Range finders

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Dannyg

Member
May 21, 2023
35
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Meridian, Idaho, USA
I was in Cabellas last week and decided to stop in at the optics counter and check out some range finders. I only looked at 4 brands but did test out all the models under $700. My favorites are as follows:
Vortex Razor HD 4000. It was the least sharp of the 4 and seemed to have the widest beam. It worked great on most animals but had a harder time with the squirrels. It would be great for dear. Back wall ranged at 88 yards.

Leica 2800. It was the sharpest and had the clearest glass of all. It did great on the squirrels and smaller objects but you had to wait for it to reset/finnish it's ranging cycle before it would allow you to take another reading. Not sure why it was doing this. Back wall ranged at 86 yards.

Leupold RX 1400 and the Full Draw. Very sharp and clear but also very cluttered feel while ranging. I had a difficult time getting the smaller items to range properly and the U shaped aim point was less than ideal for me. This also would be best for anything larger than squirrels. It ranged the back wall at 87 yards.

Sig Kilo 4K. This was my favorite due to the fact that it ranged the small items consistently, the aim point was small enough and it wasn't too cluttered. The glass was on par withe Leupold but not as good as the Leica. Ir raged the back wall at 86 yards.

I do not have info on the menus or ballistic software as I only use the range finder for well, finding the range.

If the Leica worked quicker and had an easier to read display, it would have been my top pick.

Occasionally I got erroneous readings with the Vortex and the Leupold but I feel like that was mostly due to my not being 100% steady.
 
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Dannyg said:
I was in Cabellas last week and decided to stop in at the optics counter and check out some range finders. I only looked at 4 brands but did test out all the models under $700. My favorites are as follows:
Vortex Razor HD 4000. It was the least sharp of the 4 and seemed to have the widest beam. It worked great on most animals but had a harder time with the squirrels. It would be great for dear. Back wall ranged at 88 yards.

Leica 2800. It was the sharpest and had the clearest glass of all. It did great on the squirrels and smaller objects but you had to wait for it to reset/finnish it's ranging cycle before it would allow you to take another reading. Not sure why it was doing this. Back wall ranged at 86 yards.

Leupold RX 1400 and the Full Draw. Very sharp and clear but also very cluttered feel while ranging. I had a difficult time getting the smaller items to range properly and the U shaped aim point was less than ideal for me. This also would be best for anything larger than squirrels. It ranged the back wall at 87 yards.

Sig Kilo 4K. This was my favorite due to the fact that it ranged the small items consistently, the aim point was small enough and it wasn't too cluttered. The glass was on par withe Leupold but not as good as the Leica. Ir raged the back wall at 86 yards.

I do not have info on the menus or ballistic software as I only use the range finder for well, finding the range.

If the Leica worked quicker and had an easier to read display, it would have been my top pick.

Occasionally I got erroneous readings with the Vortex and the Leupold but I feel like that was mostly due to my not being 100% steady.
Click to expand...
If you're looking at range finders at the high of a price point I would look into giving tidewe hd-700E a chance. They have their own site and are also sold on amazon. This model is the oled version and costs $88. You can range all the way to 800yds, and it give you very quick readings, it can do continuous readings as you move, and can give you angles, as well as reading speeds of which your target is moving. The IR is a bit cluttery but I don't find it annoying or too much.
 
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I have the Leica 2800.COM. Great glass and it does pick up smaller objects like birds on a wire. I always had a hard time ranging smaller objects with my first range finder which was a Leupold RX600. I've since retired it and keep it as a back up.

I agree though in regards to the Leica being slow but by the time I get steady enough to range an object, it works out okay. The farthest I was able to range was 2832 yards at night which I was pretty impressed about. I also like the Leica's automatic brightness for the screen display in different lighting conditions. Temperature, barometric pressure, and slope angle in degrees is also a plus.
 
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As an optics snob, I prefer Swarovski and Leica glass, the colors are better than Zeiss. This is important for hunting, birdwatching, etc. If you live in North America I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND ANY LEICA PRODUCT. I had a HORRIBLE, ALMOST YEAR LONG REPAIR EXPERIENCE with LEICA NJ DUE TO THEIR INEPTITUDE and consequentially sold a small fortune of M gear. If you buy a Leica product be prepared to purchase a spare incase your's is held hostage at Leica NJ. The only Leica products we kept are pair of monoculars because there are no other submersible monoculars available. In contrast Swarovski's service has been superb.

Check out a Delta. The glass is good, its accurate and has inclination angles that are missing in comparably priced products. It's also cheap enough that if it does a suffer a LEICA POOP FIT, you can purchase another should service be delayed.
 
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JaceSpace1369 said:
If you're looking at range finders at the high of a price point I would look into giving tidewe hd-700E a chance. They have their own site and are also sold on amazon. This model is the oled version and costs $88. You can range all the way to 800yds, and it give you very quick readings, it can do continuous readings as you move, and can give you angles, as well as reading speeds of which your target is moving. The IR is a bit cluttery but I don't find it annoying or too much.
Click to expand...
If I understand well the term "oled"
It sould have red color reticle ( illuminated). I took a look in their side but in their photos seems to me black color in display.
Does it have red color reticle or not ?
I am talking about the oled version
JaceSpace1369 said:
If you're looking at range finders at the high of a price point I would look into giving tidewe hd-700E a chance. They have their own site and are also sold on amazon. This model is the oled version and costs $88. You can range all the way to 800yds, and it give you very quick readings, it can do continuous readings as you move, and can give
Click to expand...
 
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Yessir it is red

20230605_153947.jpg


20230605_153435.jpg
 
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This is the one I have, Sig Sauer KILO850.
Works very well for my airgun hunting. I restrict my shots to 50 yards or less typically.
Hard Air Magazine reviewed it. About $150.

hardairmagazine.com

SIG SAUER Kilo850 Laser Rangefinder Review

The SIG SAUER Kilo850 Laser Rangefinder is a simple, easy-to-use rangefinder that gave good results for airgun use in Hard Air Magazine testing.
hardairmagazine.com hardairmagazine.com
 
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Dannyg said:
I was in Cabellas last week and decided to stop in at the optics counter and check out some range finders. I only looked at 4 brands but did test out all the models under $700. My favorites are as follows:
Vortex Razor HD 4000. It was the least sharp of the 4 and seemed to have the widest beam. It worked great on most animals but had a harder time with the squirrels. It would be great for dear. Back wall ranged at 88 yards.

Leica 2800. It was the sharpest and had the clearest glass of all. It did great on the squirrels and smaller objects but you had to wait for it to reset/finnish it's ranging cycle before it would allow you to take another reading. Not sure why it was doing this. Back wall ranged at 86 yards.

Leupold RX 1400 and the Full Draw. Very sharp and clear but also very cluttered feel while ranging. I had a difficult time getting the smaller items to range properly and the U shaped aim point was less than ideal for me. This also would be best for anything larger than squirrels. It ranged the back wall at 87 yards.

Sig Kilo 4K. This was my favorite due to the fact that it ranged the small items consistently, the aim point was small enough and it wasn't too cluttered. The glass was on par withe Leupold but not as good as the Leica. Ir raged the back wall at 86 yards.

I do not have info on the menus or ballistic software as I only use the range finder for well, finding the range.

If the Leica worked quicker and had an easier to read display, it would have been my top pick.

Occasionally I got erroneous readings with the Vortex and the Leupold but I feel like that was mostly due to my not being 100% steady.
Click to expand...
 
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