Laser rangefinders burst onto the hunting scene a good many
years ago and since the beginning Bushnell has been the
leader in this field. The original YP-400 model has now been
supplemented with a lot of other models with the YP-1000 at
the top of the heap. I saw a technical review of I suppose
all available models to include the scopes with built in
range finder capability in a magazine awhile back. They
tested to see what distance each would measure to on highly
reflective and normally reflective targets. None beat the
YP-1000. It out performed even the most expensive of them
costing over 5-6 times as much. They also tested accuracy
which is something I have no real capability to do other than
over relatively short distances and again the YP-1000 and the
other Bushnell range finders came thru with flying colors but
then so did all the rest. In other words according to that
review there are no bad ones from the perspective of accuracy
out there. However there was a great deal of difference in
how far they would perform. In the test I mention the
Bushnell's consistenty performed beyond their rated distances
on highly reflective targets and pretty much to that distance
on normally reflective targets. No all of the competition to
include some real high dollar items did like wise.
My testing has been more in line with the way I would expect
you will use yours once you have it in hand. I've taken it
with me on many trips afield and have used it extensively
here on my land. The most distant object I can see from my
property is a tree top on a hill that the YP-1000 tells me is
998 yards away. I'll have to take its word for it as I can't
string a line between the two points and measure. What it
does prove to me is that under field conditions I can expect
this unit to provide me with distances up to or over the
stated 1000 yard range of it. Will it do this on a big game
animal? Can't say as I don't have a clue where I'd find a
place around here that I can see a deer at such a distance. I
have measured deer with no problem to the maximum distances I
have seen them since getting it but that is under 200 yards
in most cases as that's as far as I can see most places I
hunt. I've tested it on bushes and trees to well over such
distances and on the Reed Ranch in Texas it measured to trees
well beyond the 1000 yard distance but I failed to record the
numbers and CRS prevents me from recalling them precisely so
I won't list a specific number but it was well beyond and not
just a little beyond.
In case you might be wondering just how accurate these units
are, here is what Bushnell has to say on the subject on their
website:
Q. How accurate is the Yardage Pro 400/Compact 600/800?
A. The 400, Compact 600 and 800 models are accurate to within
1 yard. PRECISION will be displayed when this accuracy has
been achieved. When you have precision displayed, you can
actually step forward and back in small increments noting
when the range changes, and you can obtain ranges as accurate
to be within 1 foot. If PRECISION is not displayed, the
accuracy is within 3 yards.
That's good enough for me and was backed up by the technical
testing in the article I mentioned. I've checked it over the
shorter distances I can actually measure and have to agree
that the accuracy is consistently within a yard or less.
There are a number of targeting modes that help you to gain
the most benefit from your Yardage Pro Range Finder such as
Scan, Rain, Zip and Reflector. The manual that comes with
each range finder explains the use of these modes as does
much of the literature that Bushnell puts out so I'll skip
over that for this review. If you have questions not answer
on the Bushnell website regarding them then call Bushnell at
their toll free number listed below and ask, they will be
happy to answer your questions.
So what's the bottom line on owning and using a Bushnell
Yardage Pro Range finder? Well if you hunt with rifle in
thick cover they probably will not be of much aid to you as
anything you see will be in range and the distance won't
matter. If you are a bow hunter you need to know the distance
rather precisely to prevent over or under shooting and so the
appropriate range finder can greatly assist you. If you are
an open country rifleman or if you use handguns at ranges
where making the shots might be iffy without knowing the
distance then I can see no reason not to have one of these
units with you when hunting. They are light in weight,
compact in size and highly accurate. I don't plan to hunt
open country without one again. I also found it very useful
on our Single Shot Rifle Forum Match held recently (April
2001). We wanted targets at 25, 50, 100, 250 and 400 yards
and the use of the range finder and the Motorola radios I had
on loan allowed us to precisely set them to these distances
and without having to step it off or hollar to each other.
I plan to continue to test this YP-1000 in a variety of
conditions and if I find any problems I'll report them to you
here. Right now as I write this (5-6-01) Rick Brown has the
YP-1000 doing some testing of his own. Nope, no way I forgot
it and left it in his truck when we returned from the shoot,
not me, would I do that? Oh well, maybe I did but last year
it was a TC Contender with Custom Shop 6 TCU barrel and
Burris 3-12X scope so at least this time the item left in his
truck costs less money.
The Bushnell YP-1000 has impressed me and I can't imagine how
I got along without one for so long. It gets the Graybeard
Seal of Approval.
If you've been wondering which range finder
to buy I'd suggest the YP-1000.
Product Specifications:
Model :20-1000
Description :Yardage ProŽ 1000
Features :Built-In Tripod Mount, Form-Fitting Neoprene Case,
Longest Range Performance
Magnification:6X
Type :Class I Eye-safe
Size (in/mm) :2 1/4x5x4 3/4 57x127x121
Weight (oz/g): 13.5 383
Battery Type :9 Volt
Visit the Bushnell web site by clicking on the name.
Bushnell Corporation
9200 Cody
Overland Park, KS 66214-1734
Important Phone Numbers:
In Kansas City area - (913) 752-3400
Consumers - (800) 423-3537
Dealers - (800) 221-9035
Fax - (913) 752-3550