Rangefinders

[Ought Six Ai]

Looking at Leupold RX-1200 TBR and Vortex Ranger 1000. Leupold is faster, Vortex comes with their unbeatable warranty. Has anyone had issues with a Leupold rangefinder that wasn't covered by warranty?

Thanks

[Whonnock Boy]

Vortex has a lifetime warranty. On an electronic device, I believe that is a no brainer regardless of which unit is faster. The one Leupold rangefinder I had experience with was a hunting partners. It crapped out after two years, and no warranty.

[GetLethal]

I have a ranger 1000, it is a little slow but all in all a nice unit.

[Wentrot]

Vortex for sure

[Ride Red]

I've been using a RX-1000 TBR without any issues. Fast results, no matter the weather and extremely easy on batteries.

[monasheemountainman]

Leupold all the way. They have the same warranty but don't advertise it as much as vortex cuz they don't need it like vortexdoes

[whitlers]

I have a vortex ranger 1000. I like it but if I were to do it over I would save for the Leica Range master 1200

[Asco]

I went thru 3 rangefinders. They were all baloney. Partner got a Leica.
Hot damn that thing ranged deer at 800 yards at dusk. One click and no lag.

the answer is leica. Turns out the lasers in all the others are the same Japanese lasers. Glass and the calculator part are the only differences. Don't waste your money on another baloney rangefinder like I did.

[1/2 slam]

Leica #1 then Leupold.

[Citori54]

I have the Leupold 1200TBR and have been happy with it so far. Very fast at ranging.

[huntingfamily]

First choice Leica, then Leupold.

[decker9]

Iv only used one range finder, the ranger 1000. Mines been a Lemmon from day 1, if I could do it again I'd go Leica.

[Moe.JKU]

I would go Leupold can never go wrong. Ive been using a bushnell one made for golf for the last 10 years, for both hunting and golfing things been beat up, chucked at the golf bag, slid down a couple embankments etc and it still works good or i would be upgrading to a leupold.

[Linksman313]

I went thru 3 rangefinders. They were all baloney. Partner got a Leica.
Hot damn that thing ranged deer at 800 yards at dusk. One click and no lag.

the answer is leica. Turns out the lasers in all the others are the same Japanese lasers. Glass and the calculator part are the only differences. Don't waste your money on another baloney rangefinder like I did.

Where does Leica get there lasers from vs the Japanese kind? I know a friend of mine uses their industrial line in his survey business and is very impressed with quality, durability and accuracy.

[Boner]

Happy with my Zeiss. Pretty reasonably priced considering victory is written on it.

[VLD43]

Try This link. Very informative : http://www.6mmbr.com/rangefinders.html

[604redneck]

I'm selling a brand new in box ranger 1000 if you decide on going that route I'll save you some money

[Sambor]

I have leupold as well, but i bought it 5-6 years ago and it was on sale. When I was in the market for range finder, i looked at effective range, online reviews, clarity of optics, angle compensation, etc. Price was also important, but little bit less. I narrowed down to a few models, leica, leupold, etc, and waited for sale. Leupold was the first one to come on sale.

Also, i like the red markings, instead of black. It works very well during the morning, evening times. It work quite good during midday, but when it is really bright, it can be hard to read numbers.

[Singleshotneeded]

I have the Leupold 1200TBR and have been happy with it so far. Very fast at ranging.

X2...maybe the Leica is a hair better but you can find the Leupold at a much better price online, and they're close...

[Good2bCanadian]

Regarding warranties on electronics.
Bushnell replaced my 4 year old Gforce arc 1300 when it failed to operate.
Their site states 1yr on electronics yet they replaced no charge well out of the warranty period.

[RiverOtter]

If you're in the market for a new ranger, check out the Sig Kilo 2000. A few years ago I would have said Leica, but I know guys switching from Leica's to Sigs.

[btridge]

Swarovski rangefinder is the best if your rangeing long range, I like mine VERY much.

[swampthing]

I have never had much luck getting the lupy 1200 to read on game animals. Ended up with the 1200 leica and it works very well.

[AgSilver]

I have a Bushnell V2 golf rf, Leupold TBR1200, and Sig Kilo 2000 (the last two are quite new to me). I used the Leupold and Sig over 4 rounds of golf in four days down in Palm Springs a few weeks ago.

Sig is very clear. Leu slightly better at dusk (if I remember properly). Both suck at hitting flagsticks....glad no deer are that skinny....but I certainly wouldn't want to be trying to range an antler with them.

Will have to play some twilight rounds to decide which to keep. Or if I should just get a Leica.

[Shooter Jr.]

I have never had much luck getting the lupy 1200 to read on game animals. Ended up with the 1200 leica and it works very well.

Whaaaaat? My RX-1200i TBRw is amazing and I've ranged deer at 774 yards and a tree at 1004 yards.
I do agree that leica is very nice, but I didn't care for the reticle, or the cost.

