Hunting range finders for Golf

[DartBrigade]

I'm sure this topic has come up before but it seemed to mostly cover higher end units from Leupold and Nikon.

 

I noticed the other day that Dick's has some hunting rangefinders for super cheap (~$79) compared to "cheap" golfing ones so I took the hunting one over to the golf display to compare. Luckily, they had a disc golf basket set up down the aisle for the near-perfect test. I found that the bottom of the line hunting unit was comparable to the middle of the road golf unit that cost 3x as much and was more reliable than any of the cheaper golf varieties.

 

The hunting unit doesn't have slope nor does it have any sort of targeting aid so you'd have to be deliberate but to save $200+ for similar results is tempting for anyone on a budget.

 

I'm lazy and use a Garmin G8 but I'm intrigued to get one for the driving range. Does anyone have on course experience w/ a low-end hunting range finder?

[gprubes]

I have a nikon hunting laser finder and have been using it for about 3 seasons. I love it. It was about $80 or $90 when i got it and its super simple to use. I still havent even changed the battery.

[buckeyefl]

https://www.precisionprogolf.com/

[XYB34A]

i have used to same one, to deer hunt and play golf with for about 10 years now. and it goes thru about 2 nine volts a year. the hunting ones wont catch the flag very often. i usually just shoot the front edge of the green and then look at a pin sheet. i learned to add in 1965, its a no brainer. beside, i want to hit enough club to get it past the front edge of the green. I have played golf since 1974, hunted since 1966. i can tell by looking uphill or down when i need to either add more or less club. or adjust the aim on the weapon I am firing at game. its the same with a bow, or crossbow too.

[L_L]

3 years ago I wnet with Leupold, I think tje model is GX3-i, and I have never locked back.

I have had my share of Nikon, Pargate and some no namers!

Leupold works in fog, rain and everything!

The others don't...

[RogerinNewZealand]

Make sure to take it off the rifle before you get to the Range/Course ?

[The Mad Bomber]

Make sure to take it off the rifle before you get to the Range/Course ?

 

lol, we're talking range finders, not scopes friend :)

 

I use a Bushnell Sportsman 800 and it works great for elk and pins with reflectors on them. The only downfall of the hunting range finder are the pins without reflective tape or the prisms in them. But as mentioned, shooting the front of the green and adding works just as well.

[blackngold_blood]

I use a Wildgame Innovations Z6X2 Halo range finder I got for $60 on the bay. It works perfectly for what I need it to do. I can shoot the front of the green if it won't pick up the flag but I really like the fact that it picks up a target when I can't reach the green in 2.

[raynorfan1]

My understanding is that the software for hunting and golf is reversed - for golf, the number displayed is biased towards the nearest target scanned, while the hunting models are biased towards the farthest target scanned.

[XYB34A]

My understanding is that the software for hunting and golf is reversed - for golf, the number displayed is biased towards the nearest target scanned, while the hunting models are biased towards the farthest target scanned.

that is true. if you shoot the pin and it will show the woods or bushes distance behind the green. hence why i shoot the front edge of the green. funny how a deer body will take a shot but a flag pin wont. honestly i have never tried to use a golf range finder hunting. so have no idea what it will shoot. i bought one years ago, left it in the cart, went to the parking lot and realized i had, and walked back. it was already gone. i think the cart washing guy lied about it. but nothing i can do. and no point in making a big stink over a couple of hundred bucks at the time.

[westcyderydin]

I have the cheap Simmons rangefinder that I most bought for archery hunting a few years ago that has been $85-100 for that last couple of years. I usually somehow forget it when I go hunting but is a perfect cheap option for close range hunting.

 

For golf it could pick up the flag of the pin most of the time from maybe 100-120 and in if the wind wasn't blowing it right at or away from you. Better than noting but not great by any means.

 

I bought the better of the Precision Pro models this year which are made for golf and am super happy with it. Leaps and bounds better. I really like it and would recommend it for the price.

[Golfdoctor]

I just order a Precision Pro - NX7 Shot Laser Ranger finder which is New for this year at GolfNow for $199 & Free ship and life time of free batteries.

[Stuart_G]

My understanding is that the software for hunting and golf is reversed - for golf, the number displayed is biased towards the nearest target scanned, while the hunting models are biased towards the farthest target scanned.

that is true. if you shoot the pin and it will show the woods or bushes distance behind the green. hence why i shoot the front edge of the green. funny how a deer body will take a shot but a flag pin wont. honestly i have never tried to use a golf range finder hunting. so have no idea what it will shoot. i bought one years ago, left it in the cart, went to the parking lot and realized i had, and walked back. it was already gone. i think the cart washing guy lied about it. but nothing i can do. and no point in making a big stink over a couple of hundred bucks at the time.

 

You can effectively use a hunting range finder IF it has multiple targeting modes. Different companies use different terminology but fore example Bushnell calls the two modes "brush" and "bullseye". The "brush" mode is the one that doesn't work well with golf, it's designed to ignore small reflections (such as the flag stick) to target animals through the brush. However, the "bullseye" mode is pretty much the same as you'll find on the golf rangefinders. So, as long as the range finder supports multiple modes and allows you to switch, you shouldn't have any problems using it for golf.

 

Unfortunately, the ones that are cheap enough to entice you away from the golf specific range finders don't typically have that capability.