Rangefinder Binocular

[owlman]

It boils down to this for me. The elk or mule deer of a lifetime is in front of of you (maybe just a hint of exaggeration) and you have 10 to 15 seconds to range and make the shot. What's your system going to be to pull this off. All the bells and whistles in the world don't help at this point. There's lots of good glass with sufficient ranging to pull this off but I'm going to put my money on the best I can afford. I will say this, I've been on a lot of hunts during my lifetime and the guys who make their living off of guiding hunters are using the cream of the crop optics and it usually boils down to two major players. If you're going to punch paper then your options are much greater.

 

[W.t.ewing]

I think you should ask yourself what's the main purpose you'll be using these for. Do you shoot competitively, strictly hunting, or a combination of the two or something else. I hunt out west every year and spend a lot of time behind the the glass with binoculars and a spotting scope. A ranging function is handy but not critical. The best optics I can afford is number one on my list because finding game is of the utmost importance to me without straining my eyes. If I find it, I really don't have plans to shoot it at 3000-5000 yards so that capability is not important to me. If you plan on spending hours glassing then optical quality should be your number one consideration and that comes at a price. If you are a PRS shooter or some other form of competition then your standards could be different. I guess it boils down to what's best for you for what you plan to do and how much you can afford to spend doing it.

Owlman is right.It all boils down to your application and degree of importance. In optics you get what you pay for. The Zeiss at $3500-$3800 is wonderful if you need the best optical quality and rangefinding capabilities. The only thing it doesn't do is synch up with a Kestral for wind. Now I may get in trouble here but I don't see how the Kestral can measure the wind out at 800-1000 yards. If you popped smoke at 5-6-8-and 1000 yards for example you may see the wind moving right, left..straight up etc at different distances. The best way to judge wind is using your optics like a spotting scope and reading the mirages. Few can ever master wind and the ones who come close spend many many hours and thousands of rounds doing so. So back to the original point. If you are a hunter/competitor who requires the best and/or a professional than an optic like a Zeiss would be practical..Or you have a lot of money and just want the best.. Otherwise there are many instruments out there that can get the job done.

 

[snox801]

not sure what you mean by using BT to read the wind lol ?

since this is a long range hunting forum it's assumed that if you are using a kestrel 5700 w/ AB to it's "full advantage" you know how to use it (what it will and will not do) and that wind calls are made across the distance to be shot not just at your location

my point ( is and was ) if the glass is up to par then ELR and LR shooters can reduce our gear to two pieces.

I was referring to using the Bluetooth connection to kestrel for your only wind call. I agree it looks like a great product for the price but from the reviews on it the glass is good but not at the top. My point being that that setup is very helpful but you can also load your data into the leicas and get an instant readout for you drops then you are only missing the wind.
Not saying one is better it's a preference to each shooter. I just put the glass quality above the ranging features for mine. I want great glass and spot on ranges. They rest can be achieved in various different ways.
I'm hoping the bdx really are great cause hopefully it will force the other to be more competitive In price.
For what the posters wants he actually has lots of good options. But the dig and lieca would be at the top of my list.

 

[NEMTHunter]

It boils down to this for me. The elk or mule deer of a lifetime is in front of of you (maybe just a hint of exaggeration) and you have 10 to 15 seconds to range and make the shot. What's your system going to be to pull this off. All the bells and whistles in the world don't help at this point. There's lots of good glass with sufficient ranging to pull this off but I'm going to put my money on the best I can afford. I will say this, I've been on a lot of hunts during my lifetime and the guys who make their living off of guiding hunters are using the cream of the crop optics and it usually boils down to two major players. If you're going to punch paper then your options are much greater.

If thats the case then you want the sig. Why? It can sink with your 5700 elite so it sends the range to it and you do not have to waste time entering it. Another thing is the Sig can give you a reading up to 800 yards from the built in solver.

