Mid Priced Rangefinder

S

Seven Lakes

CGN Regular
Rating - 99.2%
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Location
Kitchener/Waterloo, ON
Hello CGN,

as far as mid-priced range finders go (think under $500 all said and done/out the door), there are two options that stand out to me: a Leupold RX850i or a Vortex Ranger 1000.

Does anyone have any first hand experience with these two rangefinders? Does anyone know of any retailers in the GTA/KW area that have the Leupold in stock? I've seen plenty of retailers with the Ranger, and I really like Vortex (especially their lifetime warranty on an electronics device) but lately i've been really impressed with Leupold and have been leaning more towards them as a brand when it comes to my riflescopes. I really like the idea of their warranty mantra, how their products are designed and built so well you should need the warranty, but they'll back it for life anyways. I know Leupold only offers a few years warranty on their rangefinders, but after watching a video recently on Youtube, one of their representatives said that's only as of the day you send it in for your first warranty claim and that up until then it doesn't matter how long ago you bought it.

Is the Ranger's lifetime unlimited repairs or replacement warranty worth the extra +/- $100 (Leupold i've seen for $375, Ranger i can find for $470). Anything it'll do that the Leupold wont?

Thanks in advance for your help here!

P.s. I should add that at this time i do not own anything archery related, although would say there's a 25% chance i'll venture into that in the future. For the time being though, this will be most used for hunting - lasing landscape and large game targets from a tree stand to get my distances out to say 300-400 and lasing ground hogs out to about the same distance. I don't need the 1000 plus range of some of the better range finders, as in southern ontario i'm pretty limited for distance.
 
I have the ranger 1000. I have had it for a couple years. It works as advertised. Repeatable readings. Farthest i have ranged with it is 1047 yards. I got it as a birthday gift but i wouldn't hesitate buying one. I also wouldn't call myself a vortex loyalist, i have a few of their products and knock on wood i have had no issues, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
 
I was denied access from EE because i "didn't have enough posts". Funny because I read through the whole conditions of access to the EE and that wasn't one of them (at least not that i could see).

Anyways I considered going the used Leica route (acknowledgeding that for the most part the ones in my price range are superior to the Ranger and Leupold if you don't care about one with horizontal distance adjustment) but at the end of the day i don't think i could justify spending the money on one without having any of the warranty support. I've heard Leica comes nowhere near Leupold or Vortex in terms of the warranty they offer. Sort of a "Ohh you're a week past your 2 year warranty? Here's $100 credit towards buying a new one at $800 a pop." Would rather deal with a slightly inferior rangefinder that I know will last me 10 years+ without headache.
 
Yikes! going the wrong direction in price there.... although i do like the idea of Canadian made (but not THAT much).

Like i said in my original post, if I can find somewhere to shoot over 500 yards that's excellent for me. The longest range i have access to is our hunt camp where i'm only at 2-3 times a year where I can shoot across our lake to +/- 800 yards. Most shooting will be inside that distance, out to 300-400 yards.
 
Newcon is a Canadian company but are their rangefinders actually made in Canada? It was my understanding they're eastern bloc built.

The Vortex ranger will probably suit your needs. You could also look at the Nikon 7i ($420'ish).

I had ordered a Sig Kilo 2000 ($350 U.S.) from the U.S. to try out and with the currency conversion & shipping it's about $50 more than your $500 limit, and will out range everything mentioned so far.
 
I'm only seeing the Kilo 2000 for around the $700 price point in Canada. At $550 (landed) coming from the US it sounds like a worthwhile option, but would you still get access to the warranty having purchased it in the US?
 
Given my landscape I'm fine being able to range soft targets out to 500 yards. Not many opportunities for me to be able to shoot longer than that, let alone have the confidence (yet) to be able to try to take an ethical shot at that distance.
 
I bought a used Leica 1200 off here a few years ago and sure do like the simplicity of it.
Buddy had a high end Bushnell and I could range thru tighter spots than him.
Doesn't make any sense, but one target at the range had some bush encroaching it and the
Leica could pick it up.
 
Decided to purchase a Ranger 1000 today. $409 + tax including free shipping from Amazon Canada through Vortex. Best price for s new unit I could find by $60.

Here's to crossing my fingers and hoping it's everything I've heard it to be for the money. Had a chance to fondel one in a bird watching store and it seemed nice, but obviously looking forward to putting it through its paces.
 
Kamlooky I think it's likely the Leica's tighter beam divergence that lets you range things in tighter spaces than your buddy's. More focused beam doesn't get caught up on other things as easily.

This will be my first range finder so I won't have anything to compare it to. Let's see how she goes though and if I'm unimpressed (not that I expect to be) maybe I'll upgrade in the future to a Leica.
 
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