Well, my G. Pointer pup is almost one and did well in the field his first year.  He listened good for quite some time, but as of late, he's been getting into trouble.. not coming on command, running over to the neighbors house, and other things of the sort.  I listened to advice and did not use an e collar the first year, but to keep the dog safe, I feel it is time for the purchase.  I really cant spend $300 right now, so Im looking for advice on collars.  I like the Gundog SD400 and its the right price, but is the range too short for a pointer (400 yds).  I dont think Id want my him going much farther than that anyway.  Any advice on this make and model?  Is it worth it to get the next step up?  What do some of you use?  Sorry for all the q's.  Thanks in advance.

I swear by the Dogtra 200 NCP that I got when I started training my deaf dog Snowball.  It's a $200 collar that is very compact and also has a vibrate mode, which is just about all I ever need to use.  I've had it for 3 1/2 years and it's been through extreme use and abuse (water, mud, ice, slush, briars that rabbits wouldn't go through, left laying in the hot sun on the dash of the truck, etc) and it looks and works as good as it did the day I first took it out of the box.  I don't know how many hundreds of times it's been plugged in to the charger, but the battery still holds it's charge well and the little rubber thingy that covers charger plug hole hasn't fallen off like it has with many other collars that I've used in the past.

It has a low to medium range (1/2 mile advertised, but like most collar manufacturers, that's usually only achieved if there is direct line of sight, the wind is in the right direction, the weather conditions are perfect and the stars are aligned just right).  I agree with TCJACK about range.  Unless you hunt on horseback with binoculars, I don't see the need for extended range collars.

The Dogtra 200 NCP has been replaced with a model called Element 300M that appears to be similar and priced the same.  That model should be available soon if it isn't already.

Thanks for the info guys. 

I use the SD 800, I just like having that kind of range available.  I was able to get that new in box for around 200, and it works just fine.  Check the ebay stores, that's where I found it.

2 pieces of advice on the use.  Take it or leave it, as you need to find what works for you and the dog.

1  I treat my collar like a sports uniform, if I take her out at all, she's got it on.  I didn't use it for a while, I just put it on her and then took her for a run/play session.  She now thinks that the collar means play, and can hardly keep still she is so excited when she sees it

2  Make sure that whatever you are correcting, the dog knows exactly what is expected of it.  Don't use it on a command that it does not know well.

Went with the SD 400 in the camo pattern.  I just couldnt picture a situation where my dog would need to be over 400 yds from me.  Anyway, its in the mail and came with an orange collar too for hunting season.  Thanks again for the advice.