The Bushnell Scout 1000 Arc laser range finder is designed for hunters. The Scout has Bushnell’s Angle Range Compensation (ARC) technology that allows the user to quickly and accurately find the range even from angled terrain. The Bow mode gives short-range horizontal distance, while the rifle mode gives long-range distance. The rangefinder is accurate within a yard and can range up to 1000 yards against the correct type of target. The Scout 1000 is compact and lightweight, easily fitting into your shirt pocket. The Scout 1000 is weather-proof, but not waterproof, that could be an important distinction.
The rangefinder comes in box along with a case, manual, and a CD with electronic versions of the manual. The case is rather nice and uses a magnetic fastener instead of velcro to help keep it quiet in the woods.
The rangefinder fits neatly in one hand and is comfortable to hold. Attempting to use the mode button will usually require a second hand and it helps to use both hands to keep everything steady.
One of the secrets to laser rangefinders is that the range is highly dependent upon the type of target. A lightly colored target that is highly reflective will have a longer accurate range than a dark target with a rough surface. In your typical forest whitetail hunt we will usually encounter shadows and dark targets so I do not expect to get the maximum range from this or any laser range finder. Reported maximum range for this model is 1000yds against a reflective target, 600yds against a tree and 300yds against deer in a hunting situation. The magnification is fixed at 5x magnification with +/- 2 diopters on the focus ring. The visual quality was rather good and did not have much distortion near the edges of the visible area. The device can be configured to use yards or meters.
The device has multiple modes of operation for detecting range and angle for a shot. There are two main modes, bow and rifle. The bow mode is go out to 99 yds and will calculate the actual aiming distance when shooting at an angle from a treestand or up hill to a maximum angle of +/-60 degrees. The rifle mode is also good at +/- 60 degrees but will provide yardage out to 800 yds. There are multiple ballistic groups to provide bullet/drop holdover for many different calibers and muzzleloaders. The full ballistic chart can be found here. I will be testing on mode D for .308 with a 165gr bullet.
This picture shows the front of the rangefinder with the objective lens and the laser emitter.
Looking through the monocular and trying to keep it centered on a target through the woods can be difficult. There are two settings to help with this. One setting gives you the furthest range and the other the closest range. For example, if the deer is on the other side of a tree and I am having a hard time keeping the dot from shaking betwen the tree and the deer, having the setting on the brush indicator will display only the furthest target and I can move back and forth a little bit. In the bullseye mode the device return the shortest range and I would use this if the deer was in front of the tree. In practice it was kind of difficult to keep the dot centered on a target 150yds away while only using one hand to hold the rangefinder and press the button at the same time. So I found these features to be very worthwhile.
The LCD indicators are black and superimposed on the display with no backlight. During daylight hours everything works fine but during dawn and dusk it can be a little difficult to see the indicators. While this may be a bit of a let down, having any sort of a backlight would probably ruin your nightvision so it is kind of a wash.
I tried to use my camera to take a picture through the rangefinder to show you what you see. Like usual though it did not come out very well and the picture does not do justice to what you see in real life. In the picture you can just barely make out some of the LCD indicators but they are much clearer and visible when using the naked eye.
Overall I am impressed with this device. I have only used it on a scouting trip and a few walks so far but we are going hunting later this month and I will give it a work out then and report back. Right now this rangefinder is available on Amazon for $245 and there is a $50 dollar rebate from Bushnell. This rangefinder is a good deal at the $200 price point. The promotion is good until the end of this year and this would make a great Christmas present for the hunter in your life.
Link to Rebate Form
