The Best Rangefinders for Hunting of 2025

Other Rangefinders, Tested

Best Rangefinders of 2025 Comparison Chart

Best Rangefinder Product Ratings Explained

There are numerous things to consider when purchasing a rangefinder, but our team has put together what we feel are four of the most important aspects before clicking the checkout button.

Effective Range

Yep, it turns out range is important for a rangefinder. We scored this based on distance to deer rather than reflective distance, because, well, deer and elk aren’t walking around with mirrors on them. It’s a much more realistic measurement of the effective ranging distance for hunters.

The rangefinders that can range the furthest score high, and those that don’t range at extreme distances don’t. Keep in mind, range may not matter much to an individual hunter, with archery hunters specifically coming to mind.

Ease of Use

When buck fever kicks in, you don’t want to fumble with clunky settings to get an accurate range. Rangefinders that are the easiest to use, like the Maven RF.1, score well for the intuitive design.

Technology

Just about every rangefinder nowadays has angle compensation capabilities. But if the tech stops there, a product scored low. Others, like the Leupold RX Fulldraw 5 can take your specific bow setup into account to give you the perfect range. That’s a nice bit of tech.

Still others, like the Vortex Razor HD 4000 HD have full Bluetooth capability, advanced apps, and environmental sensors that consider everything before taking a shot. Those rangefinders scored the best.

Warranty

Rangefinders aren’t cheap. Fortunately, buying one can be a once-in-a-lifetime purchase, and some hunters on our team have been using the same one for over a decade.

A rock-solid warranty, like the one offered by Vortex, will ensure this is a one-time purchase. While many optics brands will provide a lifetime warranty on glass, electronics are a whole different story. Since rangefinders are obviously tech-heavy, we calculated the warranty score by considering the number of years the electronics are covered.

How We Tested the Best Rangefinders of 2025

Our team spans the U.S. and has packed each of these products on our hunts. Whether were sitting in a treestand in the midwest, chasing bugling elk, or looking for giant muleys during the rut, these rangefinders came along to ensure accurate, lethal shots.

Our Expert Testers

Gear Junkie Editorial Director Sean McCoy, Hunt/Fish Editor Rachelle Schrute, and Affiliate Writer Morgan Nowels all contributed to this guide. Each one of them is an avid hunter, with McCoy and Schrute based in the West, and Nowels based in the Southeast. Altogether, they hunt for just about every critter in the woods, including bear, pronghorn, elk, mule deer, and whitetail.

Between them, rangefinders were packed on rifle, muzzleloader, and archery hunts, ensuring coverage for every user group.

There was also a crew of other dedicated hunters we relied on. With the collective experience of the team, we were able to suss out which rangefinders stand out the most in 2025.

Rangefinder Testing Process

Hunting rangefinders can be drastically affected by external factors. Yes, we could test them in a silo, but when it comes time to head out into the field, that fairytale test doesn’t do much good, does it?

We packed these rangefinders into the woods and saw how they performed in the real world, and entrusted them with the biggest moments of our hunts. At times, we took them from a nice, cozy blind, and then turned around and exposed them to frigid temperatures in a treestand.

While using them, we paid attention to the factors on which we scored them. Rangefinders with ballistic capabilities were taken to the range to test their accuracy.

After our time in the field, we think we effectively narrowed down which Rangefinders are the best.

Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose the Best Rangefinder

Rangefinders are essentially tiny, nerdy mathematical wizards we can stick in our pockets. Pull it out, press the button, engage laser wizardry, and know more about your surroundings and potential ballistics in a mathematical way.

We’ve already covered a few of the most critical aspects of rangefinders in our product score explanation, but perhaps you’re new to this or are just confused by the fancy terminology used when discussing rangefinders. We’ll break that down here, as well as discuss what it means for hunters in the field.

Reflective vs. Nonreflective Distance

A rangefinder uses a laser to figure out a distance via parallax or triangulation. This can get very boring, but what you need to know is that it’s easier for a laser to pick up something reflective (like a mirror) than something that’s nonreflective (like a deer).

Due to this, you’ll find multiple distance ratings given in product specs, including reflective distance, distance to trees, and distance to deer, which are standard. In our opinion, the reflective distance measurements are the epitome of stat-juicing. It just doesn’t mean much in the real world. That’s why we pay closer attention to the distance to deer, as it shows measurements that mean something to hunters.

Additionally, it’s important to consider nonreflective objects relative to their size. The bigger the nonreflective object, the more likely you’ll get a laser readout on it at a distance. Therefore, it’s easier to range a moose at 2,000 yards than a deer.

It’s also important not to take the specified ranging distances as gospel. A variety of environmental conditions can alter results — be it weather, humidity, heat, cold, etc. In the field, it’s not uncommon to achieve much greater (and lesser distances) than stated across the board.

