standard rangefinder vs. ones with angle compensation. Buy new one?

[TG78]

I was on a website poking around a little and the new rangefinders with "Arc" or something similar really caught my eye and got me worried about my "standard" rangefinder for bowhunting. I originally purchased a Leica rangefinder for rifle and was not really concerned about having an angle compensating device, but looking at how much it varies based on advertisements it has got me worried. If you are not good at figuring yardage do you consider this feature critical when high stand hunting, or is there a trick? A second and maybe more important question might be at how high a person might be off the ground when this feature becomes more important.

[RobinAim Low]

Nope, not worth it IMO. Here is why:

Assume for all examples you are 20 feet up in a treestand.

1. Shot distance of 20 yards. Difference between real distance and ranged difference is exactly 1.08 yards.
2. Shot distance of 40 yards. Difference is exactly 0.55 yards.
3. Shot distance of 3 yards. Differece is exactly 3.3 yards.

Example #3 would certainly be a difference worth worring about, except for the fact that at such short range, there is no need for a range finder, just shoot the darn thing. For anyone that would overthink it and worry about a 1.08 yard error at 20 yards...keep in mind the stated accuarcy of any rangefindersI checked was + or - one yard.

And yes, there is a "trick". If you range trees around you before any deer show up, range them horizontally at the same level you are sitting and you will know the true horizontal distance, which is the distance that matters for the shot.

[SwampCollie]

ORIGINAL: TG78

I was on a website poking around a little and the new rangefinders with "Arc" or something similar really caught my eye and got me worried about my "standard" rangefinder for bowhunting. I originally purchased a Leica rangefinder for rifle and was not really concerned about having an angle compensating device, but looking at how much it varies based on advertisements it has got me worried. If you are not good at figuring yardage do you consider this feature critical when high stand hunting, or is there a trick? A second and maybe more important question might be at how high a person might be off the ground when this feature becomes more important.

I'll happily trade you a Bushnell with ARC for the Leica.... +$100. Seriously.

ARC and the ID and the gyro inside the Leupolds are great because they do take into consideration that the hypotenuse is the longest side of a right triangle. From my experience, if you are 20 feet up and shooting at a target 20 yards distant (ground distance) a standard range finder will give you a reading of 23 yards (thereabouts). Of course the higher you go up and the further away your target is, the greater the change. Is three yards enough to matter at 20 yards? In 90% of our cases no as most of us have equipment fast enough to forgive us a slight misjudge.

Where I think the ARC and the like would really be nice is for shooting a rifle up and down steep terrain... espeically if you are like me and consider a mountain to be any hill that you cannot walk to the top of in less than 10 minutes or without breaking a sweat.

Rangefinders are a tool that will help get you close, or determine whether or not the range is sufficient (or should I say close) enough for you to make a responsible shot.It will tell you the difference between 40 and 60, and heck even 40 and 45 (or pretty close to it). But there is still some margin of error, and it all comes down to you making a good shot at a range you are comfortable with.

Personally.... I think those Leica's you have are some of the very finest made... trading a Leica optic for a Bushnell is like trading a T-Bone for a Cheeseburger.

[brucelanthier]

ORIGINAL: RobinAim Low

Nope, not worth it IMO. Here is why:

Assume for all examples you are 20 feet up in a treestand.

1. Shot distance of 20 yards. Difference between real distance and ranged difference is exactly 1.08 yards.
2. Shot distance of 40 yards. Difference is exactly 0.55 yards.
3. Shot distance of 3 yards. Differece is exactly 3.3 yards.

Example #3 would certainly be a difference worth worring about, except for the fact that at such short range, there is no need for a range finder, just shoot the darn thing. For anyone that would overthink it and worry about a 1.08 yard error at 20 yards...keep in mind the stated accuarcy of any rangefindersI checked was + or - one yard.

And yes, there is a "trick". If you range trees around you before any deer show up, range them horizontally at the same level you are sitting and you will know the true horizontal distance, which is the distance that matters for the shot.

Excellent reply and breakdown about why "angle compensating" is just another catch phrase that is used to separate bowhunters from their money and giving them nothing much in return.

A decent rangefinder and the "trick" are all you need.

[brucelanthier]

ORIGINAL: SwampCollie

Where I think the ARC and the like would really be nice is for shooting a rifle up and down steep terrain...

Agreed. This is where those rangefinders are worth the money.

[magicman54494]

maybe I don't understand this these arc rangefinders. Don't they compensate for the difference in gavitational pull at different angles? Any rangefinder will tell you how far away an object is. Your arrow will drop less the steeper downhill you shoot causing you to hit high.

[GMMAT]

Example #3 would certainly be a difference worth worring about, except for the fact that at such short range, there is no need for a range finder, just shoot the darn thing.

And you'd BETTER know which pin to use at 3yds, also.

**Hint** It will NOT be your top one

[TG78]

And yes, there is a "trick". If you range trees around you before any deer show up, range them horizontally at the same level you are sitting and you will know the true horizontal distance, which is the distance that matters for the shot.

Great simple tip thanks! I am confused though, using the example in the guide and the pythagorean theorem a deer at 23 yards level if you were about 22 feet in a tree would be 32 yards sighting from the tree. That is a difference of about 9 yards (I rounded the decimals). What am I missing here.

[GMMAT]

TG......You're adding a side to the "triangle" that doesn't exist.(vertical distance)

If you were 66' up in the tree....your calcs would be correct (but still useless). Happy climbing!

[fatsbucknut]

If you look at the advertisements in the magazines for the compensating rangefinders and use the Pythagoreantheorem on their provided data they usually have the hunter around 60-65' up a tree to make it look like a regular rangefinder will be off by 4-5 yards.