Nikon 550 is the king of angle archery range finders!!

[Elkski]

well it was obvious to all that attended the snowbird shoot that angle rangefinders are here to stay and are a valuable tool even at shots under 40 yards. AT 309$ for camo and 289 for black you just cant beat this deal. I have used the archers choice for the past year and loved it. I would say the archers choice is good for the average hunter who doesn't plan to attend crazy 3D shoots. The new Leupold RX-1000 TBR stops reading out the corrected distance at 60 yards and just wont cut it.
Thank goodness for Cabela's return policy that has allowed me to try all these toys out. I picked up the camo Nikon 550 today. I am not sure the camo is worth the extra bucks as I would almost prefer to just buy the camo neophrene case for 20$ as the belt case on the camo unit is black anyway.
I carried my archers choice for many miles and the strap and neophrene case is very handy to carry under your arm. Yes the same case fits the archers choice and 550. I do love to see the readouts in not just whole numbers but tenths of a yard. I do miss the dual yardage and angle readout of the Leupold and the lit retical and readout. Comparing the 550's readings to my old trusty nikon440 it seems to read just about right maybe 1/2 yard short but I can live with that..
I will try to get to a footBALL FEILD WITH THE KIDS FOR ACCURATE CHEcking of its accuracy or the range ASAP.

[Daniel Boone]

well it was obvious to all that attended the snowbird shoot that angle rangefinders are here to stay and are a valuable tool even at shots under 40 yards. AT 309$ for camo and 289 for black you just cant beat this deal. I have used the archers choice for the past year and loved it. I would say the archers choice is good for the average hunter who doesn't plan to attend crazy 3D shoots. The new Leupold RX-1000 TBR stops reading out the corrected distance at 60 yards and just wont cut it.
Thank goodness for Cabela's return policy that has allowed me to try all these toys out. I picked up the camo Nikon 550 today. I am not sure the camo is worth the extra bucks as I would almost prefer to just buy the camo neophrene case for 20$ as the belt case on the camo unit is black anyway.
I carried my archers choice for many miles and the strap and neophrene case is very handy to carry under your arm. Yes the same case fits the archers choice and 550. I do love to see the readouts in not just whole numbers but tenths of a yard. I do miss the dual yardage and angle readout of the Leupold and the lit retical and readout. Comparing the 550's readings to my old trusty nikon440 it seems to read just about right maybe 1/2 yard short but I can live with that..
I will try to get to a footBALL FEILD WITH THE KIDS FOR ACCURATE CHEcking of its accuracy or the range ASAP.


I really like the trusty 440 and its like an old friend. But I may be in the market for this new one. How much size difference is there?
DB

[Elkski]

Well the size is nearly identical but the new archers choice and 550 are a much more ergonomic shape..it is more round and rubber coated for a better grip.. the 440 is blocky and hard surface. If you get the neoprene case and strap then if fits under your arm and swings up for a reading real easy like.
The archers choice goes from 5 yds-100 yds although on my old one I read things at over 150 yds. the 550 goes from 11 yards -500 yds so we might have to guess those tricky 4 yard shots.
I am no sure why but my first and 2nd archers choice came with a neoprene camo case but the 550 did not. it comes with a black case and loud snap... I did see the camo neoprene cases for like 20$ extra and I would suggest you get the black 550 and spend the extra bucks on the camo case as that should be all you will need. The camo case fits over and protects the body and has hole for the power/reading and mode buttons. It also has a front cover that can unsnap and get lost.
I should comment that the power of the old 440's seems to be higher than the 550's.. it says hte 550's are 6x.. I am quite sure the 440's are more than this?? I almost prefer the wider feild of view of the 550's

[Todd Imiola]

Great reviews guys!

[willraygreen]

I will agree with your assessment, however, I have not tried the new Leupold yet. I got a rangefinder for xmas last year, Cabelas brand, ARC type, I think made by Bushnell. I wasn't real happy with it. It had dust or "spots" in the glass, and it wasn't waterproof. I sent it back, and ordered the Leupold 1000, and the Nikon 550. I spent a week playing with these, looking through fog, rain, the screens on my pop-up blind, etc. I chose the Nikon. It feels great in the hand, is small enough to fit in a pocket, waterproof, angle compensating, and simple. That Leupold (which has now been replaced) had so many options, you almost needed the manual if you pressed the wrong button. I hope they fixed that part, as I have always been fond of Leupold optics, but I stuck with the Nikon 550 as my choice.

[bowhunter]

I purchased the Riflehunter 550 last year. That monocular is so clear I use it like a set of binoculars. I presently don't have a good set of binoculars. I have my eye on the Vortex brand though. Love the rangefinder. Hows the customer service when the 1 year warranty runs out?

[DustyRx]

Riflehunter 550 is what I use. It is clear and works great.

