Gunwerks G7 BR2 Rangefinder Review

[wapiti0223]

Hello, does anyone have experience with the swarovski el range? would these be similar or not?
Thanks

 

[Scot E]

The BR2 is the only rangefinder to date that takes real time atmospheric data and uses it to create accurate drops.

Scot E.

 

[MuleHunter]

Whats the warranty? How many years? What does it cover?

I read somewhere that the unit is only rated to 32F. So if i hunt Montana and its 25F outside will it break the unit? Or is it that it only gives corrections down to 32F? How does that work?

I have heard of rangefinders breaking due to the cold. If i invest $1,600 in this unit what are the warranty details if it breaks on me?

 

[extreme]

Whats the warranty? How many years? What does it cover?

I read somewhere that the unit is only rated to 32F. So if i hunt Montana and its 25F outside will it break the unit? Or is it that it only gives corrections down to 32F? How does that work?

I have heard of rangefinders breaking due to the cold. If i invest $1,600 in this unit what are the warranty details if it breaks on me?

Pick up the phone and call aaron,,thats the only way to get the correct answer
to your questions.

 

[mikefestes]

I've used it in -15c, and it was fine no trouble. It gets cold here in Alberta. I think the warranty is for a year.

 

[COBrad]

My BR2 arrived last week. I took it right out that evening and was ranging elk and horses in the fields below my house to over 1300 yards. The past two mornings I have purposely ranged cattle directly into the sun. At ranges out to the mid-800's there was no problem. Beyond that if I shielded the sun from shining directly into the lens with my hand, I was able to range 1100+ yards, as long as the cows were standing in grass. When standing in the middle of a bright snow patch I could not get out that far. Turning a little so I was not shooting directly into the sun I was able to range dirt hillsides, bushes, whatever, out to the 2000 yard range of the unit. This is an impressive rangefinder. I was looking at the Terapin PLR05, an ACI, and Exbal on a PDA, but this should be so much simpler for the 1200 yards I want to extend to this year. Can't wait to test it out shooting whistle pigs this year. As soon as the mud dries a little it's going to Utah for some prairie dog shooting.

 

[BH Hunter]

In regards to comparing this to the Swaro unit, I love my G7, and never fell in love w/ the Swaro. It ranges much faster, farther and has the kestral and pda built right in so to speak. They are about the same size to boot. It has 4 different levels of brightness for the reticle. The reticle for some reason is a weak point in my opinion. On my leica's you can always see the reticle and I am always farting around trying to find the sweet spot on this. At least it allows you to adjust it. I got mine in Aug?? and they had a voluntary recall. They took great care of it, reloaded all of my data and returned it.
I have hunted w/ it in 0 degree weather, didn't seem to be a problem.
I used to take my kestral and pda, find a solution and compare. After a while of comparision, I now usually leave the kestral at home. I only shoot for fun past 1400 and then need to run it on my phone. Two thumbs up here.

 

[jclti]

Thats interesting Gary, I thought I had read pretty extensivly about the G7 and I don't remember hearing about this "near" "far" function. Or did I miss that? Anyway I was not aware of it when I used the unit either. Which I will admit was a short test. So what does this function actually do? Does it somehow controll the beam size. Or does it just remove or eliminate the unit from ranging close items out to a certain distance. This could make a difference in my opinion for sure depending on what it actually does.

Did you kill that buck at 864 yards and was the shooting correction the unit gave on?

Thanks
Jeff

The "near and far" function:

Near function the unit is looking for its first return from a valid target, it's seeing everything but it has the ability to dismiss valid targets past the valid first return or target it measures. Great for smaller targets with larger more reflective targets in the background.

Far function is the opposite of the near function, the unit is looking for the last return to a valid target. This allows the unit to measure through some obstructions to a valid target ignoring targets in the foreground. Great for bad weather snow heavy rain etc. and ranging through obstructions to your intended target.

A note on both the near and far modes: It does require some separation between targets since the unit is accurate to +or- 1 yard/meter.

 

[Havingfun]

Will it read in meters, and give mRad and 0.1mRad click corrections?

