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.