Don’t really know what I want..

Do wantgood glass, don’t think I need ballistic solver, super fast and accurate ranging is important and it needs good battery life.

Don’t super care about warranty, but it doesn’t hurt to have a good one

Got a circa 2017 sig kilo 2000 that’ll barely range 600 yards as of this last hunt.

I’m back in the bush shortly so something I can grab at rapid city cabelas or sportsman’s warehouse in Gillette is preferable.

Probably going to pay msrp so say 500$ tops.. on the radar currently is the sig kilo 3k or the vortex razor 4000

Maven RF1 7x25


I am pleased with mine.

Fury HD 5000 10x42

Not looking for binos

Maven looks interesting. How’s this compare to say the vortex razor 4000?

No idea, I haven't used a Vortex.

The Vortex 4000 is okay, but the newer updated Viper HD 3000 was liked more than the 4000 because the crosshair is too coarse on the 4000 and the 3000 ranged everything the 4000 could side by side, with the 3000 winning on smaller, closer targets.

That’s good to know. I’ve not fondled a pile of range finders but a good number of them haven’t done well during antelope hunts. Between the grass and the flat features i think they all struggle in the cheaper price point

The kilo2000 is absolute rubbish optically and harsh lighting makes it hard to find deer while looking into shadows.

When ( or if) my 20 year old Leica takes a crap I will call Doug at Cameraland and order a new Leica CFR 2400r. Pretty close to the $500 ish price point. I cant seem to wreck that thing so I may never get a chance to have a new one. I sort of expected I would need one by now.

I like my Leica 2400 as well. Not sure what they are selling for now, but when I bought mine, it was less than $500.

I have seen them from $550-575 the last I looked which was about two months ago. A budget to me is just a starting place so
I usually blow past it if the quality is there.

I got lucky last year when I bought mine. Paid $500 for it, but the small LGS had a deal going. For every $100 spent, you'd get a $20 coupon. I got 5 of those, so I basically paid $400 for the Leica. Love the glass and the ranging ability. Works great in low light. I've ranged out to 2400 yards with it too. Non reflective stuff, like cows and dirt mounts. Works great. I thought it was well worth what I paid. After buying those, I bought some Leica binoculars as well. The glass is exceptional in both LRF and LRF binos.

leica

Is Vortex still the only company that warranties the electronics for more than a couple years?

how far can you range?

I just got a maven rf1. Like it so far. Will report back in a couple of weeks how it worked in the field.

Athlon does too

I had a puppy chew the rubber eyepiece on my Leica CRF / sent it back with the honest explanation of the damage expecting a repair bill. Got a new updated rangefinder for free instead.

They work, give fast reads, take forever to use up a battery & function in bad weather conditions. The glass is clear enough that I was able to see a bull was legal where lesser scope & binoculars couldn’t resolve the point & brow tone in the oak brush.

So like the last post if I have to replace my 1600 CRF I’ll order another Leica from Doug at CameralandNY.

I’ve owned Bushnell, Leupold, Nikon & some golf brand rangefinders before Leica & none compared favorably in any way with the Leica. It picks up objects at 20 or 1200 yards reliably limited mostly by the steadiness of my hand.

Go with a Leica from Doug and don’t look back.

The 3k, 4k and 5k claims crack me up. These are longer than I could shoot my Tow-2 missle when I was skinny and had good hair in the USMC, a long long time ago. How far you need is up to you, any of these new ones should be able to range most things in most lighting conditions out to way past where you will need it anyways.

If it is that far I am not sure I want hike there,anymore let alone shoot.

Btw. I had an issue with Leica I bought from Doug, after I had gotten many many years of good use out of it and was out warranty by a long shot, they sent me back a factory refurbished one of a much newer model, so I was very happy their warranty service.


Spence.

Just got a Sig Kilo 5k from Doug for a great price. Shipped amazingly fast and he got it here in time for me leaving to New Mexico for elk tomorrow. Can't say enough about how pleased I am with Doug's pricing and service. I'll be buying there again and have steered several friends his direction.

Thank you for that information!!

Leica!

I have had the Kilo 2000 and now own a Kilo 3K and a Kilo 5K. The Kilo 5K (chassis) is built very much like the Kilo 2000 was built. The Kilo 3K feels cheaply made compared to the Kilo 2000. I'm leery on Sigs as they have a 5 year warranty and they tend to go out at that time....Display fades on them.

Maven would be who I would look at if buying again.

Might be faulty logic, but most of the newer vortex razor stuff has been pretty solid I’ve owned. 1-6hd gen 2e, UHD 18x56 bino’s have been exceptional money value far as I can tell..


Went with the razor 4000’s. They seemed twice as good build wise as say the Leopold tdr stuff or the lower price point vipers. Proof will be in the field ranging. If I get time I’ll report back after this weeks elk hunt.

Kahles Helia 7x25.