Matt

I am surprised that this is the first mention of milradians. For those of us that have fairly expensive, .mil adjustable scopes, it seems we are being ignored. This is in fact a huge market.
I have not heard any discussion of the BR2 being developed for these folks. Would seem as sophisticated as this unit is, a software update to convert MOA to .mil should be simple and inexpensive. In fact, any decent ballistics software program will do this.
Yes, I can convert in the field too, but the whole idea of the BR2 is to not have to do a bunch of other "stuff".
I would almost certainly purchase a BR2 if it would display results in milradians too.
I have yet to hear anything from the manufacturer on their future plans or rationale as to why they are strictly MOA.
Anybody have some insight on this?

 

[Greyfox]

Just got a call that my G7 has shipped. I didn't feel the need for this capability shooting my 6.5x284 out to 1000 yards, using my Geovids, Kestral, and a couple of turrets calibrated for my hunting areas. I decided to extend my range, 1200-1400max. Awaiting delivery of a Savage 110 FCP in 338 Lapua. Plan on mounting my NF NXS 5x22, and using MOA for this work. After looking at all the reviews, I think this rangefinder should work out well. I have been contemplating selling a couple of my scopes and picking up the G7 Nightforce scope. The Reticle, zero stop, and high speed turret system with yards and MOA combined is very appealing.

 

[Scot E]

I am surprised that this is the first mention of milradians. For those of us that have fairly expensive, .mil adjustable scopes, it seems we are being ignored. This is in fact a huge market.
I have not heard any discussion of the BR2 being developed for these folks. Would seem as sophisticated as this unit is, a software update to convert MOA to .mil should be simple and inexpensive. In fact, any decent ballistics software program will do this.
Yes, I can convert in the field too, but the whole idea of the BR2 is to not have to do a bunch of other "stuff".
I would almost certainly purchase a BR2 if it would display results in milradians too.
I have yet to hear anything from the manufacturer on their future plans or rationale as to why they are strictly MOA.
Anybody have some insight on this?

You're preaching to the choir friend. I have been griping about the exact same thing since they came out. The odd thing is that at one time I was told they were available in MIL for LE/MIL but not for the public which makes even less sense because I agree with you it shouldn't have been that difficult to add the option of MIL.

I have a feeling they are trying to specifically tailor to their own clientele that use the G7 scope system which is only in MOA. I understand that to a point but like you mentioned there is a large market of guys that are fully invested in MIL equipment and can't or don't want to make the switch. I think the latest poll here showed 30% of LRH guys using MIL. I know on other sites like the Hide, who would still love this rangefinder, it would be much, much higher.

Maybe if we keep griping! I would buy one too if it had the MIL option.

Until then you may want to look at the new Leica 1600B. I haven't seen one in person yet but it sounds like they have incorporated the same concept into their new rangefinder. And it has MIL as an option.


Scot E.

 

[Stumpm2]

I was getting ready to purchase the BR2, but I think I will wait and see how well the Leica 1600-B ballistics program works before I purchase one.

 

[Havingfun]

You're preaching to the choir friend. I have been griping about the exact same thing since they came out. The odd thing is that at one time I was told they were available in MIL for LE/MIL but not for the public which makes even less sense because I agree with you it shouldn't have been that difficult to add the option of MIL.

I have a feeling they are trying to specifically tailor to their own clientele that use the G7 scope system which is only in MOA. I understand that to a point but like you mentioned there is a large market of guys that are fully invested in MIL equipment and can't or don't want to make the switch. I think the latest poll here showed 30% of LRH guys using MIL. I know on other sites like the Hide, who would still love this rangefinder, it would be much, much higher.

Maybe if we keep griping! I would buy one too if it had the MIL option.

Until then you may want to look at the new Leica 1600B. I haven't seen one in person yet but it sounds like they have incorporated the same concept into their new rangefinder. And it has MIL as an option.


Scot E.

That's good news about the Leica. Sad part is that I just recently purchased the existing Leica 1600 which I like a lot. Odds are slim-to-none that they update my software to reflect the new technology even they cost the same. I'll ask anyway.

Gunwerks is missing an opportunity to expand their customer base to include another whole segment of serious shooters. Their loss, Leica's gain and I'm sure others before it's over and done with.

 

[sp6x6]

Im in the same boat, and there are a lot of military men that come home having used the mil system, and abroad it is used. I am a builder and Euro cabinets have become so popular, that after fighting layout and conversion for specs and rough in, my cabinet guy just gave me a metric tape and smiled