranging. 450 yards and under the Scout did much, much more than my old rangefinder which had problems past 250 yards. This is what I was looking for. Good reliable performance to at least 450+ yards.
I tried the Scout in some pretty flat terrain varying from pasture land to plowed fields. I was able to get reliable readings on flat plowed and pasture ground out to 300+. If there was any kind of vertical bump such as a small hill or even a grassy edge to the field, it extended the range into the mid 400 yard area but you would have to move it back and forth a little. In rolling terrain where the geography rises and falls even a little more, which is more typical of the ground I hunt, the Scout gave instant readings out to 450+. If there where trees anywhere, it extended the range easily to the 550+. There are a couple variables that affect rangefinder performance. Weather and target color are two of them. Rangefinders work a little better when it is overcast vs a bright sunny day. The days I used mine were bright and sunny so it may do even better on a cloudy day.
I have not tried it on an animals yet. Bushnell claims 300 yards on animals. I will let you know.
The scan feature is pretty cool. After holding the button for longer than 3 seconds, it automatically goes to scan mode. This allows you to range multiple objects as you scan across them. The reading instantly changes as you view different objects.
It uses a small lithium battery. Hopefully it is not a battery hog. One thing I can say about my old range finder is it was very efficient for battery consumption. I've used the heck out of that rangefinder and left it in my truck for the last 6+ years and have not changed the battery. The Scout has a handy battery indicator that lets you know when it is getting low.
Only two complaints come to mind about the Scout and these are really no big deal. The rangefinder has a little crosshair in the middle of the viewfinder. On smaller objects I had to move the crosshair just a little to the left to get it to range. Kind of like a rifle that is not quite "sighted in". No big deal but it would be handy to be able to adjust this for more precise "aim".
The other thing is I wish it had a reading "hold" feature or reading delay of some kind. The readings pop up for second then disappear. This is probably due to the scan feature which kicks in after 3 seconds.
Other than that I'm very satisfied. If a fella wants to range consistently past 600 yards I would consider a different unit. But the Scout was exactly what I was looking for in a small, compact, mid range, rangefinder. Size was more important than max range to me. Very easy to use. Has a nice non slip rubber coating on the entire body. Optics where very clear and the 6X magnification was enough to where I could use it in place of small binos.
Anyway, that's about it. I'll add more when I try it on animals.
Good hunting. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
So far I am very satisfied with the Scout. I knew it was small but it was even smaller in real life than it looked. This was the most important thing to me when setting out to purchase another rangefinder. I wanted a small compact rangefinder that I would be inclined to bring with me and that would reliably range out to 400 yards which is as far as I ever plan to shoot. My other rangefinder was too bulky and was just a novelty that got left in the truck most of the time. The Scout is truly palm sized and will drop easily into a small pocket. And very lightweight as well.
It's performance in the field is as advertised. It works much better than my old Bushnell/Ranging 400. I was able to easily range trees and structures out to between 500 and 590 yards. Evergreen trees seemed to range a little easier than deciduous. Bushnell claims up to 700 yards on reflective surfaces such as metal buildings, vehicles or road signs. I tried all these and was not able to get a 700 yard reading but it was probably due to not finding a reflective surface that was right around 700 yards. I did get a couple 600+ readings but had to work for it. 550 to 590 on these surfaces where much easier to get a reading on.
Objects at 500 and under were very easy to get a reading on. Past 500 yards the more finicky it was about the object it was ranging. 450 yards and under the Scout did much, much more than my old rangefinder which had problems past 250 yards. This is what I was looking for. Good reliable performance to at least 450+ yards.
I tried the Scout in some pretty flat terrain varying from pasture land to plowed fields. I was able to get reliable readings on flat plowed and pasture ground out to 300+. If there was any kind of vertical bump such as a small hill or even a grassy edge to the field, it extended the range into the mid 400 yard area but you would have to move it back and forth a little. In rolling terrain where the geography rises and falls even a little more, which is more typical of the ground I hunt, the Scout gave instant readings out to 450+. If there where trees anywhere, it extended the range easily to the 550+. There are a couple variables that affect rangefinder performance. Weather and target color are two of them. Rangefinders work a little better when it is overcast vs a bright sunny day. The days I used mine were bright and sunny so it may do even better on a cloudy day.
I have not tried it on an animals yet. Bushnell claims 300 yards on animals. I will let you know.
The scan feature is pretty cool. After holding the button for longer than 3 seconds, it automatically goes to scan mode. This allows you to range multiple objects as you scan across them. The reading instantly changes as you view different objects.
It uses a small lithium battery. Hopefully it is not a battery hog. One thing I can say about my old range finder is it was very efficient for battery consumption. I've used the heck out of that rangefinder and left it in my truck for the last 6+ years and have not changed the battery. The Scout has a handy battery indicator that lets you know when it is getting low.
Only two complaints come to mind about the Scout and these are really no big deal. The rangefinder has a little crosshair in the middle of the viewfinder. On smaller objects I had to move the crosshair just a little to the left to get it to range. Kind of like a rifle that is not quite "sighted in". No big deal but it would be handy to be able to adjust this for more precise "aim".
The other thing is I wish it had a reading "hold" feature or reading delay of some kind. The readings pop up for second then disappear. This is probably due to the scan feature which kicks in after 3 seconds.
Other than that I'm very satisfied. If a fella wants to range consistently past 600 yards I would consider a different unit. But the Scout was exactly what I was looking for in a small, compact, mid range, rangefinder. Size was more important than max range to me. Very easy to use. Has a nice non slip rubber coating on the entire body. Optics where very clear and the 6X magnification was enough to where I could use it in place of small binos.
Anyway, that's about it. I'll add more when I try it on animals.
Good hunting. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
