Which rangefinding binoculars do you prefer and why?

[Andy Backus]

I'd like to get an up to date discussion going about the pros and cons of different rangefinding binoculars to have some good info in mind heading to SHOT.

Which rangefinding binoculars do you prefer and why?

 

[Wedgy]

Leica HD-B is my favorite. Better ranging by far than the EL and any edge in glass that the EL has is cancelled out by what it lacks in the rangefinder. Biggest shortcoming of the Leica is the programming; you can only have one profile in it at a time via a micro SD card that you need tweezers to extract(it's like doing surgery and they do give you tweezers), you cannot rename the file on the SD card or it won't work so you have to program it then erase the file on your computer to do another chip if you have to tweak the profile. Putting SD cards in plastic baggies labeled with a Sharpie is kind of ridiculous. The calculator does work when you get it dialed in, I took a pig at 827 yards, even though it only says the ballistics are good to 800 it will sometimes calculate out to 1,000 yards. The rangefinder works pretty well out to ~2000 yards. If you hunt solo it is really nice to not have to calculate with a couple pieces of gear.
The Bushnells are out because the glass has a dark tint and preprogrammed drop curves that are hit or miss.
My favorite binos are the EL 12x50 but I use them with a BR2, if those two had a baby I would adopt it !

 

[Andy Backus]

My favorite binos are the EL 12x50 but I use them with a BR2, if those two had a baby I would adopt it !

That's a great way of saying it!

How do the ballistics in the Leica compare to the G7 BR2?

 

[Wedgy]

G7 Flash Ballistics

The ballistics are similar but the problem with the Leica is that you have to have a computer to adjust the input and surgically implant the data...almost not doable in the field. Also each profile must have its own chip and it is much harder to change the chip out than to change the battery.

 

[Wedgy]

Here's the pictures of it

 

[WRO]

Leica HD-B is my favorite. Better ranging by far than the EL and any edge in glass that the EL has is cancelled out by what it lacks in the rangefinder. Biggest shortcoming of the Leica is the programming; you can only have one profile in it at a time via a micro SD card that you need tweezers to extract(it's like doing surgery and they do give you tweezers), you cannot rename the file on the SD card or it won't work so you have to program it then erase the file on your computer to do another chip if you have to tweak the profile. Putting SD cards in plastic baggies labeled with a Sharpie is kind of ridiculous. The calculator does work when you get it dialed in, I took a pig at 827 yards, even though it only says the ballistics are good to 800 it will sometimes calculate out to 1,000 yards. The rangefinder works pretty well out to ~2000 yards. If you hunt solo it is really nice to not have to calculate with a couple pieces of gear.
The Bushnells are out because the glass has a dark tint and preprogrammed drop curves that are hit or miss.
My favorite binos are the EL 12x50 but I use them with a BR2, if those two had a baby I would adopt it !

I've taken the EL ranges out of 2K plus. I personally don't like RF binoculars that well.

YOu give up optical quality and have one more thing to go wrong.

I carry a Kestrel, sig 2000, and a set of EL 12x50's.

 

[Wedgy]

Forgot to mention on the HD-B outputs the most precise way is in "clicks" or quarter MOA so let's say the range was 600 yards and it was 10MOA drop the binocular would read "600" then below it "40" the 40 means 10MOA divided by 4 = 40 quarter MOA's
If you aren't good at math or have buck fever you might be a little stumped when it spits out a "71" or "111" and you have to count it into MOA; 17.75 and 27.75

 

[WRO]

Forgot to mention on the HD-B outputs the most precise way is in "clicks" or quarter MOA so let's say the range was 600 yards and it was 10MOA drop the binocular would read "600" then below it "40" the 40 means 10MOA divided by 4 = 40 quarter MOA's
If you aren't good at math or have buck fever you might be a little stumped when it spits out a "71" or "111" and you have to count it into MOA; 17.75 and 27.75

For trying to say something is the best, your review seems to make me think its a bigger PIA than its worth.

Kinda reminds me of my 1000R, AKA the 1000 Retarded.

 

[Wedgy]

For trying to say something is the best, your review seems to make me think its a bigger PIA than its worth.

.

I usually don't have to read the directions on stuff but I did a couple times on these. Being that a micro SD card can store 64G of data there's no reason you couldn't have almost every profile ever created with that much storage. If you have used this setup it seems stupid to have separate bino, RF, and calculator setup. It is that nice, but by all means it can certainly be improved.
I think in the next year or two there will be HUGE advances in this field.

 

[Andy Backus]

Are there any shortcomings in the ballistics of the Leica HD-B?

 

[Andy Backus]

I found this very detailed review of the Leica HD-B over at PrecisionRifleBlog.com. Man they do a nice job!

And following is what they said in it about the ballistics. I'm curious what other HD-B owners think.

CONS:
It only supports G1 BC (i.e. ballistic coefficient). While the G1 BC works well for shorter, flat-based bullets, a G7 BC works better for longer, boat-tailed bullets. If you are calculating the ballistics curve for a modern, long-range bullet, then using the standard G1 projectile to do that simply can't give you an accurate curve beyond about 800 yards. I ran the ballistics in JBM for the load I shoot using a G1 BC and a G7 BC will give you a difference over 1 minute at 1,200 yards. That means the trajectory adjustment it suggests would be off by 14″. That's enough to miss a shot. Then at 1 mile, it's exaggerated even more with a difference of 2.5 MOA, which means your impact would be off by 46 inches! I have to believe one of those manufacturers will do it at some point. My bet is on Bushnell or Leica.

The rangefinder only displays adjustments in whole numbers, without decimal places.

It only supports displaying the adjustment in either inches or MOA … not MIL.

It doesn't allow you to set the sight height for the ballistic calculations. That is hard-coded to a constant value of 1.9685 inches. This probably isn't a big deal, but it's kind of lame. Why?

 

[Andy Backus]

So what other rangefinding binos do you guys like? Most of my personal experience is with the Swarovski EL Range and I love them.

I haven't had much of a chance to learn about the new Vortex Rangefinding Binos yet but I will at SHOT. Anybody know anything about them?

 

[WRO]

So what other rangefinding binos do you guys like? Most of my personal experience is with the Swarovski EL Range and I love them.

I haven't had much of a chance to learn about the new Vortex Rangefinding Binos yet but I will at SHOT. Anybody know anything about them?

They're basically a set of vipers with a vortex rangefinder in them. Supposedly they will do to 1600 yards reflective and do angle comp that far. It'll be interesting to see if they solved the light transmission issue plauging most RF binoculars. IMHO, the only ones who have is Swaro although the new lecias are close.

 

[Dosh]

This past November I helped a friend that had a tag for an Arizona Strip mule deer. A friend's son was along who is a professional guide had the Leica 15X56 HD-R binos that were outstanding. These Leicas were excellent in early light and dim late evening light. Too bad the tag holder was a sorry shot, he connected on a small 170ish buck the last evening of the hunt after misses on three 195+ bucks during the hunt. We saw three well over 200" through the Leicas ar over 1000yds.