To Terrapin or Not

[vvillium3]

Hello All,

Been considering getting a terrapin, but I'm not sure how much better it will be than my swaro's RF I currently have. Ive read a ton of reviews and while it does seem the right decision, what are its limitations?


With the swaro's I have a difficult time ranging anything smaller beyond 500 yards unsupported. I defiantly need a support/tripod to range a decent sized target beyond this point. As for animals, forget it. I'm pretty sure I haven't had any luck ranging deer at any kind of distance.

Let me know what I should be able to do with the terrapin off hand and supported. Is it worth selling my swaro's? Your input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jason

 

[Dave@USO]

Re: To Terrapin or Not

Get a Terrapin and never ever look back.

They are fast and Repeatable..

 

[vvillium3]

Re: To Terrapin or Not

Dave,

Can you please elaborate? How far can you easily range a deer off hand? How far supported? What do you encounter that the unit is not capable of? I'm not doubting it's superiority, just want to know its capabilities.

Unfortunately I don't know anywhere or anyone close by that has a set to try out. Thank you for your input.

 

[Sandbogg]

Re: To Terrapin or Not

The Swaro is great, however the Terrapin ranges much farther. My farthest range with the Terrapin so far was 4500 yards, my Swaro hit 1800 a couple times If you can hold it still you can range it. The Swaro has great optics but the Terrapin is not to shabby and has a better reticle. The Terrapin has alot of features you can program into it as well (feet, meters, yards, multiple targets, ignore certain distances etc. ). If you are hunting, the Swaro would be fine, if you shoot elr the Terrapin is a better unit.

 

[elmerdeer]

Re: To Terrapin or Not

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jason C</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Dave,

Can you please elaborate? How far can you easily range a deer off hand? How far supported? What do you encounter that the unit is not capable of? I'm not doubting it's superiority, just want to know its capabilities.

Unfortunately I don't know anywhere or anyone close by that has a set to try out. Thank you for your input. </div></div>
Terrapin blows the Swaro out of the water by far!
I ranged deer off the truck on flat land with obstructions at over 1100 yards no tripod,and in snowy weather where the swaro would just not read.
I also have ranged cows at over 1600 yards repeatedly in bright sunshine, it flat out
ranges much further in all conditions!
Dont think BUY IT!
Elmer

 

[vvillium3]

Re: To Terrapin or Not

Elmer,

Thanks for the great input. Thats what i'm looking for is real world scenarios where the terrapin has advantages. How accurate are the crosshairs with the unit. This is my biggest complaint of the swaro's too, the vague aim point of the orange circle.

What got me into this scenario was a bright sunny day where I caught a deer out in the middle of a corn field. For the life of me I couldn't range the damn thing regardless if I used my truck for support. Hell, I could barely range the woods far behind it at a known distance of about 950 yards....... Always have had luck ranging cardboard backers at 1000 yards, but I keep running into situations where it keeps leaving me wanting more.

Anyone else with examples of its advantages or possibly a link to another discussion? Looking for precision measurements, not its longest capabilities.

Thanks,
Jason

 

[Km22]

Re: To Terrapin or Not

My Terrapin is significantly better than my old Swaro. It seems to range everything... all of the time.

 

[bh-ltr]

Re: To Terrapin or Not

My Terrapin allows me to range trees without a rest to within a yard or two out to 1950 yards. It could go farther as well but that was what I was trying that day...

I was able (with a rest off of a tree) to range a traffic light at 980 yards very consistently. If the laser were to miss the traffic light it would have gone off into infinity so the reticle is very accurate.

I find the fixed glass cut reticle to be a VERY welcome improvement. My last range finder had an LCD based pointer and it wasn't precise enough to give me confidence that I was getting a range on the item that I intended.

I've ranged cows at the edges of a ridge (again where if I was to miss the cow the laser would have gone off into the ether) that were out just over 1050 yards. I got consistent results that didn't change by more than 1 yard in 5 or 6 separate readings.

The illuminated reticle is also really handy in low light conditions and the range of the unit seems to be even better in lower light conditions.

The only time that I've had issues getting a range when I wanted to were in really heavy dense fog that probably wouldn't have been all that safe to shoot through anyway as plain eye visibility was greatly reduced and it was hard to see through the fog.

Hope these couple anecdotal comments help you with your decision. If consistent accurate results out to major distances are what you're after I think you'll be pleased. The only thing I wish it would do is automatically correct for inclination.

