Ballistics rangefinding binos vs. Basic rangefinding binos

[Tunsei]

wondering what peoples opinions are on using ballistic compensating rangefinders (temp, pressure, etc.) vs. Basic rangefinder with a drop chart for shots less than 1000 yards? I plan to get into long range shooting, am deciding on what rangefinding binoculars to buy, and dont know how critical the applied ballistics feature is? Thanks in advance for helping a newbie!

 

[mthayr]

You won't be a newbie forever, and then you'll wish you had them. Buy once, cry once.

 

[hereinaz]

Inside 1000 yards, you can use a good rangefinder, weather meter with density altitude, and DOPE cards set for the various DA that you will encounter.

Look at the DOPE for your rifle, and you can see margin of error/differences for how much error you can introduce in the variables for the particular firing solution. You should understand and know that intimately. I have two hunting rifles, one a 26" 7mm short mag and the other a 22" .25 short mag. They have nearly identical drop out to 1000, so they have the same feel. For wind, the .25 drifts more, but adjustment for wind always requires a specific adjustment. When I chose my .25, I specifically compared it to my 7mm so that I wasn't having to learn something new for another rifle that would be 1000 yard capable.

Fear the man who has one gun, he probably knows how to use it. Its cliche, but its true.

Even if you get gadgets, you'll want that hard paper and familiarity with it as a backup. You'll be able to make educated guesses with just a range and your finger in the wind out to 500, maybe 600 depending on the cartridge. But, as the distance increases the margin of error increases. With many flat shooting cartridges, you don't need much more than the range to make hits if you have the skill to press the trigger.

When it comes to the gadgets that give ballistic solutions, I'll give you my system and why I am confident shooting long range in many conditions.

Use a rangefinder, whether mono or bino, that has Bluetooth and communicates with either a Kestrel or Garmin (with Tempe sensor). The device will use the environmental data from the device, rather than the rangefinder. The rangefinder can heat up from sun/body heat etc and give bad readings. Its hard to cool down the sensor when the whole rangefinder is hot and radiating heat. The Kestrel can be spun in air, and that is why the sensors are exposed. I run a Garmin watch and keep the Tempe buried in my pack where it doesn't heat up from the sun. The Tempe is small, and easy to cool down if needed.

Also, after you range, you can put the rangefinder down without having to memorize the DOPE. With the rangefinder, you can only see the DOPE looking through it, and it only displays it momentarily. Connected to a device, the DOPE is now displayed for reference any time. You can also get on the gun and have a spotter using the rangefinder, which then updates the device in front of you.

I love having my Garmin watch and before that my Garmin 701 on my wrist for easy reference. We have limited attention to divide between tasks during an engagement, so having it displayed permanently on a separate device is good.

I have used the Sig Kilo 2400 BDX, Sig Kilo 3000 BDX, and I now use the Fury with AB. All of them worked very well for me. If you watch the market, you can pick up used models pretty inexpensively.

 

[SouthPaw]

Here's a good start:

Going away from ballistic rangefinders!

As I've become more familiar with my sig 2400abs rangefinder I believe I have come to the conclusion that I may want to go away from rangefinders with ballistics built in. I like to keep things as simple as possible and call me crazy, but I think I'd prefer a set of leica geovid binos and a...

rokslide.com

 

[hereinaz]

Here's a good start:

Going away from ballistic rangefinders!

As I've become more familiar with my sig 2400abs rangefinder I believe I have come to the conclusion that I may want to go away from rangefinders with ballistics built in. I like to keep things as simple as possible and call me crazy, but I think I'd prefer a set of leica geovid binos and a...

rokslide.com

That's a very good thread. Form makes some good points, and fits with my experience and decisions that I made. It's why I don't use my RF for anything but the distance. Today I use the Bluetooth as convenience to an electronic solver. But, I shot for a long time with a dumb rangefinder, simple weather only Kestrel and paper. Paper will always be my backup, with a quick cheat sheet on my stock.

 

[Tunsei]

That's a very good thread. Form makes some good points, and fits with my experience and decisions that I made. It's why I don't use my RF for anything but the distance. Today I use the Bluetooth as convenience to an electronic solver. But, I shot for a long time with a dumb rangefinder, simple weather only Kestrel and paper. Paper will always be my backup, with a quick cheat sheet on my stock.

Awesome intel from of you. Thank-you.

 

[longrange13]

I think onboard ballistic calculators are a gimmick to some degree. They are hard to manipulate and true. They will give you bad temperature readings because you cant clear the sensor like a kestrel. I think the most efficient way is to use a bdc turret to 500 yards with minimal margin of error, then use a kestrel past that. There are a lot of turrets you can get engraved for yardage and moa/mills.