New rangefinder

[rcleofly]

Looking to upgrade my range finder. Max preferred budget $400-$500.

What do you all feel would be best? My current range finder is great for archery hunting but out west it kills me. Will mostly be used mule deer and prongy hunting in WY.

 

[Gseith]

Just bought my first upgrade and went with Maven. I have been very impressed with the quality but it’s kinda big.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Leica

 

[HuntnPack]

Leica

 

[Sturgeon]

Is there anyone with first hand experience of the Vortex Viper 3000? They are $400.

 

[mthayr]

Leica 2800.COM

 

[chutinlead]

The Vortex Razor is a pretty sweet rangefinder.

 

[blakees307]

Used the maven last year. Really impressed with it

 

[rcleofly]

Just bought my first upgrade and went with Maven. I have been very impressed with the quality but it’s kinda big.

I’m definitely considering it. I’m a little worried it won’t it won’t fit in my current pouch lol.

 

[GunsAreFun]

Just make sure it has a red LED display so you can read it at dusk and dawn.

 

[deltadukman]

I have a Vortex Ranger 1800 and its a POS. I can't get a read at 600 yards in a wide open beanfield. It's in your price range but stay away.

 

[Overdrive]

My current Sig 2400 has been reliable for me.

My old Leica got replaced with the SIG, the Leica wouldn't read thru heat waves on an Antelope hunt but the SIG worked great.

 

[Kurts86]

I feel like Sig really has a big upper hand in the low to mid priced range finders right now. Their electronics are solid and they provide some level of ballistic data nearly every price point. It’s no secret that Sig poached a ton of electro optics engineers and it really shows across their line.

I wanted to like the Leica range finders but no amount of glass quality offsets their outdated and slow electronics.

The Vortex Razor 4000 is great if you don’t want ballistics but want a lot of range for planning stalks and don’t mind a huge handheld rangefinder. I’d say the maven is really similar in qualities to the razor 4000.

 

[nobody]

Is there anyone with first hand experience of the Vortex Viper 3000? They are $400.

Just picked one up on Friday, they were released last thursday. So far seems great, was able to range a random pine tree at 1681 first try within the first 10 minutes of opening it up. Response time was lightning fast, glass is good enough. So far I'm pleased, but it hasn't seen any real use yet. Hoping it performs better than the Kahles (Swarovski) I've been fighting for the past year. THAT thing has been a huge let down.

Shop around if the Viper interests you, I picked up mine for sub $350.

But hey, I'm just some random guy on the internet...

 

[ToolMann]

Switched from a Leupold to a Leica 2400-R last year since I had drawn my antelope buck tag. Should have done it sooner.

 

[texasbbq]

I bought the GPO last year because it had a black reticle/readout. My son is color blind and this helps him considerably.
Really impressed so far.

 

[Kbhillhunter]

+1 for the Leica 2400

 

[Dmann]

Switched from a Leica to a Maven last year.

 

[rcleofly]

Just picked one up on Friday, they were released last thursday. So far seems great, was able to range a random pine tree at 1681 first try within the first 10 minutes of opening it up. Response time was lightning fast, glass is good enough. So far I'm pleased, but it hasn't seen any real use yet. Hoping it performs better than the Kahles (Swarovski) I've been fighting for the past year. THAT thing has been a huge let down.

Shop around if the Viper interests you, I picked up mine for sub $350.

But hey, I'm just some random guy on the internet...

I’m probably going to grab one to. It’s a tad scary cause Vortex has had a bit of a bad wrap with range finders.

 

[nobody]

I’m probably going to grab one to. It’s a tad scary cause Vortex has had a bit of a bad wrap with range finders.

I've always thought the same. I had a Ranger 1800 for a minute last year and it just didn't impress me. And it wouldn't range black archery targets at all. Not like finicky, but at all.

But apparently they hired an Ex Leica rangefinder designer, and the Razor 4000 and all 3 of the new ones are his brain children. The more I use the Viper the more I'm actually really impressed. Again, I've had it a week, but it really does seem to be miles ahead of the Kahles it replaced. And, call me an idiot, but I love the fact that their lifetime warranty even applies to electronics. Rangefinders are the only optic that is designed to have a finite life, they go bad and become obsolete, it's just a fact of life with electronics. The fact that they'll replace it every time the electronics inevitably go bad is big for me. My dad runs the Razor 4000 and it's awesome, I have no doubt the Viper will serve me well. Like I said, it's already out performing the Kahles (Swaro) it replaced.