No other RF in that price range and even up to 3000.00 matches that. When it comes to speed glass has nothing to do with it.

 

[rustyshackleford]

If thats the case then you want the sig. Why? It can sink with your 5700 elite so it sends the range to it and you do not have to waste time entering it. Another thing is the Sig can give you a reading up to 800 yards from the built in solver.

No other RF in that price range and even up to 3000.00 matches that. When it comes to speed glass has nothing to do with it.

I don't have an issue ranging with my Leica's, dialing an adjustment, and estimating wind. I mean let's be real. If you crest a ridge, spot an elk and it's trotting over the next one all the whiz bang stuff in the world won't help if you don't have time to set up for the shot. A shot worth ranging on a game animal isn't something that should be rushed.

 

[NEMTHunter]

I don't have an issue ranging with my Leica's, dialing an adjustment, and estimating wind. I mean let's be real. If you crest a ridge, spot an elk and it's trotting over the next one all the whiz bang stuff in the world won't help if you don't have time to set up for the shot. A shot worth ranging on a game animal isn't something that should be rushed.

I feel the same way. Just pointing out the fact this unit can do it all. And all the while saving 2000.00 from some of the other units that can not do as much as this one. The less steps the better though.

If you need to rush the shot that bad it better be close. My problem is I like to take my time and not push it.

 

[snox801]

I'm the opposite of nemthhunter glass is first and foremost. I can take the extra step because it's long rang and I don't rush those so the glass is the most important for me. No doubt the dig is easy and fast but if you can't see well enough to decide if it's rhe animal you want speed won't matter. If culling or something sure but when you get one chance for a hunt then I wanna make sure it the animal I want not the biggest but what I think looks good. I haven't played with the internal drop charts on the Leica but it holds custom curves on a sd so it should be every bit as fast and accurate as the dig for that issue. Now why can Leica get with it and link to kestrel so I can have bios that make everyone jealous.

 

[T-rev]

So I think I'm down to the SIG and Vortex. I don't care about the connectivity to scopes as I has a Leupold VX6-HD so it won't connect with anything. Between the two which has the best glass and ranging capabilities? I'll be using it for hunting.

 

[NEMTHunter]

Glass I could not say. Here is some info on the Sig. It does say the glass is as good as the zulu 5 from sig.

http://www.longrangeonly.com/forum/...range-finding-bino-review.html?highlight=3000

 

[catorres1]

So I think I'm down to the SIG and Vortex. I don't care about the connectivity to scopes as I has a Leupold VX6-HD so it won't connect with anything. Between the two which has the best glass and ranging capabilities? I'll be using it for hunting.

Glass wise on the Sig vs the Vortex Fury....to me, it's a wash. They seemed the same to me in the couple of times I got to compare them. Other folks I have talked to feel the same. Basically, the glass in the 3k BDX is about the same as the Vipers, but a little more natural color balance IMO.

As far as ranging goes, I am working on a review on these, but they are very strong. Their only real weakness in this regard is the sensor/reticle alignment, a weakness shared in some capacity by most RF's. But once you figure out where your sensor lies in relation to the reticle, you can pull off some pretty impressive distances.

It is very fast in re-ranging, and it's re-connection time to a Kestrel is super quick. Using the Kestrel with it is really cool as well, it's where it is at it's best as it does not have internal environmentals. But even just loading your curve and environmental conditions in through the phone and then running it, it gives a pretty solid solution via AB Ultralite, though you definitely want to true it.

I am running a VX6 on my main rifle, so like you, I am not running the BDX scope on that gun, but we did swap my son's VX3i out for the BDX, almost done with the review on that one. I was actually impressed with the scope, better than I expected in terms of overall performance. I'll say this, the BDX integration is impressive. I thought it was kinda a gimmick when Sig first showed it to me, but since using it this year and it proving it's value through it's speed on an Aoudad hunt in January, I am impressed. I am not going to give up my VX6 level glass for it, nor my Zeiss FL's for the binos, but this system in a Tango 6 scope and Zulu 9 binos might have me rethinking that, I have been that impressed.