 

[vvillium3]

Re: To Terrapin or Not

Thanks bh-ltr,

Great examples. I'm feeling confident that this is what I want. I wish I could get my hands on it before I buy though.

To all, keep the examples rolling in. Possibly help others besides myself understand the unit better.

Now I need to attempt to sell my swaro's, not that these posts make them look good.....

 

[csi:cyberspace]

Re: To Terrapin or Not

Ranged water tower from my deck @3957 yards with my Terrapin. This was through tree branches and a bit of a haze. I had to use the gate feature to keep from ranging the branches, but did it free-hand multiple times with no problems. Also ranged a fence post @ 1487 free-hand. Best I ever got from my Swaro was a large metal building in the shape of a cross from the 9th floor hotel balcony @ 1600 and change. To do this I had to rest it on the railing though.

As stated, sell off the Swaro to help fund it and go for the Terrapin.

 

[rksimple]

Re: To Terrapin or Not

The Terrapin destroys the swaro. Was ranging vehicles out to 3k in the Vegas desert with the terrapins. Had a hard time ranging anything past 1600 with the swaros. Money well spent.

 

[mcmillanman5]

Re: To Terrapin or Not

I owned the Swaros and used them for a bit over a year, while I did like them they certainly had their limitations. I was rarely able to range further than 1300 yards on larger objects. I sold them and went with the terrapin when it was released. As mentioned above the terrapin has a much better reticle/ aiming point as compared to the Swaro. The terrapin ranges WAY further than the Swaro ever could.

I have ranged over 4400 yards supported with the terrapin in ideal conditions. The only time I have had a problem getting a range with the vectronix was when I was ranging a target directly into a bright setting sun. I was still able to range the 1100 yards but it took 3 tries.

The only drawback that I have found going from the Swaro to the terrapin is decrease in magnification from 8x to 5x. I have no regrets in making the switch and I say go for it, you won't be sorry.

 

[elmerdeer]

Re: To Terrapin or Not

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jason C</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Elmer,

Thanks for the great input. Thats what i'm looking for is real world scenarios where the terrapin has advantages. How accurate are the crosshairs with the unit. This is my biggest complaint of the swaro's too, the vague aim point of the orange circle.

What got me into this scenario was a bright sunny day where I caught a deer out in the middle of a corn field. For the life of me I couldn't range the damn thing regardless if I used my truck for support. Hell, I could barely range the woods far behind it at a known distance of about 950 yards....... Always have had luck ranging cardboard backers at 1000 yards, but I keep running into situations where it keeps leaving me wanting more.

Anyone else with examples of its advantages or possibly a link to another discussion? Looking for precision measurements, not its longest capabilities.

Thanks,
Jason</div></div>
Jason the reticle is great for ranging as its circle is 1mil so its the perfect size for ranging at distances.
Now my swaro made me miss 2 of the biggest bucks i have seen in 7 years of hunting in sask, 1st one was in snowy conditions where the swaro would only read 30yards as it was ranging the f-ing snow so i guestimated and missed buck was only 400yards ranged it next day, and the next situation was similar to yours big buck standing in a field with scrub brush to its waist thats about 200yards wide and the buck was in the middle of it at about 700 yards away well I could not get a reading on the deer another clean miss.
Last year bought the Terrapin actually was the 1st person to own one in North America LOL, and started testing the shit out of it along side my swaro and in all conditions I could find heavy rain, snow heavy at times and fog it out classed the swaro, like the swaro was a kids toy.Worst condition is dense fog for the Terrapin but if you can see the animal with your bare eyes the terrapin will pick it up somehow but you might have problems with picking up treelines and such, but if its really dense the ditances to game are close anyways.
Emlerdeer

 

[vvillium3]

Re: To Terrapin or Not

Thank you all for your great feedback. I am without a doubt sold now. Going to work on selling the swaro's, and hopefully pick up the Terrapin after the new years.

Thanks again,
Jason

 

[VKC]

Re: To Terrapin or Not

I think it is important to first ask how far you are realistic able to in ability and also range to shoot. If you are not shooting pass 1000 yards, I don't see a point in getting a Terrapin and the Swaro is enough. Pass 800 yards depending on the size of the target, you'll need to use a tripod or rest on something stable regardless with either unit. Once you get pass 1500 yards with smaller targets, terrapin real shines.