Hey Eveyone. I' m thinking that this is the year that I finally break down and buy myself a rangefinder. I have zero experience with them and was wondering if someone could give me some useful advise. I' ve been looking through Cabelas, but don' t know what' s good and whats just OK. I' m looking for something that will range a deer/elk out to 500 yards and not cost me an arm and leg. Any advise will be helpful.

Bushnell' s yardage pro 600 - works for me

I have the Bushnell Yardage Pro Legend. Works great! Single hand operation and it' s waterproof. Check it out for yourself and you' ll see what I' m talking about.

I have a Nikon, I believe its a 1000, I love it and very easy to use

I have owned two bushnells and now own a leica 1200.The leica is a far superior unit.

If you got the money the Leica is the way to go, especially for out to 500 yards. I on the other hand got a Bushnell Yardage Pro Scout for free, so can' t complain. It is easy to use and works good for my applications. Which is to range shooting distance, lanes, etc once in position and then put it away(BTW I hardly ever use mine in an area that would require 300 plus yards). If you are using it to pick up game/range or long range then go with the Leica. The small design of the Yardage Pro is nice for storage, carrying but does not lend itself to steady handling under pressure. Also in fading light it is no where near the performer the Leica is!

Skeeter, I looked up the leica 900 in Cablelas and was wondering one more thing. They say it ranges out to 900 years, but does that include " non-reflective" targets (deer/elk) I know that the bushnells all give different yardages that they work depending on if it' s an animal or a " reflective" target

And what the heck is a reflective target anyway (tree, rock?)

Most rangefinders will range deer or pronghorns out to about 1/2 of their rating and elk or moose a little farther.My leica reliably ranges deer out to over 500 yards and elk out to 700 yards or so even under poor conditions(fog,rain or snow).I got rid of my bushnell 800 because it would only range pronghorns out to just about 300 yards on a rainy day last fall.Under perfect conditions all of my rangefinders easily ranged highly reflective objects out to their rated distances.

i think they all work about the same. i have has a bushnell,nikon, and now a leica. the leica seems to pick up objects much better than the others

A reflective target woulkd be like a Street Sign, Building, Rock,Any type of metal Etc . Hunters aren' t the only ones who use range finders.