Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Range finders

Looking to replace my decades old Bushnell 400 and was looking at the Vortex Ranger ($349 most places) or a comparable Sig Sauer or Bushnell model. It seems in the same price range or above the SS and Bushnell provide a lot of stuff I'd never use and don't want to pay for, like exchanging data with my smart scope via Bluetooth or providing complete ballistic solutions via smart phone app. They have to pay for those features somehow so I'm wondering what they cut or lessened to keep the same price point.

I just wanna know how far away something is. The one feature I would use and which they all have is a true horizontal distance mode. I like the Vortex bright reticle, it seems easier to see in lower light.

So, pretty much in favor of the Vortex but before buying one I wanted to throw this out to the forum to see if there are any gotchas or hidden faults in the Vortex, or perhaps another brand stands head and shoulders above the rest. Trying to keep the price in the $350 range.

I have an older (2-3 years anyhow) Ranger 1000. I like everything about it except the inconsistency in getting a range. It’ll reliably give ranges to 400-450, past that it’s a crap shoot. Conditions don’t seem to matter, blue bird 60* day with no wind and it’ll reliably range 400 one minute and 800 the next. I don’t know if the newer 1400 and 1800 are better in that regard.

I just bought a Leupold RX2800 for 349.95 and it seems to work real well. It was on sale and seems like a great price

Several years ago (5 maybe) i bought a demo Zeiss from Doug. Couldn’t tell it was even used.

Does everything i need. Mind you , i hunt in MS.

500 yds is a poke.

I’ve tried almost everything in this price class and the best I’ve found is the Nikon Monarch 2000.
I’ve ranged deer past 1000 with mine, non of the Vortex rangers would measure as far.

Never had good luck with the cheaper ones. Nor have friends. I paid the money, and got a Leica 1200 and am a happy man. They can be found used for not much more than you want to spend. 1000+ yards no issues. They are however a simple one no drop, no Bluetooth etc. They just range, and do that very well. Smaller aiming point as well.

Avoid the used Leica like the plague. They have NO warranty, and Leica has a long track record of poor to non existent warranty service in any event. I had a Leica CRF 1200 and sent it down the road after I got a SIG kilo 2200. I had a Vortex Ranger 1000 and gave it to a friend in need and found myself wanting a back up to the SIG. I solved that little dilemma with an Athlon Midas, which is a good unit, reaching 1100 plus yards.

Get a Vortex, a SIG, or an Athlon Midas. All three have a warranty, the Vortex and Athlon being lifetime.

I have heard really good things about the Sig, even with all the "extras". I have looked through the Ranger 1800 and I like it, however I have not had the chance to range things beyond 500 yards. What I was able to range, it was relatively quick and accurate. The scan mode works well, but I wish it was a bit faster when ranging animals.
I haven't had a chance to check out the Leica yet, but I will before I make my decision on which one to buy for myself.

Leica 900 scan still going strong after 19 years so I bought another Leica 2400 . Never needed the warranty and they work great.

Yes, buy once. Not twice. Been there done that. My 1200 Leica is about 9 years old. No need for a warranty. It does not do what the new ones will, but all I want it to do is tell me the range. It does that well. Look at the aiming dot/what ever you look at to range. The Leica is much smaller and more unobtrusive than many other I have looked through. That helps a bunch when looking 1K+ away. Is it at this tree or that one.. The Leica can distinguish between which tree. The aiming point is not two trees wide.

Really liking the Sig 2200 BDX so far. It's fast, accurate, and fits my hand well.

How far do you need to go?

A few years ago the Sig 2000 was pretty snazy, and darned if it still works. If I was looking again, a smaller aiming point would be a priority, for game, not barns, trees, and other stuff. I previously had a Ranger 1000, it's not in the same league as the Sig.

Fugg Nikon those sleazy bastids.

You know darn well there's going to be deals in a few weeks.

Not impressed with my Ranger 1500. My Sig 2000 is only slightly better.

They both are pretty much useless on fuzzy brown antelope laying on gently sloping fuzzy brown prairie hillsides.

Rangefinder manufacturers are kinda' over selling the capabilities of RF's as far as I can tell. They're great for ranging steel when setting up the gongs, or how far away a stop sign is.

Yes, sometimes a guy can range nearby objects, or if he takes a stand go ahead and "pre-range" likely spots the critters might appear, but every time I have needed to range on the fly it's been plumb problematic.

The most reliable rangefinder I have been around is the Leica. It may not claim to range a bizillion yards, but it seems to do a better job of picking up fuzzy critters. That will be my next RF.

Antelope are tough.

H,mm My lecia 900 scan has been flawless for the last 10 years.

Think Athlon will around for a lifetime?
I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a Leica from Doug at Cameraland.

The Athlon Midas 1200 is a quality unit and for only $189.99 shipped it's been a go to rangefinder

Leica.

My LRF 1200 Scan was perfect for 13 years until I sold it 2 years ago and replaced it with the Leica 2000B... undoubtedly the 1200 is still chugging right along in another state.

What did you like about this one, or what specifically did you see that was superior to others? The price on Amazon is around $100 less than the others with similar capabilities.

I was looking at that Leupold RX2800 and it seems to be pretty good, it's selling for $385 on Amazon, might be a bit cheaper somewhere else but I haven't gotten down to serious price comparisons yet, still looking at features.

Really just want something to help with long range shooting of steel targets. We have a lot of desert around here where you can back up a mite but would need to know the exact range. Also if shooting at established shooting ranges their target distances can vary a bit from what they say. A bottom line unit would probably fit my basic needs but it's usually good to get a bit better than what you think you need without going overboard.