LRF fr 500 yds and in

[The Oregonian]

Looking at RF's and debating the Swarovski 8x30 for $600 (new) and a Leupold RX1000 for $250 (new)...for 500 yds and in, is the Swarovski worth the extra $$ or is the Leupold sufficient for 500 yds and in? I honestly don't think I will take shots over 400, at least until my skills improve considerably, but I generally follow the 'buy once, cry once philosophy. But at over 2x the price, I am not sure the swarovski will be that much better for my usage type.

Any advice from the hive?

 

[FEENIX]

Looking at RF's and debating the Swarovski 8x30 for $600 (new) and a Leupold RX1000 for $250 (new)...for 500 yds and in, is the Swarovski worth the extra $$ or is the Leupold sufficient for 500 yds and in? I honestly don't think I will take shots over 400, at least until my skills improve considerably, but I generally follow the 'buy once, cry once philosophy. But at over 2x the price, I am not sure the swarovski will be that much better for my usage type.

Any advice from the hive?

I think you answered your question. of the two, Swaro is the way to go. Before the Leica 1600 models was out, the Swaro was king for LRFs under $1K. Having said that, you might want to check them too.

Good luck!

 

[bruce_ventura]

The Swarovski 8x30 LG is much better optically than anything else under $600. The optics are binocular quality. It has a good phase coating on the roof prism. None of the other rangefinders from Bushnell, Leupold, Nikon, Vortex, etc., have a good phase coating, and the resolution and brightness really suffers in those products. The Swaro LG exhibits some glare when facing a low sun, but otherwise the optics are excellent.

I tested the LG and RX-1000 side-by-side. In addition to the optics issues, the RX-1000 had trouble with some low reflective targets at ~450 yds. The LG has always worked well on animals out to at least 700 yds. Incidentally, I tested two LGs against a $16,000 Leica Total Station surveying instrument and the LGs were accurate to +/-0.5 yd. if you average four readings the LG will give a result to within +/-0.2 yd.

However, Swarovski discontinued the LG because there wasn't a market for a standalone rangefinder with no frills - no inclinometer or ballistic computer. The only option is to display in yds or meters.

That said, I use a Swarovski LG and love it. I'm not a bow hunter so I rarely need an inclinometer. I prefer to use my iPhone for ballistics and it has an inclinometer when I need one.

 

[el matador]

Vortex: Ranges 500-1000 consistently depending on ambient light conditions. Around $350
Leica 1600-b: Ranges 1200-2000 depending on light. Around $800

These are the only 2 I've used and been happy with. Tried a Leupold a while back and wasn't impressed but I've heard good things about the newer ones. They might be on par with the Vortex for a little less money but I really don't know. Swaro's are good optics but no angle compensation. Bushnell I've used a few and the only one that would range beyond 500 consistently was the Elite 1500, but that's big and bulky for a hunting rangefinder. The scout 600 was a great little unit for under 400 yards.