Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Optics for 2017 Elk hunt

Not owning a rangefinder in the Wide-Windy-West in this day and age of affordable models is akin to a handloader not owning a $100 chronograph. In other words, complete foolishness.

I would agree. Assuming the OP's scopes are holding zero and work adequately, a LRF and good bino's would be Priority One.

All those elk hunting years before rangefinders, how did we get along without them for so long?

One thing that helped a lot was going to flatter shooting 300 mags with a 300 yd zero. 3" high at 100 and 8" low at 400, what's the big deal about that?

Superhuman, I think not, very practical for anyone.

A 270/130 will do the same thing.

I've lived and hunted out west all my life.

If I am not dialing, I leave it at home. I use the duplex on my Leupold's.


Wide windy west? Not sure what the wind has to do with it?

SU-, no doubt you can get by without a LRF, or turrets, and I did for decades by knowing my cartridges capability to five hundred yards with a 200 yard zero. But with a whole passle of cartridges that puts you down 30-36" at five hundred; that's a lot of air! Still, doable with practice and on a big animal like an elk but very problematic on deer an smaller animals. You're right in that's where flatter cartridges helped a lot if you could shoot 'em.

You still need or should have that ballistic knowledge but, today, if you are a serious hunter, there's no good reason to do without a good LRF unless it's that or going without eating.

First of all, I don't think the OP has turrets to turn.
What good is an LRF if you don't plan on spinning?

Second, we are talking 400 yds, not 500 yds, that puts it into another realm.
AND, we are talking elk, not deer.

Third, I personally won't hunt elk without a turret if I know I will have the possibility of hunting in open country.

Fourth, It is the OP's first elk hunt and his equipment tells me he's not ready or practiced at longer shots past 400 yards.

Keep it simple, and buy the best bins you can afford.

Confirmation, if you know your cartridges trajectory. P&S.

What do you mean "what good is a LRF, without turrets"?

It does not matter whether you spin or not. You still need to know the range that you are shooting-unless everything is inside 200 yards.

I have turrets and bdcs, and regular scopes. I need to know the distance for them all.

Ha, baloney.

You guys make me laugh!

You make it much more complicated than what it is.

You remind me of a friend of mine. He can see in the dark and judge antlers of caribou with 7X35 binoculars at two miles. And he thinks everyone can. You're just humble and don't want to admit that you are better than most of us.

The OP is hunting elk for the first time in unfamiliar country. Spending $100 on a simple rangefinder that weighs less than 1/2 lb seems like a no brainer to me.

Lindbergh flew the Atlantic in a single engine aircraft from New York to Paris at 10,000' and took 33 hours... that doesn't mean it's smart to do that today... this just isn't that hard. To tell someone they need to practice out to 400 yards but simultaneously tell them they don't need a rangefinder is silly. JMO

A leupold 4x duplex subtends (from fat point to fat point) about 14-15" at 100 yards. (Largish) Elk body depth behind shoulder of 28-30" at 200 yards. Elk body depth again from cross to fat point at 400 yards.

With some slop in the body depth, your estimate might be off 50 yards either way out to 400 +/-. With a 200 yard zero (~18" low at 400) or 300 yard zero (~9" low at 400) and a beach ball kill zone, will the uncertainty cause a miss? Doubtful.

6x Leupold does about the same thing at 300 and 600 yards, and does average size deer at 200 and 400 yards.

What am I missing? Once you get out where a 50-yard error in range estimate means a sure miss, then you need a rangefinder.

Thank you all for your comments and opinions, please keep them coming. I am going to get a LRF because it will come in useful on this trip and I plan on this just being the first of many hunts out west. Mullies, Sheep, Goat, Antelope, etc are all on the agenda at some point. Plus I love to bow hunt and my current Simmons doesn't take angles into account.

I stopped on the side of the highway today and I was really pleased with the performance of my Tract Torics. I was glassing and ranging moo cows, assuming that they are in the ballpark of an elk and that was my only option. The furthest I was able to range a cow was 323 yards and it was hit and miss. When it did return a distance to took 6 or 7 seconds to do so. With the Torics I would imagine that I would be able to tell if a bull was legal or not at at least 3 or 4 times the distance of that cow. I was able to clearly see cows that were much further away but have no idea what their actual range was. .

And then you do some Kentucky hold over?

SU35,

How do you know how much?

Add: rangefinder to me implies that some sort of reticle movement or hashing is necessary. Out to where you finally need one because the reticle won't range, duplex is fine.

If you're actually gearing up for future hunts as well, then much of the advice here would probably change--in the direction of "buy once, cry once" in order to get top-notch equipment.

SU35,

What downside is there to carrying a rangefinder?

If I don't have a turret on a scope I see no reason to carry one and don't.

Simple dots are all that's needed, no downside, and no turrets needed to 500 yards (and more).