Range Finder

[Swichback]

Looking at getting a range finder for both gun and bow hunting.

Will be hunting for white tail in the woods, what magnification should I be looking at. I have Vortex Diamondback HD 8x42 binos and was looking at the Vortex Crossfire HD 1400 range finder with a x5 magnification. Would that be a good choice for my use?

 

[Davyalabama]

woods hunting, bow hunting - you don't need anything huge, just a small thing that you will have with you all the time. I'm not a vortex fan, but that should be fine for what you are doing. It isn't like you are trying to find a distance of 1000 yards or anything. It does do elevation, so that is a plus.

The vortex warranty could come in handy, because of all the electronics in a range finder. I also like that the one you chose is illuminated.

 

[Swichback]

Assuming features like angle compensation are going to be important since I will be hunting from 20ft up?

 

[Davyalabama]

From vortes: The Crossfire HD 1400 uses HCD (Horizontal Component Distance) angle-compensated ranging technology to give bow and rifle shooters the critical distance data needed to make accurate shots.

 

[doc holiday13]

Budget?

Do you want to eliminate carrying 2 pieces of equipment and got to a binocular/rangefinder combo?

 

[TheBootBowhunting]

Rangefinders, at least in the low to mid range category, have gotten quite a bit worse as far as quality from most mfgs since their latest refreshes. Cant really explain it other than, they just feel cheaper.

Ive used the viper and diamondback from vortex. I wouldnt buy either. The Ranger 1800 is the best RF vortex has made IMO - so long as it has the distance you need. I have 2 of them, never had an issue with either. There is 1 for sale in the classifieds for what Im assuming is about what youd pay for that crossfire, and its just not even close.

The sig canyon, I recently got one of those as a warranty replacement for 1 of my BDX 1800s, and it felt like junk in comparison. The LED display is pretty terrible. Granted the 1800 was a bit higher price point and has a oled display, but again if you look you can find them for about the same price as the canyon. I ended up giving the canyon to my 10 year old. The 3k has an oled display, but even the quality of it seems lacking compared to the 1800/1600.

Leupold seems to have kept their quality about the same, but they also have by far the worst warranty. I did have to send a 1600i in, but I havent had issues with the replacements.

In that price range, Id look for a used ranger 1800, bdx 1600/1800/2200 or rx1600i. All of those have angle compensation. Vortex is lifetime, Sig is now lifetime, and Leupold is still 2 years afaik. Worst case, if you buy used and have to send it in, vortex will likely send a diamondback or viper in return, which is better than the crossfire.

I did contact sig about them replacing the BDX 1800 with the cheaper Canyon. And they guy said it was a mistake and it shouldve been a 3k that was sent. He asked me to send it back, but at that point I had already given the canyon to my son and I just told them to not worry about it. Credit to them for at least trying to make it right.

Or buy RF binos from Sig.

 

[Swichback]

Rangefinders, at least in the low to mid range category, have gotten quite a bit worse as far as quality from most mfgs since their latest refreshes. Cant really explain it other than, they just feel cheaper.

Ive used the viper and diamondback from vortex. I wouldnt buy either. The Ranger 1800 is the best RF vortex has made IMO - so long as it has the distance you need. I have 2 of them, never had an issue with either. There is 1 for sale in the classifieds for what Im assuming is about what youd pay for that crossfire, and its just not even close.

The sig canyon, I recently got one of those as a warranty replacement for 1 of my BDX 1800s, and it felt like junk in comparison. The LED display is pretty terrible. Granted the 1800 was a bit higher price point and has a oled display, but again if you look you can find them for about the same price as the canyon. I ended up giving the canyon to my 10 year old. The 3k has an oled display, but even the quality of it seems lacking compared to the 1800/1600.

Leupold seems to have kept their quality about the same, but they also have by far the worst warranty. I did have to send a 1600i in, but I havent had issues with the replacements.

In that price range, Id look for a used ranger 1800, bdx 1600/1800/2200 or rx1600i. All of those have angle compensation. Vortex is lifetime, Sig is now lifetime, and Leupold is still 2 years afaik. Worst case, if you buy used and have to send it in, vortex will likely send a diamondback or viper in return, which is better than the crossfire.

I did contact sig about them replacing the BDX 1800 with the cheaper Canyon. And they guy said it was a mistake and it shouldve been a 3k that was sent. He asked me to send it back, but at that point I had already given the canyon to my son and I just told them to not worry about it. Credit to them for at least trying to make it right.

Or buy RF binos from Sig.

This is helpful. Going to look into the models you've suggested. Does the colour of LED matter for saving eye sight in the dark? Also assuming the same applied for objective lens when it comes to low light performance?

 

[Swichback]

Budget?

Do you want to eliminate carrying 2 pieces of equipment and got to a binocular/rangefinder combo?

Would be nice but feel this is going to be out of budget to get a quality set of rangefinder binos. What models would you suggest as a minimum in the 8x42 size?

 

[Trails17]

I love my sig bdx 1400, fastest ranging I’ve ever used.