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Sig Sauer - KILO3000 BDX LASER RANGEFINDING BINOCULARS

Well, sure if it ranges 4000 yards to the nearest water tower but does it affect deviation if the laser changes different classes.

Most people don't need a Vector 23 unless calling in an airstrike.
 
A question for those of you that have had the kilo for a while and used it compared to other binos without the ranging feature.

I have vortex viper HD 10x42’s now and a vortex ranger 1800. The vipers seem decent but I haven’t used a more expensive pair of binoculars so I have nothing to base this off of, the rangefinder though doesn’t reach out as far as I would like so I end up having to borrow another. I will be using these for shooting steel at distance as well as hunting. I like the idea having the one unit for hunting as it is less weight/bulk to carry but don’t want to be disappointed by the sig’s glass.

I was originally planning to upgrade to a Meopta meostar 10x42 and a Leica/Sig rangefinder. I like the idea of getting the Kilo 3000 and being done with it but don’t know if I would I be better off to go with a rangefinder and a separate pair of binos?
 
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A question for those of you that have had the kilo for a while and used it compared to other binos without the ranging feature.

I have vortex viper HD 10x42’s now and a vortex ranger 1800. The vipers seem decent but I haven’t used a more expensive pair of binoculars so I have nothing to base this off of, the rangefinder though doesn’t reach out as far as I would like so I end up having to borrow another. I will be using these for shooting steel at distance as well as hunting. I like the idea having the one unit for hunting as it is less weight/bulk to carry but don’t want to be disappointed by the sig’s glass.

I was originally planning to upgrade to a Meopta meostar 10x42 and a Leica/Sig rangefinder. I like the idea of getting the Kilo 3000 and being done with it but don’t know if I would I be better off to go with a rangefinder and a separate pair of binos?
Just got my sigs in yesterday. Don’t know how much weight you’ll save they’re definitely heavy, but in a short time playing with it the rangefinder has impressed me. 2400yds off hand on houses in bright sunlight so there’s plenty of horsepower in it. Glass will probably be about equal to what you currently have.
The sigs you’re definitely paying for meh glass, but a hell of a RF.
 
Just got my sigs in yesterday. Don’t know how much weight you’ll save they’re definitely heavy, but in a short time playing with it the rangefinder has impressed me. 2400yds off hand on houses in bright sunlight so there’s plenty of horsepower in it. Glass will probably be about equal to what you currently have.
The sigs you’re definitely paying for meh glass, but a hell of a RF.
Sorry I guess I should have worded that better, I won’t be saving weight over my current setup but it would be lighter than the Meopta/new rangefinder setup. The Meoptas by themselves weight almost the exact same as the sig does so I wouldn’t have the couple ounces of rangefinder.
 
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farthest out i've ranged was a white colored RAV4 or MDX @ 2548 Meters. sunny day
 
Meopta's very similar to SLC's. You will be disappointed if glass is what you need. I LOVE my Meostars.

Now the Sig intrigues me since you can connect it to a Kestrel and display your data right in your bino's. I would be on board with the Leica 3500.com if the connection issues cleared up.
 
Yup, I'll see if I can grab the thread it was on. Both the Terrapin X and Leica 3500.COM have connection issues. Could be a Kestrel issue though. Anyway, the BDX doesn't seem to be plagued by it. It doesn't have a compass and the glass is 5 out of 10 but it works.

Can we all pitch in and buy a Vector 23 and just share it :)??
 
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I have had mine for a while now, and I don't think they are too bad. When I purchased them, their site made it sound like they had a lifetime warranty, but it looks like that isn't the case (kinda a bummer). Anyway, they seem pretty comparable to the Vortex RF binos in terms of build, optics, and RF capabilities. They are nowhere near what I would consider high end glass, and the right (display side) of the binos has a very noticeable blue tint to the glass. If I went back, I would probably just buy a good traditional RF and some good binos if I was hunting. However, these should work great for field matches where you have to range on the clock.

I was at a mini match the other weekend and my squad had the Sig, Vectronix, Leica, and Swarvoski rangefinders. The Sig ranged more or less the same as the Vectronix which was kinda refreshing. The higher end RF binos had way better glass but the Sig honestly seemed easier to use and ranged very quickly. We were hitting targets on hillsides surrounded by trees and brush, so I feel the Sig is certainly capable for what it is made to do. However, I did notice that it seemed to hit "high" on the ranging reticle. I wouldn't want to glass a hillside all day for an elk, but it is acceptable glass for a quick look. Overall, its a solid rangefinder with marginal glass.
 
