Use of rangefinders?

[bearpaw]

I would say that automobiles, steel, gunpowder, and modern clothing have contributed more to hunter success. I think they should be banned first...   

[gjbruny]

Maybe my view is screwy.  I dont use pins or release with my compound.   It does me no good to know the range I just shoot at them. I guess all the pin shooters who need to know the exact range so you use the correct pin they would be a great tool.

i shoot longbows and recurves barebow..... but i still use a rangefinder to get the distances to natural markers when hunting from a stand or a blind. at 175-180fps, the drop from 20 to 35 yards is substancial.... granted, i can usually judge to within a yard or two out to 40 or so yards.... but knowing exactly sure is nice too.

i like rangefinders but i don't think i'd get overly worked up about it if they outlawed them either. i'm kind of neutral on this one..... though they sure are useful on yotes out past the 500 mark.

the one thing i forgot to mention when somebody said that "a lot could happen in the time it takes an arrow to travel 70 yards to an elk."....... with the speed of today's compounds, the time it takes an arrow to reach out to 70 yards is roughly the time it takes an arrow from my recurve to reach out to 35 yards at 175-180fps...... and i won't hesitate to make a 35 yard shot.

[rasbo]

I limit myself with the long bow to thirty yrds,sooo No need for a range finder,I go by smell,if I smell it, its thirty yrds,If the smell is stronger,Its 20 yrds,If its really a strong odor its ten yrds,If its stronger than that I will stab them

[huntnnw]

That was a point I was going to make gjbruny about fps, people having a conniption over 70 yards... remember we are not that far away from the days of the old compounds at 200 fps. people had no issue then taking 35 yard shots

[coachcw]

There just another tool of our ever evolving sport . The bottom line is that our state game dept needs to keep the harvest at a managable level . I use one and have since there conception . what I've found is that i reliy less on it than i have in the past and if nothing else its made me better at judging yardage ( i always guess first then range ) . As afar as judging Someone for the distance they shoot i won't I've shoot elk at distances from three feet to eighty yards The eighty yard elk went fourty yards and piled the three footer ended up long gone . maybe I should practice more at one yard ? All this modern equiptment I believe makes us better hunters and more informed , if your agaisnt technolgy then maybe you should check out from this sight perminantly since YOUR USING IT RIGHT NOW!

[Snapshot]

One would be a *censored* for entering the woods without a GPS...

Well, then I invited a 'dummy' relative of mine out to hunt Washington elk one year. He was in country that was totally unfamiliar to him. Just before it got completely dark one evening we met up at the prearranged spot and he told of having called a good bull in to a distance of about ten yards; but in the dark timber at the end of shooting time he was unable to see a small branch, he said, and heard the arrow go 'ting' followed by the 'thud' of it sticking in a tree. I asked him if he was sure that what he hit was a tree, and where was the arrow? He said he knew what he heard, but I razzed him about it enough that he told me, "Damn it, now I've got to back there in the morning and find that arrow." I said I'd go with him.

Next morning I follow him the mile and a half or two up the trail and when he reached a 'spot' he says, "This is where I came out onto this trail," he pulls his compass from out of his pocket and proceeds to navigate through the timber for several hundred yards until he walks up to huge fir tree and says, "I was standing next to this tree and the bull was right over there." Five minutes later we found his clean arrow embedded in a small tree.

My point is that not all 'dummys' need a gps. Instead they rely on a compass and woodsmanship; the aspect of hunting that is lost on those who depend on gadgets instead of our own senses and smarts to be successful in the woods. FWIW, no, I can't hold a candle to him when it comes to outdoorsmanship, but it isn't for a total lack of trying...

I think trail cameras are a greater blight than rangefinders. 

[Lowedog]

I think trail cameras are a greater blight than rangefinders. 

C'mon now Snapshot you have to start a new thread for trail cameras!  And another one for GPS!   We can't be getting people all confused. 

[DBHAWTHORNE]

One would be a *censored* for entering the woods without a GPS... which is a great tool of technology for hunting.

I prefer a map and compass.

[ribka]

I have a range finder and really have not found a reason to use it during archery season. Almost all of my shots would not allow time to put down bow and range the animal pick up bow and shoot. I limit myself to 40 or so yds or less and am very proficient at estimating yardages out to 50 yds.

I practice and estimate yardage and check with range finder and always within 2-3 yds.

Now Idid use the range finder on an antelope hunt with rifle this year.   

[sakoshooter]

My wife bought me a nice Nikon Monarch Gold rangefinder a couple years ago. I didn't even use it till this year and still very little. I think they are a great tool more so because a hunter can immediately verify his guess at a given yardage and probably after enough 'verifying', a given hunter will not even rely on it much.

This seems to have turned into two different topics.

As far as accurate shooting with a sighted compound bow at longer distances goes, I'd have to say it would be no different relatively speaking than shooting longer distances with a rifle. It all boils down to one's ability. If you practice at those yardages and are confident and the hunting situation is such that you can watch the hit and the animal after the hit, go for it. There will be other factors of course.
My longest rifle shot(mule deer)464 yds ranged. My longest bow(bare bow recurve, whitetail)65 paces. I like them much closer but knowledge, practice and confidence allow me to make these shots. So does a rock solid rest for my rifle. I regularly shoot my sighted compound out to 80 yds and am stilll amazed at how accurate it shoots. A coffee saucer sized group at 80 yds gives me confidence.

[Jellymon]

I always carry my rangefinder with me but have never had the chance to use it. The animals I have gotten with my bow showed up to quickly to use it. I shoot walkthrough courses all year around and my ranging ability is pretty good so I dont rely on it, I just have it if I need it.

Now, about groups with a bow. Yes, I have shot 2" groups at 50yds before, but is that my true grouping at 50yds? No. Here is something to try. Go and shoot at a fresh target at 50yds. Shoot 5 arrows a day for five days at the same bullseye and measure your group, you might be suprised at what you get. Remember, you dont get to warm up for that Buck or Bull that walks out!

[MtnMuley]

I will guarantee that the rangefinder has cost a few hundred coyotes over the years to lose their lives, that probably wouldn't have.  I'm all for them, and never leave home without mine.   Also, I've never killed an archery animal that I had time to range.

[blackveltbowhunter]

     After reading these posts i guess I am in the minority. I have been using one since 2006. Overall I have taken less shots and rangefinders have actually cost me opportunity rather than increased it. And I have generally had ample time to range either the animal itself or an object near it prior to taking a shot.

[deleted BGS]

Sounds like your nuts to me- for starters- bragging that you can shoot and elk at 70 yds with an arrow tells me your a dumb ass. Do you know how far an elk an move by the time your arrow gets to it? Completely and totally DUMB. Then you go on to imply rangefinders are unethical because they improve yearly harvest quotas. I'm willing to bet that because of the use of rangefinders- most hunters wound less game because they tag out after the first shot- unlike the guy that wounds 3 elk a year by taking 70 yard shots with his bow only to eat tag soup at the end of the season.

Heard several stories like that this year and no elk found. They jump the arrow and hit them in the a## or shoulder and bye bye. I would have to agree with you.

[BlackRidge]

I've gotten to the point where its painfully obvious I need one

Missed a few shots on critters this weekend due to improperly judged ranges, not too pleased. For the price, its definitely a useful tool to have in your arsenal. The one time I used a buddies, it really helped to up that confidence level