SmallCaliberCentral

Well I went up to the new Cabelas in Hoffman Estates, IL and while I was there I picked up a new range finder among other things. I was looking at either the Nikon Monarch 800 or the Leica Rangemaster CRF 900. The first one I tried was the Leica, the optics were very clear and easy to use. After ranging with the Leica in the store for awhile, I tried out the Nikon and there wasn't any comparison...I ended up buying the Leica. Optics were much better and easier to see in low light situations, it seem to fit better in my hand and with only one button to push, the Leica is very simple to use. Luckily they had gotten a couple of them in that morning, one was their display and I bought the second one.

One week from Thursday is Illinois firearm season so that will be my first test out in the field. I'll be hunting with pistols for the first year so it should be fun to carry a couple new pieces of equipment (my S&W Performance Series .41 mag and the new Leica CRF 900) into the field.

Wolf: Nice! You're going to love the Leica. I've been using one of their LRF-1200's now for about five years, and would recommend them highly, especially after using some of the others available. None can come close.

All my revolvers are S&W, so I'm pretty biased in that regard, but I think you'll have a great experience with your two new toys this deer season. Good luck....and remember, you have removed at least two excuses from missing that nice buck this year!

I bought a leica 1200 CRF back in September and have been very happy with it. Yesterday I ranged a raven up in a tree top at 362 yds. The reading response with the leica is nice and quick. I then sent a 39 gr blitz king on its way. A puff of feathers and I watched him "helicopter" to the ground.

You are going to love that rangefinder! I have the Bushnell Legend (what I could afford) and it's done real well. What a differance a rangefinder can make. When we guess, it seems we typically think something is further away than it really is.

Gube, I would have loved to see that crow get popped!

Rick,

I have become very partial to S&W revolvers also and my experience with the most recent Ruger Super Blackhawk I picked up has helped sway me that direction. I do know I'll have two less excuses this year if I don't bring home a nice deer but I'm sure I can come up with something.

My other reason for picking up a range finder is I have another 1st prairie dog trip (since my last 1st trip didn't pan out as people backed out) planned for next spring. Besides that, I think they are just a neat and usful piece of equipment to have out in the field or at the range.


Gube,

Excellent shot on the Raven...I would have loved to seen the feathers fly!

Wolf: I hope your first/retry PD shoot goes well. At least you know you'll have prime equipment to add to the overall experience. My Leica LRF-1200 goes with me every time, and most often one of my Smith's in one variation or another also.

Here's a dandy way to really be able to range a critter from the bench at very long range, and not have the shakes bugger up your reading because the beam is dancing around. Simple and cheap to make, and very, very effective.



Below you can see my S&W M648 .22WMR and my LRF ready for action (it's behind my bino's, but there). Even with the rimfires, it's always neat to get an exact range on Skippy. I've ranged him after the shot, and been amazed at just how far you can zap a rat with a good rimfire off a solid rest. That .22WMR revolver has nailed Skippy past 150 yards. Wish I could say it was with open sights, but not.....the 4X Lupy helps alot! (The old sandbag is for a pistol rest)



Don't let that one bad experience with your Ruger .44 Mag turn you off from them, as it was just one bad example of a very good revolver. It's like premium barrels; out of 100 from the same maker, 5 of them will be real hummers, the majority of them very good, but there may be one or two that are pure crap.....it's just the Law of Averages.

Anyway, good luck on your deer hunt with your Smith! Remember....we want pictures!

Rick,

Sweet setup you have there. I'll have to look into creating a setup similar to that before I go on my pd hunt. I love the S&W rimfire as well. I've recently fallin' in love with revolvers and a S&W rimfire is on my list to get. I know the Ruger's are excellent pistols as well. My dad has a pair of them and my buddy has another and all shoot very well, I just had some bad luck on this one but I'm not ready to give up on it yet. It has a very sweet trigger and the action is very light and smooth, I just need to get a chance to get it to a good gun smith to look at it. I've been so busy with work lately, traveling that I haven't had any time to even think about getting it fix. I was thinking about dropping it off at Oglesby and Oglesby and let them work some magic on it. My other option is to pick up something like the Model 629 Light Hunter Revolver or Model 327 revolver, both of which are very sweet.

I will definitely post picture of this years Illinois firearm season, hopefully some of them will have deer in them!