Rangefinding binos experience/recommendations

[Styer22]

Have you received the Vortex Ranger 3000s yet? If so, how do you like them? I am in the process of purchasing some RF binos, but do not need the ballistics within. It seems like the Leica Geovid-R's is a popular choice for the glass, but trying to figure out if it is worth paying 3x more than the Rangers.

I got the rangers in. They were a refurb set but came non functioning. No display would show up when the measure button was pressed. Even double checked everything with the battery and called Vortex to make sure I wasnt doing something dumb. I wasnt. So they are currently at Vortex HQ getting fixed/replaced. At the price I got them for there really isn’t any competition out there for them.

 

[Ajsomp]

I got the rangers in. They were a refurb set but came non functioning. No display would show up when the measure button was pressed. So they are currently at Vortex HQ getting fixed/replaced. At the price I got them for there really isn’t any competition out there for them.

If that’s not a reflection of my experience with vortex I’m not sure what is… I personally won’t buy anything from them again but I hope you get a usable product from them

 

[CV335]

I got the rangers in. They were a refurb set but came non functioning. No display would show up when the measure button was pressed. So they are currently at Vortex HQ getting fixed/replaced. At the price I got them for there really isn’t any competition out there for them.

Sorry to hear that. Hopefully when they get back to you, they are fully functional and you won't have any more issues. Vortex has been hit and miss for me. I am glad they have the warranty program they do. Usually, warranty does not matter too much to me as long as it is reasonable, but, in my experience, when buying Vortex it seems like it is something I know I will be using.

 

[Styer22]

Yeah, Price and Warranty were my two main reasons for going with the Rangers to replace my old sig kilo2000 monocular LRF while I decide if I wanna go away from Strelok to another ballistic software/app. Was gonna be a less expensive way to try out a bino LRF. Didnt know I'd be using the warranty minute number one. Kinda wanted to go with the Talons but they were not in stock on any of the expert discount sites. Now I'm kinda hesitant on even getting those in the future.
I've dropped both an Athlon spotter and Athlon bino from about waist height and both had to go back for warranty. Luckily they have a solid warranty too.
I've had pretty good luck with Vortex products I've had in the past. None have had to go back. Though I should probably send one of my vortex micro dots in for a very vague elevation screw. Holosun products on the other hand I've had a number of them with issues out of the box.

 

[Stinky Coyote]

I saw those but had no interest in the Tract binos. They could be great but another proprietary ballistic solver isn’t something I’m personally interested in. Plus when I see things advertised like “Tripod Shooting Error Correction” I raise my eyebrows a bit.

would love to know more about that too, just getting into 'locked in' tripod game so haven't yet compared to the ways I've shot to see for myself what, if any, differences show up?, but guessing eagleman figured some stuff out and a formula of correction that is common? interesting trying to keep up to it all,

gonna play with new Leofoto sto-362cx here shortly, waiting on rails, love my 284 but wanted a big boy one for closer to truck and range stuff and man I underestimated the size of the 362..could have saved a few $ and looked at 322 option and still likely been amazed at the stoutness...in case anyone eyeballing those sto's or so's.....the 40mm/36mm tubes are ginormous

I would love a higher quality 'image' option than my kilo 6k 8x32 but already know I'm a fan of the 8x for couple reasons, on that model far less tint noticed than the 10x I tried and can use the 8x's for all I do now, but the fov is the big winner in advantage along with easier to see/steady than 10's as distant 3rd, not interested in 10x options just on fov, my glassing doesn't need to pull apart mountains at bigger distance anymore so combo unit does the trick...so keeping eye out for next gen 8x's (with better 'glass', then maybe I'll be ecstatically happy instead of just happy), love the speed/power/solutions from the sig on the range finding side of it...

 

[270quest]

My leica 10x42 geovid r may be the single best piece of hunting equipment I own. They have been absolutely awesome. I print updated ballistics based on my area of hunting and tape to my scope. As long as I know the distance and can read the wind, I am good to go. Dont need a ballistic solution from the rangefinder.

 

[Formidilosus]

I still haven’t picked up the revics yet. form had a pair that he let me look through at S2H. If he’s using them, there’s a good reason why. The glass seemed fine, certainly no weird tint like the sig. I didn’t have enough time behind them to say how they were in various conditions, but based on feedback from the winter course, they seem to be one of the few options that work in the extreme cold. I’m still debating whether I personally need the integrated ballistics for my hunting. Quick drop is pretty easy once you know your gun, and dropping another 2500 on binos might not be in the cards when I’m looking at some other projects. But the solution and return was fast and not obtrusive. If was prioritizing ballistic solutions above all else, these are the binos.

Vector 12x - a hunting partner is running one of these. He likes the etched reticle and solution. He shoots a lot of NRL Hunter and used them last season in Montana and Idaho. While I know that the ranging on your RF binos can vary depending on who makes them and where the reticle is actually hitting, I’m not sure if the etched reticle is enough to sway me to buy their system. I need to steal a pair of his 10x just to compare but I don’t have enough experience to recommend them one way or another.

Leica geovid AB- I am obviously not a Leica hater because I recommend two other binos from them. But these seem like a miss. The solution takes what seems like an eternity. For the price I just want something that works, and compared to the revics it seems like you’re getting the solution telegraphed back to you.

Just talking with the instructors at S2H it seemed that if they weren’t running the revics, they were running 10x42 leica geovid R. The 10x42 seemed to fair well in the winter course among other options, and the only other set that seemed to fair were the revic. if I settle on RF only binos with no integrated ballistics, I will likely sell my 10x32 EL range and GPOs and just have two pairs total.

**Leica geovid 15x. While these are rangefinder binos, they are actually great glassing binos first. It’s just icing on the cake that they have RF. I have an older set and they still work great. Just beware when you go to purchase - these seem to only come in yards or meters, with no ability to switch. NL pures are the standard for high end glassing binos, but 3k+ is tough to swallow. The Leica seem better than the Swaro SLC and meopta, and better than the sigs or Zeiss. No experience with maven binos.

Happy to answer any questions or something I missed above. This wasn’t meant to be a spec or technical heavy review, but years of trying to find the right answer for me.

I meant to use your GPO’s more than I did. Also, I’m happy to send you my pair of 10x Vectors for a while if you want to see?

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

I meant to use your GPO’s more than I did. Also, I’m happy to send you my pair of 10x Vectors for a while if you want to see?

Do the GPO's give an instant EHR, or do you have to wait for LOS first and then the corrected range? Considering a RF bino to take to Kodiak & PWS for Deer.
@Ajsomp