Topic: The Best Rangefinders for Hunting of 2023 (Read 39 times)
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With all the basic rangefinding modes and easy-to-use interface, this iteration of Swarovski’s excellent binocular includes Bluetooth connectivity to a mobile app with custom ballistics and maps that can help hunters recover their trophies.
A thoughtful upgrade to Swarovski’s excellent EL Range, which quickly became the industry standard when it was introduced in 2011, this model has Bluetooth connectivity to mobile apps that deliver both custom ballistics and an excellent mapping interface. The TA in the model’s name references Tracking Assistant, a very useful feature that establishes where a shooter is stationed and where the target is located. By pairing those two waypoints (via Bluetooth to a mobile app and a digital mapping service), a shooter can find the very spot where their shot landed, look for blood, and begin the recovery phase of the hunt.
The interface is straightforward to use, the optics and display-enhancing coatings are world-class, and the ergonomics of the open-barrel Range all make this one of the best rangefinding binoculars for hunters on the market. Downsides include the frame size – this is a magnum chassis – and the price. This is an investment-grade optic, with a price to prove it.
With many of the same features as the category-leading Leica, the GPO co*es in at half the price. It doesn’t have Bluetooth connectivity to a mobile app, but has decent-ranging features in a sized-down binocular.
A sized-down version of the 10×42 GPO Rangeguide we tested a couple years ago, this is a much better size for Western hunters. With that market in mind, this is a very user-friendly, versatile rangefinding binocular with features of the leading European brands at about half the cost. Yes, we wish this had connectivity to mobile apps and custom ballistics, and we’d like better glass in this unit, but for those hunters who want a straight-ahead rangefinding bino that they can actually carry into the field, the 8×32 is a great option.
The test team was split on the merits of this big, bulky 10×50 rangefinding binocular. Half felt the price alone makes this an essential hunting tool; the other half felt its attributes could be achieved by a monocular at half the price.
A straight-ahead laser rangefinding binocular, this is basically a rangefinding monocular with better optics and interface in a capable hunting platform. The Athlon‘s interface has all the modes hunters demand, from line-of-sight ranging to angle-adjusted ranging to close vs. far-ranging modes. You’re not going to find mobile app connectivity or any fancy features, but for a basic and reliable hunting tool, this is a very good choice.
This crop of new laser rangefinders for the year are handheld monoculars, simple rangefinders designed for use with a minimum of fuss interconnectivity.
The best of the new class of handheld ranging monoculars, Leupold’s 1500i has hand-filling ergonomics co*bined with the excellent True Ballistic Range/Wind software at a very appealing price.
A fresh antidote to the trend that adds features—and tedious co*plications—to laser rangefinders, this unit has everything a hunter needs in one of the best rangefinders for hunting, without add-ons that they’ll never use. If you’re a bowhunter, you’ll appreciate the bow mode that calculates angle-co*pensated ranges inside 125 yards. If you’re a rifle hunter, you’ll want to use the True Ballistic Range/Wind technology that allows users to select from any of the 25 pre-configured ballistics families. It’s a fast, precise, extremely user-friendly rangefinder that has the added benefit of being affordable, clocking in under $300.
We wish there was a receiver for a tripod stud, and the black LCD display sometimes got lost against a dark and cluttered background. But the ranging talents of the 1500i exceeded the advertised claims, and the hand-filling shape of the humpback unit is easy to stabilize.
Built for bowhunters and co*petitive archers, this unit calculates adjusted ranges based on your specific gear. Think of it as the long-range precision shooting aid that rifle shooters have had for years, but for archers.
This is a rangefinder purpose-built for bowhunters and target archers. Load your arrow ballistics into the unit, set your zero for your 20-yard pin, and the unit will give you pin holds for various ranges out to 125 yards. The FullDraw is useful out to 1,100 yards (less than the advertised 1,200 yards), making it a decent rifle rangefinder, but in ballistics mode, it returns odd yardages both way out there and inside 20 yards. That makes this an excellent bowhunting unit for elk, mule deer, antelope, and other open-country game that routinely stretches the capabilities of standard rangefinders. If you’re going to use it outside those archery-specific distances, it works better (faster and with more precision) with the ballistics calculator turned off.
