Fog and rangefinder
Equipment
So recently began spending time with wheel bows again and found I needed a rangefinder. Bought a decent one but was extremely disappointed with it moose hunting this year. Wouldn’t read any distance in the fog, even when it appeared to have totally cleared up. I mean really clear! Looking for input on something that works in fog? Like even a light fog. Thx
Thick fog nothing works. I feel like my Leupold works in light fog but it’s just a function of what’s in the air. If there’s enough water in the air that the laser can’t make it back you’re SOL.
One of the reasons I still always try and “guess and check” in practise all year long to hone my guessing ability. It’s paid off a Number of times
An old-school optical rangefinder works fine in fog, if you can find one.
Matt
My Leupold didn’t work even in light fog. I suppose maybe upgrading might get me at least ranging in light fog
The optical old school one might be a plan and just carry both
Yep, mine doesn't work in fog either, even what seems to be very light.
Another of my complaints with the few brands I've used is reading grass/branches when you're trying to stay out of sight and get a range. I don't want a unit to report ANY distance less than 10-yards. I'd like to see a unit that ignored all data less than 10-yards. Nothing more frustrating than getting a reading 0.5, 1.5, 1.0 etc. when you're trying to keep out of sight from game and check a distance.
laser based can't ignore close things, the laser is hitting them and bouncing back, if it "ignored" that, you'd get no reading. It can be challenging but you have to move slightly to get the laser "around" those things. Try ranging something close to the animal (this works better for rifle ranges than bow ranges at times)
Get a Swaro-laser and your fog issues will go away.
How has swaro come up with technology that nobody else has been able to solve for. Frankly I don’t believe they have.
Fog is great to hunt in but range finders don't work.. swaros must be magic..
Yeah, I don’t think any laser rangefinder works in fog, unless Swarovski has come up with some new technology that I haven’t heard of.
Matt
My old bushnell compact 600 had a rain/fog mode. It’s worked better than any new rangefinder I’ve owned. Glass, shoot thru netting and light fog. Worked well in all.
I just figured since Swaro owned the market in optics, they owned it in laser tech as well...
In my speaking to a manufacturer about range readings I was told the laser bounces back off numerous things and the internal computer determines which are "scatter" and which are the majority of readings to report as the range. So if one were to be programmed to ignore the majority of readings that happened to bounce back at a few yards and instead report the remaining readings that happened to make it out and back past the grass or branches, a unit could indeed "ignore" close stuff and provide a real reading.
I.e. when ranging perhaps 90% of the return signals indicate 80 yards, and the remaining signals indicate a variety of scatter distances, so the unit indicates 80 yards. But if it could be programmed to ignore readings below say 5 yards, and 70% of the readings were 2 yards but 30% of the readings were 80 yards, the unit would indicate 80 yards. All I'm saying is it is FRUSTRATING to have to expose oneself to the point of being picked off by game when a couple sparse blades of grass interfere with the reading and you know the game is within range...
Also the thinner the beam, the less it picks up debris. I have a Nikon “bow” model, so short range but fat beam and cheaper to make. Useless. I have an expensive Bushnel which is great but cannot pick up anything black. It will seriously not range a bear at fifteen yards! I also have a Leopold RX1200i TBR which is by far the best of the many I’ve owned.
And I did have one of those old optical rangers too. I gave it to the grandkids to play with.
Thanks guys. It tough to “upgrade” from my current Leupold for just “hopes” that the more money spent cures the problem a little. You wouldn’t believe how clear it was when it wouldn’t read. Major disappointment. That was a perk to shooting a stick,,, only good to 20 anyways
Mine worked when yours didn't, real world. In realitvly heavy fog
Mine worked when yours didn't, real world. In realitvly heavy fog
Had my rangefinder fail on a hot humid morning, couldn't cut through the haze.
