Leica rangefinder binocs

[Dieseldog]

Does anyone have the Leica rangefinder binoculars?. If so how are they? Played around with a pair and liked em. Seemed. Easier to range something with the increased magnification. Also can I enter all my gun info and get a Moa reading to dial my scope too like I can with my Grb2 rangefinder?

 

[EBOLAVIRS]

I have the HD-B's. I like them. Personally I think the glass is better than the Swarovski range finding binoculars though not as good as the Swarovision glass. Splitting hairs though. They do just about everything you would want a range finding binocular to do. I just have my different rifles on different sdcards and swap them out depending what gun I am shooting. I worked a lot at the range shooting longer distances and can now kill rocks at 900YDS with one shot. I can't say anything bad about them.

 

[handwerk]

I've had several different geovid models in the past, great optics/rangefinder, I'd look for the now discontinued HD-R model if you don't need the ballistic goodies, they can still can be found for pretty fair prices. I'd still have them but the swaro EL's just fit my face/eyes better.

 

[MTGomer]

I don't have them, but a guy that I hunt with does. I've used them and like them. He really likes them.

I couldn't tell any major difference in clarity between them and my ELs

 

[Laelkhunter]

Just a side note, the Leica RF Binos are on sale right now on Camofire for $1999

 

[Dieseldog]

Gonna bring this up again. I found some 8x42 HD rangefinding Leicas on sale for $900off. And 1300 less than the 10x42s. In a rangefinding binocular how big a deal would the 8x42 be compared to 10 42? Hunting open prairie to mountains. Is the 2x power worth 1300?

 

[MJE2083]

I have an old Leica laser range finder and I can attest that Leica is a top notch product. I purchased it some years ago (got a real steal on the price) at the time when laser range finders were first becoming popular and mainstream. Even at that time I found it to be far superior to any other range finder on the market other than swarovski. At the time most of the major manufacturers were claiming 400-600 yard capability, which in real world conditions was more like 200-300 yards on a good day. The Leica routinely ranges non-reflective targets up to and BEYOND its published maximum range, and the glass will stand with any swaro, zeiss, etc... as far as I am concerned.

 

[fishing4sanity]

$1,300 less than 10x42's is very tempting, just have to get some 8x and 10x binos side-by-side and see what you think. I have the 10x42 Geovid HD-B's and love them, but that cost difference is pretty big. The glass is top notch in Leica.

 

[Dieseldog]

$1,300 less than 10x42's is very tempting, just have to get some 8x and 10x binos side-by-side and see what you think. I have the 10x42 Geovid HD-B's and love them, but that cost difference is pretty big. The glass is top notch in Leica.

YEAH $1999 for the 8x42s HDB or 3249 for the 10x42s. It's tempting.

 

[ssssnake529]

I have the new Leica HD-B 2200 binoculars. (10x42)
Optical quality is top flight. I compared them side by side to my 10x50 Swarovski EL Swarovisions, and found them to be every bit as good.

The rangefinding capability is pretty good. Theoretical ranging limit is 2200 yards. I've found that practical ranging capability (no tripod) on elk sized targets is somewhere between 600 to 1000 yards, depending on conditions.

The ballistics software matches my other ballistics calculators pretty closely out to 700 yards or so.
My biggest complaint with these binoculars is the truly miserable and pathetic ballistics software interface. Custom ballistics curves are input and loaded on to micro SD cards via a web server program. The program is bad in so many ways. It doesn't allow for consistent saving of profiles, and the web server is not reliable and often goes down (it's not working as I write this.) It's pretty antiquated, and does not allow for G7 ballistics coefficients. Leica has very high quality hardware, but it's limited by the retarded web based software they make you use.

I'd give these binoculars 5 out of 5 stars for optics, 3.5 stars for rangefinding, and 1.5 stars for the ballistics software.

 

[Dieseldog]

So would u say the ballistics is as good as the G7 rangefinder i am using now? Or is the Moa adjustment off after so many yards, where u wouldnt feel good taking a long shot?

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

G7 is way better. I've used both.

Leica optics are top notch. I've run them for the better part of 10 years and love 'em. The ballistic programs blow IMO so I just stick with the basics in rangefinding as I'm not a long distance guy.

 

[Dieseldog]

Ok thanks was looking for a way to carry less stuff. Get rangefinder and binos in one unit

 

[ssssnake529]

So would u say the ballistics is as good as the G7 rangefinder i am using now? Or is the Moa adjustment off after so many yards, where u wouldnt feel good taking a long shot?

The Leica software is licensed from G7. The Leica ballistics program says, "Powered by G7."

So, the guts of the software algorithms are likely the same, and will likely give you the same drop tables and targeting solutions. (I've never used the G7 rangefinder, so I don't actually know.) My guess is that the current G7 rangefinder uses a more current software version. (I assume you can use G7 BC drag numbers with the current G7 unit, and not just G1.)

What sucks is Leica's implementation of the software. They should have provided a dedicated app that worked with the binoculars, where you could save gun and cartridge profiles, and easily switch profiles without loading them on multiple micro-sd cards (which you need a tweezers to remove from the binoculars.) As it is, you have to go on the internet and re-enter everything from scratch any time you want to make any changes to your cartridge profiles.

Out to 500 yards, the Leica software tracks pretty closely with other apps, and with some tweaking of the ballistic coefficients and the velocities, I can get my Leica drop curves to mimic my drop curves from my more advanced ballistics apps very closely out to 1000 yards or so. However, it is a truly user-unfriendly process. My Strelok Pro phone app, which I paid about $20 for, is lightyears better than the Leica software. They should have spent more time on the ballistics part of the equation. Ultimately, you can tweak it and get it to work well out to 1000 yards, but the process is not easy nor quick.

For hunting, the Leica is a good piece of kit, provided you are willing to put in the time to true up the ballistics software. For the money it costs, however, I really wish it were a little more "plug and play." .

 

[e300winmag]

I have had two pairs of Leica Geovids. I had the 15x's and now have the newer 10x's. I prefer them over a separate range finder when I am rifle hunting as it is one less thing I have to carry. The glass is very good and the rangefinder works easily, quickly and accurately on deer sized animals. They have been very helpful in taking several animals over the past few years and I will not leave home without them. Some days I wish I had not sold my 15x's but they did not have angle compensation and I missed a bear a few years back because I didn't do the compensation correctly in my head.