Do I REALLY need a rangefinder with ARC?
 

I would really like a rangefinder but man they are NOT cheap!
I prefer bowhunting and was wondering if I really need the ARC feature if I am never really more than 15' up and almost never shoot more than 30 yards?


Thanks a lot

Don

i just asked this in a thread saying....Archers Choice Rangefinder...i got 1 reply saying the guy never had much of a difference. like .5 yard tops soo....

awesome... that helps a lot, thanks for taking the time to respond.
What did you end up getting?

My issue is I have about $400 to spend and I would like to get a ladder stand, trailcam, and a cheap rangefinder (I know.... tall order for just $400)

Thanks again
Don

NO
 

no, i made the mistake of buying one with arc. and the largest difference i have seen is 1 yard...its a gimic. but i still love my rangefinder haha

If you practice, think about your shots prior by making ranges in your mind by the natural landmarks you won't need to spend anything on a range finder. Spend your money on practice arrows instead.

thanks guys... this really does help!

I wEnt through the same thing. I'm terrible at judging distance so what I do is set tape/ ribbon markers at 20/30/40 yds. Like on trees or small saplings or even use scent wicks...

I use trees as references to yardage, so when I get up in my stand (climber) Instead of ranging at the base of the tree, I range the tree at the same level I am sitting.

i recently bought a moultrie cam for 180$ it is awesome! moultrie infared i40. had out since sept 15th battery life is still around 63%. Takes good pics night/day....i have a cheap bushnell yardage pro range finder. it does the job and is still holding up at 5 yrs old. that was like 100 or 125....so that's around 300...now you got 100 left for a really nice river edge ladder stand!!! hope that helps....

One other point I just thought of, reduce your sight pins down to one. Now that I think back to my biggest transformation from shooting arrows to shooting deer has been reducing down to a single point. Now, I myself have switched to a red dot scope, but in reality it's a single pin set at 25 yrds. I make my adjustments based on distance just like everyone else shooting a gun. Trust me, it willl be much better than looking at multiple pins.

At 15 (5 yards) up in a tree you will be .3 yards off at 40 yards, .4 yards off at 30 yards, and .6 yards difference at 20 yards.

So, unless you plan on shooting at extreme angles, like in canyons or valleys, then a normal range finder without the ARC function will suit you just fine.

Ditto.....

Shoot your bow more, no need for a RF.
or
During the off season, mark out some of your stand that you know will be there next season. Take a notepad and write down certain landmarks (you could even mark them out with ribbon if you get confused) and their respected distance.

Range finder = $400.
Time it takes to do this for 4 stands = 2 hours.

YOU ARE MAKING $200 p/hour!!! God I want your job.

I wish I had your memory (course I can't stand flagging tape either)! Half the time I can't remember trees I range 1 hour ago, much less months prior.... Course my wife says I do have CRS....

If your looking for a great range finder at a good price, check out the Nikon 440's.... I've had mine for a long time, put it through a lot and it's still going strong. Also seems to range better than some of my other buddies units - at least in my experiences when shooting\hunting with them....

I agree. Don't waste you money on the ARC feature. Not practical.

I got my Bushnell range finder on e-bay, and my moltrie game cam for that matter. I think I spent $200 for them both. The cam was used and the range finder was a refurbished. I have had them both for 2 years now, no problems. I love e-bay. Check your local sporting goods store also. This time of year they might start putting that stuff on clearance

i just bought one 3 weeks ago. i had the money to get one and i thought it would be the greatest thing. theres not a lot of difference between the archers choice than a regular one. i should've bought a regular one and saved the rest of the money for my new deer rifle i want.

Like the others have said, no there isnt much of a difference at all. I was kinda disappointed in it, but oh well...glad I didnt pay for the one I got haha:)

Another lousy thing with the Nikon Archers Choice, is that it only goes out to about 125 yards... I was so bummed!!

I don't own an "arc" rangefinder, hell I still have the original Bushnell 400 from over 10 years ago however, the "arc" system is far from a gimmick.

Sure, on flat land and standard tree stand heights, the differences of horizontal distance and ranged distance from a treestand is always under 2 yards and at worst, subtract a yard and shoot HOWEVER,

And I learned this from experience that on sloped land and 25' treestands there can be as much as 5 yard differences between horizontal distance and ranged distance. This certainly comes into play.