The binos are not perfect by any means, the diopters could use some locks, and the reticle/sensor relationship could do with some tightening up. But the glass is better than I expected, the RF is very strong and fast, and the data exchange system has had real value for us, even just it's connection to the Kestrel.

HTH, feel free to ping me if I can answer any additional questions.

 

[MAD10]

Glass wise on the Sig vs the Vortex Fury....to me, it's a wash. They seemed the same to me in the couple of times I got to compare them. Other folks I have talked to feel the same. Basically, the glass in the 3k BDX is about the same as the Vipers, but a little more natural color balance IMO.

As far as ranging goes, I am working on a review on these, but they are very strong. Their only real weakness in this regard is the sensor/reticle alignment, a weakness shared in some capacity by most RF's. But once you figure out where your sensor lies in relation to the reticle, you can pull off some pretty impressive distances.

It is very fast in re-ranging, and it's re-connection time to a Kestrel is super quick. Using the Kestrel with it is really cool as well, it's where it is at it's best as it does not have internal environmentals. But even just loading your curve and environmental conditions in through the phone and then running it, it gives a pretty solid solution via AB Ultralite, though you definitely want to true it.

I am running a VX6 on my main rifle, so like you, I am not running the BDX scope on that gun, but we did swap my son's VX3i out for the BDX, almost done with the review on that one. I was actually impressed with the scope, better than I expected in terms of overall performance. I'll say this, the BDX integration is impressive. I thought it was kinda a gimmick when Sig first showed it to me, but since using it this year and it proving it's value through it's speed on an Aoudad hunt in January, I am impressed. I am not going to give up my VX6 level glass for it, nor my Zeiss FL's for the binos, but this system in a Tango 6 scope and Zulu 9 binos might have me rethinking that, I have been that impressed.

The binos are not perfect by any means, the diopters could use some locks, and the reticle/sensor relationship could do with some tightening up. But the glass is better than I expected, the RF is very strong and fast, and the data exchange system has had real value for us, even just it's connection to the Kestrel.

HTH, feel free to ping me if I can answer any additional questions.

Cartorres1
well, thought out and explained with real world data. Thanks for your effort. I was hoping for someone to put things in this perspective. Personally I have been waiting for the pairing of a bino and a kestrel via BT for a while I am still shocked it has taken this long. Having said that it is obvious this is only phase 1 of more to come by other manufacturers - but I am not sure I can wait any longer lol and will probably pick up the 3000BDX and pair with my 5700 Elite.

 

[catorres1]

Glad it was helpful. I think you are right in expecting more connected devices to come on the market. That said, I think the price will be painful, at least if you are in my tax bracket and at least for a while. I would guess that Leica will follow up with a connected bino RF, but can you imagine the price? That's something I will never be able to own, personally.

Zeiss could probably do it too, the foundation is there. But again, that's the kind of rarified air that I can't reach! Would be nice, alpha glass is pretty sweet.

 

[jd5521]

Leica 2200 HD-B and don't look back.

 

[MAD10]

Glad it was helpful. I think you are right in expecting more connected devices to come on the market. That said, I think the price will be painful, at least if you are in my tax bracket and at least for a while. I would guess that Leica will follow up with a connected bino RF, but can you imagine the price? That's something I will never be able to own, personally.

Zeiss could probably do it too, the foundation is there. But again, that's the kind of rarified air that I can't reach! Would be nice, alpha glass is pretty sweet.

I'm thinking the alpha glass companies won't ask too much more for a BT option. that technology can't be that expensive but may cost them a housing redesign

I'd say when they do the BT version will be 300-$500 more than their current prices.

Having said that I run Vipers and do not feel at all challenged while glassing hours on end here in Colorado. So the kilo 3000 is my choice