LLAMA-GABILONDO Y CIA., S.A. ofVitoria, Spain, has long produced full-sized M1911-based pistols in vari-

ous configurations, including a new high-capacity compact model in .45 ACP (July1997, p. 34). More recently, the firm hasintroduced a new compact .380ACP pistol having a strongM1911 lineage.

The Llama Micromax is a single-action, semi-automatic pistol having aseven-round-capacity single-stack maga-zine, plastic stocks and a black oxide fin-ish. In appearance the pistol looks likenothing so much as a scaled-down M1911,retaining not only that pistol’s profile butvirtually all of the signature GovernmentModel design characteristics as well.

The slide rides in rails on the frame,has angled rear serrations and ismachined in a pattern reminiscent of thelateral scalloping on an M1911 slide. Thebarrel is positioned by a barrel bushing thatalso serves to retain the recoil spring plugin its tunnel under the barrel. This tunnel,which surrounds both the spring plug andthe single-coil recoil spring, is not machinedintegrally with the slide but is a separate partmortised into the slide and silver-solderedinto place.

On the right side of the slide are the ejec-

tion port and the spring-loaded claw extractor. The

latter is one of the few departures fromM1911 principles, as it pivots around a ver-tical roll pin, visible in the top of the slide,and is tensioned by a small coil spring thatpushes against its tail.

The rear sight with its .098"-wide notchis mounted in a dovetail cut in the slide, andis drift-adjustable for windage. The frontpost is .087" wide, ramped for a no-snagdraw and rounded in front for easier rehol-stering. The sights are painted in the famil-iar three-dot pattern.

The underside of the slide fea-tures an M1911-type disconnectortrack with semicircular disconnec-tor cut and a passive firing pin blockplunger. At the rear, the firing pinstop sits in a slot in the rear slideface and retains the spring-loadedinertia firing pin.

The frame also reflects a strongGovernment Model influence. Anextended, serrated slide stop is ten-sioned by a spring-loaded plungerthat projects from the front of aframe-mounted plastic plungertube, while a second plunger at the rear ofthe tube engages a detent in the pistol’sthumb safety, giving positive stops in boththe “safe” and “fire” positions. TheMicromax’s ejector is silver-soldered in

place on top of the frame.Behind the trigger on the

left side of the frame is the M1911-stylemagazine catch that is depressed to releasethe magazine. It is not reversible for left-handers. The pistol’s plastic stocks, howev-er, are designed for ambidextrous use, asboth sides have a shallow thumb rest as wellas a panel of molded-in checkering. Thestock screws do not turn into bushings butdirectly into threaded holes in the .092"-thick frame sidewalls.

At the rear of the frame the mainspringhousing contains the mainspring, main-

44 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • September 1997

®

The American Rifleman has used the phrase “DopeBag” at least since 1921, when Col.Townsend Whelenfirst titled his column with it. Even then, it had been inuse for years, referring to a sack used by target shoot-ers to hold ammunition and accessories on the firingline.“Sight dope”also was a traditional marksman’s termfor sight adjustment information, while judging windspeed and direction was called “doping the wind.”

CAUTION: Technical data and information con-tained herein are intended to provide information basedon the limited experience of individuals under specificconditions and circumstances. They do not detail thecomprehensive training procedures, techniques andsafety precautions absolutely necessary to properlycarry on similar activity. Read the notice and disclaimeron the contents page. Always consult comprehensivereference manuals and bulletins for details of propertraining requirements, procedures, techniques andsafety precautions before attempting any similar activity.

Instead of a spring-steel M1911-styleextractor, the Llama Micromax features apivoting claw extractor tensioned by acoil spring that bears on its tail. Also vis-ible in this view are the breechface’s fir-ing pin hole and the ejector tip (arrow).

The influence of the M1911 design on theLlama Micromax is seen in its barrel bush-ing,grip and thumb safeties,slide stop andgeneral profile. Unlike the M1911, how-ever, the Micromax is blowback-operated.

