I eagerly awaited delivery of this compact but reportedly capable laser range-finder from Australian distributor NIOA. Intended for hunters who wish to engage animals out at realistic extended ranges (700 metres capable on deer if you are practiced), but not into the next county where some are known to utter a quiet “Hail Mary” before taking chances.

I had owned and used a very capable Bushnell 1 Mile™ ARC handheld rangefinder for many years. I found these very handy, bush testing centrefire hunting loads for drop out to around 500 metres, seeing how they matched up with my ballistic tables. It had no limitations for my use and when I first unboxed it, it exceeded its maximum range on reflective targets by over 100 yards. Trees were sometimes ranged out to 1100 yards to my surprise. It is a little bulky, at 388 grams, to routinely pack on hunts and as I age, I like to sit and wait well within maximum point blank range and pass up shots at distances that I consider worse than a ninety percent chance of an instant kill.

Bushnell Laser Rangefinder (LRF) Milestones

Historically, Bushnell has always been at the forefront of developing technologies used in Laser optical instruments, which are incidentally very economically priced.

• 1996 - Bushnell introduces its Yardage Pro 400, first of its type to have “Scan” and “Rain” modes. It was nearly the size of a 6-volt motorcycle battery, but it was years ahead of any competitors.
• 2008 - Bushnell and Zeiss enter into a collaborative agreement on developing hydro-phobic (water-repelling) lens coatings.
• 2010 - Bushnell brings a LRF built into a field binocular with the Fusion™ 1 Mile/1600 ARC.
• 2015 - The first Bluetooth-connected LRF is introduced with the 1 Mile ARC CONX.
• 2018 - Bushnell introduces the first commercial Hybrid LRF with built-in GPS.
• 2022 - Fusion X Binoculars incorporate ActivSync.

When the PRIME™ 1800 arrived, I did what I always did with new optics, headed to Clovelly Beach carpark on a squally overcast afternoon to ogle reflective targets and trees at South Coogee.

It promptly measured 1847 yards to a white reflective mansion high on a far hill and 1146 yards on a large bunch of casuarina trees further down the hill. This augured well, as its reported ranging maxima were 1800 yards reflective, 1000 yards for trees and 700 yards on deer.

Now, for some further specs:

• All functions activated by two buttons, Mode and Fire.
• Standard Mode with Automatic SCAN - by depressing the Fire button while scanning different objects, the updated range(s) are displayed.
• Bullseye Mode with Automatic SCAN - using a fine illuminated Bullseye reticle, ranging background objects inadvertently is avoided.
• Brush Mode with Automatic SCAN - advanced mode which ranges through brush and to range reflective objects behind foliage.

Optics

The magnification is 4x26 and fully multi-coated optics deliver crisp, bright images, the equal of my ancient Bushnell 1 Mile™ ARC, which has a larger eye box and as a result seems a little more forgiving in eye relief; that may mitigate against eye fatigue. I was frankly surprised at how good the old girl was, truth be known. The PRIME’s penetration into shadow areas was equal to the older unit, but when you gram shave to less than half the weight and bulk, you have benefits that negate fallen arches over time. Of course, the extended operating range - AKA pure horsepower - of the small by comparison PRIME by an easy 200 yards seals the deal overall.

A Hilly Tale

Many years ago, I was tramping around some very steep country near Windermere, NSW after a “Chandelier Billy”. We spotted him leading his mob from the road some three kilometres away, drove as far as we could, and humped to a spot where I took a prone shot over a log, up a very steep slope and the range, we estimated was around 400 yards. I aimed about four inches over the top of his back with my .30-06 and that is exactly where the bullet went, sending Mr Billy on his way to make whoopee with his harem. Had I packed a PRIME™ 1800 that day, its ANGLE RANGE COMPENSATION™ (ARC) feature would have sealed that billy’s fate right there.

Mindful of the boon of ARC™, I established its configuration on the Ballistic Group A section of Bushnell’s website. This configuration involved various combinations of cartridges and bullets organised into ten alphabetical groups, ranging from A to J. I selected a .22-250 calibre rifle shooting a 55gn Trophy Bonded Bear Claw bullet at a velocity of 3600fps.

I then went outside my garage and ranged a multi-story unit block up the hill from me and it reported the range as 371 metres at eight to nine degrees. Simultaneously, it showed that I needed to hold under by 17.2 inches. That was an average as I ranged different parts of the building. If only I had the Bushnell Prime 1800, that old billy goat would have been toast!

ACTIVSYNC™ Brightness Setting

When you turn on the PRIME™ 1800 with the FIRE button, this feature adjusts the display elements’ contrast to the background automatically. In dusk or near dark, the display colour turns from Black (suitable for bright daylight use) to Bright Red (for poor light). Intensity of either setting can be tailored from 25% (default), through 50, 75 and 100% using the MODE button. My old 1 Mile ARC’s only really irritating feature was an anaemic red display, which you really struggled to see on bright days outdoors. Thank you Bushnell for addressing that niggle.

Tripod Socket

In a thoughtful inclusion, Bushnell have placed a tripod socket on the forward bottom edge of the PRIME™ 1800. The weight and mass of this particular rangefinder is tiny, in deference to the modern hunter being loaded down with kilos of gear, no doubt - and increasingly miniaturised circuitry. While being good to carry, at a miniscule 173 grams on my kitchen scale, this somewhat counterintuitively mitigates against a steady enough hold. Depressing the FIRE button to range an object pushed the reticle off small targets frequently, due to the LRF not possessing enough inertia to resist such hand movement.

When used in the field or on-range, it pays to brace the LRF against a tree or rock, or on a sturdy tripod, particularly when ranging small objects far away. I found clamping it in the jaws of my BOG Deathgrip tripod to be the “glassy marble” for this sort of work.

Some Tips & Tricks

1. Thoroughly read the Owner’s Manual and print it out to store in your gun room. Get outside with the manual and practice using all the features you will mostly need and make them second nature.
2. From above practice, learn the performance limitations of your Laser Range Finder (LRF) on different targets/objects.
3. When your battery indicator is showing half expired, do not expect peak performance at its stated limits or in less than ideal conditions, e.g. attaining maximum specified ranges. Carry a spare battery; the Bushnell PRIME™ 1800, in common with many similar units, uses 3 Volt Lithium “123” batteries.
4. Protect your LRF from moisture, wind-driven dust, mud and extreme heat. Keep it in its provided case in a safe, but accessible place until needed - a top shirt pocket comes to mind. The Bushnell PRIME™ 1800 lenses are however, fully multi- coated, giving high light transmission and very good image quality.
5. Use your ranging sessions in the field to become familiar with the lay of the land, estimating range to objects or features while confirming after with the LRF.
6. Never doubt the range stated by a laser rangefinder in normal conditions; if they are on and working, that displayed range is accurate to the yard/metre

The wrap up

Reviewing the Bushnell PRIME™ 1800 was truly enjoyable. Although I couldn’t thoroughly test it in a hunting context due to tight time constraints, I was still able to appreciate its robust design featuring rubber grip panels, its compact size, flawless finish, comfortable ergonomics and performance that met or even exceeded the manufacturer’s stated specifications. Despite the manufacturing operations transitioning from Japan to the PRC, there’s been no compromise in quality or performance within Bushnell’s rangefinder line.

In fact, I envision the PRIME™ 1800 becoming a staple in my hunting adventures very soon. It might even take over the role of my trusty 1 Mile ARC, which has served me well, but will now potentially take a back seat in favour of this new contender.