range finder monocular

I

ipm

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Feb 26, 2009
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I would like to get a monocular with a range finder and a compass (bearing) built in. Any suggestions?

Leupold seems to make some but are they any good?
 
Leupold does make the range finders that have the compass built in but make sure that you have a couple of days to get aquanted with the unit and it's billions of useless features and it is slower in getting you the range as compared to Nikon units which I consider superior in almost every way inculding price. The Leupold does have nice optics on their range finders but for me they are entirely too complicated and just not for me if I was a hunter, my advice is get a Nikon of some sort depending on the range you are using, I am a fan of the 800 or the new 550's and a nice compass such as a Suunto or Brunton or Silva(my favorites are the Silva's). If you are really set on a range finder with a compass then get the Leupold but remember take some time to figure out how to work it, I worked with them for 2 years and never fully got the hang of them and my manager who did hunt had one and sold it and to buy a Nikon claiming that the Leupold was too complicated and the Nikon was faster and simpler.
 
Good ole cheap Bushnell.

I picked up a Bushnell Scout 1000 ARC from Cabellas when it was on sale and beat the piss out of it. Its still working and I ended up selling it to a friend so I could pickup a Legend 1200 ARC from Bushnell.

The only complaint I have is the quality of the optic (glass) isn't the cleanest or clearest, however for the price I can't complain that much. It gets the job done and didn't cost me a arm and a leg so I'm happy with it.

Leupolds are excellent, though they tend to have a number of additional features, they are almost unequalled in the quality of their glass and they tend to be a bit more costly then others...but as they say you get what you pay for.
 
The Bushnells are ones that I forgot to mention I would sell those when we didnt have any Nikons in stock or when the customer wanted to see what else we had and for the price you can get a good unit and there arc models are some nice ones and Bushnell has their Elite Arc models which are more expensive but the optics are great they are japanese made and they are a little larger but you can hold it still and the large button to activate the unit is nice and easy to use with gloves on. If you have the money go with the Leica units they have red reticles so they are easier to use at lower light situations like dawn or dusk great unit and awesome optics better than the Leupold but the Leupold has better optics than most everyone except Swarovski and Leica but for the price you pay for those two you had better get awesome optics. I hope that I don't seem too harsh on the Leupolds they are nice units except for their complexity but I have heard that they have released simplet units out there on the market so who knows they might have already replaced the older units with the simpler units.
 
What will be your primary use? A varmint hunter I prefer Leica 1200..excellent optics and good ranging abilities in its price range. Nikon 1200 is also good.

One caution..Leica aimpoints and readouts are RED..a color blind partner returned his for a Nikon with bold black aimpoints and readouts..couldn;t read the Leica.

I travel with Garmin eTrex Vista HCx GPS and have an old Silva compass in my shooting/gear bag.

With no actual experience I'd probably put a combo monocular, compass, rangefinder right up there with a combo TV/VHS/ICEMAKER but that's just me.
 
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