2011 October | Big Country Outdoors

Bow Hunting Gear

Posted October 31, 2011 By admin and has no comments yet.

bow hunting gear

This past year we have started bow hunting, and I admit it is a lot of fun. However, we have most of the gear, but we do need to find a good range finder. We are looking to buy a good range finder, and am not sure about what brand to buy. I would like to know what kind of range finder is better to buy, the leupold or bushnell? I would like to have something that is accurate and hits the target correctly, so the yardage is correct. What are the pros and cons of each range finder, if there is any?
Many thanks in advance for helping us out with this hard (yet important to someone who has just gotten into bow hunting) question!

I have a Nikon 550. It’s a 6x magnification. The optics are very clear and I haven’t had fogging problems with it. I also have a Bushnell Scout 1000 ARC. It’s 5x and clear. It doesn’t do as well at first light or dusk as the Nikon. What it does better is trigonometry. It computes the up/down from one’s position to a target and gives a shooting range instead of the actual range. It’s $80-$100 more for this feature and each rangefinder company has a variation on it. I find the ARC is much more practical for rifle than archery. Just doing basic trig, if one is 20′ off the ground and their target is at 30 yards, the horizontal distance is 29.2 yards. The ARC computes the range for you to look for your preset pin to aim for that yardage. But there is very little difference (especially with the +/- 1 yard accuracy of the rangefinder) at archery distances. A dead-on shot at 30 yards will only be off about an inch if one is not compensating for height (when shooting from a tree stand at a target on level ground). Also, I note that the ARC takes a bit more time to find and compute a range than my Nikon. I have swapped rangefinders with friends who own models by Cabela’s and Leupold as well as my Nikon and Bushnell. In the end, preferences tend to go along the lines of the readability of the output and responsiveness of the laser in picking up different types of surfaces (flat building wall best, smooth tree second best, deer third best, vegetation by a sight fourth best). They all range well on a cloudy day, struggle with ground fog and get really spotty in the rain. Conclusion? Look through a few models at a brick and mortar store. (I live near a Gander Mountain, Bass Pro–which have mounted animals to sight–and two very good independent shops, plus Dick’s. Hopefully you have something like these stores nearby. Range a distant clothing rack then a wall to see the difference in quickness picking up different surfaces.) Range the same object with different rangefinders in the store. How well can you see through them and also see the range being displayed? I would ignore ARC and the like unless you’re going to put it to use in rifle season. In reality, the leading manufacturers are making very good products. You can’t go wrong; but getting hands-on can make sure that you go the best way possible.

bow hunting gear for this weekend