Rangefinder

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
I bought a WoSports one for around the £65 mark, says it works up to 600yds and is mainly meant for the golfing market but works OK and certainly within 0.5 yards on short distances, checked it out to about 40 against a tape but that ran out of material after that. I find it useful to get an idea of the range when practicing especially when the arrows land before getting to the target.

As for virtually all electronics these days they are chinese, hard plastic case but softer material on the top and bottom for grip.
Mine is quite similar; retails for around £70-100 it’s not a total cheapie.
 

chrisgas

Supporter
Supporter
I haven't bought a rangefinder but recently I seem to keep aquiring some little red dots when I'm out in my field, that seem to keep moving from chest to my forehead. You guys are in lockdown, aren't you? :oops:
 

dvd8n

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
I haven't bought a rangefinder but recently I seem to keep aquiring some little red dots when I'm out in my field, that seem to keep moving from chest to my forehead. You guys are in lockdown, aren't you? :oops:
I suspect that it's one of the locals that's got it in for you.

Our range finders use infra red lasers. When we come for you you won't get any warning at all.
 

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
I suspect that it's one of the locals that's got it in for you.

Our range finders use infra red lasers. When we come for you you won't get any warning at all.
Okay I’m throwing away any shred of credibility I may have ever had but I initially tried to use the rangefinder BACKWARDS; yep I was looking through it the wrong way, probably shining the little laser directly into my retinas. And wondering why it didn’t work...
What an idiot I felt as I realised my comical error...

So there is no danger from this end...
 

little-else

Supporter
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
I borrowed one when they first came ont the scene and the accuracy at short range was good but faltered badly at long range. Like all things these days, they will have improved enormously and got cheaper. If you ever try flight archery it will be a good tool to determine roughly how far your arrows fly when you are practising on a golf course or long field that cant be measured quickly by other methods. Getting your minion to walk out to the arrows and then ranging on them better than trying to zap a small stick 250m+ away
 

malbro

Instinctive Archer
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
There is useful article on rangefinders and how they work here from which my 600yard maximum is likely to be around 480yards in reality but still goodenough for most archers.
Looking at the wrong end and pressing the button to trigger the laser is a really bad idea, even a low power laser can cause damage to the retina, its is a case of power and time that does the damage. When I was working with 100W lasers we always used special glasses and were taught to never look into the beam or at reflections off surfaces.
The manufacturers do not quote the power rating nor is there much on safety in their instruction leaflets (assuming the even give you one).
 

wahid

New member
I've been toying with getting one of these for a while as my range estimation is generally on the wrong side of "pants" but also to go with the air rifle.
I happened to get a £20 voucher from the big store for reviewing an item (all legit but they then asked me to review items I haven't got - NOT legit!) so put it towards one - BIJIA Rangefinder - 650Yards Multi-Function Laser Archery Rangefinder for Bow Hunting,Shooting, Golf,Camping with Slope Correction,Flag-locking with Vibration,Speed,Angle,Scan,Distance Measure: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors
I can't justify anything high end but didn't want to go absolute bargain basement (£40ish) plus its camouflage so must be good.

Obviously I can't use it in tournaments but it'll be a training aid for both field archery and air rifle shooting.
You need a rangefinder for both archery field and rifle shooting.
you can go for Aofar brand. this can give you Up to 700 yards of range-finding competence with camouflage.
If you get any benefit please let me know.
 

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
You need a rangefinder for both archery field and rifle shooting.
you can go for Aofar brand. this can give you Up to 700 yards of range-finding competence with camouflage.
If you get any benefit please let me know.
I looked at them but the one I got (link above) just pipped it on reviews. I’m impressed with it so far.
 

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
There is useful article on rangefinders and how they work here from which my 600yard maximum is likely to be around 480yards in reality but still goodenough for most archers.
Looking at the wrong end and pressing the button to trigger the laser is a really bad idea, even a low power laser can cause damage to the retina, its is a case of power and time that does the damage. When I was working with 100W lasers we always used special glasses and were taught to never look into the beam or at reflections off surfaces.
The manufacturers do not quote the power rating nor is there much on safety in their instruction leaflets (assuming the even give you one).
Well I can still see.
I think.
 

malbro

Instinctive Archer
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
Well I can still see.
I think.
Laser rangefinders should be class 1 which is supposed to be safe even when viewed, mine is quoted at 0.4mW which is well below the limit for class 1 but if you do it for long enough who really knows.
 

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
Laser rangefinders should be class 1 which is supposed to be safe even when viewed, mine is quoted at 0.4mW which is well below the limit for class 1 but if you do it for long enough who really knows.
I worked it out fairly quickly...
 
D

Deleted member 7654

Guest
I borrowed one when they first came ont the scene and the accuracy at short range was good but faltered badly at long range. Like all things these days, they will have improved enormously and got cheaper. If you ever try flight archery it will be a good tool to determine roughly how far your arrows fly when you are practising on a golf course or long field that cant be measured quickly by other methods. Getting your minion to walk out to the arrows and then ranging on them better than trying to zap a small stick 250m+ away
At long range you may need something to steady it (I made a mono pod from a Hazel stick) and also something (ideally reflective) to aim it at car or big Oak tree trunk work well! A square of white painted ply on a stick would prob do the job :)
For flight I shoot from alongside my car (or say 5 yards in front)... walk to the arrow, then measure back (subtracting the 5 yards if needed)
Del
 

malbro

Instinctive Archer
Supporter
AIUK Saviour
golfers commonly use WoSports rangefinder. It can measures up to 650 yards. It can also be used in hunting. But I don't know is it use in archery sports or not.
I have one and use it in field, difficult to choose at the lower end so went on spec and price.
 

Shirt

Well-known member
Whatever you've bought, learn the corrections for it. By which I mean, take a known measuring device (tape measure, or the markings on your practice field) and go and check what the laser says that distance is. Ideally on both a black surface and a white surface.

Older Leupolds used to give amusingly different answers depending on whether they were ranging off black or white, and shade also caused variance. I've got a Nikon "Archer's Choice" which is good to 20m, then add 0.5m to 30m, 0.75m 30-40m, 1m 40-55m, and 1.75m beyond 55m. I've never bothered using it past 70m, I can only imagine it'll be much worse.

For those saying "well that's accurate enough" - uncorrected, no it's not. 1.75m at 55m, even with a relatively fast bow, is around 5" low. And that's before we get into the question of whether I've aimed at the right spot and whether I do a decent shot.

Nothing wrong with cheap kit, but make sure you've learned it's limitations and level of consistency before you actually rely on it.
 

Geophys2

Active member
AIUK Saviour
When we were setting an AGB or WA field course we found that using a silver reflector on the boss gave us much more accurate and reliable distances in the woods where returns off a black boss could sometimes be problematic. My current field club is NFAS, so if it looks right it is, and anyway the last thing I want to know is the distance to the target in field, even on marked days I never look at the peg to see the distance as I never shot as well on the marked day if I knew the distance.

At my target club we always used a surveyors tape to set distances, there was one AGB judge who used a rangefinder to check the distances at our record status shoots and he always differed from our measurements, we had to show him every year that our measurements were right and his were wrong. Not sure how many archers missed out on rose awards and records because they were shooting 103yds rather than 100yds at other events he judged.
 

Kernowlad

Supporter
Supporter
Well despite the extreme scepticism it’s a handy tool when traipsing 60 yards across woodland with a tape measure, trying to maintain a perfectly straight line, just isn’t convenient.
 
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