Range Finder Advise

[Greg Duerr]

I realize that long range shooting is only as good as your range finder is .............if you dont know the range you can only guess and miss. So without knowing the exact distance there really is no long range shooting.
With that off my mind I would like all your feedback on Range Finders. What Im learning is that you get what you pay for . Most range finders I have been looking at have a realistic non reflective distance of 400 yards............that to me makes them kind of worthless. That leads me to the more expensive ones like the Leica 1000 or the 1600............So tell me, since Im clueless, will the Leica's give me a accurate distance on non reflective targets like a deer or an antelope and maybe a coyote over 400 yards.............whats the advantage of the 1600 or the 1000 other than the $200 more in price. It would appear that your kind of forced towards the Leica range finders if you want to consider shooting anything past 400 yards and I would assume that you would need a rock solid hold to get the accurate reading you need.

I need your advise help and opinions...................I dont have any and I have no experiance since I have never used one.

Greg

 

[mthunter86]

i run a leica 1600 and a swarvo. I can get both to read in the 1200-1300 yards range on animals in GOOD conditions. With that all said i can tell you my range finder is the week link in my gear. I will have a vectronix plrf-10 by next year. Played with a friends and was getting 9/10 reads on antelope in the 2000+ yard range....

 

[Greg Duerr]

How do you know your readings are accurate?? For all you know that 1200 yards your rangefinder is tell you .........is really only 945 yards...........

Would seem to me that you would need the real distance to know if your RF is telling you the truth

 

[trebark]

there are a few factors that go into what is the 'best' range finder. Here's a good article...

Laser RangeFinders

Personally, I use the Swaro and love it.

 

[trebark]

How do you know your readings are accurate?? For all you know that 1200 yards your rangefinder is tell you .........is really only 945 yards...........

Would seem to me that you would need the real distance to know if your RF is telling you the truth

You 'know' by ranging your target more than once in an attempt to duplicate results and by using quality equipment like a Swaro or Leica rangefinder.

How would you determine the 'real distance'? ask a deer to stand still so that you can extend a tape measure?

 

[jett]

Since I received my Vectronics PLRF 10, my Swaro and Leica
1600 are now just inferior backups! You will be money ahead by buying the PLRF 10 in the beginning, if you intend to shoot at extended ranges where small beam divergence is needed.

 

[Edd]

Where does a person purchase a PLRF 10?

 

[Greg Duerr]

So you mentioned three different Range Finders...................What do they cost ..............$$

And yes , I do ask the deer to stand still..................Walk the distance off or if I have the time tape it off .........walk back and find that the $700 Leica is way off the mark....................

 

[T3-OleMan]

Might help you some.

Buying Insurance with ..........in Timber ACCURATE RANGE!!

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f18/buying-insurance-timber-accurate-range-73823/

 

[Greg Duerr]

There you have it..........................Leica and Sworks..........are inferior. Now Im really confused.

 

[mthunter86]

in my opinion the only way to beat the leica and swarvo is to spend 4k on the plrf10. Now if you only need 800 yards consistently the first to will work most of the time.

 

[Greg Duerr]

$$$$ 4,000 are you serious. Thats nuts, even the federal gov cant afford that.

So will the Leica 1000 give me accurate readings out to 800 yards? Or will I need to pop for the 1600

Hey, Im new at this ................shooting anything at 800 is a long long way out there...............Seem to me anything much past that distance would end up gut shot at best.

GD

 

[highridge1]

The zeiss PRF, Leica 1200 or 1600, swaro, will all do what you need them to do and they are very accurate. Zeiss $600, swaro $900-$1000, leica $800 for the 1600 any one of these are great rangefinders.

 

[jett]

http://www.potomacrivergroup.com/
The PLRF 10 will cost you around $3750, a background check, and a 6 week wait. My swaro was unable to accurately range deer ON FLAT GROUND at 700+ yds DUE TO THE LARGE BEAM DIVERGENCE. The Leica 1600 was much better, but the PLRF 10 is pure magic! Yes, it is expensive, but a $5,000 long range rifle is worthless without an accurate range. Where the terrain is not flat and/or there are trees, rocks, etc. near your target, the other range finders are fine. My terrain here in eastern NC is absolutely flat agricultural fields which extend for miles. The PLRF 10 was a must for me. Hope this makes my earlier post more clear.