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Varmint Hunting
204 or 223 for Prairie Dogs
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<blockquote data-quote="RegionRat" data-source="post: 2874370" data-attributes="member: 57231"><p>You ask an excellent question.</p><p>This topic, and wind, are two of the several challenges of PD hunting.</p><p></p><p>You find yourself needing to steady the rangefinder and also using indirect readings on nearby objects to bracket the range when the distance gets too far to use the PD for a return. </p><p></p><p>Things like grass at a grazing angle to the target can frustrate you if you try a straight shot. </p><p></p><p>If the ground nearby fades away, you find yourself unable to range that target directly. This is when the other objects or nearby terrain become important.</p><p></p><p>With many calibers, taking a 500 yard shot without a good range is throwing away the shot. If the terrain hides the impact, it is a waste of the shot.</p><p></p><p>Rookies tend to spend lots of time to learn how to go from the binos, to the target in the scope. It helps when the binos are the rangefinder to help skip an extra step. I like the Sig and Vortex units for starters since rookies tend to do better with them when combined with a wide variable scope that I can dial down for them till they acquire the target, then I zoom them up.</p><p></p><p>Bracketing the range on nearby terrain with a more blunt return is a necessary skill on many hunts. You learn to estimate the target by using other nearby terrain that offers a better reflection with less uncertainty.</p><p></p><p>Learning to run the rangefinder and the different modes is important. Some models will run a scan mode where you can oscillate the rangefinder on objects to verify the return. These modes can help but they also suck down the battery.</p><p></p><p>PD hunting used to be done without rangefinders before they became common, but if folks were being honest they would admit their stats on shots past 350 yards were poor. Estimating range on targets was and is an important skill, especially when the rangefinder can't get a good return on the PD.</p><p></p><p>A beginner can roll with an inexpensive rangefinder, but they won't stay that way for long once they see what a better unit can do, and the bino units help with their speed onto the target too.</p><p></p><p>When you are shopping, pay attention to a parameter called beam divergence. It represents the angular spread of the beam. The smaller that angle is, the better. If the spread is too wide, you can't get a return in those bad situations.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RegionRat, post: 2874370, member: 57231"] You ask an excellent question. This topic, and wind, are two of the several challenges of PD hunting. You find yourself needing to steady the rangefinder and also using indirect readings on nearby objects to bracket the range when the distance gets too far to use the PD for a return. Things like grass at a grazing angle to the target can frustrate you if you try a straight shot. If the ground nearby fades away, you find yourself unable to range that target directly. This is when the other objects or nearby terrain become important. With many calibers, taking a 500 yard shot without a good range is throwing away the shot. If the terrain hides the impact, it is a waste of the shot. Rookies tend to spend lots of time to learn how to go from the binos, to the target in the scope. It helps when the binos are the rangefinder to help skip an extra step. I like the Sig and Vortex units for starters since rookies tend to do better with them when combined with a wide variable scope that I can dial down for them till they acquire the target, then I zoom them up. Bracketing the range on nearby terrain with a more blunt return is a necessary skill on many hunts. You learn to estimate the target by using other nearby terrain that offers a better reflection with less uncertainty. Learning to run the rangefinder and the different modes is important. Some models will run a scan mode where you can oscillate the rangefinder on objects to verify the return. These modes can help but they also suck down the battery. PD hunting used to be done without rangefinders before they became common, but if folks were being honest they would admit their stats on shots past 350 yards were poor. Estimating range on targets was and is an important skill, especially when the rangefinder can't get a good return on the PD. A beginner can roll with an inexpensive rangefinder, but they won't stay that way for long once they see what a better unit can do, and the bino units help with their speed onto the target too. When you are shopping, pay attention to a parameter called beam divergence. It represents the angular spread of the beam. The smaller that angle is, the better. If the spread is too wide, you can't get a return in those bad situations. [/QUOTE]
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