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Terrapin X I presume? + or - how many yards?
 
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I have both the Sig and a set of Viper HD 12x50. The glass is pretty comparable between the two. The Sig probably has a little less of the blue color the vortex does, which I like better during the day. During the day the Sig glass is good. I used mine last year for matches and hunting. The only place the Sig's haven't been up to snuff is low light, like before dark conditions. I want to see elk stepping out around 800-1400 yards during that time. It is too dark to shoot long range but my other binos i've had/have handle that better. The Sig is good up until then, it just falls off quickly during that low light time. I still carry them because I do not want to carry the vipers and a kilo 2200 together. I would still carry them if weight and size wasnt a concern still because the range finder in the 3000 are much better than my 2200.

I am not sure the comment about the laser not being centered is just, unless it is meant the laser is outside of the reticle in that unit. It is pretty known that you have to find where in the reticle most range finders are hitting. Mine also hit high but I know where it is and is a non issue.

I used my Sig's last year at the NF ELR match. I ranged those targets out to the 2200 (or whatever it was) yard target they had without issue. My ranges were close enough to the Terrapin X and other vectronics that were in my squad and the squads ahead of and behind me. (Ranges were always within 10-12 yards I would say) I was able to do that again at Q Creek in the fall during some pretty windy, rainy, foggy conditions. Spotting with them has never been a problem at any of the matches I attended last year at any point or spotting game during reasonable shooting hours.

For normal PRS/NRL matches (1200 and in), i was always within 4-5 yards of everything else I was around last year. I am confident in them that the range error is well within the danger space of whatever I am shooting for the job. If you true up your drop with whatever RF you use, that becomes even less of an issue.
 
Free hand. 35f - overcast. 3035 on a side of a house.

Like Tac said - if it’s the danger zone - cool. Just don’t drop connection and we will be friends.
 

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Took it out today - didn't pick up a 24x24 plate at 1500. Terrapin picked it up every time. Same issue with the 2400 abs.

I was looking forward to this marriage. Sunny morning conditions. Dropped once with the Kestrel so it wasn't perfect pairing.
 
How does the 3000 handle winds when the Kestrel is in deg/compass mode?
IE: I have my Kestrel mounted on a tripod with the wind vane, can I simply lase a target with the BDX and it will know the angle difference (IE the wind is 180deg mag@10mph) and the target is at 090 deg mag and give me a solution with 90 deg crosswind in the hud ? Because as far I know, the BDX doesn't have it's own compass so I don't see how that would work. Does the Leica new .com models offering would be able to show wind holds in the LRF hud ?
 
Anybody have experience with these actually ranging something they shoot at? Ranging a water tower or a truck at 3,000 yards? I've never taken a shot at a water tower...
 
Yes. Couldn’t pick up my 24x24 plate at 1585 (sunny day though - PLRF 05 did just fine). As along as you know where the beam is, the massive reticle won’t bug you.

Connection is quick and stable with my 5700.
 
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I did a review on these here: https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/sig-3000bdx-review.6979186/

We have been running them for over a year. They will hit way out there on steel, well over 1k on animals (cows). Unfortunately, the only game we actually had a chance to take using them at any kind of distance this year was not that long, a small deer at 625. No problem rangeing that, but that's really not that impressive. In my area, the opportunity to see game at 1k plus is pretty rare (not open enough), and we did not see anything at distance while in Colorado this year (tag soup!). The deer we did shoot was at the end of a sendero in South Texas, and it had no problem ranging that deer, but again, that's not that impressive.

However, if you look in my review, I think I put down numbers for hitting telephone wires against blank sky, that's a pretty small target. I think you will find that the 3k does not lack in raw performance in terms of ranging, and will do what's needed for most shooters. The key weak point, to my mind anyway, is that reticle to sensor alignment. None of my RF's except for one particular Leica I have, have had the sensor precisely aligned with the reticle. But the Sigs allow a much more generous misalignment than, say, Leicas. So some or even most of the sensor on a Sig can be out of the reticle, and it is considered acceptable.

While I don't like this, it can be worked around pretty easily, you just need to map your sensor to reticle. You really need to do this with all of your RF's, my two other Leicas, while close, are not centered either, and before I realized that, I was getting some odd readings. Once you map that relationship, the 3k performs very well in my opinion vs other stuff in it's price class.