MANUFACTURER: Llama Gabilondo YCia., Dept. AR, Apartado 290, E-01080, Vitoria, Spain

IMPORTER: Import Sports, Inc., Dept.AR, 1750 Brielle Ave., Unit B1,Wanamassa, NJ 07712

MECHANISM TYPE: blowback-operated,semi-automatic pistol

CALIBER: .380 ACPOVERALL LENGTH: 61⁄2"BARREL LENGTH: 33⁄4"WEIGHT: 23 ozs.WIDTH: 11⁄4"HEIGHT: 45⁄8"MAGAZINE CAPACITY: seven TRIGGER: two-stage, 6-lb. pullSIGHTS: fixed, three-dot system, rear

drift-adjustable for windageSTOCKS: black plastic ACCESSORIES: plastic carrying casePRICE: $258.95

LLAMA MICROMAX

LLAMA MICROMAXLLAMA MICROMAX

spring cap and hammer strut. It is retainedby a frame crosspin. The magazine well isslightly beveled around its edges to facili-tate magazine insertion.

The external resemblance to the M1911continues inside the pistol as well. All themajor lockwork parts—trigger, hammer,sear, disconnector and sear spring—are sim-ply scaled-down versions of the corre-sponding components of the GovernmentModel, and the Llama generally adheres tothat pistol’s basic cycle of operation. TheMicromax does show one significant depar-ture from the parent design’s principles,however; being blowback-operated, it doesnot fire from a locked breech. Gone are theM1911 swinging link and radial barrel andslide lugs; and the Llama’s barrel, insteadof being pinned or threaded rigidly to theframe, as on many other blowback-operat-ed .380s, is positioned in the frame by theslide stop pin, which abuts a semicircularcut in the lower barrel lug.

The safety mechanisms of the Micromaxecho those of the modern Colt Series 80 pis-tols, but with some twists. Both the sear-

blocking thumb safety and trigger-blockinggrip safety of the Micromax function as dotheir M1911 counterparts. Additionally, theMicromax features a slide-mounted firingpin block plunger that must be lifted to allowfull firing pin excursion and thus ignition.While the Colt Series 80 mechanismemploys a trigger-actuated two-lever mech-anism to lift the firing pin block, theMicromax employs a frame-mounted pinthat is forced upward to lift the block whenthe grip safety is depressed. Since this sys-tem is not linked to the trigger, it cannotadversely affect trigger pull as can theSeries-80-type trigger-actuated mecha-nism. On the other hand, the Llama system,by not being tied to the trigger, may not, intheory, offer as much protection from acci-dental discharge—though seemingly morethan any Series 70-type design that lacks afiring pin block altogether.

As might be expected, the Micromax isfield-stripped using the familiar M1911 pro-cedure, which needs not be detailed here.Detail stripping is also similar, but not iden-tical. The extractor and plunger tube, forexample, differ markedly from those of theoriginal M1911. Detail stripping, however,is not required for general maintenance, andshould be left to a gunsmith.

We fired our test Micromax for accuracywith the results found in the accompanyingtable, and function-fired the pistol with morethan 300 rounds of mixed CCI, Federal,Hornady and Winchester ammunition. Weobserved three feeding failures and severaloccasions when the slide locked open pre-maturely (unassisted by an errant thumb).Some fired cases showed bulging, an indica-tion of the lack of case head support. Thisappeared to result from the gun’s generousbarrel throat, itself a feature designed to pro-mote feeding reliability.

Firing the Micromax was quite pleasant.The Llama’s beavertail grip safety helpeddistribute recoil over a larger area of thehand and assisted in controlling muzzle flip(although one test-firer noted that the sharpframe edges adjacent to the beavertailabraded the web of his hand). The triggerpull, though heavy, was nonetheless crisp—

and head and shoul-ders above the initialtrigger pull of anydouble-action .380.Ergonomics of thepistol were quitegood, as to beexpected from itslineage, and muzzleflip controllable.The relatively short2.3" reach frombackstrap to triggerface enabled small-handed persons tomanipulate the gunhandily, though

ham-handed types may find that reach tooshort, or the trigger guard a little bit too snugfor their fingers to fit comfortably.

