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LRF's....what's next?

db_17_85

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jan 14, 2010
254
0
39
NW North Dakota
Now that I missed the Terrapin boat.... what else is out there for a comparable range finder? And also, what's coming? I know there's rumors and I'd like to hear them.

Thanks


db
 
All I want for Christmas is a 10x laser range finding binocular with quality glass and the ability to range a full size silhouette at 2,000 yards for under 2500 bucks. Seems like a couple companies are close, but just not quite there yet. Need Terrapin range finding ability in a 10x bino. Simple right?
 
All I want for Christmas is a 10x laser range finding binocular with quality glass and the ability to range a full size silhouette at 2,000 yards for under 2500 bucks. Seems like a couple companies are close, but just not quite there yet. Need Terrapin range finding ability in a 10x bino. Simple right?

Here you go, wish granted! As far as RF binos these have been blowing everyone away this match season. Steel Safari, SH Cup, etc. Shooters that don't need the extra 400 yards are actually selling their Terrapins. Unsupported ranging at 1800 yards in mid day heat has been reported pretty common with these..Steiner 10x50 M50 LRF Military Binoculars w/ Laser Rangefinder & Tripod Mount FREE S&H 398-DEMO, 398. Steiner Binoculars.
 
I did get one of the last Terrapins because I shot Extreme Long Range.338 style, otherwise I would have done the Steiners.
 
I sucked it up and got the PLRF 25C and yes my kids are grown and I live with my girl friend. It did hurt spending that much but next spring I will be getting either a 375 or 408 CT so I will need the 3000+ meter range. I live in NW AZ so I do have a lot of room to shoot.
 
Here you go, wish granted! As far as RF binos these have been blowing everyone away this match season. Steel Safari, SH Cup, etc. Shooters that don't need the extra 400 yards are actually selling their Terrapins. Unsupported ranging at 1800 yards in mid day heat has been reported pretty common with these..Steiner 10x50 M50 LRF Military Binoculars w/ Laser Rangefinder & Tripod Mount FREE S&H 398-DEMO, 398. Steiner Binoculars.

Funny you said that I was talking to Scott at Liberty about these exact bino's the other day. I think this is going to be my next purchase. Thats why I said a couple companies are close. Thanks for the reassurance.
 
If those had an inclinometer and could display true horizontal range I'd buy in a heartbeat. That's the same reason I held off on the Terrapin.

The TruPulse's have it but I hear the beam divergence sucks and the housing quality is "iffy".

I'm a little surprised there's not some Vectronix scuttlebutt yet!
 
Here you go, wish granted! As far as RF binos these have been blowing everyone away this match season. Steel Safari, SH Cup, etc. Shooters that don't need the extra 400 yards are actually selling their Terrapins. Unsupported ranging at 1800 yards in mid day heat has been reported pretty common with these..Steiner 10x50 M50 LRF Military Binoculars w/ Laser Rangefinder & Tripod Mount FREE S&H 398-DEMO, 398. Steiner Binoculars.
I bought mine but went with the 8x30 version for smaller package and weight. They are very nice!
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If those had an inclinometer and could display true horizontal range I'd buy in a heartbeat. That's the same reason I held off on the Terrapin.

The TruPulse's have it but I hear the beam divergence sucks and the housing quality is "iffy".

I'm a little surprised there's not some Vectronix scuttlebutt yet!

I would be curious about the Vectronix info too, but they may really just not give a shit about the civilian market. From what I read before, during the Terrapin panic, they make 99% of their sales to military and police with deep pockets and barely made money on the Terrapins. I'm just glad I snagged one, but these bino's with RF built in are probably more ideal for most match shooters. The inclinometer is not a big deal for me, since I just have not done any extreme angle shooting even living in CO.
 
Funny you said that I was talking to Scott at Liberty about these exact bino's the other day. I think this is going to be my next purchase. Thats why I said a couple companies are close. Thanks for the reassurance.

Scott is the man, hope you can get a pair and they work well for you!
 
