Weapon Mounted Laser Range Finder...for hunting?

[KMC55]

Interested in what the community has to say about WMLRFs for hunting!

In the Military we use them all the time, and with the new Tango FIRE 4000 or the Vortex Impact 4000 making WMLRFs more affordable...

Will you be using one while hunting this year? Are you interested in using one?

I personally own and use the FIRE 4000 and I love it! I will be using it during rifle season this year.

 

[firemtn]

I've never used one. But I'd like to try one out. Not sure I'd want to put one on a lightweight rifle set up but would be curious to hear your feedback after you hunt with one this year.

 

[z987k]

Scopes with built in range finding have been around for a bit. I played around with one for a bit a few years ago. I did not like how clunky it was compared to twisting a dial. It's a LOT slower, especially when you don't even need to range because you know the distances to things already. I also didn't like being solely reliant on it to function. I find electronics always eventually fail in the field.

 

[Amos Moses]

Not sure, but would that be considered a “smart rifle” in CO?

 

[Coleredding00]

View attachment 856592
Not sure, but would that be considered a “smart rifle” in CO?

That does seem like a grey area… but the way i read it, the scope doesn’t have a processor in it, the rangefinder does. From a legality standpoint, it’s no more illegal than any ballistics rangefinder. It’s just bolted to your rifle. You still have to dial the scope manually.

 

[grappling_hook]

I like to range things regularly, including things I don't want to shoot. With a weapon-mounted rangefinder, or one built into the scope, it seems like you would need to choose between using the rangefinder or keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction. Unless I have a second rangefinder that is handheld, in which case why have a second one on my rifle or built into my scope. How do users of these weapon-mounted laser rangefinders deal with that?

 

[dirtytough]

I’ve used a WMLRF along with stand alone rangefinder and RF binos.

Depending on the situation, how a person hunts, and what they are hunting there are pros and cons.

You have to sight your WMLRF in to your poa. I sight all my rifles in @100 yards. I sight the WMLRF in @400-500 yards with the scope still dialed for 100 yards. When hunting though I like to have the scope dialed to 250-300 yards when walking around. So my poa isn’t lined up with the WMLRF anymore.

So aim at your target with zero dialing. Range your target, dial.

I’m a fan of the WMLRF for more dynamic situations. Think coyote hunting when you just called a triple and killed two with the third running off. You can tell it’s going to stop for a second and you spam the range button. Super fast and you never have to get out of your scope and lose your moving target.

When I hunt big game it’s usually a lot more “controlled” than coyote hunting. I glass something up, range, dial, shoot. Or glass, stalk, range, stalk, range, shoot. I’m not herd shooting deer, elk, antelope, moose etc. So after my first target is down I’m done shooting.

 

[KMC55]

Scopes with built in range finding have been around for a bit. I played around with one for a bit a few years ago. I did not like how clunky it was compared to twisting a dial. It's a LOT slower, especially when you don't even need to range because you know the distances to things already. I also didn't like being solely reliant on it to function. I find electronics always eventually fail in the field.

Thats a great caveat! The units I referred to are super fast with the return in my experience, less than .5 second (and they arn't built into the scope). What scopes did you use? Also a good understanding of your point blank zero pretty much negates all of this in a hunting scenario haha!

For me, all I am doing is taking the weight off of my bino harness and putting it on the rifle, shooters preference really, and it saves me an extra step of ranging before I get into my shooting position. I can build my position and get comfortable AND range without really coming off the gun. Maybe its just bias from lots of practice that way. I am sure folks are just as fast with a handheld!

 

[KMC55]

View attachment 856592
Not sure, but would that be considered a “smart rifle” in CO?

I agree with Coleredding00 on that one. It falls into the same category of a ballistic range finder or range finding binos

 

[KMC55]

I like to range things regularly, including things I don't want to shoot. With a weapon-mounted rangefinder, or one built into the scope, it seems like you would need to choose between using the rangefinder or keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction. Unless I have a second rangefinder that is handheld, in which case why have a second one on my rifle or built into my scope. How do users of these weapon-mounted laser rangefinders deal with that?

Personally I run range finding binos. I see a range finder as critical equipment that can really hose a hunt without it (thinking of a flat country antelope hunt where getting inside of 350yds could be darn near imposible especially if you're hunting weekends). A habit that I carry from the military is to always have a backup or two for critical equipment i.e. two ways to get a range, and a good point blank zero.

 

[KMC55]

I’ve used a WMLRF along with stand alone rangefinder and RF binos.

Depending on the situation, how a person hunts, and what they are hunting there are pros and cons.

You have to sight your WMLRF in to your poa. I sight all my rifles in @100 yards. I sight the WMLRF in @400-500 yards with the scope still dialed for 100 yards. When hunting though I like to have the scope dialed to 250-300 yards when walking around. So my poa isn’t lined up with the WMLRF anymore.

So aim at your target with zero dialing. Range your target, dial.

I’m a fan of the WMLRF for more dynamic situations. Think coyote hunting when you just called a triple and killed two with the third running off. You can tell it’s going to stop for a second and you spam the range button. Super fast and you never have to get out of your scope and lose your moving target.

When I hunt big game it’s usually a lot more “controlled” than coyote hunting. I glass something up, range, dial, shoot. Or glass, stalk, range, stalk, range, shoot. I’m not herd shooting deer, elk, antelope, moose etc. So after my first target is down I’m done shooting.

WMLRFs demand a different style of shooting. Really they don't allow for ease of use when dialing. I shoot with a christmas tree reticle and prefer not to dial. I watched a buddy miss a deer because he forgot to redial after the deer moved about 75 yards from his original spot. And I see it all too often at PRS matches and competitions. Seems like every stage someone forgets to dial. That being said, if you're calm and have an excess of time, you are a lot less likely to forget that.

Have you ever thought about just zeroing your rangefinder to a 300yd zero? I zero mine to wherever the outer limit of my point blank zero is, for hunting season. and I like to co-align the laser as far out as possible, a reflective target like a license plate is good enough for about 1000yards at dusk in my experience.

 

[Oregonhuntrboi]

If down the road the technology gets good enough where the rangefinder is say the size of an mdt send it/ SG pulse I would definitely want to try one. But I’m not gonna throw on one of those given thier current footprint on my lightweight hunting setup.