Kestrel or Ballistic RF – Necessary at 600 Yards?

[backcountryplatinum]

I'm a 600-yard hunter shooting a 7mm Rem Mag, and I've been pushing longer ranges and experimenting with new ammo.

I currently have a Vortex Razor 4000 rangefinder. I hunt in the mountains in Alberta, Canada, where we can see temperature swings from 0°F to 50°F in a single day.

I'm getting more comfortable with ballistic apps and building DOPE cards, and I've recently added a Garmin Chrono which has helped a lot.

For hunting at these distances, would a Kestrel or a Ballistic RF add meaningful value? Or would I be better off saving the money and putting it toward more hunting trips? My shooting range that I practice at goes to 800 yards.

Thanks

 

[CMcCormick1805]

I’ve carried a wind meter a few times and found that I hardly used it. Usually I estimate wind and have hold overs on my dope cards. As for ballistic range finder I would highly recommend one. I try to keep two backup options though in case my rangefinder is down. I’d say save the money on the kestrel and find out how comfortable you are shooting at long range in various wind conditions. You can always try to cut the distance to an animal!

Get the rangefinder for sure. It makes training and longer shots quicker when you make the ballistic solver do the work.

 

[LaHunter]

The kestrel is great at the range or for checking Density Altitude changes throughout the day, but it is way too time consuming in a hunting situation for me. I either use laminated dope cards and / or my phone app hunting

 

[WoolyBugger]

You could always get a kestrel without ballistics for quite a bit cheaper

 

[justinspicher]

I’m a dope card on my buttstock kinda guy, but I also don’t hunt anywhere but in my home state. I have range finding binos with ballistic info, but it’s never right.

 

[mlevimadden]

You can pick up a cheap kestrel or wind meter to have for training and learning wind calls. Kestrel’s interface is very slow so I don’t think I’d ever use it for ballistic data on the clock or an animal.

If you’re primarily rifle hunting RF binoculars make a huge difference in speed and efficiency. You could do a pair with a built in solver or one paired with a hard dope card depending on budget.

 

[atmat]

Under 600y and you will be fine with a normal rangefinder and quick drop.

However, 600y on an animal is a far shot. Are you routinely practicing in novel mountain terrain well past 600? If not, I wouldn’t advise a 600y shot on game.

Additional, a chrono may get you started, but you need to be validating your data as far out as you can.

 

[mthayr]

First, experience (hunting trips) is always going to trump gear IMO. That said, I will offer a differing opinion (for variety) but with a caveat. Having BOTH a range finding binocular AND a Kestrel with ballistics is extremely useful, if they can talk to each other.

For example, a Kestrel 5700 Elite and a pair of Leica Geovid Pros allow you to collect your environmentals at intervals throughout your day and then keep the kestrel in a pouch (preferably not a sealed one) on your chest. When you range your target, the two "talk", and your shooting solution will account for DA, temps, custom drag models, etc PLUS wind speed (at the shooter, granted) and direction of fire to give you an appropriate wind call. All of this happening in seconds, and the firing solution being displayed in your bino's HUD.

Should you keep hard data? Yes. Should you practice wind calling without the help of technology? Absolutely. But will the technology improve your chances of getting first round impacts? You bet it will!

 

[atmat]

On my 6creed, the difference at 600 yards between:

• DA=1k ft, temp=0
• DA=10k ft, temp=100

is 0.3mil, so 6.25 inches.

That’s an extreme difference in environmental for a small change.

I’m not opposed to ballistic RFs or Kestrels, and have both. But for someone only shooting out to 600, they are not essential.