[repsagA29]

So my wife and kids are going to get me a rangefinder for my birthday and have been asking me what kind to get. I have never had one or even used one for that matter, so I have been doing alot of searching online and think i have narrowed it down to a bushnell or nikon. So It seems like the ARC feature adds a few dollars to the price. Is that feature worth the extra $$$. I will be using it primarily for archery and I'll be in a climber most of the time. Any and all comments welcome.

thanks, Paul

 

[dce]

Nope,not worth it in my opinion.I feel it's far more important to buy one that works well under low light conditions.

 

[Borden811]

I have the bushnell arc 1000. It's a neat feature to have if you're going to be going out west, and shooting for distances at steep uphill or downhill angles. For archery hunting, or hunting in PA in general, I'd say it's not worth the extra money. Most of the time the differece is +or- 3 yards at the most from my treestand. Usally its one or two, and if you're shooting a decently fast bow, and use good form, that won't make much of a difference in your point of impact.

 

[Asajoe1]

It is a laser, what does light conditions have to do with anything? Mine will work at night. I do know they don't work in heavy fog or hard rain.

 

[dce]

It makes a difference because the cheaper models don't gather enough light during dim hours to see what you're looking at.

 

[Asajoe1]

Sorry, I was thinking you meant the rangefinder itself wouldn't function properly. I have had 2 different finders and I have noticed that sometimes they don't work well on black 3-d targets? Maybe the shot up black foam isn't reflective enough? Also, maybe just a yard or 2 is the usual difference you might see with the ARC but I have been to 3-d courses where you are shooting from the edge of a steep bank down a very steep slope where the diff. is quite alot more than that. A friend of mine who is a very good shot and pretty smart refuses to believe that the TRUE distance is the horizontal dist. and not the actual line of sight dist. Everytime we would shoot this one shot he would hit high in the back and wonder why? This was a steep downhill shot of around 45 yards on usually a bear or pig.

 

[dce]

I can see it making a differance at long distance shots in steep terrain.For your average 30 yard shot from a treestand,the differance in negligeable.I rarely zap a deer with mine but have done it a few times prior to taking the shot.I try to range a 30 yard circle around my stand.When I shoot the base of the tree or shoot the tree eye level,the distance is usually within a yard.Even so,when I range trees around my stand,I try to range them at eye level to get the true horizontal distance.I think "ARC" is a great feature for long range rifle shooting in steep terrain.Around here,it's not an important feature for bowhunting.

Back in 1993,I bought a $250 dollar Nikon rangefinder.It worked ok but is was lousy in low light.That year I was in Colorado and the guide had a Leica.I couldn't get over how much better the Leica performed in the dark timber.As soon as I got back,I did a search and got a good deal on one.The difference was literally night and day.

 

[Born2Hunt]

For bow hunting from a tree stand I would not spend the $$. If camo is extra...no big advantage there either. Either way it is a nice birthday present.

 

[repsagA29]

Thanks for all the info!!!

 

[Fletchshedder]

I have a nikon I bought 2 years ago and it works great, only 1 yard difference from on the ground to up in the tree stand

 

[Wing & a Prayer]

The leopold series have a nice ARC feature that can be customized for archery or rifle hunting

 

[Buck Whisperer]

From my personal experience having a range finder with arc is definately worth it dude, especially if your gonna be hunting high in a tree, 20'+, or on steep side hills. Ive got the bushnell chuck adams edition and it works great. You may find that where you origionally place stands arent always the places where you see them crossing when you hunt so you may have to move stands several times during the season. I had a huge 8 point walk out to a place that i was hunting one year that i knew was 30 yards to the bottom of the tree and the arrow sailed right over its back. I was high in a tree and i shoulda been shooting 20 instead of 30. Ive had both kinds of rangefinders and i can tell you that the ones without arc dont work well for bow hunting when shooting steep angles. Alot of guys try to knock certain range finders because they perform poorly in low light, well im the type of guy that likes to have everything figured out before i get started which means that ill have everything ranged from a stand before i even hunt there so i rarely need my range finder in low light conditions. If you want one get it man, you wont be disappointed. I got the bushnell because the archers choice from nikon only ranges to 99 yards period, so you really cant use it for much more than archery, while the bushnell ranges to 800 yards.

 

[repsagA29]

Thanks B.W. I'm probably going to go with the Bushnell Chuck Adams that has the ARC. I'm also a do it once and do it right kinda guy!

 

[Hittingguru]

I have the Nikon ARC- good on dark targets and good in low light, but if I had to add one option over the base range finder, I would go with one that has a rain/fog option. More than once in archery I've been in the stand with a slight fog or drizzle and go to range some landmarks and get 4yds for everything.

 

[dce]

From my personal experience having a range finder with arc is definately worth it dude, especially if your gonna be hunting high in a tree, 20'+, or on steep side hills. Ive got the bushnell chuck adams edition and it works great. You may find that where you origionally place stands arent always the places where you see them crossing when you hunt so you may have to move stands several times during the season. I had a huge 8 point walk out to a place that i was hunting one year that i knew was 30 yards to the bottom of the tree and the arrow sailed right over its back. I was high in a tree and i shoulda been shooting 20 instead of 30. Ive had both kinds of rangefinders and i can tell you that the ones without arc dont work well for bow hunting when shooting steep angles. Alot of guys try to knock certain range finders because they perform poorly in low light, well im the type of guy that likes to have everything figured out before i get started which means that ill have everything ranged from a stand before i even hunt there so i rarely need my range finder in low light conditions. If you want one get it man, you wont be disappointed. I got the bushnell because the archers choice from nikon only ranges to 99 yards period, so you really cant use it for much more than archery, while the bushnell ranges to 800 yards.

No offence but if you're 20 feet in the air and range the bottom of a tree 30 yards out,you wll not be off by 10 yards.It's too bad you missed that buck but you can't blame it on the range finder.

 

[Asajoe1]

I don't know about 10 yds. but I've seen 5-6 yrds. on steep downhill shots. If you aim alittle high allowing for the angle of the arrow as it passes thru the deer, are that much off on yardage, and it drops a few inches at the shot for some reason you will shoot high for sure. Same applies for shooting steep up hill shots, you will hit higher than you think you should.

 

[Duckman69]

I just bought the Archers Choice rangefinder, looking forward to using it this year, I wanted the Chuck Adams model by bushnell but they are sold out, They gave me the Nikon Archers Choice for the same price.

 

[Buck Whisperer]

I have the Nikon ARC- good on dark targets and good in low light, but if I had to add one option over the base range finder, I would go with one that has a rain/fog option. More than once in archery I've been in the stand with a slight fog or drizzle and go to range some landmarks and get 4yds for everything.

Thats happened to me before to wayne.

 

[Buck Whisperer]

I was actually more like 30 feet in the air. I have a 30' tow rope that was barely touching the ground when i pulled my bow up. I had to go that high because the tree had a curve in the trunk and i had to go a bit higher to get my climber to level out. I ranged the bottom of that tree when i was up there and it was 30 yards, so when that buck walked out, i slid my sight to 30 and shot right over its back, not by a huge amount, but enough to miss it and make him run for high heaven up that hill again. By the way, i adjust my sights in 10 yard increments. Ive never really found it necessary to have them set tighter than that, although, last year i did set my pin midway between 30 and 40 to make a 35 yard shot on my buck last year. Ive recently upgraded my bow this year, but on that bow i had a slider sight marked for 20, 30, and 40. The new bow has a 3 pin fuse sight and is much faster and flatter shooting. i have that set at 30, 40, and 50. O-30 gets one pin.