I am going to the new cabelas here in WI later today and I am trying to decided whether or not I should pick up binos or a rangefinder. I do not have binoculars or a rangefinder but I am mainly bowhunting this year and the rangefinder would be very useful. However I know that good binoculars(or any for that reason) are supposed to be extremely important to the hunters arsenal. I have had good success the past three years without either but I think it is time to make a choice. I hunt two different properties, one of them is so hilly that you can only see about 20 yards so I dont think that binos would be neccesary there but my other property is a different story. Let me know what you think. Thanks in advance.

I'd get the rangefinderand a cheap set of binoculars. You can getbinoculars for very little money. They won't be great, but they will be better than the human eye. You can always get a better set down the road.

Rangefinder.
Look at the Nikon 440...awesome!

What he said. A rangefinder is a very essential tool for the treestand bowhunter. Much more important than binoculors. HCH

I like the way you think. I like my Harley too... End of thread drift... lol

Thanks guys, will do. I will see what they've got in stock.

I'd get the binos and get a very cheap rangefinder. Especially if you are mainly hunting with a bow. I don't see most folks shooting much past 30 yards which can be paced off. The only issue I have with Binos is that I believe you get what you pay for. So this year I got myself a nice set and I won't go back to the $80 rack again.

Tom

For bowhunting whitetails back east or in the midwest I'd say 1.) rangefinder 2.) binoculars, neither needs to be top end but you get what you pay for; expect to be basically well served with something in the Leupold Wind River line for a few hundred bucks.
For bowhunting in the west or up here in AK I'd say they are equally important but you should focus on a real quality set of binos (spend as much as you can afford). Quality glass is an expense that you'll never regret; do it right the first time and only have to do it once. If you buy inferior glass you'll just end up wishing you had saved for something better and you'll end up buying something better later on anyway. I personally wouldn't spend less than $500 on binos and you'll be best served by glass in the $800-1100 range (Kahles, Steiner and my favorite: Leupold Golden Ring). Most guys aren't going to see the difference between something in that range and something in the $1800 range (Swaro EL, Leica, Zeiss). One thing I would definitely avoid is the high end combination bino/rangefinder like the Leica Geovids. While the glass is nice, I found my little bushnell and Nikon rangefinders to be more dependable at aquiring targets in the real/non-showroom world.

If you can afford it get a quality set of both and you'll never say I wish I had bought this one or that one. Besides one can never have to much equipment. Good luck

I have only had my rangefinder for 2 years and I wont hunt without them. Binos are nice but of limited value while bowhunting in woods or limited visibility situations, I dont usually carry them bowhunting.