Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Range finder to help nail a pronghorn

I need to get a range finder. Would like to keep it under $400. Any suggestions? Was thinking of the Leica LRF 800.

A used Leica 1200 LRF,would be my choice................

While not as powerful as its bigger brother, I have the LRF900 and it works great!!

Leica is the real deal, no matter which you choose. I had a 1200 and loved it. Now, I use the 8X42 Geovids, which is the perfect marriage between binoculars and rangefinder.

Keep checking the Campfire Classifieds. I sold my 1200 to Yukoner for $350 or so and there was another for sale a few days after mine. Haunt the Classifieds, be the first one to say, "I'll take it" and you'll be in business.

They use a common 9-Volt battery and are really stingy on power, so don't worry about the power source.

Yes, you are totally on the right track. A rangefinder, preferably a Leica, is a great aid in hunting pronghorns. Never leave the ranch house without it.

Steve

I had a Bushnell Yardage Pro Scout. It died within two months. After some run around from Bushnell, they replaced it. I would go with the LRF 900 if I had to do it again.

Of course my rangefinder died in the middle of hunting season. That is the golden rule, I have never had anything die while scouting and shooting all summer, ALWAYS during hunting season. I had a GPS go bad, a scope go bad, 2 pairs of binocs go bad, and my rangefinder go bad.

I have to ditto the LRF 900. Plenty accurate for any reasonable (and unreasonable) hunting distance. An excellent instrument.

I have the LRF 800, would like to have the 1200, but the 800 works great. DON"T waste your time and $$$ on Nikon/Bushnell/Cabela's crap. My first lazer was a Nikon, and it wouldn't work on antelope at all, not reflective enough, I guess. It was completely unreliable and I had to put duct tape over the battery door to keep it on. Needless to say, Cabela's got that total POS back and I came home w/ a Leica.

You do not need a rangefinder for pronghorn hunting. The trick is to sneak up on them until you are close enough. Read Jack O'Conner's books to see how it is done.

Conrad

April Fool's Day was 2 days ago,

I like my Nikon 440. The battery "door" is screwed in. No way it can come out. Have had reading just over 500 yards with it.

Conrad is correct. Rangefinders are fun, and are useful for improving your range-judging skills. But they certainly aren't necessary for pronghorn hunting. I've killed a couple dozen of them, and could pretty much always tell when I was in range or not. If you think you're not in range -- get closer.

Truth to tell, more game has been missed in the West by people shooting over their backs than under their bellies...

are you saying it's not possible to get close or just that you can't get that close.

Every year my wife has hunted pronghorn she has gotten one. Her longest shot was less than 80 yards. Until last year my longest shot on a pronghorn was under 150 yards.

I'm not from pronghorn country and have a much tougher time judging distances than those that live in those wide open spaces. In 2001 my son and I hunted pronghorn alone, and the Leica rangefinder was an indispensable tool. Maybe we're not good hunters, but both prairie goats were shot at fairly long range. Mine at 278 yards and my son's at 330 yards--both lasered.
We wouldn't have taken either shot except for the fact that we were absolutely sure of the distances, and that they were doable with the equipment we had. I will say that the rancher on whose land we hunted was a little surprised that a couple of city slickers from the PRK were able to fill their tags as soon as we did.

I'm sure you Montanans can tell when you're close enough, but for the rest of us, let us use tools. Most of us city slickers don't have the savvy that it takes to judge distances compared to those of you who live in the wide open spaces.
I've taken my share of prairie goats at fairly close range too, but I always considered that luck!!

I have no problem with the LRF, I have one. That's how I know my wife shot her first speed goat @ 74yds with a Win 94 .32 spec. Usually, I use the rangefinder when scouting and shooting Pdogs. Rarely have time to dig it out of the pack when hunting.

A couple of days wandering the plains playing with the rangefinder will tune your range-judging skills up. I have to do that whenever I go to new country, or country I haven't hunted for a while. Light, weather, vegetation, animal coloration and other factors can affect your estimates, so a little "validation" to local conditions with the laser is very helpful.

Speedgoat hunting is about as much fun as it gets. One of the few things I actively miss up here <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />...

You honestly can't go wrong with the Leica as these guys say but I will tell you that I use a Bushnell 1000 and have ranged goats consistently at yardages way past where they ought to be shot.