Shots on big game at extreme distances, from 300 to beyond 800 yards, can with modern rifles, bullets, and scopes be not only feasible but ethical if a shooter really knows what the hell he’s doing and if he has a truly reliable laser rangefinder.

Leica’s Rangemaster CRF 1600 is small, compact, and easy to use. The weight was a good compromise between lightness and the heft needed to hold steady. In an unscientific durability test, I dropped it 10 times from shoulder height onto a carpeted floor with no problem. The CRF provided repeated consistent readings out to 1,300 yards. Lenses are fully multicoated and treated with moisture-resistant AquaDura. Essential for long-range shooting is the unit’s added ability to read temperature, angle, and absolute air pressure, data needed to calculate -holdover—for when to shoot and, more important, when not. —T.M.