My vote is leupold. Mines been awesome, its quick, its lightweight and compact and it has no issue reaching out.
If vortex didn't have their "unbeatable warranty" (so they say) they wouldn't have anything.
while their rangfinders are not as popular, they have enough issues with their scopes. So count me out of a Ranger 1000...

[todbartell]

I have the most rotten luck with LRF's. Have owned Bushnell, Leupold, Leica and Vortex. I have gone back to my 6 year old Bushnell Elite 1600 ARC that always gives a reading. Problem is, it's bulky...I would consider a Sig Kilo, looks good for LR shooting.

[KodiakHntr]

I've played with the Sig 2000 next to my Leica 1600b, and the Leica was a bit quicker and definitely ranged farther. That said, I've read about several guys returning Sig's until they got a good one, and those one pretty much blow anything else out of the water for distance and speed. Its just a case of finding one that is running like it's supposed to. However, the price point is pretty impressive on the Sig....

The one I tried, I couldn't get more than 1500 yards out of it, when I was getting 1650+ from the Leica 1600 on trees. My Leica 1200 has given several readings out to 1344, but that is definitely condition dependent.

And the one important thing to remember, how still you can hold the rf makes a big difference on how far out it will reach. If you can hit 1000+ freehand, that is a fast unit. Braced against a tripod or tree will extend your range of any rf.

[todbartell]

I just picked up a used Leica 1600 from Brett, hopefully works better than a pair of 1200's I owned 8-10 years ago

[KodiakHntr]

My 1200 hasn't missed a beat ever, but a buddy bought one at the same time and it went back twice till he got one that would work past 600 yards. Electronic stuff is always a gamble in my mind.

[Barracuda]

my bushnell is still going strong after being heavily used for years

[swampthing]

I have an old bushnell arc 600 that reads pretty good with the advertised range!

[todbartell]

My 1200 hasn't missed a beat ever, but a buddy bought one at the same time and it went back twice till he got one that would work past 600 yards. Electronic stuff is always a gamble in my mind.

my father in bought a Leica 900 in 2007, it worked great until 2015 when it fell out of his pocket and is now in the bottom of a lake. He replaced it with a Leica 1600B and its amazing. Both the 1200's I had years ago would fail to give distances beyond 300y after owning them for a little over a year. WHen they sent me a new one to replace the 2nd one I sold it NIB and went with a Leupold RX1000, which was crap

[.264winmag]

Leica 1600B from experience tough to beat. Sig Kilo 2000 from what I've read is even better. Ran leupold and bushnell previously, not much good to say about either when it comes to serious LR...

[TreeStandMan]

In my experience the Vortex works well. I have the Ranger 1000 and it does its job, which is to say I click the button and get my range.

I do appreciate the Vortex warranty, but I've owned five vortex scopes plus the ranger and have never needed it.

[Ride Red]

Leica 1600B from experience tough to beat. Sig Kilo 2000 from what I've read is even better. Ran leupold and bushnell previously, not much good to say about either when it comes to serious LR...

What do you call long range?

[Blockcaver]

The Leica 1600B won't angle correct at archery ranges.....only beyond 100m....made that purchase mistake when they first came out and Leica didn't advertise that issue. The Leica 1000R is very slow on the angle correction calculation....over 2 seconds for a reading, which is an eternity with an animal in front of you and you want repeat readings....but it does angle correct for bowhunter yardages and has excellent optics. For archery use the Leupold 1000 TBR/i etc has worked perfectly for me for 3 years. For long range rifle work, it would not be my first choice as either of the mentioned Leicas is better and the slow readings are not going to be much of an issue.

[.264winmag]

The Leica 1600B won't angle correct at archery ranges.....only beyond 100m....made that purchase mistake when they first came out and Leica didn't advertise that issue. The Leica 1000R is very slow on the angle correction calculation....over 2 seconds for a reading, which is an eternity with an animal in front of you and you want repeat readings....but it does angle correct for bowhunter yardages and has excellent optics. For archery use the Leupold 1000 TBR/i etc has worked perfectly for me for 3 years. For long range rifle work, it would not be my first choice as either of the mentioned Leicas is better and the slow readings are not going to be much of an issue.

Myself, archery is not an issue. Can pick up a sufficient archery RF for less than a good night at the bar. As for the slow readings, i would say the exact opposite with my 1600b, its the fastest Ive encountered.

[.264winmag]

What do you call long range?

800+, even the leupold and bushnell models Ive used were finicky outside 500. Inside 500 I'd venture anything on the market would get the job done...

[Busterpayton54]

I have Leopold 1200tbr or whatever it is. I'm not impressed. Buy once, cry once. I wish I had stepped up. I have a hell of a time getting over 600m readings off car sized boulders. Trees beyond 600... Not happening.

I'm curious about the sig kilo2000. This thread is the first time I've read anything negative about them.