Rangefinder Opinions and Experiences

[RB1]

Hello all, I have been running a Nikon Riflehunter 550 for probably 10 years or so now. I have not had any issues with it other than it does not transmit light quite as well as a few other rangefinders I have looked through. I have borrowed my dad's Leupold 1200i TBR rangefinder when he wasn't using it the last few years and I must say the illuminated reticles are a must. I think I have decided to upgrade to a new one and was just wanting some general input if anyone would like to share.

Currently considering (no specific order):

1. Leopold RX 2800 TBR
2. Vortex Razor HD 4000
3. Open to Sig Rangefinders as well, although I haven't met anyone personally who uses one. They seem to have great reviews on here though!

I primarily hunt the midwest but have started venturing to western states to hunt and plan on purchasing my first "longer" range rifle within the next 6 months or so. For hunting, shots under 400 but able to practice much further. Thanks for the input and advice!

 

[isItFallYet]

I bought a Sig based on all of the reviews. My buddy had a Vortex and we compared the two while elk hunting the Big Horns in Wyoming. Although they were not the models that you’ve mentioned, I would definitely choose the Vortex over the Sig if those were your two top choices. I had the Kilo2000 and he had the Ranger 1800. He was able to range 900 yards further with his. I could only range to 900 yards and I used his and got ranges all the way out to 1800 yards. It was crazy! The sig display and the clarity were much better though! I’ll keep the Sig since I bought it for archery hunting.

 

[RB1]

I bought a Sig based on all of the reviews. My buddy had a Vortex and we compared the two while elk hunting the Big Horns in Wyoming. Although they were not the models that you’ve mentioned, I would definitely choose the Vortex over the Sig if those were your two top choices. I had the Kilo2000 and he had the Ranger 1800. He was able to range 900 yards further with his. I could only range to 900 yards and I used his and got ranges all the way out to 1800 yards. It was crazy! The sig display and the clarity were much better though! I’ll keep the Sig since I bought it for archery hunting.

Great to know! I appreciate the input.

 

[manitou1]

My Sig 2000 fails miserably at beyond 800 yds too. I bought a Leica to replace it. Much better. No experience with Vortex.

 

[bayoublaster7527]

Love my Leica 2800.

 

[SC MCG]

Vortex warranty is a real hook - hard to turn that away - especially if you are planning on hanging on to the thing for another 10 years...

 

[JLane330]

I just went thru this myself. I have an older Leica 900 that's been great. All it does is range, nothing else. No angles, no ballistics, etc. My GF's Leupold is starting to fail, can't read the display well in sunlight, and wanted a backup for an upcoming Elk hunt she and I have.
You didn't mention budget, or if you want ballistics (probably don't need it for 400 yds, but if you want something for practicing longer range, you might). I considered all brands, and looked at as many as possible.

- Vortex Ranger: Decent rangefinder for the price. Display was a bit tough to read. No ballistics calcs. Seems well built. 6X magnification is a downside IMO. Warranty is always the strong point.
- Vortex 4000: Couldn't find one to look at in person, and many places online were out of stock. 7X mag is good. Great reviews. Again, no ballistics calc, and getting a little pricey.
- Leica 2700b, 2800.com, 3500.com: This was my original plan, just get a Leica and move on. Optics are great and I like the form factor. I don't like how it displays information, and have a few concerns about the ballistics calc (I'm not using a Kestrel). The 2800.COM can be found for $750.
- Nikon 4K: I looked at this in person and it wasn't impressive to me. Might range fine at long range, but...I quickly put it down and decided against it.
- Leupold: Not crazy about the 2 yr warranty. After digging into the ballistics, it wouldn't work for my muzzleloader (has too much drop at 600yds to fit their chart). Not saying I'd shoot it 600yds, but if it doesn't fit the curve, the ballistics aren't going to be right. I found the screens really hard to read as well for some reason. I have a buddy's Leupold RX-1200 TBR right now to play with, not a big fan of it.
- Sig: I avoided these initially, not exactly sure why. I ordered the 2400ABS, should get it tomorrow. Couldn't find one to look at in store locally. It's expensive, but hopefully the ballistics work well. I strongly considered the 2200BDX and 2400BDX models. The 2200BDX can be found for $350, which seems like the right price. I found the optics to be good (not Leica quality, but very good none the less). The 2400BDX feels way overpriced. I know it connects to a Kestrel, but if not using that, I didn't see other advantages really, especially for the price. The 2400ABS is overpriced IMO, but... TBD if it's worth it. The sweet spot in Sig's line-up is probably the 2200BDX, and I probably could have gotten away with that just fine. I was really torn between the two.

