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Don't go out on the course the first time, aim at a few flags from 250 yards and expect to get an accurate reading on the first shot. If you're purchasing this for golf, it's great. You will get better, I almost never miss now. However, there's a trick. You have to practice your aim. It's much better than GPS because it's more accurate and you can get distances of objects on the course that wouldn't be marked on the GPS - like trees. If you still have trouble aiming, just find a bigger target - Aim at a person on the green.Great tool, the best option out there and PGA approved.
This range finder works as promised.I took it to the rifle range and checked it on the 100 yd target. It told me when I was 1/2yard short,then I moved back 6ft and it registered 102 yds. Can't wait to use it hunting.
I bought this to use for golf and it turned out to be bad. When trying to determine the distance to the pin on a green, the rangefinder would instead focus on a tree behind the pin and give false readings.
This unit is light and small and was very difficult for me to hold it still enough to get a reading on the target, usually a flag. It also reported the distance to objects behind the green/flag if it couldn't be held steadily on the target.
This Bushnell is by far the lowest quality of any unit I have seen. it is smaller and handier2. The Nikon 550 is a very capable laser range finder, and is very similar in ability to the Nikon 440. I also find the long rubber eyepiece of the 550 unit difficult to use if I change to and from eyeglasses, as I do not like to keep folding the rubber down, and I know from experience that you can fold these type of eyepieces only so many times before the rubber (or vinyl) cracks.
Generally, the range is perhaps 15 or 20 percent more for the Nikon 550 unit due to the higher laser power (15 watts pulse vs the 8.5 watts pulse of the 440 unit). Dark trees can be ranged up to about 400 yards with the Nikon 550, and 330 yards with the Nikon 440. Other notes;The Bushnell Yardage Pro Sport 450 is not anywhere in the same league as the other two, despite the price (I paid 179). The optics are virtually the same on both except for magnification. Ranging Performance is:Dark trees: Nikon 550 400 yards, Nikon 440 330 yardsTelephone poles: Nikon 550 430 yards, Nikon 440 360 yardsDeer: unobstructed medium deer, both 300 yards Dark shrubs: Nikon 550: 400 yards, Nikon 440 350 yardsLight colored buildings: Nikon 550 535 yards, Nikon 440 453 yardsVery reflective targets, eg trucks, Nikon 550 706 yards, Nikon 440 535 yardsThey both acquire targets well and range accurately when compared to other units.I am biased to wards the Nikon 440 unit, because:1. Deer can be ranged to 300 yards reliably with both.
Despite the understatement of the advertising, I have ranged out to 706 yards with the Nikon 550, and 545 yards with the Nikon 440. All three units are made in China. This unit is supposed to range up to 800 yards (732 meters). Note: I have NOT tried these units on a golf course. Both are clear and bright.7.
The 550 model has a magnification of 6X and the 440 unit is 8X and I greatly prefer the 8X view of the Nikon 440.Both have a diopter adjustment which is adequate for my eyeglass correction of +5 diopters with and without my glasses. If the rubber eyepiece protector is removed (all too easily) the optics are exposed and vulnerable. It is adequate for anything out to 300 yards and often 400 yards3 It costs about 60 dollars less than the Nikon 5505. I have compared the Nikon ProStaff Laser Rangefinder 550 to a Nikon Prostaff 440 and a Bushnell Yardage Pro Sport 450, using all three on the same targets. The Bushnell is simple to use but will not read beyond 230 yards on any but the most reflective target, despite what the advertising says. The longest range I could measure with it was 330 yards and that on a reflective sign. It will range a tree up to 200 yards as claimed, but the best it will do on medium deer is 140 yards.
It is a 4 power monocular, and will range down to 6 yards, the others will range as close as 11 yards (10M). There is absolutely nothing to protect the electronics and optics from water and moisture. The main differences between the two are the slightly greater range of the 550 model. That along with very poor ranging capabilities make this Bushnell Yardage Pro Sport 450 nothing more than a child's toy, albeit an expensive one. It has 8X magnification which I really like and use (and need)2. The battery compartment screws down 3 turns and seems better sealed than the 1/4 turn compartment of the Nikon 5506. Bushnell claims water resistance, but there are various entry points for water, and if the unsealed battery compartment is opened, green circuit board is visible.
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