U.S. Army Orders Bushnell Laser Rangefinders
The U.S. Army has awarded Bushnell Outdoor Products a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract for a special military version of the Elite® 1500 Laser Rangefinder. Bushnell will begin shipping the units in August 2008. According to Bushnell’s Director of Military Sales, the Army was impressed with the Elite 1500’s multiple targeting modes and rugged, waterproof construction.
The Elite 1500 is capable of ranging distances from 5 to 1,600 yards, though in our own tests, maximum effective range on deer-sized objects is about 700 yards. The elite has a 7-power, 26mm objective, with a special twist-up eyepiece that’s handy for eyeglass wearers. The eyepiece also boasts a +/- 2 diopter, a very good feature not found on some other rangefinders.
In addition to the standard ranging mode with automatic scan, users can select from the BullsEye™ or Brush™ modes for more precise ranging to targets. In the BullsEye mode, it’s easy to acquire smaller targets and game because if more than one object is acquired by the laser, only the closer of the two objects is displayed on the internal LCD. While using the Brush mode, closer objects tree branches are ignored so that the distance to background objects are displayed. The Bushnell also offers Angle-Range Compensation (ARC) in one of its civilian 1500 models. It’s unknown whether the military version will have this feature.
Rangefinder Comparison Review
AccurateShooter.com has an extensive multi-product Rangefinder Comparison Review. Before choosing a Laser Rangefinder (LRF) you should read that article. It compares the Bushnell Elite 1500 to LRFs from Leica, Leupold, Nikon, and Swarovski. In our comparison test, the Elite 1500 was praised for its speed, its diopter eyepiece, and its waterproof housing with Rainguard® lens coatings. Users said the “Brush” setting worked well, filtering out “false returns” from short range. On the downside, Bushnell’s beam divergence is greater than Swaro or Leica, so long-range performance suffers. Bushnell’s own Product Description describes its ranging performance as: “Reflective–1600 yards; Tree–1000 yards, Deer–500 yards, Flag–400 yards”. The optics are a grade below Swaro, Leica, and Nikon, and retailers have reported higher rate of return (10+%) than other brands.
In my experience, Bushnell has been making steady improvements in their Rangefinders. The quality of glass components has improved along with more rugged design and higher attention to fit and finish of the laser rangefinders. Compared to other brands, Bushnell Rangefinders are a great value. I would strongly recommend these models for anyone interested in golf laser rangefinder.
I have used this rangefinder during my predeployment training and during my deployment to Afghanistan. Probably it good for golf when you operate on 100-200 m distances, but if you look for reliable device for the long range rifle engagement I would not recommend this rangefinder. The manufacturer claims that this model is capable to give you exact distance on the ranges up to 1500 meters. (That why model calls 1500) This is not true. Not in my experience. The device is accurate up to 400-500 m, not more if you measure man size target or a deer. Up to 800-900 (very difficult) if you measure big ass building or another large object. There is no way it can reach 1500. Not in my experience, anyway.
These are discontinued, the new versions have “A.R.C.”. I bought one of these “used” from a “mil” guy and am very happy with it. I have ranged small vehicles (small pick up) to 1339 yards, a water tank to 1291 yards, orange 3’x3′ road construction sign to 785, power pole transformer 1147 yard (took pictures, thats how I can recall details). Deer/cows are tougher at distance with any LRF but I was runing them out to 900 yards, small barns 1500. It is spot on with pre-measured distances at my range (25 to 300 yards) as well as others (to 500) I use. Seems like a quality LRF, would buy again, even a used one.
Its very good initiative by U.S army.Bushnell is the most trusted brand in the world and they are providing very high quality in their products
Is it better than Bushnell V3?
I have one but I lost the cover for the battery . How can I get a new one?