Rangefinders

[huntin1005]

I am in the market of purchasing a new rangefinder and I have been reading up on the Nikon Monarch 1200 and the Leupold RX111 and I cannot decide. I have read that Leupold is having some problems with the RX111 ,however it is one of the few that offers the true ballistic ranging. I would appreciate any comments on these two or any others that might be worth looking at. Thanks.

[missedagain]

I recently purchased a lieca lrf 1200 scan from gr8tfuldoug and I really like it, it is one of the few that I have seen that will get readings on something smaller than a barn at ranges past 500 yards. And you can't beat the price from doug at camera land

[ghost hunter]

I bought the RX II this year and I used it to range the shot. We tried it on various objects at various angles and it seemed to work without problems. It has the TBR but without the extras that the RXIII and IV have and without the cost.

 

Of course, after I ordered it, there were a whole bunch of people complaining about it and threatening to send theirs back. If I had seen that I probably could have bought one from them and saved $$.

 

Just my .02

[azhuntnut]

I have the Leica and I am very happy with it. The Nikon is also very nice. Go down to Cabelas and take some outside and compare. The complained with the Leupold had to do with it not being accurate. When I compared it with others, it usually was a yard or two off. This is a smokin deal on a Leica. I think I paid $400.00 for mine a couple years ago. David

 

http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...?showtopic=4737

[coues7]

The best one is the Swarovski Laser Ranger finder......it's also $900.....but it is the BEST!!!

[coueshunter]

I have heard bad things about leupolds so I went with a Leica 700. Hope I didnt make a wrong decision. I really wanted the new small 1200 but couldnt afford the 600.00 Cabela's sent me a 20.00 gift certificate and the range finder was on sale for 349.00 so I figure 329.00 for a Leica was a good deal...........Allen...........

[daverp]

I firs bought a Bushnell yardage pro scout figuring it would be "good enough" for my needs. Wrong. Piece of garbage. Range capabilities were at best exagerated. Could't even get it to consistently range my truck at 400 yards. In scan mode, the range stayed up for a hair fraction of a second, too fast to see.

 

Sent that failure back and bought a pre-owned and Leica certified 1200 CRF for $500. Night and day difference. Ranged consistently out to 900 to 1000 yards, usually on the first try. Getting 1100 to 1150 yard readings was not difficult. Furthest I ranged was to 1320 yards. And, these were on "soft" targets.....elk, junipers, tree tops, etc. In fact, the Leica really seemed to excell at ranging the soft targets like junipers. In scan mode, the range stays up for a full second before attempting the next reading. Compact, and comes with a nice carrying case.

 

Can't say enough good about the Leica. A new one was definately more than I wanted to spend, so I opted for the pre-owned and certified one. As stated by the vendor, you could not tell the difference from a brand new unit if you tried.

[Red Rabbit]

I started with the bulky Bushnell YardagePro 400 and 800 models, which maybe were good to 2/3 of the max range.

I now have the Leica 1200 non-scan. Looks like Doug at Camera Land has some good pricing on this model. http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...?showtopic=4737

 

RR

[El Fuego]

After comparing a number of renge finders, I opted for the Swarovski, But, you really need to find the unit that works for you. Best of luck and let us know what you decide.

[huntin1005]

Just a follow up on the rangefinder situation. I went to Sportsmans Warehouse and played with both the Leica 1200 and the Nikon 1200, I was not all that impressed with the Leica . I was able to take them both outside and try them and the Leica was having trouble picking up a range on different objects. The furthest range I got was 693yds. The Nikon however was able to pick up items very well and the scan mode worked alot better than the Leica. The furthest range I was able to obtain with the Nikon was 1043yds. I went with the Nikon and got what I feel was a good price in the Realtree for 398.00 that includes shipping and handeling. It will be here tommorrow it has only taken 4 days to get here. Thanks again for all the input.

[daverp]

I'm curious as to what kind of objects you were attempting to range on with the Leica? Just wondering since you were at the store, and more than likely in an urban environment, if you were trying to range off of urban type items? What I've noticed with mine, is it did not seem to range as well with hard objects like a cliff face or ponderosa pine as it did on soft objects like animals, bushy trees, grass, etc. But, in no instance did I have any problem ranging on anything less than 800 yards or so out.

 

If that's not the case, Sportmans needs to have that Leica CRF replaced, because it's faulty, plain and simple. I've so far not found much of anything I can't range almost instantly at 900 yards or less, or with just two or three readings in scan mode (all of 2 seconds or so). I'd say their Leica has likely been mistreated a time or two and needs repair.

 

Your Nikon sounds like a good deal though to be sure. Good luck with it. Post us a review after you've had it out in the field a while.

[BASS]

I bought another yardage pro for archery hunting so ranging out to 300 was all I really wanted it to do. But was told that the ranges advertised are on hard objects such as buildings, or other reflective objects. It's kind of a rule of thumb to take that number, and divide it in half to find what that unit will do on soft targets such as deer and elk. So far each one I've played with has made that rule true.