Rangefinder for Hunting

What a hunting rangefinder does

A laser rangefinder fires laser pulses at whatever sits in its aiming circle and reads the ones that bounce back, per one maker's manual, then shows the distance in yards on a small display inside the eyepiece. One maker's manual says its unit needs a target at least 5 yards away, which is closer than most deer you'll ever shoot.

Hunting units add the features that matter in the woods: angle compensation for stands and hills, modes that ignore brush in front of the deer, and displays you can read in timber at first light. Golf units do the same basic job but tune it for a flagstick on an open fairway.

The table on this page lists the hunting rangefinders we track on Amazon US, longest stated range first. It shows the stated maximum range, magnification, angle compensation, bow or archery mode, display type, battery, water resistance, size, weight and pack quantity. The table uses the maker's figures first and the Amazon listing's where the maker is silent (marked as listing values). If neither states a value, you'll see a dash. That's common for bow mode.

What to look at when you pick a rangefinder for hunting

Here's what actually changes from one unit to the next, in the order I'd check it.

Angle compensation is the feature that saves stand hunters

From a tree stand or a hillside, the distance along your line of sight isn't the distance your arrow or bullet drops over. What matters is the level, horizontal distance. Bowhunter's article on the topic says shooting a steep shot by line-of-sight distance makes the arrow hit high, and that for archery shots of 40 yards and under, horizontal distance is the number to use.

An angle-compensating unit measures the tilt and does the trigonometry for you. One maker's manual gives the example I wish every new bowhunter would read:

• Line of sight: 32 yards
• Angle: -52 degrees, downhill from a stand
• Horizontal distance: 23 yards

The manual's advice is to shoot it as 23. Shoot it as 32 and you go over the top of the deer. That's a 9-yard mistake from a device that was technically correct.

The Angle compensation column shows yes or no as the maker or the listing states it. Makers call it different things: horizontal distance, angle range, true ballistic range, slope. One optics maker's guide explains its version as HCD (horizontal component distance), the default mode for archers in tree stands, with LOS (line of sight) kept for rifle shooters using ballistic devices beyond 500 yards on slopes over 15 degrees.

Bow or archery mode keeps the readout simple

The Bow/archery mode column marks units with a setting built for bowhunters. In one maker's manual, Bow mode shows the line-of-sight distance, the tilt angle and the horizontal distance together, and skips the rifle holdover math. The same manual says bowhunters want horizontal distance because that's how they practice shooting.

Bowhunter adds a caution worth taking seriously: the math works very well for short archery shots, and less well the farther and steeper the shot gets. Its advice is to test the unit with your own bow and arrows on steep slopes, uphill and downhill, before you trust it there. Bowhunting-specific units have their own bow hunting rangefinder page.

Read the deer range, not the reflective maximum

The Aiming points to column shows the longest range the maker states, usually measured on a highly reflective target. Deer aren't highly reflective. A brown coat in shade sends back much less light than a road sign.

One maker's manual lists its unit at 2,000 yards on a reflective target and 500 yards to a deer. Same laser, same day, one quarter of the distance. That's normal, not a flaw. So when two units in the table differ by hundreds of yards on the maximum, it may mean nothing at bow range and only a little at rifle range.

The same manual lists accuracy in steps: within 0.3 yard from 5 to 150 yards, 0.5 yard out to 500, and 1 yard beyond that. For a bowhunter, the close-range number is the one that matters.

First target and last target modes decide what you range

In the woods, one press can hit a branch and a deer at once. Target modes choose which answer you see. That optics maker's guide lays them out:

• Normal: the strongest return. The default for most situations.
• First: the closest object. For a small target in front of something bigger or more reflective, like a deer bedded in front of rocks.
• Last: the farthest object. For a deer behind leaves, branches or brush.

One maker's manual calls the last-target setting Brush mode and the first-target setting Target mode. It also tips you to hold the button and sweep slowly across the deer, so the laser hits several things and shows the one you want. Another maker calls the same pair First Target Priority and Distant Target Priority, and says the distant setting is useful in heavily wooded areas. And it warns that the unit comes back on in whatever mode you left it in. (Check the mode in the truck. Not when the deer is standing there.)

Display type matters at the ends of the day

The Display column shows black LCD, red OLED or red LED. A black display shows dark numbers over the view. A red display lights its numbers up.

