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Range Finding Binocular

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muleymaddness View Drop Down
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    Posted: February/15/2016 at 12:25

I'm starting to look for a different binocular / range finding setup and would like some opinions.

Currently, I have Swaro SLC 10x42 coupled with the Vortex 1000 range finder.  I found myself needing more out of my range finder frequently, so this off season I figured I'd upgrade.  But if I'm going to upgrade, should I just go ahead and get a range finding binocular?  And if so, are the Swaro EL Range finding still the way to go?  Or has anyone else introduced a binocular except Zeiss and Leica?  Or should I just keep my SLC's and just upgrade the range finder???




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oldfortyfive View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote oldfortyfive Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/15/2016 at 13:25
What are you using it for? Larger game you could go either way and be happy. Prairie dogs are another matter.
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muleymaddness View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote muleymaddness Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/15/2016 at 14:33

Western big game hunting is the primary use.  I'm not a long range shooting expert, but I can and do shoot out to 500 yards.  I would like to be able to range things a lot further though for reference when hunting.


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supertool73 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February/15/2016 at 15:14
I own the zeiss victory rf. Had the last gen leicas before that. The button was on the wrong side and they only ranged 1200ish consistantly iirc. Have used the new leicas and the swaros a bit. They are all fantastic units. All of them range 2000ish on large objects. I have ranged elk over 1200 with my zeiss.

I would try to get your hands on them all and see which one feels the best to you. I really like the curve of the new leicas. I dont really like the humps on the bottoms of the swaros. If i were to buy new ones today, i would get the leicas. I really like the way they fit my hands and face. But i very much enjoy my zeiss rfs and i got them for $1700 off the sample list, so i stick with them.

The bino rf combo units are a bit heavier, but if you have a good shoulder type harness you dont even notice them. I would never even consider going back to carrying both.

I also owned the zeiss stand alone unit. Sold it not to long ago. Its a great unit if you just want the rf. It ranges way out there.

Edited by supertool73 - February/15/2016 at 15:20
Lifetime warranty and excellent customer service don't mean a thing when your gun fails during a zombie attack.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Litehiker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/03/2016 at 23:06
I have a pair of 10 x 42 Bushnell ARC 1 Mile laser rangefinders and use them for hunting as well as competitive shooting.
The glass is "OK", Bushnell's best right now according to the rep I talked to, and about like the average Steiner's I've used.

But Bushnell's ranging is VERY good, giving me ranges out to and a bit beyond 1,700 yards.
Also tests have shown Bushnell's "Brush" mode is the best of any rangefinder for ranging through brush. That surmised me but I discovered they are great for this mode.

Plus I can enter my cartridge "category" (from Bushnell's online list) into these binoculars and get fairly accurate ballistics, even for up and down angles. I do go to my range to verify this and find I need to put the exact DOPE on a small Vortex ocular lens cap DOPE chart. 

So If my binoculars say that both my Hornady Superformance 180 gr. .300 Win mag ballistics are the same chart as my Hornady ELD-X 140 gr. 6.5 Creedmoor rounds, which it does, I need to take that with a grain of salt and know it's a ballpark figure. Check everything at your range before you trust bushel's charts. 





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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Litehiker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/03/2016 at 23:12
I should note that every review I've read about these Bushnell range finding binoculars says they are "the best for the money", that money being around $900. 

I got my ARC 1 Mile LRF binoculars for $650. directly from Bushnell when they honored a guarantee for my defunct and out-of-production Yardage- Pro 1,000 monocular rangefinder. Not bad but not as good as I thought it should be. 

Evidently technology advancements have lowered the price of range finding binoculars since the first Leica Geovid LRFs came out for over $3,000. 15 years ago.

Eric B.
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supertool73 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/04/2016 at 08:31
Originally posted by Litehiker Litehiker wrote:

I have a pair of 10 x 42 Bushnell ARC 1 Mile laser rangefinders and use them for hunting as well as competitive shooting.
The glass is "OK", Bushnell's best right now according to the rep I talked to,


IMO this is the problem with them. If i am going to carry a combo unit the binoculars need to be excellent as they are the device i use for viewing game so they need to be excellent not OK. I can get an excellent pair of binos for in the $500 to $600 range if i watch the sales. Then i could buy a Sig kilo for $500 and be right about at the cost of the bushnells and have superior binos and a superior RF.

But all that being said if the Bushnells meet your needs then that is what matters. I just don't think the bino part would be acceptable to me. The pair i looked through didnt look to good to me vs nice binos.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote billyburl2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/07/2016 at 12:04
I am super impressed with the Sig Kilo range finder. I routinely range trees and 12" square steel plates at over 1000 yards, hand-held. If you get the tripod adapter, that range goes up to 2500 yards. Couple weeks ago, I ranged a cow(bovine) at 1114.

 You already have a set of really good bino's, I say just upgrade the laser and save some cash...
If it is tourist season, why can't we shoot them?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rancid Coolaid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/07/2016 at 13:03
I've used a few of the combos, still carry separate pieces now. The thing that bothers me most about range finding binos is the different warranties: usually lifetime on bino and much more limited on rangefinder. If/when the rangefinder dies on a lifetime pair of binos, you now have a really heavy set of binos and another rangefinder, or you sell them at a huge loss and start over.

Rangefinders are indeed much, much better now than they were just a few years ago, and less expensive for very good stuff. The same isn't necessarily true of binos (I still run an old version of Leica ultravids and still love them, even next to other, newer stuff.)

Till a combo has a lifetime warranty on all pieces of the thing, I'll probably stick with separates.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Litehiker Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/07/2016 at 17:23
I want the new Kestrel Elite weather station/AB ballistics calculator to be Bluetooth receptive. 

That's when I'll get a good Bluetooth sending pair of LRF binoculars.

Until then my Bushnell binoculars work fine for hunting. I'm not a military sniper spending hours behind binoculars and even with an hour or so of accumulated daily glassing my Bushnells have never given a headache or eye ache. 

Yes, I'd like a pair of Leica Geovids but not on my budget.

In fact my competition riflescope is a Bushnell Elite ERS 3.5 - 21 x 50 with a Horus H59 reticle. Not the best scope out there but for the $1,700. I paid two years ago it's very good and again, Precision Rifle Blog rates it 9 out of 18 scopes tested and "Beat for the Money". 
Not the S&B PM II that I want but still very good.

We truly are "spoiled" with today's mid and upper range optics. The mid range optics are where top end optics were 20 years ago. CAD/CAM computerized design and manufacturing have been responsible for this, plus better engineering.

Eric B. 
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supertool73 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/07/2016 at 17:58
Originally posted by Litehiker Litehiker wrote:

We truly are "spoiled" with today's mid and upper range optics.

Eric B. 


True dat. Mid priced binos are amazing. I got my meopta 8x32s under a different name for $500. They are freaking outstanding.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JGRaider Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/08/2016 at 08:14
Originally posted by supertool73 supertool73 wrote:



IMO this is the problem with them. If i am going to carry a combo unit the binoculars need to be excellent as they are the device i use for viewing game so they need to be excellent not OK. I can get an excellent pair of binos for in the $500 to $600 range if i watch the sales. Then i could buy a Sig kilo for $500 and be right about at the cost of the bushnells and have superior binos and a superior RF.

 


I could not agree more. 
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