Most rounds w/a 6.8 spc only vary 2" from 50yds to 200 yds, so why spend the money on a laser range finder?
I agree to a large extent, particularly given the low magnification relative to resolution of the Pulsar rifle scopes. By the point the animal is so blurry to make positive identification difficult, it is likely beyond 200 yards. You may have a moving blob that moves like a hog and feel comfortable shooting it well beyond that distance, but in terms of actual clarity, you can likely self assess well enough to know if the hog is within 200 yards. These are not 500 yard shooting scopes. What I am getting at here is that you likely do not need the rangefinder for actual shooting for full power centerfire supersonic rifle rounds with current Pulsar Trail optics. Besides, most folks do not shoot beyond 200 yards. Heck, most don't shoot beyond 100 yards, particularly at night. So do, but most do not.
However, there are numerous times where having the rangefinder will come in useful.
1) How many night vision rangefinders are there out there? I often arrive at locations, particularly new locations, and range landmarks with my daylight rangefinder as these are not things that I can see at night to range in the dark. I like to know how far the tree line is, property line, major landmarks in the field, field size, etc. I like to build a mental picture BEFORE I hunt of what areas I can be shooting safely and accurately from my chosen position (if I am stationary). But I have to do that in the day time because I don't have any form of night vision/thermal rangefinding. So having it on the scope would be REALLY NICE.
2) Shooting subsonic ammo? Somebody can correct me on the specifics, but to illustrate the point, a .300 Blk at 200 yards has about as much drop as a .308 at 450-500 yards, over 30" which means if you want to shoot very far with subsonic, you need to know the distance so that you can compensate for the drop accordingly.
3) Pig_Popper and I have experienced this, shooting hogs in high grass using thermal and knowing the direction, but having trouble with the distance. Ranging a shot, after the kill, could have come in handy for helping locate downed hogs in high grass.
The rangefinder is a nice feature. It can prove to be very useful.