One gear review site, Outdoor Empire, found basic black LCDs on budget units nearly impossible to read in low light, and a red display easy at dawn and dusk but harder to read in bright midday sun. The same review found adjustable brightness made the red display usable across the day. Deer move at the ends of the day, so for most whitetail hunters, a readable display in low light outranks the maximum range. If you're colorblind, try a red display before you commit.

Magnification: more power, more wobble

The Magnification column shows the power of the eyepiece. The bow-focused unit in the manual I keep quoting is a 6x; the review unit Outdoor Empire looked at was a 5x. Bowhunter's article suggests higher magnification and the smallest reticle you can use if you range small targets at distance.

More power makes it easier to hold the aiming circle on a deer at long range. It also makes your hand shake look bigger. For stand and blind hunting inside 40 yards, the middle of the range is plenty.

Battery: carry the spare, it weighs nothing

The Battery column shows CR2, CR123A, built-in rechargeable or other. Several makers use a CR2 3-volt lithium cell. One maker's manual recommends replacing it at least once every 12 months, and adds a plain warning: don't use lithium batteries that are damaged or show signs of wear, because they can overheat.

A rechargeable unit saves buying cells. It also needs a charger and a habit. Pick whichever you're less likely to forget. (I keep a CR2 taped inside my release case. Nobody steals it, because nobody else knows what it is.)

Water resistance: read what the maker actually claims

The Water resistance column shows the rating or wording as stated. When it's an IP code, the second digit is water. Per one enclosure-rating explainer, 4 means spray from all directions and 7 means temporary immersion up to 1 meter. One maker's manual describes its unit as tested to IPX4 and calls it water-resistant, not waterproof.

Some units are sold as waterproof without any IP number at all; Outdoor Empire noted one it reviewed had no official IP rating. That's why the table shows the maker's own wording. Rain at the stand is normal. Dropping it in the creek is a different test.

Size and weight: it lives in your pocket or on your chest

The Size column comes from the maker where stated, and from the listing where the maker is silent. Weight comes from the maker only. A rangefinder you leave in the truck saves no hunts, so pick one you'll carry. Small units have their own compact rangefinder page, and chest pouches and harnesses are covered on the binocular harness page.

Hunting rangefinder types and when to choose which

• Bow hunting rangefinders: angle compensation and bow mode first, long range barely matters. See the bow hunting rangefinder page.
• Long-range rifle units: bigger maximums, ballistic holdover and line-of-sight modes for rifle setups.
• Compact units: the smallest and lightest; check what features were traded for size on the compact rangefinder page.
• Rangefinder binoculars: two tools in one body for open country; see rangefinder binoculars.
• Built into a sight or scope: see the rangefinder bow sight and crossbow scope rangefinder pages.
• Golf units: built to lock onto a flag instead of the trees behind it, often with a slope switch you turn off for tournaments. Fine on flat open ground, weak through brush.

Using a rangefinder from a stand

In a stand, the harness comes first and the rangefinder second. Get clipped in, get settled, then range.

1. Range landmarks once you're settled: a stump, a rock, the trail crossing. Then you're not pulling the unit out while a deer walks in.
2. Use the horizontal number from an angle-compensating unit.
3. Switch to last target if leaves or branches sit between you and the trail.
4. Practice judging: Archery 360 says to carry a rangefinder, guess the distance to things you pass, and check each guess. Its advice is to spend at least as much time judging distance as shooting.

Wear a full-body harness and stay connected to the tree from the moment you leave the ground until you're back down. The rangefinder hangs on a lanyard, not in your hand, while you climb.

One maker's manual labels its unit a Class 1 consumer laser product. It still warns not to look directly into the laser emissions for long periods with magnified lenses. Don't aim it at people.

Are rangefinders worth it for bowhunting

My one opinion on this page: rangefinders save more hunts than new bows do. The reason is the manual example above. A 9-yard error at stand height is bigger than any accuracy difference between two decent bows at 23 yards. A new bow doesn't fix a wrong number.

Rifle hunters use the same tool for a different job: setting holdover on longer shots, which is where the line-of-sight and ballistic modes in the table come in.

Who should skip a hunting rangefinder

If you hunt one ground blind where every shooting lane is already measured and marked, you may not need one this season. Same if you only still-hunt thick cover at very close range. Everyone else, especially anyone in a tree stand, should own one before they buy the next bow upgrade. Then practice with it until the number feels obvious. Walt will keep writing "close."