First Look: Leupold RX-5000 TBR/W Rangefinder

The proliferation of modern digital technology in hunting and fishing gear has increased by leaps and bounds in recent years. From trail cameras that transmit live video to our phones to fishing sonar that has been compared to playing a video game, tech is redefining how we hunt and fish. Hunting optics is another category that has seen an abundance of fascinating advancements of late, and the newest example is the Leupold RX-5000 TBR/W laser rangefinder (LRF).

At first glance the RX-5000 looks much like any other Leupold handheld LRF, but it’s what’s inside the RX-5000, and its cutting-edge capabilities, that set it apart from other rangefinders on the market.

SO CLEAR YOU CAN SEE A PIN DROP

The big news here is that the RX-5000 can mark waypoints on your favorite phone-based mapping app—from up to 3 miles away.

This feature is especially handy when you spot an animal outside of shooting range. Simply range the critter with the RX-5000 and, through a combination of GPS technology and Bluetooth, it sends the coordinates of the ranged animal to Leupold’s Control app, which in turn instantly pins the location on your choice of onX Hunt, Google Maps or Apple Maps. From there, it’s up to you to determine the best route for closing the distance and making the shot.

The pinning feature also comes into play when you’ve shot an animal and it runs off and out of sight. Simply range the spot where the animal was last seen, walk directly to that spot and (hopefully) pick up the blood trail.

AN APP FOR THAT

The Control app itself is fast, intuitive and seemingly bug-free. Within the app, you can quickly adjust the RX-5000’s settings, including display brightness, mapping app of choice, unit of measurement (yards or meters) and reticle style. You can also select your readout preference (CDS, MIL, MOA or TRIG) and choose from one of 25 different load groupings pre-programmed into the LRF to determine the ballistic-compensated True Ballistic Range. By the way, that’s the “TBR” in the product name; the “W” is for the Wind feature, which produces wind-hold values.

To range way out there, use the app (or controls on the unit itself) to switch the RX-5000 to Long Range Mode and zap hard targets out to 5,000 yards. For long-distance ranging, it’s best to mount the unit to a tripod via the included saddle mount and use the Control app to remotely fire the LRF. The RX-5000’s 8X magnification greatly aids in long-distance ranging.

SEAMLESS INTEGRATION

I’ve been playing around with the RX-5000 TBR/W ever since I first used it on a Carmen Mountain whitetail hunt in West Texas last December. Aside from its innovative and useful features, what strikes me most about it is how fast both the rangefinder and the app operate and how well they work in concert. Change a setting on the app and the result appears instantly in the unit’s readout.

Regardless of how you feel about the integration of technology in hunting and fishing gear, it’s inarguable that we’ll only see more and more of in in the years to come. If the majority of the gear marries existing products with tech as seamlessly and ably as the RX-5000 TBR/W, and does so within the parameters of ethical hunting and fishing practices, we’ll all be better equipped to pursue our passions.

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