Has anyone compared the Leica CRF1200 to the Leupold RX-IV? If so, what's your opinion of the comparison between the two? I know the Leica has an excellent reputation and I was set to just buy one and forget the rest but having looked at the Leupold yesterday I've become less certain.

Go for the Leica. It has an outstanding reputation.

The Leica also has a crappy warranty. When it works, it really works, but when it quits, it's yours and yours alone.

That's interesting sharpsguy; one selling point for Leupold anything, for me, is that I live about half an hour from Leupold headquarters and their warranty service on my scopes has always been great. Did you have a Leica go belly up? If so, how did it fail and did you have it repaired?

Yes, I had one go belly up. 8 days before my African safari in May of 2007. I dropped it, and it fell about three feet and hit the floor. It would give wildly inconsistent readings. Since I dropped it, the fault was mine. HOWEVER, Leica refused to repair the unit, even at my expense. They offered me another one for something around $400 and my old unit. In other words, they would not fix the thing and charge me for it, but apparently they were willing to refurbish it and sell it to someone else. That, and on top of that, it took nearly two months for them offer the "deal".

The thread is in the archives somewhere, look it up.

The CRF is the best rangefinder out there. Just understand that if you get one, they won't stand behind it if it goes south. If only Vortex made a rangefinder---

you should search up some of my old threads - I had 4 Leica CRFs go belly up. just stopped working. They'll replace them for the warranty period (2 years ?) then you have to buy another.
they do not repair or refurbish them. they'll give you a $100 rebate on a new one.

that said, when it works, it's light years better than the Leupy.

Personally, I bought a Swaro. The latest model is quite fast and appallingly accurate/repeatable. pricey though.

Thanks guys, I'll look up those threads. I'm not particularly hard on my gear, but anything can happen and for six-hundred bucks I'd want a lifetime warranty. I'll have to look into whether Leupold offers the same level of service on their rangefinders as they do on their scopes.

The truth is that is all Rangefinder Manufactures do the same thing.Once they are out of warranty ,you be fugged.

So here's a question ...

If a scope goes TU on a hunt, the gold standard back up is a fixed 4, typically Leupold but no flies on an old El Paso K4 either. Either can be found in the $100 range.

What is the consensus choice for an affordable back up LRF if Mr. Murphy is PH'ing your hunt?

GE

Mine was still in warranty.

reticle subtension

Why don't you look into the Zeiss range finder? It's just a little cheaper than Leica, and apparently has fantastic glass. Zeiss' warranty ain't too bad, either.

I did a direct comparison of a LRF 1200 and the Leupold RX-IV last hunting season. The Leica beat the Leupold to pieces. I've had the Leica since 2003 or thereabouts, and it's survived some brutal falls, and a year in Iraq. Sorry to hear about the warranty deal though. I guess if it goes tits up, I wouldn't feel to bad as it's definetly seen some use.

I talked to the reps at the Leica booth at the SLC Expo about warranty concerns... and the sorta hefty bill that often accompanied the repairs of Leica products... I have friends who have received them! According to the Leica guys, Leica has rewritten their Customer Service policy and unless the damage is out and out abuse, are repairing the unit at no or very little cost to the original owner. I don't know exactly how this would work on a rangefinder problem... but is sounds as if they are addressing the situation that has left a bad taste in some of their customers mouths... Hopefully this will help in the future! Ovis_Chaser

That would be the "iron sights" of range finders ... a little more high tech than "pacing it off" ...

GE