I just bought a bushnell laser rangefindr at Dicks Sporting Goods tonight for the archery season and wanted to get everyones take on them. Good or Bad?

They can be VERY helpful. My suggestion if you are hunting from a stand...pre-range.

Find landmarks in your hunting zone, range to them and memorize the ranges...that way when a deer comes into your zone...you'll know the ranges without having to pick up the range finder again.

Also something to do prior to the season or any old time you feel like it...
Take the range finder out with you when you go for walks or hikes...pick an object, guess the distance, and then range to see how close you are to what your range finder says. After a while you may get sooooo good you won't even need the range finder.

Lastly verify your ranger finder every time you use it or at least when you change batteries.
Measure out some fixed distances and range to them. most of todays range finders are +/- 1 yard...so they should be very close to your physical range. Note that as the batteries wear down or if it's VERY cold, they sometimes become less accurate.

I agree with SOT. Prerange target areas in your shooting lanes, but keep your finder handy. You know the big guy will pop up where you least expect him.
Another exercise I use is when I'm scouting I take my finder along. I'll look at a tree or stump, guess the range, then check my estimate with the finder. It will really sharpen your yardage estimation skills.
Good Hunting

Rangefinders Cant hunt without THEM... Pope & Young always know there range, Why shoulden't You. I have a old dial rangefinder and it still works great, Still dead on.


P.S. Bushnell great rangefinder.

Dito what everyone said. Very nice to have while using slugs also. Without one 125 and 100 yds look to be the same, especially in the heavily wooded areas.

my 2 cents worth. First, just so you know, I'm VERY cheap when it comes to bow hunting. I do not believe in spending money on things like range finders, $300.00 ground blinds, scent-lok suits, $1000.00 bow set ups, etc. I don't understand how you plan on using your range finder during bow. Once the deer starts heading your way are you going to contiusly check his distance...30, 25, 20,19,18,17,16. Then put the range finder down and draw your bow. To me that's a set up to fail. Now if you are hunting with a rifle and you see a buck at about 200 yards...then I can see using one.

Good luck!

I agree, that would be a bad idea. But I think most of us that use rangefinders use them to establish a perimeter around our stands. When I get into my stand I range out trees and make mental notes of their distances. If a deer comes around that tree I know the approx. distance +/- a couple yards.

I was giving this some thought today. I was thinking of marking trees in a circle aroung my stand with some brightly colored mylar. I would mark them at 20yds, 30yds, and 40 yrds. I would use the same color mylar at 20yrds as my 20 yrd sight pin. Same at 30 and 40. This way I watch the deer moving in, and decide which pin to use by which color mylar he is near.

Catskill hunter, how much was the range finder at Dicks?

Rangfinders can be usefull but try not to rely on them too much. If you use one in your tree stand, be sure to range on targets that are at your elevation. You do not want to measure vertical distance, just horizontal. Personally, I don't bring one with me while hunting. I have enough other things to worry about.

Good Luck

Specialist1 I agree with the streamers. My wife will walk along with me to my treestands during my early season scouting. I'll range from my stand and have her clip a streamer thats attached to a wooden, clipper type clothspin at specific yardages around my stand. I use a color coordinated streamer that matches the pin color. Red for my 20 red pin, yellow for 30, etc. When she marks the spot, I can also make sure the shooting lanes are clear of twigs that grew since last fall. Its a big help and you can take them down to be used again when you score or at the end of the season. Oh, another good thing about this. Your wife knows the locations of all your stands, just in case you don't get home that night. It just may save your life!
Good Hunting