Sig Kilo8K ABS and Gunwerks BR4 RF Field Review

[jarheadhunter]

Just thought I would post an update. I called Gunwerks and of course they were awesome. They had me a new one shipped out that day before I even sent the old one back. That was Monday. Got the new one today and what a difference. No adjustment needed and it was very clear and I could use it to glass if need be. I am going to call them tomorrow and see what they think the problem was with the other. My guess is something with the lenses wasn’t aligned properly. It almost looked like when your glassing at an angle through the front windshield of your truck except worse. Either way very happy with the customer service and the new unit.

 

[Okieflatlander]

I’ve been running the 8K since Feb this year. Can’t speak to the cold temp problems other users have had as I’ve only had the RF down to 20F. It’s solutions and intuitive operation have been pretty great so far. I’ve learned a lot about wind thanks to the included wind meter. For anyone else running the 8K do you know if it helps or hurts to change the zero on your gun between different elevations? I’m talking like a typical 2000’ zero to a 9000’ zero. I’ve been super impressed so far with its ranging solutions/results below 7000’ but was curious if you get above 9000’ if you aught to think about changing your zero. Thoughts?

 

[SneakyThunderCat]

Does anyone know weather the sig 8k factors angle into the shooting solution? From my understanding, the old 2400 abs did not, unless you were in AMR mode and running a sig turret.


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[Okieflatlander]

Does anyone know weather the sig 8k factors angle into the shooting solution? From my understanding, the old 2400 abs did not, unless you were in AMR mode and running a sig turret.


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Mine does. It displays the angle value in the upper left hand corner of the screen when I range a target.

 

[SneakyThunderCat]

I’ve been running the 8K since Feb this year. Can’t speak to the cold temp problems other users have had as I’ve only had the RF down to 20F. It’s solutions and intuitive operation have been pretty great so far. I’ve learned a lot about wind thanks to the included wind meter. For anyone else running the 8K do you know if it helps or hurts to change the zero on your gun between different elevations? I’m talking like a typical 2000’ zero to a 9000’ zero. I’ve been super impressed so far with its ranging solutions/results below 7000’ but was curious if you get above 9000’ if you aught to think about changing your zero. Thoughts?

I personally don’t think it matters. I zero my rifle at 100 yds @ 1200’ ft and go west without worrying about it. Everything I’ve shot at longer distances at higher elevations (8000’+) has hit where it was supposed to. Haven’t used the 8k yet, but in the 2400 abs there is a zero distance input and the rangefinder measures density altitude, which from what I understand, factors in the effect of altitude on the bullet flight into the shooting formula. I would imagine the 8k has that feature built in as well. I wouldn’t stress it. 100 yds is not far enough to have any major environmental effects on your bullet flight when zeroing your rifle, so your zero at 2000’ should be your zero at 9000’.


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[Wyatt.Carter]

Anything change with the BR4 in the leng-term or it’s still holding tough?

 

[Aaron Davidson]

Can anyone share where the BR4 is manufactured?

With Covid, the first 500 or so had to be assembled in China. Sorry. The regular production units are assembled in the Philippines. If you remember, the G7 line was USA made, but nobody liked the $1800 price tag that a USA unit will command, and they started buying sigs....

 

[Aaron Davidson]

I personally don’t think it matters. I zero my rifle at 100 yds @ 1200’ ft and go west without worrying about it. Everything I’ve shot at longer distances at higher elevations (8000’+) has hit where it was supposed to. Haven’t used the 8k yet, but in the 2400 abs there is a zero distance input and the rangefinder measures density altitude, which from what I understand, factors in the effect of altitude on the bullet flight into the shooting formula. I would imagine the 8k has that feature built in as well. I wouldn’t stress it. 100 yds is not far enough to have any major environmental effects on your bullet flight when zeroing your rifle, so your zero at 2000’ should be your zero at 9000’.


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You don't have these issues with the BR4 if you use "Zero Angle" instead of Zero Range. Its phd level, so may require a little learning curve, but its perfect for dealing with zeroing conditions.

 

[8404]

Just curious if there are any longer-term updates those using the BR4 rangefinder?

 

[Browninglover1]

The crew at Gunwerks talked to me about some issues I had with my old BR4 where it would die without giving me any warning that the battery was low. It was also draining the batteries very quickly as I wouldn't even get a year out of the battery with light use.

The new unit they sent has performed flawlessly. I've yet to kill the battery in 9 months and it actually showed that the battery was draining slightly over the weekend when I used it.

As far as ranging and ballistics are concerned, it's been killer. My only gripe with the display is that the letters are limited on how well they display. For example "RimX" looks awful, but "22L" was just fine.

I would definitely buy the unit again.

 

[Kyle Wheeler]

The crew at Gunwerks talked to me about some issues I had with my old BR4 where it would die without giving me any warning that the battery was low. It was also draining the batteries very quickly as I wouldn't even get a year out of the battery with light use.