It’s slightly over your budget at $599 but I love mine. The glass is top notch, build quality seems bulletproof, the OLED display is bright and clear, battery life is solid, and while I've never tested its stated 2km max range I’ve ranged out to 1km accurately and quickly, which is more than enough for me. Good luck with your purchase. Lots of good rangefinders out there these days.

I agree with virtually everything you are saying, but let me explain...

The new 3000 Viper is a very new build... the Razor 4000 is not. They were not ready to update the 4000 just because the new Viper was right there.

Stuff changes fast, very fast, in the LRF World...

I just grabbed the maven after my kilo 2k died. I have the leica 3200.com binos and aside from coms with my kestrel ....the little maven us amazing.

Tag

Really enjoying the Maven rf1. Works great

I just sent my 1200 to Leica. It died after 12-15 yrs.

They offered me a 2400-R for $249, shipped. I gave them the credit card info.

They retail now for around $550.

That's not a bad price for that unit. I got full value and use out of my 1200. Look forward to getting the new 2400-R.

DF

Just for follow up, my maven rf1 has performed perfectly. Was able to range a rock face out to 3600yds. Elk out to 800. The forest/field mode is pretty sweet.

get a used leica, or any leica that fits your budget. thank me later

I've owned 3 LRFs, all different brands. The 3rd was a Kilo 2000, and was the shortest lived. Went to use it the last time and it was dead. Figured battery. Changed that, still dead, nothing. Cleaned the contacts, shook it a little, swore at it, still dead.

Called CS to find out the protocol for warranty returns and the girl asked for the serial number. Gave it to her, clickity click and she said that warranty ran out last year. I said no ma'am I've only had it for 4 years, I have the receipt in my hand, there's 11 months left.

She said we start our warranty on the date of manufacture on electro-optics, yours was made on such and such date.

I said so you're telling me my rangefinder sat sealed in a box somewhere like a warehouse for a year burning off warranty time and now I get screwed on it?

She said we can give you 40 percent off a new model.

I laughed and said ah no thanks I'll be looking at other brands to replace this one.

So, if you want SIG, check the manufacture date before paying for it. No wonder I got a screaming deal on that one, somebody up the food chain knew all about it.

My experience with my SIG 2000 was exactly the same as Feral American's.

SIG's discount on a new model was a joke when numerous retailers had an everyday price that was cheaper than SIG's online price with the discount.

I ordered an Athlon rangefinder from Cameraland. It's worked great so far and has a lifetime warranty if anything ever does go wrong with it.

After my experience with my Kilo rangefinder, SIG won't be getting any more of my business in the future.

I’m done with sig rangefinders

Me and a mate both had the same issues. No warranty but here’s a. Discount code. Discount code is general on sale pricing at most retailers.

Plus their glass still sucks.

Happy with this vortex razor 4000.. I don’t hunt critters past 600 so analog drop data on stock works fine..

Glass is good. I lent out my Binos on a morning hunt and was able to use it a a monocle no sweat and glassed up mule deer at 800 bedded

Ranges plenty fast. And my aiming point is on the bottom of ⭕️ so ez to get ranges in tricky spots.


Can’t say a Leica wouldn’t be better, but besides the 500$ I’m happy. It’s probably a 350$ rig

Damn DF, you scored on that one. You'll love the glass on that 2400.. They range fast too, and work great in low light.

The great thing about Vortex is the warranty. My buddy loves them. He had to send his Razor 5000HD's in because his kid dropped them on the eyepieces. Broke both of them and that was from a height of about 1'. The kid is only 2 or 3 years old. He also just sent in a newer razor (I believe) rifle scope. He somehow lost the piece inside that controls the zero stop. They are quick to send stuff back and fix stuff no questions asked.

Vortex over Athlon
I’m following this thread as I’m thinking of snagging one for my boy for Christmas present.
Just waiting on some good sales

We have quite a few vortex scopes here between my sons and I. Vipers and on up. One son has a Fury 10X LRF bino, which I REALLY LIKE, and the other got a Ranger 1800 for Chistmas two years ago. With all that I've used their warranty exactly once, and was TOTALLY not their fault.

My group had about 7 rifles lined up on the ground sitting on bipods at a match. This joker decided to step through them instead of walking around the pile. He missed every one of them, except mine. Caught his toe and tipped my ele turret over on a rock and dented it where it wouldn't turn.

The ONLY reason they didn't replace the scope was because I'd had it cerekoted. But they fixed it and had it back to me inside 6 days from the day I shipped it, and one of my sons is still using it on a deer rifle.

That's pretty good. I was really surprised when my buddy told me he had his rifle scope back in less than 2 weeks. I sent in a Zeiss for repair, they said they could not repair it but would replace it. 6 months later they finally had one in the mail to me.

Get whatever Leica that fits your budget. Call Doug first.

My Leupold has always been great! I have the Full Draw 4 version, got it right when it came out.

Sold by 1600 that I used for years before to buy it.