Delivering a quick, accurate first shotwith the Micromax is easier than with manyother .380 pistols, thanks to its single-actionoperation. Our pistol tended to print itsgroups well to the left of the point of aim,with some brands as much as 12" left at 25yds. While at first glance this seems to be aconsiderable distance, it is the equivalent of

less than 31⁄2" at seven yds.—a range closerto that at which a personal protection pistolsuch as the Micromax would likely be used.Moreover, the lateral deviation we notedwould be easily correctable by drifting thegun’s rear sight to the right.

We have conflicting feelings about theLlama Micromax. While we have greatrespect for the M1911 pistol, we questionthe rationale for downsizing a relativelycomplex design; many recent blowbackdesigns have been far simpler. Yet the pis-tol seems quite robust, and would appearcapable of considerable use. It is alsogracile, but perhaps too long to be a truepocket pistol. In any event, its single-actionoperation, suitable for cocked-and-lockedcarry, would seem to preclude any form ofcarry that did not involve a holster. We sus-pect that the greatest appeal of the LlamaMicromax will be to ardent fans of theGovernment Model design who seek asmaller, functionally comparable compan-ion pistol in .380 ACP.

AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • September 1997 45

The Micromax field-stripped, showing its(1) slide, (2) barrel bushing, (3) barrel, (4)recoil spring and guide, (5) spring plug, (6)slide stop and (7) frame. The semicircularcut in the barrel underlug (arrow) engagesthe slide stop pin and positions the barrel.

The Micromax disassembles like anM1911. Here the slide is retracted to alignits disassembly notch with the tail of theslide stop, allowing removal of that part.

Seen here are the Llama’s beavertail gripsafety, thumb safety, extended slide stop,Commander-style hammer, plastic thumb-rest stocks and fixed three-dot sights.

.380 ACP Vel. @15' Smallest Largest AverageCartridge (f.p.s.) (ins.) (ins.) (ins.)

Fed. No. P380HS1 908 Avg. 2.52 4.23 3.6590-gr. HS 19 Sd

Hdy. No. 9010 888 Avg. 3.81 5.75 4.4390-gr. XTP 23 Sd

Win. X380ASHP 932 Avg. 4.53 8.10 6.60 85-gr. STHP 31 Sd

Average Extreme Spread 4.89

Five consecutive five-shot groups from 25 yds., fired from sandbagsAbbreviations: Sd (standard deviation), Fed. (Federal), HS (Hydra-Shok), Hdy. (Hornady), XTP (Extreme Terminal Performance), Win.(Winchester), STHP (Silvertip Hollow Point)

ACCURACY RESULTS

6

1

2 3

4

5

7

Alittle more than 101 years ago,Winchester began production of thefirst lever-action rifle using a non-

detachable box magazine that was designedto handle jacketed, pointed Spitzer bullets.

Initial offerings included a sporting rifle,carbine and military musket chambered for.30-40 Krag, .38-72 or .40-72. A 6 mm LeeNavy musket was cataloged, but apparent-ly never produced. Later production gunscould be had in .35 Win., .405 Win., .30-’03,.30-’06, .303 British and 7.62x54 mmRcals.

Shortly after World War I, the .30-’06chambering was dropped from the linebecause of rumors that the action was notstrong enough for this cartridge.Investigations suggested that wrecked rifleshad failed because shooters erroneouslyused war souvenir 8x57 mm Mauser car-tridges in their .30-’06 rifles.

The Winchester Model 1895 was usedafield in both North America and Africa, andwas especially liked by famous outdoors-men like Zane Grey and President TheodoreRoosevelt who called his .405 Win.-cham-bered Model 1895 his “Big Medicine” gun.Additionally, more than a quarter of a mil-lion Model 1895s chambered for the 7.62x54 mmR round were made in 1915-16 for

troops of the Imperial Russian government.Production of the original Model 1895

ended in 1931, while sales continued untilas late as 1938.

Though the romance associated with the

Winchester Model 1895 has endured, thezenith of its popularity was reached nearlythree generations ago. Browning made alimited run of 10,000 guns in 1984 cham-bered for .30-’06 (June 1984, p. 56) and cur-rently U.S. Repeating Arms Co. has seen fitto resurrect this classic with some improve-ments over not only the original, but the laterBrowning version as well.