I'm sure there are many more out there to consider. I only wanted ones with a red backlit display. Good luck!

 

[Stefan]

Hello all, I have been running a Nikon Riflehunter 550 for probably 10 years or so now. I have not had any issues with it other than it does not transmit light quite as well as a few other rangefinders I have looked through. I have borrowed my dad's Leupold 1200i TBR rangefinder when he wasn't using it the last few years and I must say the illuminated reticles are a must. I think I have decided to upgrade to a new one and was just wanting some general input if anyone would like to share.

Currently considering (no specific order):

1. Leopold RX 2800 TBR
2. Vortex Razor HD 4000
3. Open to Sig Rangefinders as well, although I haven't met anyone personally who uses one. They seem to have great reviews on here though!

I primarily hunt the midwest but have started venturing to western states to hunt and plan on purchasing my first "longer" range rifle within the next 6 months or so. For hunting, shots under 400 but able to practice much further. Thanks for the input and advice!

I have an older Leica 1600 that has done nothing but give me problems. I sent it to Leica because it would not range past 400 yards and they sent me a replacement that ranged to 1000 yards for a short amount of time. Now I just use it for bow hunting because the glass is good and it doesn't range very far again.

I also have a Bushnell that I bought for my wife when she is out with her bow. It works pretty well but the glass is nowhere as good as the Leica.

My Sig Kilo has been awesome! I was able to range out to around 1700 yards with that. Glass is relatively clear, I have nothing bad to say about this piece of kit.

 

[gpo1956]

In buying a rangefinder I’m much more concerned with ranging ability and quality of glass than I am with warranty. I started with a Leica 1600B. I then went to the Leupold 2800. Both were excellent. The glass was better in the Leica. I just bought the Leica 2400R and it is the best so far. I’ve used most of the other +- $500 and the Leica and Leupold are my top two picks. If you’re willing to spend more, then see the Leica 3500 or the Terrapins.

 

[GueroUlt]

I know you aren’t looking at the vortex 1200 but that’s what I got last year and safe to say I was disappointed. It was not very bright and was hard to range anything at the bright hours of noon. Idk if it was just me but the reticle was so dim. Luckily my friend had the 4000 and it made all the difference, it was bright as hell. I returned the 1200 and am planning on buying something of higher quality.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Been running my Sig Kilo 2200 for a few years. No issues with the clarity nor ranging.

It is nice to be able to range way past 1000 yards. However, being able to range way out there is only beneficial to know how far I will have to hike to get within shooting distance (sub 1000 yards).

 

[BluMtn]

I also have using the Sig Kilo 2200 for a few years. No issues with the clarity or ranging. My PR is a metal shop at 3500 yards, the two guys that were with me didn't believe until they tried it and got the same reading. Elk I have ranged to 1500 yds. deer around 1000 yds. I know they have had issues but so far mine has worked like a MayTag washing machine.

 

[catorres1]

Just a thought, but one thing you might want to consider when looking at RF's....most current RF's from any manufacturer will range a long way...longer than most of us shoot at game. Certainly, some are better than others, but they all are pretty capable it seems these days. A larger differentiator is what it does with the data and how it is consumable by the shooter and how fast. From something as simple as angle modified range display all the way to a fully calculated shooting solution, that might be something you want to consider when deciding what you want to buy. That is, what workflow are you going to be happy with and that will fit your general use.

