Best range finder for extreme angles
Equipment
Contributors to this thread:
Going tahr in June. Wanting input on best range finder for doing uphill, downhill corrections for archery.
My Leica Rangemaster handles angles very well. Battery life is excellent, and the optics are second to none, IMO.
Matt
Leupold Fulldraw. Uses Archers Advatage technology and gives you your correct cuts for your exact set up. It also will give you a line on the top of the screen that will show you the top arc of your arrow. Well worth the money. Best rangefinder for archery.
All the SIGs are top notch from my experience. Have used a couple, bought some for others upgraded, etc. and all are fine. have worked well in all conditions other than fog which is the norm for any unit.
I second Coondogs post.
I have the same and it works great. Plug in arrow weight, speed, and peep height to get the ladder bars correct and you are good to go.
Help me understand how these variable inputs equate to a customized range distance. We are not talking a a calibrated site
Bou, my understanding is that the input variables adjust the top flight clearance line, not the horizontal distance reading. I.e. at a specific distance a recurve throws a lot taller arc than a compound and needs more vertical clearance.
I second Bou'bound's two posts. For bowhunting purposes, the range finding tech is what matters, optics are completely irrelevant.
So you also then have to range the obstacle you are concerned about hitting along the way and determine if at any point of arrow flight the arc and the object intersect. Do that sip Bering and by then the horizontal distance is different due to the animal moving so you need to re check the flight path intersection question
That’s a lot of info
HDE
I did not say optics are irrelevant. I would prefer crisp clear view. I don’t know if I need computer level functionality beyond they needed to give me an angle compensated reading though.
Some of you guys are missing the point…..with the extreme angle compensation for his tahr or an aoudad hunt, most range finders don’t work….hence, you need a cut chart. Or get a range finder that does a good job past 14-15 degree angles. I think a couple mentioned will do that much better than others. And then you have to just go out and shoot and figure out your cuts.
Angle compensation on a rangefinder is very, very general. Out of a tree stand with a maximum distance of 40 yards, yeah you can get away with most rangefinders with angle compensation. Shooting steep angled shots that are long distance are where cut charts come in. You may have an animal at 82 yards line of sight, but there’s a 42 degree angle downhill. The cut may make that shot 67 yards. If you shot it for 82 you’d launch your arrow way over the animal’s back. Cut charts differ from set up to set up. Archers Advantage technology was put into the Leupold Fulldraw rangefinders. You enter in arrow speed, arrow weight, and peep height. This has been proven to be the closest rangefinder to having accurate cuts. However, having a cut chart to reference if you are shooting extreme angles will give you another source of reassurance.
So a rangefinder does not calculate angles accurately at all angles. ????
I can stand 7 yards from a phone poles get a 7 yard Reading at eye level then aim that up to the tippity top of the pole and get the same 7 yard reading.
What am I missing or are tahr on steeper angles than that and if so how do you recover them if you hit one
Never heard of cut sheets for bowhunting but I have learned something here today.
Oryx is correct. The input data is used to set the top of the arrows arch at its peak in flight.
You do not have to range the object you are trying to shoot under/over, that is indicated in the rangefinder itself. IE you have the vitals of an elk at say 75 yards, but the branch is at 30. The rangefinder would show via lit up bars above the vitals the top of the arrow flight. If the bars are over/under the branch between you and the target you are good to shoot.
The telephone pole scenario, you are somewhat correct in that you would get the same reading, but at least on my Leupold rangefinder, the line of sight distance is different than the shoot to distance. That is where the angle compensation comes in, in the corrected formula for shoot to distance.
The steeper the angle, the less yardage and flight time needed to get the arrow to the target.
Here is a an example of a cut chart with my current hunting set up.
Here is a an example of a cut chart with my current hunting set up.
Cut charts are very popular in competition field archery. Levi Morgan, Tim Gillingham, and Aron Snyder have spoken on podcasts about the importance of cut charts while hunting animals such as sheep, mountain goats, and Kodiak blacktails. Some guys will wear a quarterback wristband with their cut chart in there for quick reference while hunting animals like this. They may keep their rangefinder set on line of sight but can also see the degree of incline/decline. Then they’ll look at what their cut chart says for that angle and set their sight for that distance. Angle compensation and cut charts are different for every archer depending on their bow and arrow set up.
Thanks guys. Out of my league but good to know.
Bou'bound
You weren't the one that threw the pitch in about the superiority of optics with a rangefinder...
So a rangefinder does not calculate angles accurately at all angles.
I can stand 7 yards from a phone poles get a five Reading at eye level then aim that up to the top of the pole and get the same 7 yard reading.
What am I missing or are tahr On steeper angles than that and if so how do you recover them if you hit one
Never heard of cut sheets for bowhunting but I have learned something here today.