Budget rangefinder review.

Hunting season is nearly upon us!  Yay!  Get your bows out, dust off your rifles, get to the range and get sited in!  Yep this is the awesome time when we get to trudging through the woods getting back to our primal roots.

Thank goodness we have evolved a bit.  In the last few years I have been introduced to the world of bow hunting.  I grew up as a rifle hunter along with the millions of other americans.  I still love bumping shoulders with all the other rifle hunters, however I find myself enjoying the hunt with a bow more these days.  There is something about being able to talk with the animal your trying to harvest that brings me to a different place.  As we have evolved from the age of spears and rocks, so have our tools.  Here is one of those tools that will aid in your attempt in making it a successful hunt.  

Here is my review of the Halo XRBD Range Finder by Wildgame Innovations.

This little guy can be found at retailers for around $125 making it a great entry level range finder.  That being said, I have found it to be a great rangefinder.  The size is perfect and compact.  I really enjoyed the ergonomic design and the rubber grips on the top and bottom.  It is a simple two button design that is very easy to use.  The two buttons are the power/range button, and the mode button.  At first use I found that I would sometimes press the wrong button but after the first few uses muscle memory took over.  The mode button switches between meters and yards.  The display is simple with no clutter, showing the mode (Y or M) and the range and a low battery indicator.

So I know you were thinking it by now, what are the specs of this little gem…

Max Range: up to 500 yards
Scan mode: Yes
Power: 6X
Eye lens: 15.5mm – anti-fog 
Power Saver: 20 seconds without pressing a button
Object lens: 24mm
View angle: 7 degrees
Precision: +/- 1 yard yes 
Water Resistant: Yes
Weight: 8 oz.
Size: 4.2” x 3” x 1.7”
LCD: Gray color text/icons
Battery: CR2 (Included)
Warranty: 1 Year


Oh yeah thats right those are some pretty awesome specs right?  If you didn't like those check these out!

Range Performance

Object                Min Range           Max Range

Tree                     5 Yards               400 Yards

   Deer                   5 Yards               250 Yards  

     Golf Flag               5 Yards               150 Yards        

The XRBD comes from Dicks Sporting Goods with the battery and tether in the package.  I really like having the tether so it is always close at hand.

Now the bad.  The max range on this rangefinder is 500 yards, that is on a reflective target.  I don't know any deer or elk that run around with a mirror.  If you find one please send me a picture!  For a long range rifle hunter this will fall short.  For a bow hunter this will work.  The only thing that would make it better would be angle detection (true shot range on a positive or negative angle).  That being said this is a great budget rangefinder that will get the job done.  

Check back for more rangefinder reviews later!