G7 BR2 or Leica HD-B?

[jonthomps]

I will be purchasing one of these in the near future and need some help with my decision. I've searched but can't find much comparison between the two (partly because it's comparing apples and oranges to some extent). I hunt here in Missouri and go back to my home state of Colorado to hunt elk. I very rarely shoot much past 1k but regularly shoot 600-800. Keeping this in mind, for hunting and shooting out to 1000 which one would everyone go with? Here's some of the pro's and con's I've gathered so far:

1. When hunting, you need to carry additional equipment with both units.
2. With the BR2 you still need a windmeter and a pair of binos.
3. With the HD-B you still need a windmeter.
4. The BR2 costs half as much but I can sell my Duovids to compensate for that, making it a non-issue.

Am I missing anything? I think this swings things in favor of the Leica's because everyone LOVES carrying extra gear/weight when hunting elk, right!?

 

[ZSteinle]

accuracy wise go with the BR2. I was in the same boat as you and went with the BR2 for a few reasons
1. The leica will only read whole number ie. if you range at 600 yards and you need 11.6 moa for drop correction the leica will read 12. Or it will read the number of clicks required.
2. BR2 will display wind holdovers.
3. BR2 will hold 5 loads and can switch with the touch of a button.
4. I like to keep my electronics and high end optics apart
5. Leica only uses G1 drag functions
If the HD-b had the electronics of the BR2 i would have picked one up in an instant. The whole numbers thing was a deal breaker!

 

[jonthomps]

1. The leica will only read whole number ie. if you range at 600 yards and you need 11.6 moa for drop correction the leica will read 12. Or it will read the number of clicks required.

Seriously!? That's crazy. What's the point of a ballistic computer if it only reads in whole numbers??? The BR2 is looking better and better.

 

[ZSteinle]

Seriously!? That's crazy. What's the point of a ballistic computer if it only reads in whole numbers??? The BR2 is looking better and better.

exactly. Dont know who the engineer was on that project but its apparent he or she has never shot a rifle farther than 400 yards. Epic FAIL on the part of leica.

 

[MDSurgeon591]

I am in the same boat as you are and I am 2 seconds away from ripping my hair out. I have been trying to talk myself into the Leica's but cannot get over several things:

1. Leica displays only whole number as previously stated
2. You cannot change the scope height on the leica program
-not a big deal if you are shooting under 400-500 yards
-it is a big deal if you are shooting over that and scope height is 2.5" or more

While the HD-B's are badass looking with crazy clear glass and has ranging accuracy that is among the best the G7BR2 has a better ballistic computer and is more customizable. Spite all of this I am still trying to talk myself into the HD-B's. I am afraid we are just going to have to face reality at the fact that we want an all in one (bino and ballistic calc.) but it is just not out there yet.

 

[ZSteinle]

im thinking either bushnell or vortex will be the ones to come out with the perfect all in one unit. I am hoping for vortex.

 

[MDSurgeon591]

Unfortunately, you are probably right. The new Bushnell bino with computer is an improvement from their old ones but it still only allows you to enter PRE-Determined profiles. Meaning zero room to customize it. All Leica had to do was take the BR2 computer and put that exact system in their binos and they would have the CATS MEOW

 

[cummins cowboy]

I am faced with a kinda similar situation. I am looking to upgrade my leica geovids I have used for years. but for me the hd b has failed to excite me. it has a more pronounced tint to the lenses than even the current unit I have. the view to the edges isn't as sharp. they also seem like the image doesn't come together, you know when you have your binocs too far apart. its almost like I can't seem to get that quite right. There are also some other nuances that I don't like. like the readout being in 1/4 clicks. here is my take after thinking about this quite a bit. I feel that enviromental issues aren't that big of a deal to about 600 yards, if you have roughly your drop figured out you should still hit at that range. I just ran an applied ballistics solution and from 3500 to 7000 DA there is .4 moa difference at 600 yards. thats less than 3" at 800 it becomes a bigger deal. I think this can be dealt with using a wind meter like a windmate that also figures DA. If your say is within say 1500 feet give or take of what your turret is calibrated to I would ignore the difference. I would tape a card with different come ups for different DA's on your stock. since your low altitude most of the time I would have 2 turrets one low and one high. your low one you probably don't neet to worry too much about the enviromentals. The high one you can set for say 9000 feet DA, then have deviations from that at 7000, 11000, or 13000 DA depending on the conditions you think you will hunt. in reality 800 yards is a REALLY long shot to take on big game, 600 is better. I am wanting to buy the swaro EL range, better glass than the geovids and better light transmission, even leica admitted this to me.

 

[jonthomps]

Cummins Cowboy: good points. I really like the IDEA of the Leicas, but I feel the execution is lacking. Leica needs to step up and correct these short comings or another manufacturer needs to take advantage of what Leica didn't. From what I'm getting here's what people - including me - want:

High quality 2000m rangefinding binoculars with a full-featured, customizable ballistic computer.

Manufacturers, anyone listening?

 

[cummins cowboy]

Cummins Cowboy: good points. I really like the IDEA of the Leicas, but I feel the execution is lacking. Leica needs to step up and correct these short comings or another manufacturer needs to take advantage of what Leica didn't. From what I'm getting here's what people - including me - want:

High quality 2000m rangefinding binoculars with a full-featured, customizable ballistic computer.

Manufacturers, anyone listening?

leica has the ranging technology that other companies simply don't have. zeiss had to hire away one of the guys that designed the geovids so they could have some RF binoculars. I don't know what the story is with swaro and their ranging technology however they are the smallest of the big 3 optical companies. I don't need 2k ranging. 1500 in adverse conditions would be nice.

 

[Greyfox]

I have thought a lot about also. I started out using the original Geovids, with RF only. In actual practice while hunting, 90% of the time while glassing I can usually get a good range out to 600 yards or so with the old Geovids and either dial on my turret , or, which is generally the case, I have memorized the drops and windage values out to this range and just dial. With my 6.5-284 or 300WM, environmental condition changes have little effect. In more difficult ranging conditions at closer ranges or past 600 yards, requirements increase and my G7-Br2 is used. At this point binocular capability is un-necessary and the capability of the BR2 comes into it's own with nothing else out there matching it's capabilities.IMO.

 

[jonthomps]

Just found out the Leica's have a "clicks" setting. For example, say you need 4.6 mils to hit 800y. In the clicks mode it will tell you 46. PRESTO! Drop is only out to 1k, but that'll be fine for me.