2800.com vs Kilo3k vs Nitro 1800

[the_young_gun]

My dad is looking at a new LRF and is starting to look into ballistic rangefinders. He majority archery hunts, but is looking to dip just his pinky toe into the beyond 300 yard shooting realm. He already has a good pair of binos, and just wants a handheld unit. He’ll never shoot past 800 yards, so anything with AB ultralight or similar would be just fine I think. I kind of narrowed it down to three in the less than $400 category; at least that’s the budget for now.

Leica 2800.com ($400)
Sig kilo3k ($350)
Bushnell Nitro 1800 ($250)

I’d love to hear any comparisons/feelings of best way to go for ease of use and how they play with their associated apps. He’ll also be using it extensively for our archery hunting, I’m trying to keep that in mind too. Thanks for the thoughts!

 

[KY_coop]

I have a kilo 3k. Has worked well for all of the hunts and range trips I've used it for. I think their ballistic solver goes out to 800 yds unless you have a kestrel to pair it to. When comparing the lrfs ballistic results to my kestrel it's been close or dead on.

 

[Dioni A]

I’ve been using some version of a Leica rangefinder for over 10 years now. I have two of the 2800s currently. They are quite literally the most reliable electronic device I’ve ever used. The lasers are as strong as advertised and work as well as any other I've seen in fog and rain I've never had a problem in extreme cold or heat and they're not hard on batteries if you don't leave blue tooth on. if your not looking for higher end technology I don't think there's a better stand alone range finder on the market.

 

[Bowfinn]

I had a Sig 3k for several months. It was ok, but the price would have to be closer to $250 and if I needed to budget for other essential things for me to consider it over the Leica. As mentioned above the 2800.com seems to have generally positive reviews. The laser on my sig I wished was better, but within shooting distance it wasn’t gonna be an issue. Battery life I feel could’ve been better as well.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Leica all the way.

 

[the_young_gun]

I’ve been using some version of a Leica rangefinder for over 10 years now. I have two of the 2800s currently. They are quite literally the most reliable electronic device I’ve ever used. The lasers are as strong as advertised and work as well as any other I've seen in fog and rain I've never had a problem in extreme cold or heat and they're not hard on batteries if you don't leave blue tooth on. if your not looking for higher end technology I don't think there's a better stand alone range finder on the market

Awesome! I think it’ll probably be the ticket.

Have you found it easy to use for archery as well, or do you use a different unit? I figure if you’re using it for both bow and gun, I have no situation that it wouldn’t be more than sufficient for what we do.

 

[Dioni A]

Awesome! I think it’ll probably be the ticket.

Have you found it easy to use for archery as well, or do you use a different unit? I figure if you’re using it for both bow and gun, I have no situation that it wouldn’t be more than sufficient for what we do.

Yes. Just be sure to change the profile. If you leave it in the mode that gives you rifle data it will display straight line distance instead of angle compensated yardage.