Re: Rangefinder- need suggestions
O.K. here is finally the no BS report on the Leica 1600.
I had ordered it on 10-1-11 and waited in anticipation for the big brown truck to drive down my street. When it arrived and I opened the box I was very much impressed at how small and light(7 oz) it was. When they say pocket range finder they mean it fitting into my standard shirt pocket.
I read the instruction manual quickly changed the functions to what I use with the menu which was simple and easy to use
I went to where I shoot on a regular basis and I no sooner got out of the truck and a doe came out into the field some distance away. I have shot a lot in my 60+ years and I figured it was about 7oo yards away. I sat down so that I could lean up against the back tire and rest my elbows on my knees and hit the button, 801 yards. I hit it again and got the same result, 801. I hit it again and got 802.
The clarity of the 1600 is clear with the LED read out easy to read. The beam divergence is tight allowing one to range through trees without much difficulty.
I was out for about 40 minutes The day was very bright but no sunlight and I ranged items from the doe to an old car, trees etc with repeatable results.
Took it out the next day and it was overcast and had the same results ranging out to 1834 yards with use of a tripod and holder for the 1600. It did have a hard time the first few times I tried at that distance giving me 3 small lines instead of a read out but I figured at that range I could clearly understand it being it was only intended to go out to 1600.
The thing I noticed is that after about 800 yards you DO need the holder which will cost you an additional $100.00 + shipping but well worth it. I attempted to use it without the holder/tripod and was unable to because my shaking was magnified by the 7x power of the RF.
Bright sunlight- another story here, Although it ranged and was adequate it didn’t do as well as the past two days and I wasn’t impressed giving it a grade of a B even though the sun was facing me. It took more attempts the further I tried to range and there were some things at extended ranges (greater then 800 yards) I ranged prior that it just would not pick up. I would think that after a fresh blanket of snow in the morning that it would yield the same results if not worse given how bright the sun makes looking at the snow.
Low light the same day and I was impressed getting out to 1500 yards without a problem.
Recovery time was not as fast as I had hoped for and I had to pause longer then I thought figuring it took about 2 seconds which isn’t that long when one thinks about it.
The main button that one presses to obtain a range is located toward the operator followed by a smaller and less friendly one that when used gives in order the angle, temperature and barometer. These measurements are displayed after what I believed was about ¾ of a second. Again the second button takes some getting use to and I believe Leica should at least look at what can be done to make it more user friendly IMHO.
I did not get into the ballistic functions that this model will allow and it is not what I bought it for instead using the numbers that the 1600 gives me to plug into my ballistic calculator.
I recently spoke to a gentleman who was unimpressed with that function telling me that the figures it gave didn’t mesh with his. You might have different thoughts after using it and it may be great for you
Bottom line is that the Leica 1600 is a keeper and I’m happy with it even though it is somewhat costly.
