Hunting Forum

2 years in a row now in WY I cant get my Nikon 400 rangefinder to acquire an antelope or deer much past 100 yds.  Are they just too small at longer ranges to acquire a reading?  I even try to range the ground around the animal and still no reading??? It seems to work just fine back home.  Has anyone else had this problem?

Does it range soft targets, animals, past 100 at home or just reflective stuff? It is not unusual for soft targets to range at a much shorter distance. I had trouble on antelope this year and am looking at one rated to 1200 or 1600 yards just to get soft target out to 500 or 600 yards.

Also without a surface, tree, rock or other object,  that has an angle to bounce the laser back it is really hard to get a range.

I thought a "range finder" wuz somethin archery hunters used to tell if an animal on their food plot was 20 or 25 yards from their permenant stand....

I've noticed that a fresh battery helps in my range finder. When battery gets a little weak it won't range anything at longer yardages.

My 800 has difficulties lately too! Seems like in brighter light I can't get a reading much past 275 to 200 yards.In lowwer light like at dawn before the sun comes over the horizon I can read off of a deer or coyote out past 400 yards!

They are really hard to use about daylight in the fog on ducks....

I have been using a Nikon 800 for a few years and have had no problems with it. Check your battery if that is not the problem contact Nikon customer service for repairs or maybe even replacement.

You should check the batteries, but if that doesn't work you might want to invest in a new rangefinder. Leupold is great.

Try ranging the nearest bush or rock to the animal. I tried ranging an antelope and the finder could not read it. So I assumed it to be beyond the RF's range. After the ill fated over the back shot, and alot of cursing, I ranged the same spot but used a nearby bush. Range 328. Lesson learned.