Tag Archives: review

May 17 2019

Equipment Review – Hawke 400 rangefinder

Those who follow me on Instagram will know I have recently bought a range finder.
Now many of you might think this a strange thing for someone who has always said they are an instinctive archer at heart. Why purchase one if you don’t gap or use sights? Also why buy one when the NFAS is the home of unmarked distances?
Well this purchase is more to do with course laying than my own shooting.

I have found that when you are setting a course, whether 3D or using bosses it is beneficial to be able to range each shot accurately. This helps to both ensure a good mix of distances but also aids safety, as you can use it to check distances of overshoots etc.

Having done some research or rather that should read lots of research on numerous Google searches and a few postings on different sites asking for advise and guidance I was pretty sure of a couple of things.
The mix of different options was huge.

The prices ranged from £50 to £300 plus

I was fortunate to have a couple of fellow archers who were kind enough to lend me theirs to have a play with and the entry level ones seem to work pretty well. Quite often archers will use a golf range finder as opposed to one designed for shooting, as shooting ones tend to range over hundreds of yards at times.

I also popped down to our local gun shop to ask their advice and to see what options they had. (Shooting Supplies Limited http://shootingsuppliesltd.co.uk/ ) I have to say they incredibly helpful going through the different options and what’s available, along with practical advice, thanks guys.

I ended up buying a Hawke 400 from the shop in question and it was a choice between the Hunter and Professional unit. As it was I went for the Professional in the end as it was only slightly more expensive and offered a couple of features I thought might prove useful, more on these later.

Taken from the Hawke website

First impressions are very positive

The unit is light and easy to carry, though the only criticism I have so far is the carrying pouch which is a little small, making it difficult to stow and retrieve easily. I have managed to get the lanyard caught in the pouch zipper a couple of times. The unit measures approximately 3 inches high x 4.5 inches long and 2 inches thick so small enough to store in my jacket pocket.

The unit can be set for measuring in yards or metres, through the instructions don’t explain how to change between them. I had to Google it.! Where would we be without Google. Maybe including this in the user manual and if it is already then making it more obvious for fools like me.
Clarity through the viewfinder is pretty good making it fairly easy to locate targets. It has a x6 magnification through the unit and ways only 180g / 6.3oz so nothing really. Full manufactures breakdown can be found here https://uk.hawkeoptics.com/laser-range-finder-pro-400.html
Like many range finders the unit displays details through the viewfinder such as yardage. this is shown in black text over the image so it’s a little hard to view with a dark background.
I am yet to check the accuracy against a measured distances. Distances I have used it on so far are from 5 yards to 90, but I need to check the calibration.

Update – I have now tried this on my range finding it very useful and more importantly accurate. Distance wise it matches the long measuring tape I have and the marked distances on my range, which is 40 yards, however if I factor in my garden I can easily got back over 60 yards and I’ve tested it at this distance too.
One thing that this unit has already helped me with is the judgement on height difference. I knew the range was on a slight incline and with the Pro 400 I have bene able to identify the incline over 20 / 40 / 60 yards.
Hawke state there is +/- 1 m and I think that is true as I have found ranging in on the top of the boss and then at the bottom can sometimes give a difference of a yard.

The different modes are described by the manufacturer as

“Beeline mode measures the horizontal distance to a target.

Height mode measures how high the target is in relation to the range finder.
Angle mode measures the angle of projection. It will be measured to the nearest half a degree.”
One feature the unit offers over the Hunter is in giving you the angle to target. This was one of the reasons I went for the Professional over the Hunter. I wanted to know the elevation to or from targets to the shooting peg, something that I felt would be very useful if you are setting shots on hillsides or across dips and valleys.

Having used this now to range in targets on uneven terrain I can confirm it is very helpful when setting shots or for your own shooting. The only thing I have not tried is using it in wet weather so I can’t testify to how water resistant or accurate it is on a rainy day, though knowing the UK I expect this will be tested at sometime in the summer.

Overall I think it is a great bit of kit, useful for all archers who want to improve their distance judgement or like myself want to continue to develop their skills in course laying. I’d give it a 9.5 out of 10. The only reason it’s not a 10 is the pouch and I haven’t tried it in the rain.

