Problem with my rangefinder. Could use some help or suggestions

[Pro2A]

I have a Leica 1600B that I have had for several years. It has always worked really well for me until last year. I was on an elk hunt and it stop ranging. I tried changing battery, but still nothing. After the season, I sent it back to Leica and they found that there was a problem, so they sent me a refurbished one. After receiving the new one, I have used it several times to make sure that it works.

I just got back from an antelope hunt and the rangefinder failed again. The evening before open day, I used my rangefinder at camp to assure that it was working and it worked great. We got up on the mountain (2000 feet higher than camp), it stopped working again. It would not range anything at any distance. The red square would come on, but that is it. Luckily my buddy had his and he was able to use it and filled his tag. Back at camp, I took it out and it was again working. This got me thinking about why this would happen. I have come up with two possible reasons. The common theme in both cases that they failed was that I was above 6500ft elevation. But that should not make a difference should it? On the elk hunt, the weather was pretty nice with sunny conditions. On the antelope hunt, we did have some smoke haze from a fire that is about 100 miles from us. But maybe the haze caused this problem this time. It was a little hazy at camp, but seemed a little worse up higher.

It is pretty frustrating that the rangefinder has failed twice when I needed it. Anybody else ever have this happen? Any other problems that it could be that I am missing? I am about ready to get rid of this rangefinder and look for something better. Open to suggestions. Thanks everyone!

Similar experiences with Leica. Bought CRF1200 (as I recall the model) for my Dad. Never was reliable. Got fed up with.....at that time.....a high dollar non-reliable RF, and Leica's non-existent Customer Service or warranty performance. Bullet hole through it didn't solve the problem, but it did make me feel a lot better, and I moved on. Item hanging on wall at lodge beneath sign....NO LEICA ALLOWED. Don't bring Leica or Rocky products onto my land. You will be told to leave.

 

[pburton]

Thank you to everyone for all of your responses. I have contacted Leica and am sending it back to them to be looked at. I am hopeful that they will repair it or replace it, but I am not sure that I will have it back in time for the opening of my deer tag October 4th. So now I am looking to buy a new rangefinder. Even if I get the Leica back, the idea of having a back up makes a lot of sense. So for a new question, what is everyone having good luck with? I am on a bit of a tight budget right at the moment and will need to keep it under $1000. I do not need the ballistics calculator functions, as I do most of that through apps on my phone. I also have a personal limit of 700 yards on animals, so will need something that will consistently range out to at least that.

 

[7Rum Slayer]

I love my Leica 1000R! It has proven itself as a stand alone rangefinder with angle comp from 10 to 600 yards. Easily ranges to 1000 plus even in harsh conditions. My favorite archery rangefinder by far! I also pack this as a backup to my G7BR2 rifle season because it has been so reliable. Leica won me over years ago with the glass quality and the fact that they ranged to the advertised distance. I have many friends that have invested in Leica rangefinders with no problems in many years of use. With that said the Leupold RX series and the Vortex Ranger maybe an option. I love Leica products, just not my 1600B. Cheers, Jason

 

[Tgunz64]

Sig Kilos are good units. As I said above the Diopter went bad on my 2000 model after about 4 years. Called sig and it was a complete turnaround in under a week. Sent me a brand new 2200 BDX model. I believe the sig units have 5 year electronics warranty and lifetime on every other part.

 

[pburton]

I love my Leica 1000R! It has proven itself as a stand alone rangefinder with angle comp from 10 to 600 yards. Easily ranges to 1000 plus even in harsh conditions. My favorite archery rangefinder by far! I also pack this as a backup to my G7BR2 rifle season because it has been so reliable. Leica won me over years ago with the glass quality and the fact that they ranged to the advertised distance. I have many friends that have invested in Leica rangefinders with no problems in many years of use. With that said the Leupold RX series and the Vortex Ranger maybe an option. I love Leica products, just not my 1600B. Cheers, Jason

I had the 1000R before my 1600B. It always worked perfectly. When I bought the 1600B, I sold the 1000R to my buddy. Wish at this point that I had kept it.

 

[pburton]

Anyone have any experience with the Vortex Razor HD 4000? I have never been a big fan of Vortex optics, other than their Razor series.