Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics How can I decide between a Leica or a Swarovski range finders?

Leica 1600 range finder or Swarovski Laser Guide 8x30 range finder. They both work great in the store. I want to range antelope between 500 and 1000 yards. To be used on antelope deer, elk, sheep, goat, and varmint hunting.

I got an old Bushnell 1500 I am replacing because it died. But it is heavy and big to carry around. It did work fair out to 1000 yards on antelope.

Look at the time it takes the units to range, and the size and amout of info in the reticle (for lack of a better term) I found the Leica to be faster and easier to "aim" at distance.

If you are seriously considering either the 1600 Leica or the Swarovski with no other criteria than one or the other...Swarovski is better and will perform better. The slowness that some people claim with the Swarovski is minimal, less than 2 seconds. Optically there is nothing close other than Geovids.

IMO weight has its advantages when using a rangefinder without a rest.....

I'd get the Leica. Better price and will work excellent for what you need.The Zeiss prf is also excellent and has excellent optics.

The size of the aiming "dot" was what turned me off from the Swarovski, the Leica was point and shoot. 2 seconds at 1000 yards not steady was an enterinty to get a reliable reading. The glass on the Swarovski was to me better than the Leica. The large dot on the Swarovski with all of the over/under shoot to get a reading was a bust.
YMMV

The Swarovski vs Leica debate was not addressing any criteria other than which to get. That leaves a lot of open country to discussion, but as a rangefinder, the Swarovski is still a better instrument. This is a report from a Lazer Range finding forum...

LRR Thoughts:
The Swarovski rangefinder is a $1000 rangefinder, it has great optics and probably the longest ranging capability of any hunting monocular rangefinder. While searching the reviews, it was surprising to see reviews dating back from 2006; these units have been around for awhile, and with Leica coming out with their new CRF 1600 one can't help but wonder if Swarovski won't be updating this model or introducing a new line soon. Despite it high price tag, relatively large size, and basic rangefinder, the Swarovski remains the standard by which other long distance rangefinders are measured. It was also worth noting that many users substituted this rangefinder for their binoculars, this is something that nearly everyone that buys a rangefinder of any brand tries, but few have any luck with. This is because most rangefinders have a small lens, which limits field of view, along with limited magnification, these two factors usually rule out most rangefinders for serious scanning and spotting work. While not for everyone, the Swarovski laser guide rangefinder is probably best utilized by the extreme long range rifle shooter.

dude, your out west like I do, just buy some geovids, is it the best glass out there no, but not having to dig a range finder out of your pocket and reacquire the target using one eye through a hand held rangfinder sucks. having a rangefinder already under you finger is priceless, if you are going to spend 8 bills on a rangefinder why not sell your current binocs and step up to the geovids.

I did have someone call me yesterday, that I had sold a spotting scope to, and he was wanting to sell his Leica 8X42 Geovids. If you are interested in doing something like that let me know. I told him they were worth around $1400.00. He said they were like new with the box and everything...

What Cumminscowboy said. Learned the hard and expensive way.

Absolutely. First item I pack when I head for Montana, Utah, or Idaho.

I also have the Leupold RXB-IV and have been totally satisfied with it's performance at its typical street retail price.

I picked up a used swarovski for less than 700.00 It is pretty amazing, and the glass is outstanding.

That's a good deal. Have you tried The zeiss PRF and the Leica 1600 ?

I have the Swaro, and I just pulled the trigger on a 1600.
Look forward to the comparision