Laser Rangefinder Review

Cumulative Review Score: 92(88)

The Nikon Archers Choice rangefinder was appropriately named as nearly everyone who bought this device was using it for archery hunting. This rangefinder received high marks for is intuitive operation, and clear uncluttered display. More than one review mentioned that the LCD screen was free from unnecessary distractions and liked that fact that the readout only showed one yardage measurement even when in the ID angle compensation mode; thus helping avoid grabbing the wrong number in a hunting situation and freeing up viewing space. Many reviewers were impressed by the precision of the Nikon’s Archer’s Choice range finder, several users had checked the rangefinder against objects at measured distances and found the readings to be true. Archery hunters also approved of the Nikon Archer’s Choice small size and light weight, which make it convenient to carry while hunting. Although, the vast majority of comments about this rangefinder were positive there were a few users who did express some dislikes.  The first was this unit's ability, or in this case lack of ability to range objects in the rain or fog. While most rangefinders will have difficulty ranging in the range and fog, this model received enough complaints to make a person wonder if it isn’t a little more sensitive to these conditions than other models. Finally, there were some owners that had a case of buyer’s remorse, not that this was a bad product, but because they wished they would have spent a little extra and got the nearly identical Nikon RifleHunter 550 which would have allowed then to use it for both rifle and archery hunting. See how the Archer's Choice rated compared to other archery rangefinders.

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Owner Manual Highlights:
As mentioned above the Archer’s Choice is very similar to the Riflehunter 550, so much so that RifleHunter 550 and Nikon Archer's Choice are both listed on the same owner’s manual with small notes enough to differentiate between the two.  The big difference between these units is that the Nikon Archers Choice rangefinder is set in "First" priority mode while the RifleHunter 550 can be adjusted to "First" or "Distant" mode.  The next difference between the two is the ranging power of the units, while the Archer's Choice can range out to 100 yards the RifleHunter is rated out to 550 yards.

LRR Thoughts:
The Nikon Archer’s Choice laser rangefinder nearly got it right; however, this unit has two strikes against it in our book. The first is that, and this goes for nearly all archery rangefinders, they are limited to archery use only which limits the ability to ever use them for other hunting and shooting applications; and selling these units later on to upgrade can be tricky as a lot of hunters are looking for a more versatile rangefinder. The second thing against this rangefinder is its lack of a "Distant" target priotiy mode, which aids in ranging targets from cover. The Nikon RifleHunter 550 has all of the good features of the Archer's Choice and elimates the two negatives because it is a dual purpose rangefinder and offers a "Distant" target priority mode.

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