In IL last year, there was a gate that most of the deer jumped to come from the bedding area to the cut bean field. MY first day in the treestand I ranged the gate, it said 41 yards. I knew better.

The next day I got down and went to the gate to scent it up and I ranged back to my tree that I was in, the real distance was 36 yards. That's extreme and could have resulted in a miss! I'm not sure if the "arc" system would have caught that as I've never played with one.

I can assure you that if my Bushnell ever finally dies, I WILL own one that is capable of the "arc" system.

It's not a gimmick.

So that means that either were waayyyy up in a tree or you were hunting on the side of the hill. If your measured distance with your range finder was 41 yards and your true distance was 36 yards then you were 19.6 yards (or 58.86 feet) above your target. If on flat land, you were almost 60 feet up in a tree???? If you were hunting 25' feet up a tree your true distance would have been 40.14 yards unless, of course, you were hunting on the side of a hill.

There is no denying that the system works, but it is not needed unless hunting from extreme elevations or hilly/mountainous terrain.

What are you guys talking about? Of course you NEED a rangefinder with ARC because the TV says you do! What will you do without it. I was actually looking at getting a rangefinder but I was going to just go with the $200 Leupold or something in that range or even lower. I mostly archery hunt or rifle hunt in very thick timber. I don't need something that goes out to 1000 yards and compensates for angles. I took enough math in college I should put it to use.

From 15' up and 30 yards out, you really shouldnt need a range finder. Especially with a compound bow. Set a 25 yard pin and call it good.

Ive never used a rangefinder in 20+ years. And I shoot at multiple distances and almost always with a long bow. Key is to practice at different, unknown distances and get familure with judging distances, as well as getting to know your bow. But like I said, no need even to do that, if your shooting out to a max of 30 yards with a compound. Use one pin and dont worry about it.

No ****, that was my point. :rolleye0011: Maybe reread my post. :biggrin:

http://www.opticsplanet.net/leupold-...ngefinder.html

Heres mine and I love it....Bought it for bowhunting, never really used it much besides marking trees, I agree with ROB hunting on the sides of hills really helps!! Also use it for Muzzleloading and sighting in best money I ever spent .....JMO IA I use a Leupold RX-II.

Forarchery - no I don't believe you need one. What I used to do was range trees at my level. The ARC really comes into play with the rifle and at longer ranges and steep angles where you can easily misjudge the yardage.
Also, the rangefinders that have this feature are a bit more complicated to set up. But I have to say, I do have one and I like it. Mine is the Leupold RX-II.

Nope! I had one an sent it back an haven't missed it.

I've tried that, but it's different when you're actually lining up on a deer. First, you're also concerned with lots of other issues (the wind, what's the deer doing, etc), plus it's sometimes just downright difficult to tell the difference between 30 and 40 yards (in my experience) unless you're hunting the same stand repeatedly. I do try to pace off the distance when I set up my stand, but if you hunt from a dozen different trees it's difficult to mark each and every one out ahead of time. If you're on public land, as I am much of the time during bow season, you really don't want to leave all of those markers out there for other hunters to find. Finally, it seems that deer just love to come into your stand along a bearing that you didn't pace off ahead of time...damned unpredictable deer. ;)

Basically, a rangefinder is a good tool to have to double check your landmarks when you first get settled into your tree. I view it as part of the list things you do when you climb up and get situated: check safety harness, check the straps on your stand, check your bow to make sure nothing got bumped, and double check your range landmarks so you know which pin to use. If you can accurately judge range to within a couple of yards using your eyeball, then good for you. If you're like a lot of guys that gain more confidence in using an aid like a rangefinder, than there's no harm in that.

I agree that you really don't need one close in. It's when you start getting at about 30 yards that it becomes iffy in my experience. If I've been hunting thick cover and move to a more open area, it throws off my sense of distance for a while. Is that deer at just over 30 yards or is he at 40? I watched one in low light at 45 yards this fall and swore it was just under 35 until I paced it out afterwards (I held off on the shot because I couldn't be sure...good thing I did!). And I do practice a lot. If you move around a lot, having a cheap range finder is a good confidence builder IMO. We spend all this money on scent elimination, stands, clothing, upmteen pieces of technology to hang off of our bows...what's another $100 to be sure of the ranges we're shooting at? :)