The new unit they sent has performed flawlessly. I've yet to kill the battery in 9 months and it actually showed that the battery was draining slightly over the weekend when I used it.

As far as ranging and ballistics are concerned, it's been killer. My only gripe with the display is that the letters are limited on how well they display. For example "RimX" looks awful, but "22L" was just fine.

I would definitely buy the unit again.

Was it a special batch from them or one off? I’ve been looking at purchasing one.

 

[Browninglover1]

Was it a special batch from them or one off? I’ve been looking at purchasing one.

I have seen a few others complain about battery life, but none seemed to be as bad as mine. My new unit has been great.

The overall size of the RF is a little larger than other offerings which is just something you should be aware of. It is a tight fit in my Kifaru RF pouch.

 

[huntnful]

The crew at Gunwerks talked to me about some issues I had with my old BR4 where it would die without giving me any warning that the battery was low. It was also draining the batteries very quickly as I wouldn't even get a year out of the battery with light use.

The new unit they sent has performed flawlessly. I've yet to kill the battery in 9 months and it actually showed that the battery was draining slightly over the weekend when I used it.

As far as ranging and ballistics are concerned, it's been killer. My only gripe with the display is that the letters are limited on how well they display. For example "RimX" looks awful, but "22L" was just fine.

I would definitely buy the unit again.

Mine has the same battery issue. If you see the battery symbol has 2 bars, you better just change it. But once I learned about turning the blue tooth off in order to lengthen the battery life, the batteries lasted A LOT longer.

The ONLY issue I ever had with the device the sudden shut down due to low battery though. Excellent unit.

 

[Browninglover1]

Mine has the same battery issue. If you see the battery symbol has 2 bars, you better just change it. But once I learned about turning the blue tooth off in order to lengthen the battery life, the batteries lasted A LOT longer.

The ONLY issue I ever had with the device the sudden shut down due to low battery though. Excellent unit.

Mine would never even show any battery depletion. I checked it the night before the hunt, 10 hours later it was dead as a door nail and cost me an animal. I was pretty dang annoyed.

I too think the Bluetooth can be a problem. My original unit would stay connected to my phone for a LONG time even though it was supposed to disconnect after 60 seconds. My new unit disconnects as intended which is why I assume the battery life is better.

 

[8404]

How accurate have the temperatures been with your BR4 units?

I just returned a unit because the temperature is reading anywhere from 10-20 degrees above ambient temperature.

I just received the replacement today and this one is doing the same thing.

The air temperature here is 66 degrees confirmed by my kestrel, and the airport (which I can see from my house) is reporting 66 degrees with a density altitude of 996’

The Revic is reporting a temperature of 86 degrees and a corresponding density altitude of 2044.

This makes the unit completely useless as a ballistic calculating device unless I manually set the temperature each time I power on the unit.

That totally negates the point of the unit having an onboard temperature sensor.

This device is supposed to have an accuracy +/- 1 degree.

So, either I have received two faulty units in a row, or I am doing something seriously wrong.

 

[id_jon]

How accurate have the temperatures been with your BR4 units?

I just returned a unit because the temperature is reading anywhere from 10-20 degrees above ambient temperature.

I just received the replacement today and this one is doing the same thing.

The air temperature here is 66 degrees confirmed by my kestrel, and the airport (which I can see from my house) is reporting 66 degrees with a density altitude of 996’

The Revic is reporting a temperature of 86 degrees and a corresponding density altitude of 2044.

This makes the unit completely useless as a ballistic calculating device unless I manually set the temperature each time I power on the unit.

That totally negates the point of the unit having an onboard temperature sensor.

This device is supposed to have an accuracy +/- 1 degree.

So, either I have received two faulty units in a row, or I am doing something seriously wrong.

My Leicas are always 10-20 degrees above actual temp and they consistently give accurate data

 

[flotech79]

Nice! I was planning on doing a side by side of my 2400abs vs my revic br4. Looking forward to seeing more of these results.

 

[Browninglover1]

It takes a minute for the thermometer to adjust to ambient temp. Have you tried swinging the BR4 around like a kestrel to get it to adjust?

I make sure my BR4 stays out of the sun and I know that it's going to read different than ambient if it's been against my warm body even though it's in a case.

 

[8404]

Well I let the unit sit for a day or two and decided that I would log the temperatures the unit is reporting compared to two other thermometers (one is a kestrel and the other a digital thermometer/hygrometer).

These two units were consistently reporting temperatures within 2 degrees of each other.

After two days, the BR4 started reporting temps within 2-3 degrees of these other two thermometers. The BR4 is consistently two degrees above these other two units (always higher, never lower) but that seems to be acceptable/within tolerance.

I'm keeping an eye on it but so far it has seemed to stabilize at a reasonable accuracy.

I guess it's possible that the unit needed to calibrate after initially powering on??