Thread: Which rangefinder?

Just went through the rangefinder research and trials myself. Ended up with the Leica 1600.

The 1000 was great too, but I was a bit worried about no angle function. Not to mention no holdover readings if you did need to take a quick shot before using a ballistics app.

The Leupold TBR 1000 I was impressed with in the shop. Seemed the clearest of them all. But then we went outside and it just got absolutely SMASHED by the Leicas. Was nowhere near as clear and the display was suddenly hard to see. It also didn't seem to be able to range beyond about 600-700 yards on large trees, etc, whereas we got the Leica 1600 ranging trees at 1800 yards. Ive since got readings up to 2000. Real shame about the Leupold as I liked the price, weight and feel of it.

Also tried some Geovids for comparison. Really nice but the 1600's seemed comparable for pure ranging. The main attraction was just having one item instead of two, but damn they were heavy.

So in my opinion for under $1500 the Leicas are where it's at. Either 1600, 1200 or 1000 depending on budget.

Originally Posted by BRADS

How big is the beam in the Yukon kimjon?
Is it as bad as the G7 finders?

Can't find the actual specs for the beam divergence but from use I have found it to be quite specific in what your targeting. Say your targeting the gongs we shoot if your not dead on it will jump to a reading of the back drop, so I can't imagine the beam to be that massive? Never did get to try your G7 though.

I personally think for the money the Yukon is a great buy.

Lack of inclonometer is a drawback, better to have that then the useless speedo it has.

Originally Posted by Nibblet

Can't find the actual specs for the beam divergence but from use I have found it to be quite specific in what your targeting. Say your targeting the gongs we shoot if your not dead on it will jump to a reading of the back drop, so I can't imagine the beam to be that massive? Never did get to try your G7 though.

I personally think for the money the Yukon is a great buy.

Lack of inclonometer is a drawback, better to have that then the useless speedo it has.

I'm sure they are good value for money,
A big beam will trip you up on animals if not careful

Originally Posted by BRADS

I'm sure they are good value for money,
A big beam will trip you up on animals if not careful

Yeah definitely. You would be one of the best dudes for reviews? You have had almost everything under the sun firearm related?

Originally Posted by Nibblet

Yeah definitely. You would be one of the best dudes for reviews? You have had almost everything under the sun firearm related?

Fukn lol, not for me
I have learnt that big beams are dumb

Originally Posted by BRADS

Fukn lol, not for me
I have learnt that big beams are dumb

Haha you get bitten by that G7 you had?

I was meaning you would be a good dude to listen to for advice as you have been there and done that in most cases and have used it all in REAL world applications.

No it didn't bite me
A few times I ranged some deer and thought....na it's not that far, out with rf binos yep i was right it was prefect for steel and varmints.
This guy did
http://www.longrangehunting.com/foru...rrapin-125223/

Not sure on the beam sizes on this unit, but when ranging objects on the farm like cows, water troths, trees, hedges and building etc.. the Yukon/Leica/Zeiss were all within 5 yard of each other on the readings right out to 1600y and none of them showed any real advantage over the other for ranging duties. Glass is another story and so too was magnification - the more expensive items were better in that department (minus the older model Leica 900 which was shithouse for glass quality which surprised me?).

Ranging beyond 1600y I struggled to get reading with all of them. That's more likely my fault as I just couldn't hold it steady enough to get readings, even when leaning on a table, just pushing the button was enough to push it off target and miss a reading. The Bushnell and the bino types where much easier to hold steady and I can see a major advantage in the bigger units for this reason alone.

Somehow I can't help but think if these items where blind tested with no brand names attached the results would certainly be interesting to read afterwards (which is what I basically tried to do).

kj

FWIW I've seldom got a range beyond 600m with my Leupold RX1000i.
Small, rugged, crisp, easy to use but not a long ranger.

Originally Posted by Bagheera

FWIW I've seldom got a range beyond 600m with my Leupold RX1000i.
Small, rugged, crisp, easy to use but not a long ranger.

Mine ranges 900 950 fine, needs to be held steady tho.

Standalone rangefinders are ok but really a pain in the arse....think rangefinding binos. Yes expensive but so much easier & user friendly. You can glass away, range the game without having to put anything down. It can be really frustrating putting bino's down then trying to find the quarry in the rangefinder. I started off with a Leica 1600 but now have some geovids - you can pick these up secondhand at a good price if your prepared to wait.

I use a Yukon Extend LRS for all my ranging, and the longest range that I have managed was 1970 metres on a cool morning (on houses), and 1486 metres on cattle in a paddock. As the day heats up, all rangefinders lose efficiency because the infrared pulse is affected by ambient heat, and humidity can also be a factor. Only side-by-side tests have any relevance.

This might be a dumb thing to ask but does the y stand for yards on the box of a leica geovid HD when it has on it geovid HDY

does the 1200 leica not calculate the angle like the 1600?

Was using my Bushnell Gforce 1300 in the weekend and was easily and consistently getting ranges too 1100yards, if I had a decent rest I recon it'd go further.
If money is not an option the Leica seems to be the ticket, but if you are only ever going to range less than 800 to 1000yards then there is other options that are a fair bit cheaper.