Thanks for reading.
A few from the bookshelf
Apr 13 2018

Sponsorship, freebies etc

I was recently asked at a shoot whether I’m sponsored by any archery retailers or suppliers, when it comes to getting hands on books or equipment for my reviews.

The simple answer to this is no, I’m not sponsored by anyone or linked to any company.
As many of you know I’m a registered NFAS coach and a member of a couple of archery clubs but that is all. I don’t work for an archery company, though I do occasionally write for Bow International.

Bow international

I have occasionally been given products to review and I’m happy to do this, but it is on the understanding that it is a fair and honest review based on my experience and not a promotional piece.
When I have written equipment reviews for items I’ve been given, I will submit the review to the supplier, for feedback and comment. This has meant that on a couple of occasions I’ve pulled a review. I feel very strongly that any review I give is as fair as it can be, based on my experiences or observations. I would like to thank those suppliers who have been good enough and open enough to offer their equipment for my perspective.
Most of the time though I’ve just bought the book or item myself out of my own pocket, reading it, trying the techniques, testing it, sometimes to destruction. This is why I don’t get to write many reviews as I do take my time trying stuff out and limited funds.
Check out the different reviews by clicking on the categories list
Thanks for reading.
Oct 1 2017

Equipment Review – Spin Pin Target Pins

Spin Pin target pins

Spin Pin target pins

A while back the guys at Spin Pin were kind enough to send me some samples of their target pins for me to try out and I thought it about time to finish the write up and give my thoughts on them.

I’ve been using their target pins for about 6 months now on my layered foam bosses on the range and comparing them to the more traditional target pins.

First Thoughts

My initial thoughts when they arrived were I quite liked the size and shape as the pin heads aren’t too large. The grip on the top to screw I thought might make it easy to screw the pin into the boss, much easier that the simple push in ones. The plastic also feels robust, and I wondered how they will cope with being hit by an arrow. I know the traditional white pegs shatter if an arrow from my flat bow hits them.

Anyway those were my initial thoughts.

Traditional pin and Spinpin

Post Testing

Having tested them for a longer period of time I find I quite like them.

They are easy to use as the thick thread makes screwing them into the target boss very easy. I thought it might be worth getting some other peoples’ views so at a coaching session I ran a few months back I got a couple of students thoughts on them.

They agreed with me that they were pretty easy to use, with the head shape making it easy to screw in. As one said, it removed the need for brute strength to push the pin in.

Can take a hit

Can take a hit

They are pretty tough but they aren’t indestructible if you hit them straight on with an arrow, they will break, but to be fare so would any others.

I like the way you can use them to “tighten” the target face back on by simply screwing the pegs back in.

Simple screw them in

I’ve only found one problem with using these target pins and that is really dependent on how you mount your target faces.

The reason is, if you mount paper faces on a couple of layers of corrugated card, which isn’t unusual to lengthen the life of the target face, then use the pins it doesn’t give much pin length to secure them into the boss, so when drawing the arrows the target can sometimes be pulled off. This isn’t a big problem if you don’t use the two layers of corrugated card or just one layer of card. Also you could simply be a little more forceful when securing the face.

I did write to the guys and suggest they made the pins a bit longer, but as they said that might make them harder to use on other bosses, like straw ones. Also based on my experience if you mount your target faces on a single layer card it’s not a problem.

As I’ve said I have used these for the last few months now and been happy with them securing the targets to the boss. I tend to use 4 or 5 of these pins to secure the cards rather than just a couple with the more traditional ones, but this seems to work well.

secure the target

secure the target

Most of my tests have been on paper faces mounted on card or on the ProKill24 faces that are printed on a plastic like fabric, so I haven’t had chance to test them out on  hessian faces  so I can’t comment on their suitability.

I’d had hoped to try them out on one of my bag bosses a bit more but haven’t had chance thanks to too many garden projects. Though they seemed to work fine on the tests I did perform.

Overall I like the ease of use as it takes less pressure to push them into the target boss, I do think making them slightly larger would make them even better. Overall not bad and work well.

Thanks for reading