The Leupold has surprisingly good optics, given its tiny objective lens, and a menu of reticles, though members of our team gravitated to the open crosshair and the circle. The red OLED display pops against a variety of contrasty backgrounds.
We tested the unit in both treestand settings, where we ranged targets out to 40 yards, and in mountain settings, where we ranged targets out to 115 yards on extremely steep pitches. It excelled in this latter environment, which will be familiar to co*petitors in Total Archery Challenge events or during elk season. It’s worth noting that the low-velocity inputs make this a very useful unit for traditional archers. The sophisticated archery-specific software and accurate range finding make this the best rangefinder for bowhunting.
With ranging capabilities beyond 2,000 yards, all the standard modes, a sharp red OLED display, and plenty of extras, this new Vortex LRF is precise enough for bowhunters but shines for riflemen.
This do-it-all rangefinder exceeded advertised ranges in every mode and target setting. We got readings of over 2,300 yards on trees in the Best Target mode. Its menu is easy to navigate, the laser processor is crazy-fast, and the amenities—soft case, wrist lanyard, pocket clip, and tripod receiver—add to its out-of-the-box utility. In short, it’s an excellent all-around rifle rangefinder, but it has plenty of talents for bowhunters, including a very good angle-adjusted mode that informs aiming solutions for high-angle shots.
If we have a ding on the Diamondback, it’s a beam-divergence issue that all testers experienced when ranging targets beyond about 1,400 yards. Beyond that range, the unit needs to be stabilized on a tripod or other support in order to ensure the laser is hitting the intended target. When handheld, the unit is too shaky to get reliable readings at those long ranges. But for nearly all shooting situations, this is a reliable and simple unit that should provide years of service. And if it doesn’t, you can rely on Vortex’s excellent warranty.
Retailing just north of $150, this is a raging bargain in a basic rangefinder that has enough features to get new shooters and hunters in the game.
It’s easy to talk about what this rangefinder doesn’t have—angle-co*pensating mode, ballistic calculator, and transferable warranty. But let’s first talk about what it does have, which is a crazy low price of around $150. It’s a basic, utilitarian rangefinder that delivers quick, accurate ranging out to just shy of 800 yards. The display—using icons to denote the various modes—is simple and intuitive. We have some concerns about durability, but the Hawke is light and showed no signs during the test of fatigue or failure, which is a good thing since a 2-year non-transferable warranty covers the unit.
The winning price is worth a few more words. Many beginning hunters and shooters invest in guns and optics but not rangefinders, both because they don’t fully appreciate the benefits of knowing precise yardage to a target and because many of these units are priced out of the range of beginning hunters. The Hawke goes a long way to making shooters and hunters of any experience more accurate and successful.
A very capable rangefinder built for bowhunters and co*petitive archers, this is the most precise unit we tested at typical bow ranges.
An archery-configured rangefinder, this unit would be at home on a Total Archery Challenge course, where co*petitors must thread arrows through small openings and shoot in a wide variety of pitches and distances. The same could be said for its value as a treestand aid, especially for those hunters who often must shoot above or below a limb or other obstacle. Appealing features include Bushnell‘s genius ActivSynch display, which shows up as high-contrast black in full light but automatically switches to a red LCD in low-light conditions. We also loved the hand-filling ergonomics that minimized shaking of the very light (5.9-ounce unit) and allowed us to lock in targets. It’s also the most visually sharp monocular in our test.
While we struggled to get the 1,500-yard distance claimed by Bushnell, we routinely picked up targets out to 1,200. The unit does its most precise ranging inside 150 yards, as befits an archery rangefinder, and it’s worth noting