rangefinder

[Flyrod444]

I am thinking of buying a range finder and would like some advice on which ones are a good buy. I don't want to spend more than $300.
The unit will be used to range targets out to around 300 yards mostly. It would be used for hunting deer size game most of the time, however it  would be nice if the unit would would range something as small as a ground hog out to 300 yards.
Thank You,
Jack

[skeetjb]

Flyrod, I bought the Nikon 400 last year and use it mostly for bow and gun hunting for deer. It works great and I like it a lot. I haven't used it much on small targets so I am not sure if it will pick up the smaller targets at the longer ranges. I paid under $200 for the plain black one, you should be able to find one with a little more power and still be in your price range .......Jim.

[5Redman8]

Fly,

I will put in my money's worth....Leica 800.  I bought one on Ebay brand new for $305.   The 800 is in meters and will range more in yards.  Great unit.

Kyle

[skb2706]

I have had a Leica 1200 and a Bushnell compact 800 and for ranges <300 yds. the cheaper Bushnell was fine. You may have some trouble ranging directly on a gh.....I have never tried. But while shooting prairie dogs.........which cannot be ranged well with either unit, we usually range something close that is reflective enough to give us a good reading .....ie, rock , mound, fence, change in topography or even a target stand that we move around for reference.
If you want to give yourself an idea of what you are up against...take a pair of decent 8x binos and hold them steady on a 12" target at 300yds. Some rangefinders don't have quite that much magnification but the problem is still going to be holding steady. Even when I tried a LRF for big game hunting I found right away that ranging something close in distance and larger in size was much easier than a direct range on the animal.