Ya, because you are saving so much weight with them in that "light" case! :)

I actually would probably go with the 8x30's too, that's a sweet setup man! How far have you ranged with them?

Ha ha ha true you have a point there. But when you want to toss them in a back pack they are great for weight and size. Room for more pack right! Just picked up a small tripod (Mefoto) to study them enough on small objects. Hard to hold study on anything greater than 850 meters or so unless it a building or so. Have not used them in inclement weather yet either. So far they are nice and I like the texture hard rubber case. They seem built to take a knock or two. Only complaint I can see so far is I hate the rear cap cover. Not that big a deal though.
 
An incline meter on a range finder is pretty gimmicky. You need a lot of angle at a decent range for it to matter enough to build into your solution and that's what cosine indicators are for. It's a feature people think they need and pay hundreds extra for that they never use.

If you live on some mountain in Montana then power on, for the other 99% of us it isn't necessary. I've had a cosine indicator on my rifle for years and I can think of exactly five rounds I've fired with any angle built into the shot.
 
An incline meter on a range finder is pretty gimmicky. You need a lot of angle at a decent range for it to matter enough to build into your solution and that's what cosine indicators are for. It's a feature people think they need and pay hundreds extra for that they never use.

If you live on some mountain in Montana then power on, for the other 99% of us it isn't necessary. I've had a cosine indicator on my rifle for years and I can think of exactly five rounds I've fired with any angle built into the shot.




While I see your point, I have to disagree. A rough example that applies to the areas I hunt/shoot... range to target: 700. Angle of -30deg. True range?.... 606.22 In my current atmospherics, that's a difference of of 39" with my .223 or 50.3" with the .308. While these shots are relatively rare, and there are other means of measuring and calculating, I'd prefer to have it as a near instantaneous value given by the RF. While I fully believe in being able to do the math and having the tools on-hand for a backup, having it built into my RF is important TO ME. Everyone has different priorities. My dream RF was the terrapin with horizontal range calculation. Maybe the replacement model (if there will be one?) will provide this. Their other models are just too expensive for me to swallow right now.
 
30 degrees is a lot, if it's important to you, go for it. It's your money, I'd rather just multiply my 700 yard dope by 0.88 or whatever it tells me on the one occasion I actually use it.

If you are after a decent performing range finder with an angle indicator the Bushnells do pretty well but obviously not at Terrapin levels.
 
This is what I hear re: Vectronix. I hear that the 10 and 15's are being phased out like the terrapin was and that there is a prototype PLRF that is still in testing/development. I know nothing about it, but my guess is it might be in the 3000m range with the features of a 25C but who knows.... as I said i'm guessing
 
to all the guys who own the steiner range finding binoculars can you please talk about real world ranging capabilities.
 
Here you go, wish granted! As far as RF binos these have been blowing everyone away this match season. Steel Safari, SH Cup, etc. Shooters that don't need the extra 400 yards are actually selling their Terrapins. Unsupported ranging at 1800 yards in mid day heat has been reported pretty common with these..Steiner 10x50 M50 LRF Military Binoculars w/ Laser Rangefinder & Tripod Mount FREE S&H 398-DEMO, 398. Steiner Binoculars.

Ive used these and was not impressed at all. I did hear they upgraded them since the once I played with at the cup but like I said. I was not impressed. Slow, Heavy and did not range as they claim.
 
I called and spoke with Vectronix a month or so ago. I was told that they lost alot of money trying to get into the civilian market and they were dumping their "cheaper" lines like the terrapins and PLFR10 and 15 with no intentions on replacing them. Basically what was happening was the lower end stuff like the terrapins hurt their high end sales.
 
Malibu - thanks for the info. Kind of sucks that I'll have to save for quite some more time to afford the 25C!

Anyone else know of another company trying to get into the lower-end of high-end PLRFs? I thought there was an individual who was trying to come out with something similar in features to an upgraded Terrapin, but I don't recall seeing anyone post about it after SHOT (where he was supposed to demo it).