The most salient of these improvementsis the addition of a sliding hammer-block-ing safety on the top tang. When operated,a lower extension of the safety button movesin an angled slot cut in a flat steel bar posi-tioned under the top tang. This bar in turnpivots in or out of an area relieved from theside of the hammer. If the trigger is acci-dently pulled while the gun is cocked andthe safety is on, the hammer will fall, but itsforward movement is arrested when theshoulder of the relieved area stops againstthe pivoting steel bar.

Another feature on U.S. RepeatingArms’ gun that was not available on theBrowning is checkering in a bordered pointpattern of 20 lines per inch on the wrist andschnabel fore-end. The checkering on our

sample was very wellexecuted with no over-runs and few flat dia-mond points.

While most originalModel 1895s were fit-

ted with a crescent buttplate, the new ver-sion sports a matte-blued steel shotgun onethat many believe is less punishing to theshooter with regard to recoil.

Though not an historically accuratechambering for the Model 1895, the .270Win. offers some hunting nostalgia in its

The Winchester Model 1895 is a little more than 101 years old. As a hunt-ing gun, it has found favor with outdoor personalities such as Zane Greyand President Theodore Roosevelt who called it his “Big Medicine” gun.

The most salient improve-ment over the original is atang-mounted safety. Whenengaged, the safety pivots aflat steel bar (arrow) into arelieved area on the side of thehammer. If the trigger is pulledwhile the safety is on, thehammer falls, but its forwardmovement is arrested justbefore it strikes the firing pin.

46 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • September 1997

While most originalModel 1895s were fit-ted with a crescentbuttplate, the newUSRAC versionsports a steel shot-gun-style buttplatethat many believereduces felt recoil.

MANUFACTURER: Miroku FirearmsMfg. Co., 537-1 Shinohara-NangokuCity, Kochi Pref., Japan

IMPORTER: U.S. Repeating Arms Co.,Dept. AR, 275 Winchester Ave., NewHaven, CT 06511

MECHANISM TYPE: lever-action rifleCALIBER: .270 WinOVERALL LENGTH: 421⁄2"BARREL LENGTH: 24"WEIGHT: 8 lbs., 6 ozs.MAGAZINE CAPACITY: fourRIFLING: four-groove, 1:10" RH twistTRIGGER: single-stage, 61⁄4 lbs. pullSIGHTS: gold bead front, semi-buck-

horn rear adjustable for windage andelevation.

STOCK: Walnut, length of pull, 131⁄4";drop at heel, 35⁄8" drop at comb, 27⁄8"

PRICE: $909

MODEL 95 RIFLE

WINCHESTER MODEL 95 RIFLEWINCHESTER MODEL 95 RIFLE

own right, and was even called “advanced[in] age” in 1970 by one of its most well-known proponents, Jack O’Connor.

Some final notable deviations from theoriginal design include the use of a power-ful coil mainspring rather than a flat spring,and a mousetrap carrier spring instead of a“V” spring.

Approximately the first 5000 of the orig-inal 1895s were made with flat-sidedreceivers and one-piece finger levers. Thecurrent production gun has the more famil-iar scalloped receiver and two-piece fingerlever that is interlocked with the trigger toprevent firing unless the action is com-pletely closed.

Being a top-ejectinggun, the Model 1895 doesnot lend itself easily toscope use. Currently,though, a Weaver sidemount is available, butrequires drilling and tap-ping the receiver.

Disassembly can becomplicated, and weagree with the manufac-turer that this task is bestleft to a qualified or facto-ry-authorized gunsmith.

We fired our sample at100 yds. using the supplied gold bead frontsight and semi-buckhorn rear sight with theresults shown in the accompanying table.Function firing was with a mix of pointedand round-nose cartridges from variousmanufacturers with no malfunctions of anykind. The rifle’s accuracy,even with the historically-accurate but outdated sights,was nearly as good as manyscope-equipped bolt-actionguns we have tested.

Overall, we were im-pressed with the new 1895from U.S. Repeating ArmsCo. Unlike the Browningversion that was limited to9000 Grade I and 1000 HighGrade rifles, “the newModel 1895 will be made incontinuing quantities eachyear” according to the man-ufacturer’s catalog.

