# rangefinder



## greatwhitehunter3 (Sep 15, 2006)

well, im gettin into bowhunting this year and wondering if i need a rangefinder??? man they are spendy :eyeroll: .... is there any other way of finding out distances to replace the rangfinder....?i spose i could measure out distances from my stand all the way around the tree but that takes a lot of time.....practice im sure will help alot to but......or if anyone has a really cheap one that they are tryin to get rid of...thatd be great...Thanks guys


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## *Dustin* (Aug 31, 2006)

Theres always e-bay

I own a rangefinder but if you have a stand that you hunt out of on a consistent basis here's a tip:

Buy engineering flags at Lowe's or the hardware store. Place them at different ranges around your stand. I usually go 20 - 45 yards at 5 yd increments.

This keeps you from making too much movement "ranging". I like to do this before the season and spray the flags with scent killer etc.


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## greatwhitehunter3 (Sep 15, 2006)

do you spray it with scent killer or an animal scent? and ive always wondered if you start your measuring right from the bottom base of the tree or from where your standing?


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## kase (Jan 23, 2005)

also keep in mind that if you are going to buy a rangefinder for bowhunting, you don't need one with a ton of range. the low end ones that only go out to 140 yards or so will do just fine since you aren't going to be taking shots past 40. maybe 60 for antelope or at the range.


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## *Dustin* (Aug 31, 2006)

I just spray with scent killer and measure from the stand. The distance from the stand will be different than measured from the ground.

Good advice from kase. I have the Bushnell Yardage Pro Scout Laser Rangefinder.

Samplelist at SWFA has a couple Nikon's for a decent price.

http://www.samplelist.com/default.aspx?prod_type=3&hide_sold=False


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## Tator (Dec 10, 2005)

if you put flags out where you hunt, that is a very cheap, effective option!! Do it during the summer though, so you don't contaminate your hunting grounds. I try stay away from my tree stands months before season, just to keep the deer at ease. Main word is TRY. Sometimes, time gets the best of me though, and I don't always get the things done I needed during the off season.

Yardage always starts from the base of the tree, no matter how high you are. Let's say a deer is directly under your stand, and you are 10 yards up in the tree. That deer is actually 0 yards away with the shot.
Hence: meausre yardage from the base of the tree.

That would be the cheapest method, but if your looking for a range finder, don't go cheap. I use mine for gun hunting also, where a 300 yd shot is always a possibility. but as said above, bowhunting ranges are right around 10-60 yds, depending on situation.

good luck!!!


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## bmxfire37 (Apr 26, 2007)

look in to a pendulum sight, from the tree stand ( sighted in at 20 yards ) they are usuallty accurate up to about 50 just point and relese... 1 pin swings around to the º mesure of your shot always dead on. then it lock in place for ground shooting...takes all teh guesswork out of it, mines a viewmaster from cobra...look in to it!


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