Best sub-$1.5k LRF Binos w/ ballistics calculator

Best LRF Binos w/ ballistics calculator

  • Sig Canyon

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  • Sig 3000BDX

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  • Other - reply in thread

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    6

ThreeOhSeven

Lil-Rokslider
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I am looking at getting some new glass with built in rangefinder, ballistics calculator with hold overs calculated in the reticle. $1500 is the max I can spend even tho I would love some Leicas or Swaros.
Meeting the aforementioned criteria, which binos should get my money?
Vortex Fury ABs, Sig Kilo Canyon, Sig Kilo 6k, Sig 3000BDX, Leupold BX4? Am I missing one?
Any word on when and how much the rumored Mavens will be?
Thanks in advance.
 
Sig 6k. Applied Ballistics, very fast, good ergonomics, decent glass, can find them under 1k.
You are going to hear they are only good to 800 yards. No ballistics past 800, but have a range of 2 miles. You going to shoot a animal past 800?
 
I had my Leica 3200, buddy's GPO Rangeguide 10x50, and my Fury AB hunting mule deer a couple of years ago at the same time. This was Leica's 3rd attempt at providing me an actual working sample of the 3200 (they failed miserably). So as not to draw this out, here's my own personal summary.

Leica-Best optically by a very narrow margin over the GPO. RF was terrible, wouldn't range past 200 yds on a cold day, never over 500 yds, and slower to give a readout than the other two. Ergonomically huge.

GPO-Best combo of RF ability (excellent), and optics which were very marginally behind the Leica. RF is fast and accurate out to 2900 yds. No ballistic readout however.

Fury AB-3rd place in the optics category, but that's a bit misleading. They are sharp, contrasty, and overall optically very good. Everything that's supposed to operate smoothly does, very well. It is very well built. The RF is fast, virtually never missed a reading, and provides it to you with a second, followed closely by the ballistic readout. As long as you put the proper bullet, velocity, BC, etc in the Vortex app you will get very accurate data feedback from the bino. There's a tripod mount screw, unlike the Leica which has zero. I'm on my 4th year with it now and it has been a stellar performer. Optically, it gets you well past legal shooting light easily.

Vortex' customer service stands alone and speaks for itself. With electronics you will eventually need it, and in my specific case Leica was a joke. Hope this helps.
 
Looked through some sig 6k gen2 last weekend at a match, I was impressed with them for the $1k price tag. Glass was very similar to 10k gen2.
Agree. My buddy bought some and I figured they’d be mediocre but at a quick glance they didn’t stand out as being a big step down from my 10k g2.
 
I had my Leica 3200, buddy's GPO Rangeguide 10x50, and my Fury AB hunting mule deer a couple of years ago at the same time. This was Leica's 3rd attempt at providing me an actual working sample of the 3200 (they failed miserably). So as not to draw this out, here's my own personal summary.

Leica-Best optically by a very narrow margin over the GPO. RF was terrible, wouldn't range past 200 yds on a cold day, never over 500 yds, and slower to give a readout than the other two. Ergonomically huge.

GPO-Best combo of RF ability (excellent), and optics which were very marginally behind the Leica. RF is fast and accurate out to 2900 yds. No ballistic readout however.

Fury AB-3rd place in the optics category, but that's a bit misleading. They are sharp, contrasty, and overall optically very good. Everything that's supposed to operate smoothly does, very well. It is very well built. The RF is fast, virtually never missed a reading, and provides it to you with a second, followed closely by the ballistic readout. As long as you put the proper bullet, velocity, BC, etc in the Vortex app you will get very accurate data feedback from the bino. There's a tripod mount screw, unlike the Leica which has zero. I'm on my 4th year with it now and it has been a stellar performer. Optically, it gets you well past legal shooting light easily.

Vortex' customer service stands alone and speaks for itself. With electronics you will eventually need it, and in my specific case Leica was a joke. Hope this helps.
This is definitely a huge help, thanks. I've been leaning towards the Vortex for the exact reason of warranty. I know RS doesn't love Vortex, but across the board these get good reviews.
I hadn't considered the 3200s because they are discontinued and I just wasn't exploring used options, but this is some good info.
GPO wasn't on my radar either because I couldn't find many reviews. I'll keep digging on these as well.
 
Does the 6k gen 2 still have the blue tint? I don't think I would be able to deal with that.
The right lens/barrel that contains the LED display has just a tiny hint of a bluish hughe to it compared to the left barrel. You have to look for it, as it's not really noticeable. The new 10k gen2 is similar. Gen1 10k was horrid, but the gen1 6k was much better VS original 10k.

Vortex purchased Geo Ballistics a few years back, I have a feeling they'll be dropping a new razor ud level lrf bino with the full geo ballistics suite built in before too long. They dropped a post on IG in the last few days of a new lrf bino, zero details. The CEO of vortex did comment saying this is NOT the new fury gen2.
 
I saw that, Vortex owner said they are dropping "next month". I'm not the kind of guy that needs the new hotness, just something that works well and consistently. It seems like LRF Binos are constantly discontinued for the new generation which I get but I would be happy with new old stock.
 
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