If Teddy Roosevelt was alive today, hemight have some trouble with the gun’s“made in Japan” label; however, the quali-ty of the workmanship and proven accura-cy of the new Model 1895 could be thespoonful of sugar that helps this medicinego down.

THE newly-introduced Coach Gunfrom Stoeger Industries will not nec-essarily appeal to the stereotypical

well-heeled shotguner, nor should it. Bydesign, the Brazilian-made side-by-side isintended for the Cowboy Action shooter,and it may have some attraction as a per-

sonal protection arm for the home as well.The Coach Gun is a plain-finish, basic,

utility-grade boxlock in 12-ga. with 3"chambers. Our test sample featured sturdy20" barrels choked improved cylinder andmodified, with a cross-grooved rib that issolid on the top, ventilated between the bar-

rels and equipped with a single brass frontbead sight. Barrels and action are polishedblue and the triggers are silver colored.

There is a long history of shotguns beingmade for Stoeger by IGA in Brazil, and theCoach Gun is no exception. It has familiarfeatures like coil spring-powered hammers,

AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • September 1997 47

The Stoeger Coach Gun, made by IGA, is a rugged and easily-handleddouble-barrel side-by-side offered at a modest price.The no-frills 12-ga.,3" gun is intended for the burgeoning Cowboy Action shooting market.

A number of the very first Model 1895s hadflat-sided receivers and one-piece fingerlevers. Current-production of the lever-actions have the more-familiar scallopedreceiver and two-piece finger lever that isinterlocked with the trigger to prevent fir-ing unless the action is completely closed.

If he was alive today,Theodoore Rooseveltmight have a problem with the newly-madeModel 1895’s “made in Japan”label, but itsaccuracy might just be the spoonful ofsugar that helps the “medicine”go down.

.270 Win Vel. @15' Smallest Largest AverageCartridge (f.p.s.) (ins.) (ins.) (ins.)

Federal Premium 2946 Avg. 2.88 4.31 3.61P270T1 140-gr. TB 17 Sd

Speer Nitrex 3212 Avg. 1.62 3.57 2.75130-gr. GS 19 Sd

Winchester Silvertip 3038 Avg. 2.40 3.87 2.99X2703 130-gr. ST 5 Sd

Average Extreme Spread 3.11

Five consecutive five-shot groups from 100 yds., fired fromsandbags. Abbreviations: GS (Grand Slam), Sd (standarddeviation), ST (Silvertip), TB (Trophy Bonded)

ACCURACY RESULTS

STOEGER COACH GUNSTOEGER COACH GUN

double underlugs, double triggers, an auto-matic tang safety, a beavertail fore-end anda pistol grip hardwood stock like we foundon the IGA-made Stoeger DB20 shotgun(November 1983, p. 61).

The stock is made of a straight-grainedhardwood with a dark, walnut stain andgrooved black plastic buttplate and grip cap.Functional, hand-cut bordered checkering

is in a diamond-shaped pattern on thefore-end and on thepistol grip. On thisworking gun thecoarse 16 lines perinch checkering pro-vides a secure grip-ping surface eventhough all points areflat. Wood-to-metalfit varied from beingflush at the fore-endand tangs to the butt-stock being 1/16"

higher than the action.Cocking is on open-

ing and as it is opened thefore-end iron cams downthe gun’s cocking leverswhile an actuator simul-taneously lifts the twoextractors.

Take-down of the unloaded Coach Gunis conventional in that you depress the fore-end lock and pull the fore-end down and off.Next, press the top latch to the right and tipthe barrels from the action. No further dis-assembly is recommended, nor should it benecessary for routine cleaning and mainte-nance. Reassembly is in the reverse order.

Despite the utilitarian design, or perhapsbecause of it, the Coach gun comes quick-ly to the shoulder and swings steadily.Recoil, though sharp, was not punishing,though muzzle flash from the short barrelscould be considered distracting. Recoveryfor an immediate second shot was not aproblem.