Obviously, the longer the range, the better, but for some, it may not be a big deal. If you’re solely a bow hunter, any rangefinder on this list will reach as far as you’ll ever need. If you’re a rifle guy and plan on doing some long-distance shooting in the off-season, spring for the further range.

Additionally, it can be nice to be able to range far off animals to gauge how much ground you need to cover to get within your effective range.

Angle Compensation

All of the rangefinders on this list offer some sort of angle compensation. Angle compensation technologies essentially take in the slope of the landscape up or down. Then, they calculate to better account for the bullet or arrow drop at a distance.

For instance, if a deer is at 500 yards on a 30-degree slope, the angle-compensated distance is 433 yards. This is nearly a 70-yard difference!

This is more important than most hunters pay it credence. Many shots have been missed or poorly estimated due to this concept, resulting in wounded, lost, or missed animals.

Thankfully, rangefinders with this technology can help hunters take the most ethical and effective shot without having to run through the math in the field.

Magnification

Magnification is a huge deal when it comes to the best binoculars, but it’s often overlooked in rangefinders. While it’s not a massive deal, different magnification levels do have different benefits when it comes to ranging.

A higher-magnification rangefinder makes targets look larger. That makes it much easier to get an accurate reading when ranging in big, open country. The Leupold RX 5000 TBR/W is excellent at that.

However, with a higher magnification, it will be more challenging to locate your target due to the zoomed-in view it provides. That’s why many archery-specific rangefinders, like the Bushnell Broadhead, only have 6x magnification. There’s no need for a super zoomed-in view, and target acquisition is much more critical.

For the vast majority of hunters, a standard rangefinder with basic functionality and angle compensation will suffice. However, the ones with all the latest tech have some advantages.

Rifle hunters specifically may want to fork over the extra change for a rangefinder like the Vortex Razor HD 4000 GB. It can sense wind and will take all of your rifle’s ballistics into account for you, and display holdover and windage adjustments while ranging. That capability provides an extra level of confidence that is unmatched when pulling the trigger.

For archery hunters, the Leupold RX Fulldraw 5 does something similar with Archer’s Advantage. It takes arrow velocity, arrow weight, peep height, and shot angle to give the most accurate range out there. It will also show you the arrow flight path, ensuring you don’t hit an overhanging limb. Is it necessary? No. Is it nice to have? Yes.

Rangefinding Binoculars

If you’re in the market for binoculars and a rangefinder, it may make sense to combine the two with the Leupold BX-4 Range HD. It’s really nice not having to switch between two tools when in the field.

Yes, rangefinding binoculars are expensive, but with that particular model, you get a rangefinder with ballistics technology and a set of really high-quality binoculars. When you consider the cost of a tech-heavy rangefinder and good binoculars separately, the $1,400 price tag doesn’t hurt so much.

Incorporate a Rangefinder, Take More Accurate Shots

Each rangefinder on this list reaches far beyond many hunters’ appropriate shooting distances. This is helpful for figuring out a wide variety of things beyond shooting distance. And we often use a rangefinder to figure out just how far we have to hoof it to get within our personal shooting parameters.

A good rule is to underestimate your abilities in the field, work as hard as you can to get within ethical shot distance, and take shots that are only in your personally defined ethical range.

And don’t forget to carry an angle-compensating rangefinder to aid in taking the best shot you possibly can. It’s a worthy companion in the field.

Price and Value of the Best Rangefinders

Many hunters spend their entire career in the field using a simple, budget rangefinder. There’s no problem with that at all. However, there are benefits in different price points. We’ll break those down here.

Budget

Most rangefinders priced under $300 are very basic. They’ll shoot out an accurate range and have the ability to give you an angle-compensated reading. They’re generally limited in range, but will be able to provide you with a reading within ethical shooting range.

The cheapest will have dull displays and may be hard to read in low light. Really cheap ones may give you a questionable range. The best, like the REDTIGER Range Finder for Hunting, will allow you to see the reading just fine and will be accurate time and time again.

Mid-Tier

From $300-$500 rangefinders start to have the ability to reach out much further. In all honesty, they’ll be capable of ranging anything hunters could ever need.

That extra distance is nice when you’re trying to figure out how far off the animal you’re glassing is. Do you need to cover 700 yards or 1200 yards to get within shooting range? That’s really nice to know.

You’ll also start to find a little more tech in these rangefinders, with options like the Leupold RX Fulldraw 5 giving bow hunters all the tech they could ask for in a rangefinder.

Generally, a mid-tier option will perform better in adverse conditions as well, which hunters are all too familiar with.

Premium

Rangefinders that are $700 and up are either very long-range devices laden with ballistics technology, or rangefinder/binocular hybrids. Competitive shooters, very dedicated hunters, or those looking to combine two tools into one will appreciate spending that kind of money on a premium option.

Frequently Asked Questions