Not talking the Leica Bino range finder.Which are better??????Are the Swarovski large in size ????? Thanks,OB

I'm assuming that you meant the Leica rangefinder and not a Leitz. Here's 2 pics of the Leica LRF and Swaro Rangefinders:





Unfortunately I don't have a pic handy of the newer Leica CRF which is smaller than either of these.
IMHO the Leica's are the best for the money, and the Swaro's are the best. The Swaro's optics are a little clearer and I've been able to range quite a bit further with the Swaro. That being said the Leica's will range just about anything to reasonable hunting distances, I'm not going to be shooting anything at the 1800+ yard range the Swaro has.
Another thing that both of these units have that others don't is LED readouts. I had a older unit that had a LCD readout. It was unusable in low light. I like to get in a stand early and start ranging landmarks as soon as possible - I couldn't do this with the LCD readouts and can with the LED readouts like the Leica and Swaro has. It can also make a difference looking into dark woods etc.
Hope I helped..........................DJ

I have a Leica CRF 1200, looked at all of the others. The Swarovski has the best glass, but not that much better. The CRF is smaller and easy to handle. Two thing caused me to choose the Leica over the Swarovski, one was the very slow ranging time IE it takes the Swarovski 2 to 3 seconds to "power up" and range. The Leica is immediate. The target reticle on the Swarovski is rather large, and it is easier to "miss" the target either over or under shoot. To me the Leica was the best for the money. Doubt I will be looking at range finders anytime soon.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by djpaintles:
I'm assuming that you meant the Leica rangefinder and not a Leitz. Here's 2 pics of the Leica LRF and Swaro Rangefinders:





Unfortunately I don't have a pic handy of the newer Leica CRF which is smaller than either of these.
IMHO the Leica's are the best for the money, and the Swaro's are the best. The Swaro's optics are a little clearer and I've been able to range quite a bit further with the Swaro. That being said the Leica's will range just about anything to reasonable hunting distances, I'm not going to be shooting anything at the 1800+ yard range the Swaro has.
Another thing that both of these units have that others don't is LED readouts. I had a older unit that had a LCD readout. It was unusable in low light. I like to get in a stand early and start ranging landmarks as soon as possible - I couldn't do this with the LCD readouts and can with the LED readouts like the Leica and Swaro has. It can also make a difference looking into dark woods etc.
Hope I helped..........................DJ[/QUOT

Thanks, You are correct ,I meant Leica.I was wondering because Doug has a tremendous deal on Swaro`s now.I believe they are $729 for show specials.I have had it with Bushnell and Nikons.They just do not last!!!! OB

I selected the Leica 1200 for a sheep hunt in Kyrgyzstan, after I purhcased a Leupold and found it far too complex, and inadequate at further ranges. The Leica performed beautifully. When you are preparing for a $30,000 shot, you want simplicity and reliability.

I'd go with the Leica CRF-1200 is not much bigger than a pack of smokes.

I've been using the Leica LRF 1200 for a couple of years now. Pretty handy and so far very accurate for my hunting needs on Plains whitetails and PD's. It also fits nice inside my coat pocket.

The CRF models are nice however, the optics have a bit of a green tinge to them.
Also, they do not do well ranging targets on water. Some of the cheaper brands do water without error.

I will admit that I am in the process of replacing my Nikon but have been doing a LOT of research about them on various websites and forums inclucing longragehunting.com .
It seems the Swaro is the best buy if you plan on ranging past 1000. It will produce readings on non-reflective targest in good conditions to 1600 or better, but obviosly you have to be super steady. The field of view is greater than the Leica, the clairity is better. Both units are dependable. If you only plan on ranging Animals to around 800 or 900 then the Leica 1200 will work fine for you and be $300 cheaper. I plan on purchasing the Leica because it will range to 1200 and range animals reliably to almost 1000 (if I had the extra $ to burn however, I would get the swaro).
BTW, the Geovid has the same range finder as the CRF. THe extra $1400 is spend on the glass only. The Swaro is only outpaced by range finders in the $2000 mark and up.

Here are some good links:
http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f18/rangefinder-experience-20739/
http://www.6mmbr.com/rangefinders.html
http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f18/whats-good-1...-range-finder-23733/

quote:

Originally posted by britz:
I will admit that I am in the process of replacing my Nikon but have been doing a LOT of research about them on various websites and forums inclucing longragehunting.com .
It seems the Swaro is the best buy if you plan on ranging past 1000. It will produce readings on non-reflective targest in good conditions to 1600 or better, but obviosly you have to be super steady. The field of view is greater than the Leica, the clairity is better. Both units are dependable. If you only plan on ranging Animals to around 800 or 900 then the Leica 1200 will work fine for you and be $300 cheaper. I plan on purchasing the Leica because it will range to 1200 and range animals reliably to almost 1000 (if I had the extra $ to burn however, I would get the swaro).
BTW, the Geovid has the same range finder as the CRF. THe extra $1400 is spend on the glass only. The Swaro is only outpaced by range finders in the $2000 mark and up.

Here are some good links:
http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f18/rangefinder-experience-20739/
http://www.6mmbr.com/rangefinders.html
http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f18/whats-good-1...-range-finder-23733/

Thanks,some good info there!!!!! OB

BTW, I just reread my post. I didn't mean to bash the Leica in any way. It is an excellent LRF. Better than Bushnell, Nikon, Leupald, or the Newcon Optik 1500.

Also, IMHO if you are on a budget, the Nikon 1200 has very very good ranging abilaty, probably on par with Leica. Their problem is with the black reticle and dim picture. It is amaizing that with the light transmission on their scopes that they would produce such poor light transmission on their LRF. If you were only interested in purchasing a LRF for daytime ranging on a budget with ranging of less than 1000 on nonreflective targets, I would reccomend the nikon monarch 1200 (only $400).

ALso amaisingly enough, Leupald just doesn't compete with their RX series. Way too much crap on them and they will be outranged by the Nikon.

I have the older Leica LRF which I have found very reliable and user friendly. I looked at the new Swarovski with a view to "upgrading" but found I preferred the LRF which surprised me as I am a Swarovski man as far as scopes and bino's go.

The only thing I think is missing from the LRF is threaded fitting for tripod mounting...Its not an issue for me, but for somebody into long range shooting, I would think the ability to easily mount the unit on a tripod would be essential. The Swarovski and the newer CRF both have this feature I believe.

Regards,

Pete

If I was buying a new Range Finder today, it would be a Leica CRF 1200. But, I have an older model Leica 800 that serves me well, so I won't be upgrading to the CRF Model. I'd have to climb a big mountain up here to get back far enough to get an 800 yard reading in the swamp..

Don