The Stoeger Coach Gun was patterned

at 25 yds. with 1-oz. PMC Dove & Quailloads with the results shown in the accom-panying table. Function firing was carriedout with a variety of foreign and domestictarget and field loads including No. 4 Buckand Foster-style slugs. There were no mal-functions of any kind in the course of thetest procedure.

Overall, we were sat-isfied with the CoachGun, though we would

have preferred a straight grip so it would beeasier to slide the trigger hand back to pullthe second trigger. Also, the automatic safe-ty proved to be a nuisance in rapid firingwhen a reload was required.

The Stoeger Coach Gun, then, is simplya rugged and easily-handled double barrelat a modest price, that doesn’t pretend to besomething it is not.

The Coach Gun is a plain-finish, basic, util-ity-grade boxlock side-by-side in 12-ga.with 3" chambers. The sturdy 20" barrelswere choked improved cylinder and mod-ified, with a cross-grooved rib that is solidon the top, ventilated between the barrelsand has a single brass front bead sight.

The Coach Gun’s boxlock mechanism as seen from the front illustrates anumber of its features.The firing pins and firing pin bushings are clearly vis-ible in the breechfaces for both barrels. Also seen are the cocking levers andthe sliding locking bolt (arrow). Shown at left are the Coach Gun’s side-by-

side barrels. Note thefore-end hanger anddual underlugs. Thegun has no ejectorsand an actuator liftsthe extractors whenthe action is opened.

48 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • September 1997

An action detail (above)of the Coach Gunshows the double trig-gers, hammers, searsand top latch spring, aswell as the gun’s slidingtang safety mechanism.

MANUFACTURER: IGA, Veranopolis,RGS, Brazil

IMPORTER: Stoeger, Inc., Dept. AR, 5Mansard Ct., Wayne, NJ 07470

MECHANISM TYPE: break-action, side-by-side shotgun

GAUGE: 12-ga., 3"OVERALL LENGTH: 365⁄16"BARREL LENGTH: 1915⁄16"WEIGHT: 6 lbs., 12 ozs.TRIGGER: double: front, 101⁄4 lbs. pull;

rear, 93⁄4 lbs. pull STOCK: walnut stained hardwood: length

of pull, 145⁄8"; drop at comb, 111⁄16";drop at heel, 3"

ACCESSORIES: nonePRICE: $382

IGA COACH GUN

AVERAGE OF 10 PATTERNS AT 40 YDS.

20 14 15 15

39 31 25 28

31 22 24 26

13 9 12 14

Modified Barrel Improved/Modified Barrel

x = Point of HoldPMC Quail & Dove 31⁄4 –1 oz.– 6

Pellet count—236

Total Hits 179 (75%) Total Hits 159 (67%)21.2" Inner Circle 123 (52%) 21.2" Inner Circle 103 (43%)30" Outer Ring 56 (23%) 30" Outer Ring 26 (23%)

STOEGER COACH GUN

THOUGH many believe thattoday’s heavy-barreled factory rifleschambered in flat-shooting, ultra-

high-velocity magnum calibers enable theaverage shooter to make clean kills out to400-500 yds. and beyond without worryingovermuch about bullet drop, the truth is that,even for a competent rifleman, any shot inthe field much beyond 250 yds. is still chal-lenging—particularly when the target issmall. The problem lies primarily in accu-rately estimating the range to the target.With a 7 mm Magnum propelling a 150-gr.bullet at 3100 f.p.s., at 400 yds. a range esti-mation error of 40 yds.—only 10%—canproduce an 8" difference in drop—enoughto produce a miss or, worse, a cripplingwound instead of a clean kill.

While optical rangefinders have longbeen available, the less expensive of thesegenerally afford only 90 to 95% accuracy,while more accurate models are typically acumbersome 18" to a meter or more in length.The other long-range alternatives are laserrangefinders such as the Leica Geovid andSwarovski’s LRS and RF1 units which,though all accurate out to 1,000 yds., carry afour-figure price tag.

A less expensive alternative was intro-duced in 1995 when Bushnell introduced itsYardage Pro 400 rangefinder, which used aninfrared laser to give readings out to a max-imum range of around 400 yards. Thoughthe 400 worked well, its maximum rangecould be reduced when the unit was used inbright sunlight or on small or non-reflectivetargets. Moreover, many shooters simplywanted a unit with considerably more range.Bushnell responded to these demands byreleasing its Yardage Pro 800 unit this year.