 

[Muletrip]

I've been using a Leica 1200 for years now. Very fast read outs and It's still running strong even if I haven't been super gentle with it.

 

[JLane330]

I just spent a few days in the mountains carrying my Sig 2400ABS and have a couple observations/feedback:

- Ranging, it's fast and works very well. Ranged an elk at 1840 yds one evening. That's much further than I really need, was just playing around. The alignment between the circle and the laser is excellent. I ranged some power wires at 404 yds to check alignment.
- Optical quality is just ok, but compared to the Leica, it doesn't look great. I MUCH prefer my Leica optics more. Best I can tell the FOV of the SIG and Leica are the same. Even compared to the Leupold RX-1200 I borrowed from my buddy, the SIG doesn't look very good. For the cost of this unit, given how important the optics are, I expected much better. Bummer.
- Readout is VERY easy to read. I have an issue with the Leupold RF's I've tried. I like how slim and sharp the SIG display is, very similar to the Leica.
- Eye cup isn't my favorite. It adjusts too easily and doesn't lock into place enough such that it moves when in my pocket. Leica eyecup is a better shape/design IMO.
- The bluetooth has been flaky at best, and frustrating. I couldn't get it to upload more than one gun profile the first evening. Instead, I wasted a bunch of time and half the battery life. I FINALLY got it to load two gun profiles (takes minutes to do, so have sleep time set to 180sec) and am nervous to make any changes or try uploading more before my hunt this weekend. This has been the MOST disappointing issue with it. I'm using a Pixel 3 phone that has the latest Android updates. The Sig software was downloaded last week, so it's up to date. I followed the instructions to the "T" multiple times and checked and rechecked myself.
- Related to the BT issues presumably, the HUD is incredibly flaky. I only get a display on the HUD occasionally after many range firings. Maybe I'm doing something wrong? HUD display disappears quickly when I do actually get a reading, so doesn't seem very useful. Doesn't seem right.
- SIG app isn't great. No way to back up gun profiles or transfer them (if you want to reinstall the software or ut on another device). It's also terrible when a gun profile does actually get loaded...it tells you it was successful for about 2 seconds then nothing. So, have to watch it VERY closely to make sure profiles actually got uploaded and it didn't time out.
- Ballistics have matched my dope chart very closely when checked between 200 (zero) and 800 yards. What's strange is the DA it's computing isn't even close to my elevation. I've never computed DA before, so not sure if it's correct or not, but at least the holdover matches what I'd expect within 1/4 MOA.
- Form factor/size is very similar to the Leica, which I like. The buttons feel great too. I like the form factor and weight.

Overall I'm luke warm about the Sig 2400ABS. I'll contact SIG when I get back from my elk hunt to discuss the Bluetooth issues. Maybe I just have a bad unit? I sure do miss the optical quality of the Leica. I'll probably dig into the 2800.COM and 3500.COM more and see if I can live with their ballistics and display output. The 2800.COM is much less expensive than the SIG, so that's a huge positive. Seems hard to find detailed info about those Leica models...

EDIT: One last comment in case any rangefinder manufacturers ever read this PLEASE add the ability to read out holdover and windage in INCHES. I realize these are geared towards modern scopes with elevation dials, but a lot of scopes used for hunting don't have windage dials. I'd also like to use this with my older scopes that don't dial for elevation, and doing math to figure out the holdover in the field isn't my idea of fun.
And SIG...please allow different gun profiles to use different holdover units, set automatically when the gun profile is selected. In other words, if I have a gun with an MOA scope, show MOA when that profile is selected. If gun #2 has a MIL scope, show MIL when Pro2 is selected. Likewise do this for INCHES.