Leica 1600b rangefinder

The dog house is gonna be crowded tonight... I ordered a 1600b just now... Been wanting a rangefinder that could double as a monocular for a while... I put this in this forum because I'm going to do a comparison between the Leica and my Bushnell G-Force 1300 ARC.

Needed another rangefinder anyway.. Since she started hurting and all... The Bushnell works fine out to 600 yards (her limit on game so far is 400).

You will enjoy the Leica. It is a great piece of kit.

Good luck with the new Leica.. I just received the Leica CRF 1000R to replace an old Bushnell. Have only preliminary tested it out the back door looking at the barn and woods beyond but it seems pretty nice even at dusk.

I researched for a couple weeks before buying anything...For me, it came down to the Zeiss PRF or the Leica 1600b...the G7 was never an option for me, as Shawn Carlock states in some of his RF reviews...I'm just a "3 digit" shooter...and given that, the G7 doesn't do anything to justify its cost to me...If I was regularly shooting past 1200 yards I "might" have gotten the G7...maybe.

I've read every word Shawn Carlock, Ryan Avery, Sam Millard, and Broz (and a few others) have written on rangefinders...thats a lot of words...I tend to agree with Broz and his stance on beam divergence (smaller is better)...thus, I got the 1600B.

In the coming days...I'm gonna be doing a direct side by side comparison of the Leica 1600B and my Bushnell G-Force 1300 ARC (first model...not the DX)...the little $400 Bushnell has been surprisingly good to me for the couple years I've had it but I know its no Leica, I'm curious to compare them though...just to see how it turns out...I'm going to bring both RF's with me on the road, so this comparison will be an in depth one...I won't be in a hurry and can use them in everything from mountains to open plains over the course of a few weeks.

The Leica optics were as much a selling point to me as the ranging capabilities were...I wanted one that could take the place of binos...

Good glass in a RF is essential I think...ya can't range it if ya can't see it.

I have a Zeiss PRF that I bought on EuroOptic as a demo. So far, I am very impressed with the PRF and it also has drop tables for various loads.

I like the PRF, it wouldn't have been hard to sell me on it (anything Zeiss, I like their Koolaid) ...but 2 things stopped me from getting it.

Its laser beam is 2 x 4 mrad...thats a little big for my uses...reaching a few yards into the woods, between trees, at 800+ yards, one of the problems I've had with the RF I have.

And according to the Zeiss website, the PRF isn't gas purged...

For comparison...the Leica beam size is .5 x 2.5 mrad...harder to aim, but more precise with a steady hold.

I won't use the ballistics supplied from a rangefinder (my Bushnell does this)...at least none short of the G7 BR2...for rifles, I don't even use the angle compensation feature, most aren't accurate...I use line of sight distance and look angle, manually entered into a good ballistics app.

I have owned the 1600b now for a few years . My nephew owns the Leuy I believe 1000 anyways I like my Leica better :wink:!!
I am sure once you have it for a little while it will do everything you want it too.

Blessings,
Dan

Got the 1600b.... Initial impression.... WOW!

Well everybody gets to choose their gadget coolaid?

Some more observations on beam size.....offhand ranging.

Put simply...smaller IS better...most of the time, and depending on how you use it

Sitting here ranging some horses at 656 yards...they are 10 yards into the trees...no matter what I do the Bushnell will not range the horses, its ranging the trees (646 yards)..the 1600 beam will fit between the trees.

Ranging a street light at 334 yards is easier with the Bushnell...the 1600 will range it just fine...if you can hold it still.


As I have seen it said before...beam size is a trade off...you can either have speed or precision...there could be an argument made both for and against either one.

I'm still happy with my lil $400 Bushnell G_Force 1300 ARC, for the money it is a good starter rangefinder (it was my first)...it will still serve a purpose for me, but I now know that even though it will range some things at 1,300 yards in the right conditions...it is primarily a 400 yard rangefinder, past that its beam is pretty damn big and hard to get on small targets...and its optics are decent but the 1600b optics makes the Bushnell seem like something that came out of a cereal box.

Its easy to get spoiled on good optics...

For those that are not likely to shoot over 400 yards or so...beam size isn't nearly as important...but glass quality IS.

Thats how I ended up choosing between Leica and Zeiss!!!

Excellent assessment, Lynn. I concur with your review.

Thank You Mike...

I learned something else too...for years I've said the farthest I've shot and reliably hit anything was 1,500 yards...after ranging that target the other day, I know now that it is actually 1,653 yards.

Until now I've never had a way to range it accurately, I had only estimated it and worked my way onto the target...back when I first started shooting at that target (1986 or so), I didn't know there was such a thing as laser rangefinders.

I would not bet that the PRF is not nitrogen purged? Just because it I not stated, does not mean it is not? For the cost I would guess that it is purged?

Oldtrader3":p5ts5ypt said:

I would not bet that the PRF is not nitrogen purged? Just because it I not stated, does not mean it is not? For the cost I would guess that it is purged?

Click to expand...

I would have thought the same... But the Zeiss website states that it isn't purged, its in the specs.

Several dealer sites for Zeiss PRF state that barrels are Nitrogen purged? "Sportman's News" states that the PRF rangefinder is Argon purged!

High quality optics infer gas purging even when they don't feel the need to say it, like say: Nikon does. Leica scopes don't say they are gas purged either but I would not bet against it?

Don't know...I just went with what Zeiss said.

I'm sure its a very good RF either way.

I think your're misunderstanding me...Zeiss specifically states that it is NOT nitrogen filled...maybe it is argon filled...if so, I think they should say so...wouldn't have swayed my decision though...I made my choice between them based on beam size, I needed that, I do shoot small targets out there a ways.

This is a screenshot fro the Zeiss website

My bet is that the Luotec coating is not compatible with Nitrogen?

Oldtrader3":1v2nbakv said:

My bet is that the Luotec coating is not compatible with Nitrogen?

Click to expand...

I don't know...many of their scopes are nitrogen filled.

The Zeiss Victory scopes don't say anything about gas purging but I bet that they are. I think with Swaro, Leica, S&B, Zeiss et al, that they are purged with some inert gas whether they say or not? Besides, I hunt out west and in the mountains of Utah, the PRF is the way to go? With its trajectory table et al, it is the bomb?