Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Which Range Finder

I just booked a hunt for this fall to Wyoming for antelope. I decided a range finder might be a useful piece of equipment, but have no experience with them. I've been a Leupold guy forever, but have been very happy with the quality of a couple of Vortex scopes I've bought the last few years. I've been looking at their Ranger 1300 range finder, and was wondering if anyone has any experience and opinions on them, or other brands at the same price point. Thanks

Take a look at the Leica CRF-2400 R. Great rangefinder with superior optics.
Glad to answer any questions for you

Thanks, Doug. It's a Leica, so I'm sure it's a great product. However, it's a little too spendy for me at twice the price of the Vortex. Again, I'm looking for feedback on the Ranger 1300 or something else in the price point

Year and a half a go I bought a Vortex Ranger 1500. Like other lazer rangefinders your results vary with ambient light and a quality reflective surface. 4 days after I bought it and used the heck out of it scouting it worked perfectly fine on a nice antelope buck at 398 yds. I looked hard at the Sig at the time also. just my 2 cts worth. MB

i also have the vortex 1500 works great warranty clinches the deal.

Ed

I've got the Sig 2200mr. Excellent unit that I would recommend and not real pricey.

Those Leica 2400's for under $500 are amazing.

I have a Sig Kilo 2200. It's nuts that Leica doesn't make a model that will just give you equivalent horizontal distance. I'd own a Leica if they did.

I am using the Ranger 1500 and like it quite well. The glass is lacking, but I don't have an issue since I am only looking through it for mere seconds when compared to my bino or scope. And, AFAIK, Vortex is the only lifetime warranty on the electronics aspect of the LRF.

There are "better" LRFs available, but for a hunting LRF, the Ranger does very well.

I use an older Leica 1200, haven't found any reason to replace it yet. They do come up for sale now and then.

Thank you, all for the responses. It looks like the Vortex Ranger 1300 or 1500 is the way to go. Gotta love that unconditional lifetime warranty.

I was too, but a shooting school out in Idaho with a Leupold 1200 definitely showed that it could not hang with the Sig Kilos.

Several flavors of the Kilos were in use from the 1800, with the 2200 being the most popular, to the 2400 used by the instructors.

The Kilos repeatably out performed the Leupold at the same ranges, and had extra yardage they could reach.

Buy a Leica and leave all the junk behind. Why settle for cheap Chinese crap? Leupold included.....

No comparison IMO, Leica
https://www.eurooptic.com/Leica-CRF-1600-R-Rangemaster-40537.aspx#Write

My Vote go's to Leica as well.

I have the 1200 and also have a pair of the Giovids 10x42

I don't go in the field without them.

I'm absolutely positive that the Leica and Sig units will outperform the Vortex, or any other unit at the $250 price point. And they should, at twice the price. If I was going to be using the unit quite often, I might consider a higher end unit. However, I will likely be using this unit only for a once a year hunt out west. Back East I don't need to use a range finder for anything I hunt inside 200 yards or so.

All the more reason not to buy a piece of junk. Why let a couple hundred bucks spoil a $4K hunting trip? Some older models like Leica 1000-R and 1200 can be had on close outs. Happy Trails

I have been using a Sig Kilo 2000 for several years now. Spot on. I wish the aiming ring was a bit smaller, but it has worked great. I have ranged antelope at over 700 and really never tried it farther, as it was not necessary.

Yeah, I'm sure the pricey Leica works out very well for you. However, given the reviews and Vortex's rep for NOT producing junk, I doubt that their rangefinder will be the cause of a spoiled $4000 hunt. Not to mention that I'll have a very experienced guide giving yardage input to verify what the cheap Vortex reads, including equivalent horizontal distance.

It doesn’t get any more simple than buying a used Leica CRF 900-1600 rangefinder, all that other stuff is just almost and you won’t get new what you will with the used Leica CRF...