Anyone use laser ranging riflescopes?

Southern

Well-Known Member
I know a lot of the SDUK members use laser rangefinders. Some use binoculars with laser rangefinders. And most of those using rangefinders are using high power variable scopes to shoot foxes and crows, with bit of exposed turret adjustments for each shot.

But I have never seen any mention of using a rifle scope which as a built in laser rangefinder and bullet drop compensation programmed into it for the loads you are firing. Why is that? Is something like the Burris Eliminator 4-12x40mm just too modern, taking away some of the skill and fun?
 
I've a laser rangefinder but not integral with a 'scope mounted my guns.

First I can't afford one,

Second I don't trust technology and if it "fails" all I've written off is a rangefinder and not a 'scope,

Third if the game laws change and rangefinders become outlawed I can sell it to land surveyors etc., on eBay and NOT have a now illegal 'scope,

Fourth if I want to I can lend it to a friend and not have to lend him my gun or detach the 'scope,

Fifth, I zero at a range such that if I shoot out to one hundred yards, one fifty yards I'll hit where I am wanting too on game,

Sixth, I now mostly shoot in woodland and from a high seat so I don't need it on the 'scope.

But mostly the FIRST reason. I'm too poor and my old Zeiss stuff will just have to make do for me!

In my lifetime I've seen changes, even in UK, to what is legal and illegal for game (think magazine capacity restrictions to two shot on self-loading rimfire rifles and all self-loading shot guns on game under the Wildlife and Countryside Act) and I am not sure if rangefinders might, from some perverted logic, be banned at some future date...who knows!

But for vermin it'd make sense. Although a bit over the top on a .17 HMR or a .22LR for crows and magpies.

Re the "skill" I'd disagree. Anything that helps ensure an efficient, humane kill is sensible. The only "chance" that the game deserves is the fair chance that its death will be quick and clean.
 
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i think you'll find it was only semi auto shotguns that were restricted to two shots in the mag and apart from it being considered bad form there is no law against shooting game with one ?

no mag restrictions as far as I'm aware on 22 rf rifles whatever the action ?
 
Price: They are not cheap, but here in the USA, can be had for about $800, so much less than many Zeiss, Swaro, etc.

Outlawed: Yes, it is difficult to buy one and export it from the USA. It was, after all developed for the US Army, with an integral digital camera and battlefield communications.

Vermin: Yes, it is over the top. And even more of a Hubble than many already in use on rimfires.

Something like a Bushnell AR223 with side parallax adjustment and exposed turrets, a Nikon Rimfire or P-223, Vortex DBack BDC, or Burris Ballistic Plex (3-9x40 MSR, FFII, E1, or 4.5-14x42 AO) will place bullets with precision further than any .22 or .17 can reach... if you can range within 10 yards. And for $130 to $250.00.

That gets into the whole topic of having to carry a rangefinder, twiddle with turrets, use a ballistic reticle or mil dots, and keeping it simple enough to just raise the rifle and shoot using just the reticle subtensions.
 
I think they're pretty useful for teaching yourself how to estimate distances. I often take mine with me on a walk and test how accurately I estimate distances.

The other thing I think they're good for is marking distances when you're in an area you dont know so well.

When I was out last year one of the seats I sat at was overlooking a lot of wide open fields and there werent any particular land marks like trees or fences, so it would have been helpful to have a range finder to just mark out a "kill zone" and mentally grid space the area. As a result I got one shortly afterwards!

Once you're familiar with an area ("I know that the tree over there is 150m from my seat etc") and/or are better at estimating distances then they're probably less necessary.

But as a security blanket for shooters who've not had to estimate distances before I can see the value.

That doesnt mean that you should take shots you're not comfortable with though! Even if the rifle can accurately shoot to XYZ distance that doesnt mean you should if you dont feel comfortable at that range. But again, the range finder is helpful here because it lets you know definitively know that something is outside a range you feel comfortable shooting at.

So i think they;re a good idea, and also agree that I'd rather have a separate range finder and scope.
 
another useful feature of a rangefinder is being able to range back to where you took the shot from to more accurately find shot deer , it always looks different once you've walked over to the area you thought the deer fell in !
 
Are you fellows talking about your rifle with a built in laser ranging scope, like the Burris Eliminator 4-12x, or just your palm-held laser rangefinder?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._3_5x10x40mm_eliminator_eliminator_matte.html
View attachment 67635
Anything which helps you learn to judge distances is a good thing. And it is always a good idea to walk off distances, and to draw little maps of areas where you set up overlooking an area. That's what military scout snipers do: fill out a Range Card of the area they are watching, with distances between themselves and landmarks, and landmark to landmark. People who measure for a living, like surveyors, get pretty good at estimating distances and angles.
 
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It depends on where I am shooting. At my regular farm i know all field dimensions so never an issue but if somewhere new I tend to use my geovids although i do also have a crf-1600b!!
 
Are you fellows talking about your rifle with a built in laser ranging scope, like the Burris Eliminator 4-12x, or just your palm-held laser rangefinder?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._3_5x10x40mm_eliminator_eliminator_matte.html
View attachment 67635
Anything which helps you learn to judge distances is a good thing. And it is always a good idea to walk off distances, and to draw little maps of areas where you set up overlooking an area. That's what military scout snipers do: fill out a Range Card of the area they are watching, with distances between themselves and landmarks, and landmark to landmark. People who measure for a living, like surveyors, get pretty good at estimating distances and angles.

I just have one of these;

Hawke LRF 600 Laser Range Finder Airguns Rimfire Centrefire Golf: Amazon.co.uk: Sports Outdoors

For the ranges we're shooting at this works great and does everything from 5-600m. TBH it pretty much covers me for target rifle too, apart from 900-1000 yards!!
 
i was going to buy a burris elimantor 2 from a gunshop cash was in hand,, he said i wont sell you this because you will want your money back,, that to me says rubbish product,,glass was turd also
 
I had and used a burris eliminator for a season. It does exactly as it is supposed to, drop is bang on and it is easy to use. I sold it for two reasons, one, the glass is not as good as my binnys, and i could see deer with them but not the scope. 2, the magnification is not great. Once above half of its mag range it gets milky and the magnification becomes less easy to use.
In perfect conditions it can be incredible, and really works, now i use a BT scope and RF binnys. If a really good scope manufacturer made on at a price that was acceptable i would really consider one.
 
I took the time to compare the optics of a Burris Elim II with a similarly priced Vortex and the optics were *****. In fact they are not even up to a Vortex for less than half the price.
You get what you pay for they say and expecting a maker to be able to provide laser ranging AND good optics is asking too much.
 
The optics on a $1200 Burris computerized scope are probably the level of their $200 Fullfield II.
So I would not expect them to be the level of a $1,200 Vortex scope.

I can say that my Burris and Vortex scopes in the same price level are pretty much the same. Both of them have a pretty fine ballistic drop reticle which is dead on ( Vortex copies Burris's to the mm).
 
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