The 3 Best Long Range Rangefinders for Shooting
When you need to get your gun dialed in at the range or just when you’re out plinking with your .22 and want to find out how far a random target is, you’re going to need a good rangefinder that’s reliable.
In this post, we evaluated the top rangefinders for shooting on the market and found the top 3 best ones.
So without further delay, here’s our list of the best rangefinders for shooting:
1. Shooting/Golf Rangefinder – Range : 1950
Go long or go home. This range-finder may advertise itself as a golf finder, but nobody hits the long ball over 1000 yards. Unfortunately, the maximum range doesn’t come with complete reliability, but the ranging accuracy up to 1300 yards is great, +/- a foot. It’s powered by a single AAA battery, and it’s lightweight and portable. Plus it comes with a no questions asked guarantee.
For the price, you won’t get a bunch of fancy blue-tooth connectivity and phone apps to dial in your ballistic information, but what you will get is a reliable rangefinder with good optics to ensure your shots go right where you want them. It comes with a carry strap, and the ergonomics is there, but other than the warranty, not a lot has been done to protect it from the weather.
The zoom is 8x, which is about the limit for a hand-held device, allowing you to focus without the picture wobbling all over the place. The display is quick and accurate. If you don’t need all the fancy add-on features, then this is the right range finder for you, at the right price.
2. LaserWorks LW1000SPI Laser Rangefinder
Not as cheap as the first rangefinder, but luckily it goes on sale pretty often. The measurements are solid out to 1000 yards, and the maximum range is 1600 yards, so you can spot your targets out to nearly a mile.
The case is constructed to be waterproof, which is a big plus when you are out in the woods and need maximum reliability. The magnification is slightly lacking, at 6x, but it’s good enough for most targets and ranges, depending on the shooter. The specs claim a 16mm exit pupil, but that’s a little hard to believe.
In reality, doing the calculation of magnification versus objective lens, it probably measures closer to 3.5mm, which is more than enough for daylight ranging, and functional in the dark. Resolution lacks a bit too, being +/- one meter. The ergonomic grip makes it easy to hold, and it runs off a single 3V(CR2) battery. Nothing fancy, and you are sacrificing a bit of precision to have a truly weatherproof design, but overall, this is a quality device that won’t let you down on foggy mornings when that buck to appears. And the price is okay to great, depending on what kind of sale LaserWorks is running.
3. Bushnell Hunting Series Elite 1 Mile Laser Rangefinder
If you want all the bells and whistles, then you are going to pay for them. This rangefinder will measure your distance to target from 5-1760 yards with a precision of 1/10 of a yard, or roughly the nearest 4 inches. Why you would need that kind of accuracy, who knows? But you have it, and overkill isn’t a bad thing when you want the best. It also communicates wirelessly to the conx app on iOS and Android platforms, which is free to download, and very light on file size to save data. The scope is 7×26, giving you an almost 4mm exit pupil. The app will even take data from kestrel wind meters, giving you an all-in-one shooting solution when paired with this rangefinder.
The housing is fully waterproof, the optics are fully multi-coated, and it comes with a diopter adjustment for proper focusing. You simply aren’t going to beat this rangefinder. If you are serious about your shooting equipment, then the value you get by purchasing top-quality equipment trumps the price.