Rangefinder trouble. Missed a great bull twice

[5MilesBack]

What did folks do before range finders?

We went out and killed stuff. We never had a GPS either, and it never seemed to matter.

I always keep my RF in an inside pocket on my jacket when hunting coyotes in the winter, because the cold does affect those batteries and the functionality of the RF.

 

[264win]

As mentioned already, cold temps and air quality ( humidity, fog, clouds, smoke, snow, rain, etc interfere with lrfs. I have owned and used almost everything available under $2k, and found the most reliable in bad conditions to be Swarovski, Bushnell 1 mile, Zeiss being a close third.

 

[N2TRKYS]

How far of a shot was it?

 

[Whisky]

So I used a Leica rangemaster 1200 for my late elk hunt. Conditions: cold, snow, flat high desert with low grass. Could not range elk, brush or rocks past 150 yds consistently. Ranged a bigger bush ~150 closer than the bulls but got two different ranges after at least 1/2 dozen attempts. Very frustrating. Real hard to judge distance in the flat expanse.

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Correction a dozen attempts. Had no trouble on my brothers sheep hunt so not sure what happened, was the last thing I thought would fail.
Under compensated on first opportunity and over compensated on second, by far the best bull I’ve stalked. Totally crushed the more I think about it. So with that said what rangefinder would you recommend for no issues, consistent results.

Terrapin X:
Safran Vectronix Terrapin X Rangefinder 914734 For Sale | SHIPS FREE - EuroOptic.com

 

[Blockcaver]

Keep all your electronics in inner pockets when it is cold out...including the rangefinder, iPhone, battery charge packs and InReach. Doing that I've avoided issues on Arctic hunts down to -40*. That said, you only have a short time window to use them when you pull them out of your pocket. Of course your fingers will get frostbite about the time the iPhone dies taking pictures anyway!

I haven't found any handheld rangefinders that worked in thick fog. My Leica 1000R, 1600B and first unit (forget model) did not, my Leupold 1000 TBR won't (haven't tried the 1600 TBR) and buddies Nikon did not.

I will say that as a bowhunter in the days prior to rangefinders I tended to over-estimate range under poor light or thick cover conditions and under-estimate yardage in the wide-open, and under very sunny conditions. We are fortunate as heck to have angle compensating laser rangefinders, even though they have a few short-comings related to fog, rain, snow and cold temperatures.

 

[TraderMike]

What did folks do before range finders?

You had to get close enough so that a minor error in range estimation would still result in a killing shot. Some might say that you actually had to hunt the animal, rather than simply shoot at it.

 

[robAK]

Sorry guys got busy. So used same RF in the Alaska Range on my brothers sheep hunt. Ranged a ram we called Rick Flair at 720 three different times +\- a few yds in between fog pockets and rainy conditions with no problems. We put in a new battery as well. That why I had no idea this would be a problem on this hunt. Could not range the bull I estimated was ~150 yds closer. Partly sunny, very light breeze with about 4-6 inches of snow, knee high grass in a pretty flat desert area so I couldn’t get any closer. I’ll try to post a pic or video of the bulls I hunted.
Anyways thanks for the input guys, guess I might send in my RF to see if it had any flaws.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

To you guys who are saying to keep the rangefinder in an inner layer or pocket, what do you do at night on a backpack hunt? Go in the sleeping bag with you?

Esse quam videri

 

[William Sublette]

We went out and killed stuff. We never had a GPS either, and it never seemed to matter.

I always keep my RF in an inside pocket on my jacket when hunting coyotes in the winter, because the cold does affect those batteries and the functionality of the RF.

How far of a shot was it?

You had to get close enough so that a minor error in range estimation would still result in a killing shot. Some might say that you actually had to hunt the animal, rather than simply shoot at it.

How far do you estimate the elk was at?

 

[GotDraw?]

@Willim Sublette - Since you asked, and even though your question is off topic, I'll get on my soapbox and answer... I'd say it all comes down to if you're asking about Sportsman or shooters-- either before or after the prominence of long distance RFs.

Prior to the explosion of new very-long-distance rangefinders, I'd say that Sportsman did not attempt to shoot game from distances so great that they could speak with their "crew" in full voice while ranging distance and doping wind; distances so remote from their target they could crack open a soda and drink it; so distant that their bullet's flight time could be measured in seconds- during which game could easily walk or move/resulting in wounding; so distant that game being shot at (not hunted) could not even hear the shooter racking his bolt to try a second shot because they have ZERO chance to use their natural defenses to detect the shooter.

It humors me how many pics I see where an animal was clearly hit 10" or more off the aim point on a long shot, yet proudly plastered, posted and justified on social media. Yet in the alternative, if that shooter was at the range with his crew, he'd be embarrassed to even retrieve a paper target with a multi-shot group spread of 10"+. I don't think I've ever seen a shooter proudly posting and boasting pics of all his 10+ inch group targets. It's as if the truth a 50 cent paper target carries more weight than an animal's life. Long distance RFs influenced by social media swagger and braggadocio make me sad for the sport of hunting when viewed in the light of fair chase.

