Sig Sauer Kilo 1200 Rangefinder
Who Needs a Rangefinder?
Yep, I’m going to start another article with “the way things used to be”. Until only about 30 years ago, rangefinders were “nice-to-have” items that only a few bothered to afford. We prided ourselves on being able to estimate ranges when hunting with a rifle. Really, for some several hundred years, this worked well enough. Imagine my surprise when my good friend challenged me to estimate distances to several objects and I found I was wildly off! I realized then that I needed a rangefinder…the year: 1998.
Who uses rangefinders routinely? Golfers certainly use them, as do many hunters. For archers rangefinders are the norm today. Does a Tennessee whitetail hunter need to range a buck before the shot? I honestly don’t know for sure, but I suspect that with ranges in the sub-250 yard bucket, probably most do not. Out west, rifle hunters have come to place rangefinders among their top equipment choices. For us out west, I’d actually put a rangefinder ahead of binoculars or spotting scopes right behind: big game tag, rifle or bow, ammunition or arrows, and field-dressing gear!!
Rangefinder Features
At the heart of the rangefinder is, well, distance ranging! All calculate slope (or direct-line) distance to an object and most now calculate horizontal distance and display angle from horizontal. Some store ballistic tables, and some have sophisticated ballistic calculators. Many have scan modes or even discern between near and far objects in view.
I have a very strong preference to know both the slope and horizontal distance to an object. Horizontal distance represents the “true” aiming distance for both bow and rifle, as very steeply up or downhill shots reduce the majority of the effects of gravity over most shooting distances. Me, I want the accurate horizontal distance and I want it quickly and accurately.
My Experiences
Let’s lay it out there. I haven’t reviewed dozens of rangefinders. Generally, I’ve researched and operated perhaps a dozen rangefinders total. Of those, I’ve only owned two, so please consider this as you read this “review”. I’m simply stating my findings relative to what I’ve known. My original Bushnell was a tank and was good to about 600 yards most days. That was a quantum improvement over my own guesstimate!
My current rangefinder is a Bushnell Legend 1200 ARC, and it was a solid upgrade to the tank. It has been my go-to rangefinder for a number of years now. I can range most targets to 800 to 1200 yards and it has an archery mode that provides a useful angle-from-horizontal reading along with the slope/line and horizontal distances. It also has a number of built-in and customizable trajectories (I think…I’ve never used those). It has fit my needs well.
A Present – Kilo 1200 Rangefinder
My daughter asked for a rangefinder last Christmas. More specifically, she asked for a Vortex Viper rangefinder. I’m a fan of Vortex, so I figured this was a pretty good choice on her part. However, me being me, I started researching rangefinders in the $150 to $500 range. After a number of reviews read and videos watched, I began to circle in on one of the new Sig Sauer rangefinders.
Believe me, I was skeptical that a gun manufacturer would be offering a digital-optical unit of sufficient quality to merit further consideration. It seemed I was in the minority. I discussed this with a young hunting colleague who sealed the deal for me. He owned the Vortex in question and his Dad had recently purchased the Sig Sauer Kilo 1200 rangefinder for his sister. His Dad and he took them out to compare, and the hands-down winner for them was the Sig. We bought this unit for our daughter and used the left over $120 for other Christmas gifts for her!
First Blush
My first try with this unit was pretty encouraging. I was ranging buildings in my neighborhood to over 1300 yards! It seemed one-shot faster and scanned way faster than any rangefinder I’ve every used. The optics were quite good for a rangefinder. It doesn’t come with quite as many bells and whistles as their and others’ high-end units, but it can be set to give slope or horizontal distance. Since all I want is horizontal distance when shooting bow or firearm, it suits me fine.
I liked this little unit so much prior to truly taking it afield that I ended up buying my wife one for her birthday. She had to use my unit for bowhunting last year and was in need of her own rangefinder, so based on my initial impressions of my daughter’s Sig Kilo, we now owned (well she owns) another!
In the Field
The first true test of the Sig Sauer Kilo 1200 was my archery antelope hunt. I may have “borrowed” it because it is clearly 1) more accurate, 2) faster, 3) lighter, 4) has better optics, and 5) has greater range than my Bushnell. In the flat Nevada desert, this little bugger shone. You wouldn’t think an archer needs a rangefinder capable of 1300 yards, right? This unit was perfect for setting up stalking setups for archery pronghorn hunting. I could measure so accurately that even at 1100 yards, I could closely estimate what bush I needed to reach to be in range. For instance, at 1109 if I wanted to be within 40 yards, I looked for a bush in line with the buck that was 1069 or even 1149. This worked!
There is no doubt this Kilo 1200 rangefinder meets the needs of my hunting family. The 1200 is a sub-$200 rangefinder that does everything I need, and really nothing I don’t. It is so fast and runs in a useful scan mode if the button is depressed after the first reading. It is small and light and the 4x optics are clear enough to spot horns in sagebrush inside 100 yards, which is perfect for an archer trying to shed bulky binos on a stalk.
Hunter’s Choice
This tiny unit is an archer’s dream. The small size and clear optics make for easy and accurate use on even small targets. Set it in AMR mode and forget it. I then receive horizontal distance to target which is exactly how the pins in bow sights are set. This is true for rifles or any other projectile ballistics calculator. I strongly prefer to do my own ballistics in my rifle scope using turrets or stadia. I want complete control over my ballistics calculations and do not want them buried inside a rangefinder.
Having the ability to range to 1300+ yards doesn’t imply I’d use this to take a long shot like that. I use it as described earlier, to set up my stalk and know the ranges of key potential setup points. I’ve had excellent results ranging large bushes like serviceberry and small trees like pinon and juniper at those ranges. Some rock faces also range at 1100 to 1300 yards. Why would I spend double or even 10x for a more deluxe rangefinder when this one fits my needs?
Negatives
I’m struggling here. I can’t really find any true negatives to this unit. I would say, I personally prefer the display of my Bushnell. It gives you the true and horizontal ranges along with the angle in archery mode and I like seeing that information. Really, that is just a personal preference and I don’t think most folks would agree. It might be nice for the unit to be offered in a camouflaged version, but the black unit doesn’t seem to be a problem.
Finally
I truly recommend this little unit. I may have a look at one of Sig’s bigger units to complement my wife’s Kilo 1200 rangefinder, but for any hunter this unit will more than fit the bill. This provides enough power and simplicity of use to be a “perfect” unit for any beginner (affordable too!) or experienced hunter. Knowing your range is absolutely critical once you get beyond point-blank-range. For most rifles this is between 250 and 300 yards. For bows, this occurs just about 30 yards. Anything beyond those ranges starts to magnify errors in estimation quickly.
Here are three links, the first being Sig’s Kilo site. The second link will send you to amazon.com to make a purchase that will put a cookie on your computer that provides me a tiny commission on your amazon purchases for 24 hours. The final link is a “clean” link to amazon.com that avoids the cookies and makes sure amazon gets all of the proceeds from the sale! Don’t buy without doing some more review, but I sure as hell recommend this unit…I’ve already bought two for family members and will encourage this unit for friends and family.
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