[mahenry25]

I hear that nikon's customer service is poor. That would make me think twice before i buy anything from them. I don't want to buy something and then it now working, and having them go well you bought it and we can't help you. That would completely tick me off to no extent.

[azcouesfanatic]

I just purchased the Nikon Riflehunter 550 and I have been really impressed with how accurate it is and how easy it is to use. This rangefinder is the only rangefinder that will give the true yardage past 100 yards. The Bushnell and the Leupold rangefinders only tell you the hold over when you are in rifle mode not the true distance.

[Bowed Up]

Keep all the good info rolling. Is there really that much difference if your 15' up a tree or standing on the ground shooting a deer at 25 yards?? What is the correct math on that one??

[Daniel Boone]

Keep all the good info rolling. Is there really that much difference if your 15' up a tree or standing on the ground shooting a deer at 25 yards?? What is the correct math on that one??


Is to often shoot high. This is not math but how some dont bend at the waist and stay inline with the bow. Its causes one to look through the peep site wrong.
DB

Might read this

http://archersadvantage.com/TipSheets/UpDownHill.htm

[Dave Nowlin]

There seems to be some missinformation circulaing about the Archers Advantage vs the 550. Some are spreading the word that the Archers Advantage only works out to 100 yards. Today I took my new Archers Advantage and ranged a tree uphill from me. It was probably 40 feet or more above where I was standing and I had it set to compensate for the angle and got a reading of 136 yards. That convinces me it still works beyong 100 yards. As for the issue about forgetting to bend at the waist, put a No-Peep on your bow and the problem will be solved. The No-Peep isn't accurate enough you say. I shot in a field archery tournament Saturday. It was raining when we started out and rained a good part of the shoot. On the first round at 66 yards I put 6 arrows into about 5 inches maybe a little less. I had 2 Xs 3 10s and one arrow in the nine barely outside the 10 ring. I was shooting a No-Peep on my XXL. I couldn't have shot better with a peep and probably not as well with my old eyes.

Dave Nowlin

[qdmbucks]

Compared the Nikon to the Leupold, and the Leupold won hands down. The optics are so much clearer and if you dont need to go past 60 yards (ang comp) you cant go wrong.

Matt

[Oregonbowhunter]

Compared the Nikon to the Leupold, and the Leupold won hands down. The optics are so much clearer and if you dont need to go past 60 yards (ang comp) you cant go wrong.

Matt
I too bought the Luepold and love the clarity of the optics but where I hunt in Oregon I would like if you could get the angle compensation to work past 60 yards @ times, but for the most part it is more than enough.

OBH

[cordini]

A lot of misinformation abounds regarding the Nikon rangefinders with angle compensation....If you go to Nikon's website, you will find that both the A.C. & Riflehunter 550 are both only rated out to 99.5 yards in angle compensation mode....The Riflehunter is rated to read up to 550 yards on a reflective target. I had a Luepold RX-IV and didn't realize when I bought it on E-bay that the angle compensation only read out to 60 yards. After awhile of being frustrated by how much I spent on that unit, I picked up the A.C. this year for bow hunting....Wish I had bought the 550 instead, because I got drawn for a Muley buck tag for gun season. I was also frustrated by all the garbage on the Luepold, so I sold that and picked up a Leica 1200 CRF for gun season.....Luv the speed of the readout on that unit....just wish it had angle compensation. According to the Leica rep I spoke with, they looked into the angle compensation, but the engineers in Germany are not sure that angle compensation is as accurate as is advertised. We who have used it can attest to the difference....Guess they need to take a 65 yard shot on a 40 degree incline to maybee test their theory.....Anyway, Leupold has stuck with 60 yards as their max for angle compensation.....Guess those folks have never ranged a big Muley out at 80 yards, knowing you could make the shot if only your rangefinder could give you the accurate reading. Go with Nikon....and get the Riflehunter 550 for the extra yardage reading when you're not in angle compensation mode.

[bow_dude]

I have the 550 and my friend has the archers choice. Both work well past 100 yards for angle compensation. We consistantly get the archers choice to compensate out to 150 yrds and my 550 out past 300 yards. If you click on the change mode button once you take a reading, it will convert from angle compensation to line of sight. No mis-information here. My son also has the 550 and several other people I know. Angle compensation reads far beyond 99.9 yards. Me thinks you might be reading the nikon website incorrectly.

I also had the Leopold. Sold it after 1 day of usage. Way too complicated and I also disagree on the optics. No where as clear as nikons. In my opinion, Nikon over Leopold hands down. But, opinions are like belly buttons.... everybody has one.

[cordini]

Well, that is what Nikon rates it to....I can get the LOS to read past 100 yards....Close to the 150 yards. All I am saying is that Nikon does not rate the angle compensation past 99.5 yards for a reason....Warranty issues. They would have a bunch of rangefinders coming back if they claimed to read out to 150 yards, and could only get 100 yards out of them. Read what they say on Nikon's site & tell me I'm misinformed.....Or read the AC owners manual.