HTH, feel free to reach out if I can help out in any way.
 
Anybody have experience with these actually ranging something they shoot at? Ranging a water tower or a truck at 3,000 yards? I've never taken a shot at a water tower...

I can hit a 36x36 steel plate at a mile no problem. Do it all the time. That's the furthest steel I've got at the range. This is in wide open CRP grass, blue skies. Hand held, unsupported.

Got readings on a moving wheat truck at about 3700 also, I don't know if the movemnt makes that tougher or not. It was probably going 55 mph or so.

I also have no problems doing hillsides, signs, water towers, ect. at a long ways, but like you said, not that impressive.
 
How does the 3000 handle winds when the Kestrel is in deg/compass mode?
IE: I have my Kestrel mounted on a tripod with the wind vane, can I simply lase a target with the BDX and it will know the angle difference (IE the wind is 180deg mag@10mph) and the target is at 090 deg mag and give me a solution with 90 deg crosswind in the hud ? Because as far I know, the BDX doesn't have it's own compass so I don't see how that would work. Does the Leica new .com models offering would be able to show wind holds in the LRF hud ?
What you are asking is "When you laze a target with the 3000 does it know your DOF?" The answer is no the 3000 does not have a built in compass. Probably the biggest short coming of the 3000. I sure hope Sig listens to what consumers want and incorporates one in a "Gen 2" model.
 
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How does the built in ballistic calculator work? Will they update it in the future to read past 800yds?
The Kilo 3000 will range beyond 800 yards. The 800 yard limit is only a limit for the internal Applied ballistics solver. If you connect to a Kestrel with applied ballistics you can get solutions beyond the capability of the range finder.
The built in ballistics calculator allows you to select a bullet from the AB library, enter velocity , etc. to provide solutions. Here’s a screen shot of what the internal solver allows you to input. As far as updating it to provide internal solutions further than 800 only Sig can answer that. I supposed it won’t be soon since that’s a way to market other devices with applied ballistics to allow for longer range estimations with their full software suite.
23A91BB9-C929-4AFE-A6A2-3E5BE1E12DBD.png
 
How does the 3000 handle winds when the Kestrel is in deg/compass mode?
IE: I have my Kestrel mounted on a tripod with the wind vane, can I simply lase a target with the BDX and it will know the angle difference (IE the wind is 180deg mag@10mph) and the target is at 090 deg mag and give me a solution with 90 deg crosswind in the hud ? Because as far I know, the BDX doesn't have it's own compass so I don't see how that would work. Does the Leica new .com models offering would be able to show wind holds in the LRF hud ?

Calculations are performed on the external device when in ABE mode. So the distance is fed into the Kestrel, and then the Kestrel uses the readings from all of its sensors and only takes the range from the Sig. It spits out the solution based on the data it sees and feeds it back into the Scope or LRF etc.
 
Thanks for the info @lawrence97 How accurate is the internal ballistics solver?
It’s only as accurate as the information you feed it. You need to have solid velocity data and Proper scope height. It’s definitely good for first round hits on decent size steel. I used it with a 6br and a 6GT and it was never more than 1-2 tenths of a mil off at the extended distances.
 
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I just bought a pair of these. Seem nice overall. Pairs easily with my kestrel and phone. I probably won't ever really use it with my phone, but during
Bonding it said I need a firmware update and to go to the rangfinder section of the app. Followed that then I can't find where to go from there. Is there a way to verify that the firmware needs updating or what the newest is? How to do it?
 
I just bought a pair of these. Seem nice overall. Pairs easily with my kestrel and phone. I probably won't ever really use it with my phone, but during
Bonding it said I need a firmware update and to go to the rangfinder section of the app. Followed that then I can't find where to go from there. Is there a way to verify that the firmware needs updating or what the newest is? How to do it?

It will update the firmware for you. Try pairing it, open the app, go to the range finder HUD screen and tap the top where the "3000 BDX" is at the top center. That should help force any updates.
 
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@DocUSMCRetired Do you know if the KILO 3000 has a built in compass laying "dormant" that could be activated with a future firmware update that could send DOF to a Kestrel if not do you know if Sig has any plans to release a LRF Bino in the future that will have a built in compass that will send DOF to a Kestrel?

Thanks for any info you can share!
 
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I have been spending time recently doing ELR shooting, 1000-2000 yds. I'm currently using a nikon black 4k rangefinder which is functional for what I'm trying to do, but not perfect so I'm looking to upgrade. I like the idea of LRF/ binos integrated into 1 unit so the sig kilo 3000 has my attention. I am not using a kestrel. I've got a couple questions I'd like to double check after reading through this thread?

