Importance of a range finder..

So my dad missed a big frame 7pt yesterday evening 15min til dark. This is his first season hunting with a crossbow. I have bugged him all season telling him that archery is different and that rangefinders are very important. But he doesn't listen to me lol. He says he can judge distance just fine and rangefinder are just another expense. Everyone things you can judge distance until you miss a deer lol. We'll needless to say he took a shot a the buck last night and it went right under him. He said he thought the deer was at 25yds. I took MY rangefinder out the next morning and the buck was at 32yds. Now my dad wants to borrow my rangefinder when he goes out and I don't go with him lol. And over the off season he plans to buy a rangefinder. Just funny I think lol. It sucks he missed though.

If I should forget my range finder its almost as bad as forgeting my release. Not really, but close. I'm always ranging trees, rocks, bushes, or any prominent object so if the shot comes on quick you have a reference to judge the distance. Even when I'm in the trees I've hunt out of for years I still check. The memory is not what it use to be! My sons both thought the same way as your dad, until you guest it, they missed because of estimating the range wrong. A quick story. The first time I came to Ohio to hunt in 09 I could not wait to get into the woods. I find a good tree and location. Climb into my climber get all set up. The first thing I do when I'm ready is to range in all direction. My range finder had a dead battery. All I could think of was now the big guy is going to show up. Well he didn't. I always carry a replacement battery now.

I agree, range finders are a top tool to have and use
on all my ladderstand sets and even many places I hunt yr after yr, I mark trees, or even place markers out to show yardages, in about 5 or 6 directions all around my sets, there all color coded too
it sure makes life a lot easier when deer show up fast, and don't have to try to range em , or guess
lots of time is hard to have a range finder in hand when action happens fast, and why I!* like pre marking yardages
and too bad on the miss, but still better than wounding and loosing a deer

I agree they are a good tool if that's what you want, but not a necessary one. It all depends on what situation your in. I did buy one when I switched from shooting instinctively to using sights. I too set up my shots at each stand location before the season started and wrote them down so I wouldn't forget them. One difference though, I stepped it off instead of using the range finder. My 15 steps might not be exactly 15 yards but, the pins on your sight don't know yards from bananas. If your pin is set for that distance, that's where it will hit. I agree if for instance I would go to a range or a 3-d shoot, I might be in trouble, but I never did that. I just shot at home and went hunting. I'm not saying you guys are wrong, if your situation is different you may need that tool in your backpack. I never did.
If anybody wants to buy a slightly used range finder let me know.

It took me two missed yardage deer before I got a rangefinder. First was a target buck I shot over the other was a doe. Would not go out without it for sure.

I use one, I don't range a deer when it's coming in.....I simply range all the trees in my shooting lane. Since I don't take any shots over 30yds and my Stryker strykezone 380 shots so fast and flat.....I use the same crosshairs for 20-30yds which makes things simple.....so if I had "judged" a shot at 25.....and it was actually 32....it wouldn't make a difference.

i have mine tethered to my bow so i don't forget it now if i can remember my damn release every time

I always have it in my jacket pocket. I have used in on 1/2 of the deer I have gotten with a bow. The rest were so close it didnt matter much. I typically use it when the deer is walking or feeding in an area that I am not 100% sure of the yardage since I range everything that is around me but sometimes I just forget how far things are. They are a great tool if you have the time to use it.

I think the best part of a range fnder is they take the guess work out of distance, as arrows and bullets drop as distance gets farther
so the better info you have the less chance for a miss/wounded animal/target
one less human error to worry about after all we are all human, and can make a mistake(guess all tools can make errors too LOl)
but for any archery hunter that likes to shoot far/take long shots,
I say there a must have item,
but if you only take short shots, then, they may not be needed at al!
still don't hurt to have one, if you can afford it!
come in handy for measuring food plots too
69x69 yrads is an acre more or less
so they have more than one tool
and many folks that golf use them too??, I don't golf so, cannot add much here, but they do sell a lot to golf folks, and not just hunters!