The Yardage Pro 800 gives about twicethe ranging performance of the 400, mea-suring distances up to 800 yds. with aclaimed accuracy of up to plus or minus one

yd. (Bushnellstates that, under

ideal conditions, theunit can range out to about

1,000 yds.). About 51⁄2" long, 5"wide and 21⁄2" high, and 18 ozs. in weight, itis powered by a standard 9v alkaline batteryand boasts a bright liquid crystal display(LCD) viewing screen that can be seenclearly under diminished light conditions,as well as a variety of ranging modes forbetter performance.

Like its Yardage Pro 400 predecessor, the800 uses an invisible, eye-safe 904 nm Class1 infrared laser beam to gauge distances.The unit is used by looking through the eye-piece, centering the crosshairs in the LCDon the target (at least 25 yds. distant), andpressing the “fire” button on the top rightside of the unit. This causes an infrared laserbeam to be emitted, some of which bouncesback to a sensor in the unit. Internal circuitrymeasures the time for the emitted beam togo from the unit to the target and be reflect-ed back, and converts this interval into dis-tance, which displays in yards or meters.

The LCD display offers a number of fea-tures designed to enhance operation. At thetop, a TARGET QUALITY meter registersthe quantity of light being reflected backfrom the target. The higher the quantity, theeasier it is for the unit to range to the object.Note that this has nothing to do with accu-racy; anytime a range figure is displayed, itis accurate to within three yds. (one yd. ifthe PRECISION indicator to the right of therange display is lit).

Below the crosshairs is the large digitaldistance display; to the left of this the cur-rent targeting mode is shown (selected bypressing the “mode” button atop the left sideof the unit). The Yardage Pro 800 offersthree targeting modes to enhance ranging:REFL (increases the unit’s ability to range

highly reflective objects by lowering its sen-sitivity to eliminate noise); RAIN (improvesranging through rain by ignoring all reflect-ed light from objects less than about 95 yds.distant); and ZIP (similar to RAIN butignores reflected light from objects less

than 165 yds. away). Additionally, a newSCAN mode can be selected, whichprovides continuous ranging data onmultiple objects as they are traversedby the crosshairs.

We tested the Yardage Pro 800 inthe field on a variety of targets under

various lighting conditions. We foundthe unit to be easy to use, and the backlit

LCD display was visible even in near-dark-ness. Our tests highlighted the capabilities—and limitations—of such rangefinders. Wewere easily able to range a haystack in a fieldat more than 700 yds. in late afternoon light,but had more difficulty in ranging smaller,less reflective targets at such extended dis-tances. In general, laser rangefinders workbetter in reduced light conditions (brightsunlight produces light “noise” that com-petes with the laser beam) on reflective tar-gets (such as light-colored animals or shinyleaves). Target size is also a factor, the roughrule of thumb being that if you can’t see it

through the 6X monocular, you probablywon’t be able to range it. Bushnell repre-sentatives stated that the average personshould be able to range a full-grown deer outto well past 500 yds. under most conditionslikely to be encountered. With greater expe-rience with the unit, that distance might beextendable to around 600 yds.

Though considerably more expensivethan the Yardage Pro 400, the 800 offers bet-ter performance and some new features in apackage no bigger or heavier than typicalfull-sized binoculars. For the dedicatedlong-range varminter or big-game hunter, itallows accurate judging of target distancesat about the cost of a typical target scope.

Available from: Bushnell Sports Optics,Dept. AR, 9200 Cody, Overland Park, KS66214. Price: $549

BUSHNELL YARDAGE PRO 800

AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • September 1997 49

Depressing the “fire” button (1) on the Yardage Pro800 emits an infrared laser beam from the left 40mm objective. The beam is reflected off the tar-get and returns through the right-hand 40mm objective to sensor circuitry. Thesmaller center lens is for the 6Xviewing monocular. The“mode” button (2) selectsthe current targetingmode. The LCD dis-play (below, r.) givesrange, currentmode, targetquality andother parame-ters (see text).

1

2