Would a laser sight and scope = basic rangefinder?

[Dynamic85]

As title. If I bought a laser sight, and mounted it either under my stock or on the bracket of my bipod, would it give me a fairly accurate range finding ability?

 

Lets say on my air rifle, I zero my scope and laser both at 35 yards. At 70 yards, if my laser was mounted 3 inches below the centre of my scope, the laser dot should be three inches above my crosshairs. So at 35 yards, they would both meet, and anywhere closer, the laser dot would be below, and further it would be above.

 

Added to a mildot scope, after a bit of trial and measuring, I'd assume it could be pretty accurate?

 

Has anyone tried it, will it work, or have overlooked something basic?

[gixxerboy]

Yes it will work. One of my fellow members on the AAOC has a superb track record using a "laser on a stick" method of shooting.

[stubby]

the way I do it on my works air rifle

 

zero the scope in a 30ft (yes its close range feral pigeons,) then adjust the laser dot to sit dead on the crosshairs, then simply turn laser on whilst looking through scope, if the dot is under my crosshairs, I know its further away, I can then walk towards target until dot sits on crosshairs, tells me Im spot on 30ft, same if the red dot is higher, then Im too near and need to walk backwards, it of course will only work to the distance that your laser will "spot" too, my shooting is all done at night down underground tunnels, thus laser shows up brill, dont reckon it would work too well in bright sunlight

[Chr15j]

Yes, trial and error and you will be able to range find very well, mildot ideal just set up 5 yard target increments then use zoom to change mag until laser and each mildot co-incide for a range eg at 30 yards spot on, 25/35 yards 1 dot above/below etc.....

[Dynamic85]

Ok, so what would be the ideal distance from the centre of the scope to mount the laser?

[Chr15j]

IMO as close to centre as poss on a vertical I.e above scope not to left or right. Most lasers cone with a Standard mount onto scope tube or on top of scope ring.

[dannywayoflife]

Whats the max range for these set ups at night? Would it be doable for a rf?

[Chr15j]

Depends on quality of laser.

 

Cheap laser = massive pale dot at longer range, so no!

 

Check the size of dot and brightness at 100 yards on the specs.

 

Have heard green lasers brighter and better than red. Do some research.

 

Remember, buy cheap = buy twice!

[Frenchieboy]

I can see this thread being of use to me as I have just set a .22LR up to be used mainly for lamping rabbits with and as we all know it is harder to judge the distances on the lamp so would anyone like to suggest the most suitable laser please.

 

Sorry, I am not trying to hijack the thread, my appologies if it looks that way!

[dannywayoflife]

Yeah I'd like some decent laser suggestions too please.

[Dynamic85]

IMO as close to centre as poss on a vertical I.e above scope not to left or right. Most lasers cone with a Standard mount onto scope tube or on top of scope ring.

 

But the further the laser is from the centre of the scope, the further it will be out at a given range. If you're shooting at lower ranges with an air rifle, then mounting it beneath the stock may be better, where as rim fire ranges may work better with it closer to the scope?

[Chr15j]

But the further the laser is from the centre of the scope, the further it will be out at a given range. If you're shooting at lower ranges with an air rifle, then mounting it beneath the stock may be better, where as rim fire ranges may work better with it closer to the scope?

For windage you are right hense mounting above scope. Irrelevant for elevation as you just learn where laser appears in vertical for each range

 

I.e dead on at 50 yards, if 1 mildot above (same zoom) then it may be 40 yards and if 1 mildot below then 60 yards.

 

You would have to experiment

 

Don't forget laser travels in straight line but bullets arc! If you know your zero you can do all of this without firing a shot!

[kent]

I have used this way in the past. Get as much scope to lazer measurement as posible so the dot moves more with range in relation to range. Reason i junked it was its too prone to knocks and bashes in the field loosing calibration. Far better to reduce scope to bore height to the minimum tilt the rear mount very slightly to get the least amount of hold over and under then limit your range or up the power. My set up was state of the art and quite pricey but unless your ok with re-setting and checking constantly its too much faf IMO. My rig was in .20 12ftlb and interstingly the dot equaled the hold over to about 40+ if i remember correctly (just flukey)

[UKPoacher]

I too have used and abandoned this method. Setting up a laser is a real pain and it would not hold zero for long in hunting environments. In the end it was more trouble than it was worth.

 

The advantages are that you have an accurate rangefinder and it helps you avoid twigs and leaves in the line of fire that you do not notice with your scope. Also, for quick close range shooting; - rats and squirrels for example the red dot is better than trying to refocus the scope from a 30 yd / 9X setting. It helps at night when distances are difficult to judge. However, a red dot zeroed to your crosshairs can spook rabbits. A red lamp does not seem to affect them, but a red laser in their eye does for some reason.

[Chr15j]

Green laser cures this, and is brighter