Ten years ago, a Sportsman would have cried in his beer that he spooked the game trying to get close enough to take a shot. Now we cry in our beer when we miss a shot we shouldn't have taken at 700 yds. Sorry, but I have zero sympathy.

Back to the regularly scheduled show...

All of the above said, I am in the market for a new RF and also need to address the rain/fog/snow issue. My current (inexpensive) RF sucks even under 100 yds in those conditions. Definitely want an RF that selects for most distant target. Had to pass an archery shot under 40 yds recently due to poor RF performance in misty rain.

Given my experience, I'd opine that it probably was not the cold temperature, rather reflecting precip that killed the OP's RF capabilities.

JL

What did folks do before range finders?

 

[tdhanses]

@Willim Sublette - Since you asked, and even though your question is off topic, I'll get on my soapbox and answer... I'd say it all comes down to if you're asking about Sportsman or shooters-- either before or after the prominence of long distance RFs.

Prior to the explosion of new very-long-distance rangefinders, I'd say that Sportsman did not attempt to shoot game from distances so great that they could speak with their "crew" in full voice while ranging distance and doping wind; distances so remote from their target they could crack open a soda and drink it; so distant that their bullet's flight time could be measured in seconds- during which game could easily walk or move/resulting in wounding; so distant that game being shot at (not hunted) could not even hear the shooter racking his bolt to try a second shot because they have ZERO chance to use their natural defenses to detect the shooter.

It humors me how many pics I see where an animal was clearly hit 10" or more off the aim point on a long shot, yet proudly plastered, posted and justified on social media. Yet in the alternative, if that shooter was at the range with his crew, he'd be embarrassed to even retrieve a paper target with a multi-shot group spread of 10"+. I don't think I've ever seen a shooter proudly posting and boasting pics of all his 10+ inch group targets. It's as if the truth a 50 cent paper target carries more weight than an animal's life. Long distance RFs influenced by social media swagger and braggadocio make me sad for the sport of hunting when viewed in the light of fair chase.

Ten years ago, a Sportsman would have cried in his beer that he spooked the game trying to get close enough to take a shot. Now we cry in our beer when we miss a shot we shouldn't have taken at 700 yds. Sorry, but I have zero sympathy.

Back to the regularly scheduled show...

All of the above said, I am in the market for a new RF and also need to address the rain/fog/snow issue. My current (inexpensive) RF sucks even under 100 yds in those conditions. Definitely want an RF that selects for most distant target. Had to pass an archery shot under 40 yds recently due to poor RF performance in misty rain.

Given my experience, I'd opine that it probably was not the cold temperature, rather reflecting precip that killed the OP's RF capabilities.

JL

Or you could have just said 600 yards.

 

[SoDaky]

Difficult to arrange but try brands side by side.Huge differences under difficult(snow,fog,mist etc)conditions.A group of us dedicated predator hunters got together a few years ago with assorted brands and 'ranged' various objects in snow because of issues we were having-particularly in relatively flat terrain.Amazing variations- even between major brands.
Hesitant to comment on brands cause the quality in rangefinders has changed a great deal since then.Doing this though,created a solution for my needs.

 

[robAK]

To GotDraw: I’m a shooter in your eyes I take it. Never mind the 1+ hr of crawling on my hands and knees to close the distance and not be detected. The wait for

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The wait for the one I wanted to stand and clear from the other 11 bulls. I guess I need a lot of outdoor skills to even be in the same forum with you.
My post was to see if it was a situation others may have had and maybe find a better alternate. To others thanks for the input and help. Rob

 

[MattB]

Rosinbag nailed it. likely not an issue of cold but of snow in the air. Some RF's are better at this than others at archery range, but I wouldn't expect any to work well at rifle ranges.

 

[elkduds]

Learn to use subtention (reticle measurements @ different scope magnifications).
Leupold Duplex reticle for range estimation? | The High Road

 

[N2TRKYS]

To GotDraw: I’m a shooter in your eyes I take it. Never mind the 1+ hr of crawling on my hands and knees to close the distance and not be detected. The wait for

- - - Updated - - -

The wait for the one I wanted to stand and clear from the other 11 bulls. I guess I need a lot of outdoor skills to even be in the same forum with you.
My post was to see if it was a situation others may have had and maybe find a better alternate. To others thanks for the input and help. Rob

How far was the shot? If you already posted it, I missed it.

 

[Ndbowhunter]

situations you describe are why it's good to be able to use mil bases reticle to range estimate in a pinch.. That and keep extra batteries inside your closest layer and sleep with the rangefinder and during day keep it inside jacket pocket. The old square leicas were bomber in the cold but didn't have inclination setting.

 

[5MilesBack]

How far was the shot? If you already posted it, I missed it.

I think that's the whole point of this thread. His RF wasn't working, so he had no idea how far it was. Hence the two misses.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I think that's the whole point of this thread. His RF wasn't working, so he had no idea how far it was. Hence the two misses.

Still should have an idea of how far it was after it was all said and done. The OP fired off two shots, what distance did you use to shoot those two shots?

 

[weekender7]

What did folks do before range finders?

missed by a wider margin more often