Just shootin' my laser...

Since writing a post yesterday I've had a few messages about some of my equipment mentioned in that post. The nature of the task I wrote about is quite simple however the ability to actually do it is far from simple and the equipment required is highly specialised. If you would like to take a look at that post you can do the click thing right here.

I had multiple questions about many different aspects of the gear I was using so I thought it may be a good idea to work through them in a series of posts. I don't intend to get too technical as there is a lot of information for those tech-heads to find on the interwebs; I'll give the basics though and people can either tune out or delve deeper according to their interest level.

This post will focus on my laser range finder.

Bushnell Elite 1 Mile ARC ConX

Why is it required

Knowing the range of the target is important as it allows the shooter to adjust the shot ensuring the bullet goes where it is intended. Bullets don't fly straight; They rise once they leave the muzzle, reach a zenith and then drop. The longer a bullet is in the air the more it drops until it eventually comes to ground. It's an arc and in increasing the angle the bullet can reach a greater distance.

How does the range finder work

The range finder is like binoculars with a magnification factor, in this case 27x magnification. The user simply points it at the object being ranged and presses a button. The screen lights up with a cross hair (circle thingy) at the centre (and other information) and if held steady enough will return a reading. The press of the button shoots a laser onto the object with bounces off and comes straight back. The reading is then gained. The range finder needs to be held pretty steady.

Then what happens

From there I put the range finder down and prepare the rifle adjusting elevation, windage etc. for the known target distance (gained from my ballistics software) and then take the shot if it is safe to do so. There is other equipment required to calculate the FFS (field firing solution) however this post is not about that stuff. (I mean environmental meters and ballistic software devices).

Does it do anything else?

The ConX is a pretty cool little device which has some tricky features. It can connect by Bluetooth to an environmental device called a Kestrel which reads humidity, altitude and temperature and also contains the ballistic software so once the ranging button is pressed on the ConX range finder and a reading is gained it instantly sends it to the Kestrel which sends back a field firing solution (FFS), based on the environmental factors, to the range finder which illuminates on the screen. So, in a second the shooter knows exactly what elevation to dial into the scope and can take a shot very quickly.

Sounds legit...Anything else?

The Elite 1 Mile ARC ConX also has the ability to accept multiple rifle profiles so the shooter can switch between rifles easily. Obviously rifles of different calibre's, barrel lengths, projectile weights and load configurations will have different points of impact at the same range. (i.e. Higher or lower, left or right etc.) It also connects to a smartphone (iOS) and displays all reading there as well if required.

How far can it range

Here's the six million dollar question! I bought one and was only able to get 750m out of it reliably. Not good enough for the money I spent. I sent it back and got a new one and this one ranges reliably to 1500m This is not quite the 1 mile they advertise but I'll take it. (1 mile is 1600m). I was a bit annoyed at this initially however for culling purposes it's more than enough.

How much does it cost

I paid $1,200AU for my unit however I believe they have come down somewhat in price. When coupled to the Kestrel 5700 as mentioned above for the total solution it's a very handy pice of equipment however the 5700 is about $1,400AU to purchase and so whilst it's great to have both the price is getting up there! I do not have the Kestrel 5700; Instead I use a Kestrel D3 (Drop) which Bluetooth's the environmental's to my smartphone and the App called StrelokPro which is the ballistics software I use. It means I have to take the range and then check my phone for the FFS rather than get the firing solution (elevation dial input) directly from the screen in the range finder. It hasn't slowed me down too much.

Sounds expensive

Good equipment is always going to cost more and I follow the *'buy once, cry once' motto. I have bought cheaper (inferior) equipment in the past and had it break, or simply not do the job and then had to buy the better one as well. It get's very costly doing it that way. Besides, I'm shooting at animals, or steel targets in competitions, and missing is not an option. If I cannot humanely dispatch the animal I will not shoot and the farmer has engaged me to do a job. I therefore, take it seriously. And when in a competition? Well, I may have travelled 3000km across Australia to get there; Shooting and missing is not an option there either. I may be shooting for a prize table of some $50,000!

The rifle I was shooting with last night cost me $3,000, the scope was $4,000, the Conx was $1,200, the Vortex binoculars were $400 and the Kestrel Drop was $300. That's just under $9,000 of equipment and as you can imagine it doesn't end there. I would rather not have the equipment than have inferior equipment.

I hope that for the interested people this has cleared up few of your questions about the range finder. It is a very important component in the grand scheme of it and whilst it is possible to do what I do (at closer ranges) without it the precision aspect of what I do is gone. On the farm I need to be able to hit a mark just slightly bigger than your fist to effectively and humanely dispatch a feral pest and am often shooting at up to 500 meters (546 yards) so my equipment, and skills, need to be honed. In a competition it could be 1600m (1 mile).

Thanks for reading if you got this far. If not I completely understand. This sort of post isn't for everyone.

[- Design and create your ideal life, don’t live it by default - DM on Discord @galenkp#9209 -]