1. The only way to get ballistic data beyond 800 yds would be to pair with a kestrel? Using the kilo 3000 an app on my phone won't go past 800, correct? Any recent updates for this?

2. Reading the comments in this thread it sounds like I should be able to range steel out to 1500-2000 yds but it might be hit or miss. Should I be looking at a different range finder if I'm going to be spending my time in the 1000-2000 yd area?

I'm located in the west which is dry with a lot of open spaces filled with brown grasses if that makes a difference.

Thanks
 
Kestrel is the only way to go over 800 yards as far as I know.

I shoot in CRP grass and range a plate at 1760 no problem all the time. Just do it to see if the kilos will do it in whatever conditions it happens to be that day. No problems.
 
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I think the top LRF today in terms of actually ranging distant targets at ELR distance are going to be a set of Vector binos, PLF-10/15/25, on the high end or a little newer but probably not as good would be a Leica 3500 or Terrapin X.

IMO get the Leica if ranging distant targets is most important. Vectronix will never get another dollar of my money I don't care who's running it, what's changed, or how good the service is supposed to be.
 
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No lens caps? Really?

It should have come with them.

I have been spending time recently doing ELR shooting, 1000-2000 yds. I'm currently using a nikon black 4k rangefinder which is functional for what I'm trying to do, but not perfect so I'm looking to upgrade. I like the idea of LRF/ binos integrated into 1 unit so the sig kilo 3000 has my attention. I am not using a kestrel. I've got a couple questions I'd like to double check after reading through this thread?

1. The only way to get ballistic data beyond 800 yds would be to pair with a kestrel? Using the kilo 3000 an app on my phone won't go past 800, correct? Any recent updates for this?

2. Reading the comments in this thread it sounds like I should be able to range steel out to 1500-2000 yds but it might be hit or miss. Should I be looking at a different range finder if I'm going to be spending my time in the 1000-2000 yd area?

I'm located in the west which is dry with a lot of open spaces filled with brown grasses if that makes a difference.

Thanks

1) Kestrel or Garmin with Elite Engine.

2) You should be just fine at 2000 yards with a 3000BDX.

Kestrel is the only way to go over 800 yards as far as I know.

I shoot in CRP grass and range a plate at 1760 no problem all the time. Just do it to see if the kilos will do it in whatever conditions it happens to be that day. No problems.

Kestrel or Garmin with Elite Engine.
 
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@DocUSMCRetired Do you know if the KILO 3000 has a built in compass laying "dormant" that could be activated with a future firmware update that could send DOF to a Kestrel if not do you know if Sig has any plans to release a LRF Bino in the future that will have a built in compass that will send DOF to a Kestrel?

Thanks for any info you can share!
@DocUSMCRetired Just curious if you could shed some light on the above question?

Thanks!
 
Does the latest and greatest updated version have a reticle in it? Definitely a big have to have for prs!
 
Does the latest and greatest updated version have a reticle in it? Definitely a big have to have for prs!
Don’t think you’ll see that in a lrf bino anytime soon. I believe the display is an LED so it can’t be changed with a software update. If the display used pixels or something to that extent then at least the aiming point could be adjusted at the factory to correspond with the position of the laser in the tube. Give it a few more years, the technology is there but the manufacturers haven’t gotten around to it yet.
 
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I got several pm from different members wanting these but before I send any off wanted to get some decent photos of these and cover some details. First off they fit loose around the eye pice and snug on the Diopter ajustment ring this makes it really quick to get them on and off however if you adjust your eyecups out then they won't fit over the diopter.
If anyone wants some made that fit tight on the eyecups I can make those too just let me know. I tried it both ways and liked it this way better but I don't screw out the eyecups cause of the shape of my face ;)
I would like to order a set!
 
My display gets really washed out in daylight, can only see in dark, how do I raise the setting?I misplaced the manual. Thanks
 
I just lost my kilo 2400abs last week.. not happy.. I have to be honest I can't believe vortex or sig haven't stepped up their product development. These binos/rangefinder intrigue me but I don't understand the step backwards from the kilo abs to this... all I want is vortex razor glass in a 12x50 with the 3000bdx ranging capability and the full applied ballistics integration.. and hell throw the bdx system in so it'll communicate with the sig scopes.. is that too much to ask? Lol