Laser Rangefinder Review

Nikon Archers Choice Max  

The Nikon Archers Choice Max rangefinder is still relatively new to the Nikon laser rangefinder lineup and while early reviews are coming in on this unit there are currently not enough do calculate a Cumalative Review Score.  However, the Nikon website does provide some useful information on this new device.  First, this rangefinder retains all the useful features of the original Archers Choice, plus adds another 100 yards of ranging power for a total of 200 yards.  This will be of special interest to those that hunt with muzzleloaders, crossbows, and specialty pistols that need a little extra range than the original Archers Choice provided.  The new Nikon Archer's Choice Max also measures distance in .1 yard increments out to 200 yards, now that is getting really precise for a hunting device that you can buy for a little over $300 bucks.  This kind of precision reading capability might lead people to start using these units for new applications, like rough survey work where precision is needed but not down to millimeter. Also new for the Archer's Choice Max is a viewfinder that will change reticle colors according to the amount of available light.

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Owner's Manual Highlights:
The Nikon Archer's Choice Max shares a owner's manual with the Nikon RifleHunter 1000, as they are both quite similar. Also, this is actually more of an owner's manual than the previous Archer's Choice/RifleHunter 550 modesl which wer more like a pamphlet.  The new Achers Choice Max has a reticle that changes from dark to orange as lighting conditions get darker. Also a "Distant' target mode has been added to this unit, and the ranging capability has been extended to 200 yards as compared to the previous versions 100 yards. The scan mode is now 5 seconds where as on the original it was 20 seconds.  Finally, like the orginal Archer's Choice you can recieve readings in either yards or meters. 

LLR Thoughts:
The Nikon Archers Choice Max on paper looks like an improvement over the previous generation Archers Choice, we especially like the addition of a distant target priority mode to aid in ranging through brush, grass and other obstructions that bow hunters commonly have to deal with.  The added range of this unit does make it slighly more versatile, perhaps appealing to the hangun and muzzleloading crowd. There is a little concern with this units low light orange reticle obstructing the target during real low light coniditions but there is not even close to enough reports to raise the warning flag yet. Which brings us to the point that we can neither give this unit a thumbs up or down yet as there just isn't enough useful reviews to get a good idea if this one is a winner. If you are interested in our thoughts on what  would make a good bow hunting rangefinder please take a look at our newly revised archery range finder page.