Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting how do you range?

Today's events got me wondering, how do you all range in the field? Me and the boys shot this morning and after lunch were doing some range-E. The targets were below our roof top and the land rises away from the river so I thought we would get decent readings but the LRF gave false readings and no readings on some targets so when we were done mil'ing we drove to each target and lased the building with no problems. From roof to target did not always result in a range that matched the one from target to building(and there was not enough angle for it to matter). However, my estimation from mil'ing(done on the roof) was never off by more than 10m, all the way out to 900m, from what we got from target to building via LRF.

So, how do you range and how confident are you in your LRF? Obviously game animals present about as good a reflective target as silhouettes do. Do you just range the deer with an LRF and hope for the bests or do you range some relfective target to help you estimate range? How many of you use some sort of ranging system using mils or minutes? Combination of the two?

I usually take shots of features around me with the LRF as a quick reference to check myself then mil a target several ways taking the average of the ranges I mil. Then that range is what I apply my DOPE and calculations to.

Which LRF?

i shoot the animal then count paces to the corpse.

Hit the animal 2-3 times and scan both sides. If your LRF is capable.

Always better to have another hunter with a LRF too.

If not see 1st sentence.

Thats too far for me to walk.........

Leica 1200 Scan...hasn't let me down yet.

A fresh battery is a plus.....

Most of my lasers r Leica LRF/CRF's/Geovid.

I also calculate reticle-rangefinding (including point blank range rangefinding) for any game (avg. back to brisket) i may be after with any multi-stadia reticle i'm using at the time. I get a lot of opportunity to range antelope and deer where i hunt coyotes, and we're running about 3-5% error out to ~500 yds. with most reticles. We r almost always within 3% on hard targets all the way out to ~1000.

The system i use is based on the most basic form of the mil-ranging formula. As an example i have a 6-18x Nikon Buckmasters mil-dot, but i don't "mil" at the cald. power of 12. I use 18 where it becomes more accurate at a subtension of 2.4 inch per hundred yds. Here's a description of the formula--
www.ottllc.com/specialtypistols/sp20.pdf -- Item C) Reticle Rangefinding

sscoyote,
We also calculate quick references based on average object sizes. None of our rifle optics(leupold and nightforce) go above 10x but any of the reticles break down into .2mils to help range more accurately. I was using the standard army mil reticle instead of the TMR or for my range-e. Even though my spotter has a mil reticle I usually only use it to spot trace.

The reason I asked about sport optic type LRF's is two of our guys had Bushnell and Leupold LRF's they like to carry for quick reference and they were not giving accurate ranges on the bobs we were ranging. Earlier in the day, on the range, they gave good readings from the roof to the backstop on our range. I was just asking because i can mil more accurately, but not necessarily faster, than those sport LRF's can on small targets.

That's your problem, right there. You need to swap those Bushnells and Leupolds for a pair of Leicas, Swaros or Zeiss's, and you'll be in business.

I also have problems with ranging small targets even with all my Leicas, but they are the best out there besides maybe the Swaro.

I also use the TMR reticle as it allows for .02 mil rangefinding accuracy. Great reticle for that app.

I use a LRF1200 scan, always use the scan and range the critter alond with targets around it. I suck at judgeing range past about 300 yards so if my LRF wont get a range I dont take the shot.

Jordan,
The Army has really good range finders but they are big and I don't always feel like hauling it around since my kit already fills an assault pack. I buy enough gear that a Leica or Swaro is not going in my kit bag. As long as we can see a target two of us behind optics can come up with a consensus on range pretty fast, and I was only off by 1.11% at 900m. An LRF cannot always come through depending on conditions. That is why I was asking what your alternate plan is?

That is very true. An LRF definitely is not infallible, and at times it doesn't come up with a reading at all. If I'm ranging a shot at an animal when the LRF fails, I use the ballistic reticle in my rifle scope to gauge how far away the animal is. If it's further than 400 yards, and my LRF won't give a reading, I don't shoot. Even an error of only 1.11% at 900m is enough to completely miss the vitals of a big-game animal.

If it's an inanimate target, I take a sighter-shot and adjust from there.

http://www.authorizedoptics.com/swarovski-range-finders.html
Never go wrong again. I have 3 flippen range finders and this is the keeper. Don't buy 3 of them over 10 year period and end up buying what you were avoiding to buy because of price.
Remember you will miss 100% of the shots you don't take.. LOL

Yes, an error of 1.11% translates into about 6" for that rifle at 900m. Personally, I limit my shots on a hunt between four and five hundred (and only that far if the wind isn't blowing more than 10mph) even though my personal rifles are quite a bit more effective. None of them are set up to shoot beyond what can be acheived "holding on hair."

I use turbo accelerator bullets out of my 300 magnum. Not only do they have flesh seeking tips, they accelerate to compensate for ranges beyond my zero range of 300 yards. They're expensive, but they work.

I have the flesh seeker tip too, but it doesn't fit in any rifle I know of. LOL

For LR work I run a Leica RF.

To back that up I run mildot optics. My two most used LR guns have the same 6.5x20 MKIV Leupolds on them. I actually keep a small calculator in my pack. The formula is: Size of the target in inches x 27.77 divided by # of Mils read equals distance to the target in yards. Then I dial it and send it.

That 27.77 factor is really the key to reticle rangefinding. I remember years ago when i was investigating the mil-dot i tried to figure out where that factor came from. I finally realized it's what i refer to as the "subtension unit" factor. It comes from this simple equation--100 yds. / 3.6" = 27.77. When i discovered that hugely important concept, i thought hey, why not see if it'll work with a plex reticle or ballistic reticle stadia that subtend a different measurement? Sure enuf it worked, oftentimes even more accurately than the mil-dot itself. Now all my multi-stadia reticles became improvised mil-dots.

That's the beauty of the system--all rangefinding with reticles (even downrange zeroing as well) are based upon the most basic form of the mil-ranging formula as noted above. Once every variable in the "mil-ranging" formula is understood it really is quite fascinating what can be accomplished with it.

Here's the rangefinding dope in a Butler Creek Blizzard objective cover that i use with Darrell Holland's HUMR reticle on an 11" back to brisket coyote using a more accurate 1/2 mil system (subtension factor becomes 100/1.8=55.56)--

I got the Leica 1200 scan and I like it but sometimes get faulty readings, like when there is fog and such.

I stuffed all the mildot math into my head, then it all fell out as other stuff got pushed in.

I wish I could afford a really good LRF but I am not sure what it would be. Seems like the really good stuff is unavailable for civilian purchase.

You can always fall back on making a sketch, pacing distances, using topo's etc