4 6 | SPORTING SHOOTER _ MAY 2018
SHOOTER’S
SHOWCASEVORTEX – Fury HD Rangeinder-Binoculars
While Vortex continues to broaden their range of
binoculars, it’s the new Fury HD that’s the real
stand-out for me. These full size binoculars are of
roof prism design and offer laser range-finding
capability at long distances. We all know that
Vortex offer a number of options via their
dedicated laser rangefinders but these new
binoculars offer a dual-purpose both-in-one unit
that gives a larger field of view than a traditional
stand alone range finder. With 42mm objective
these binoculars offer 315f t field of view at
1000yards and a close focus distance of just 20
feet. At this stage they are only available in 10x42,
however, in my mind if you’re a serious deer or
trophy hunter, any thing under that simply isn’t
enough magnification.
The new Fury HD’s are well designed and offer
high quality HD optics coupled with a built-in
rangefinder. Firstly, the controls are conveniently located
on the right hand side for single-handed use and the
illuminated display (offering three brightness settings).
They can be set to yards or meters to range your target.
Another great feature with the Fury HD’s is its SCAN
mode that offers continuous readings on a moving target
or distant landscapes. I remember using this mode on a
recent fallow hunt. The friend I was guiding simply
wasn’t confident in taking a shot at over 250 metres.
That’s where scan mode comes into play and while the
buck was on the move, I could continually whisper the
distance via the Fury’s ultra-fast readout. Once that buck
got to with 250 metres he was in real trouble as Tim knew
exactly where his bullet would land from there.Next, these binoculars offer the choice of two
range modes. HCD (horizontal component distance)
and LOS (line of sight) and Scan mode can be used
with either. While HCD is the primary pre-set mode,
the display offers shot angle and component distance
or horizontal range, as you’d read off a map. So for
example if you are looking at a target of say 500 yards
line of sight at an up or down hill angle, the horizontal
component distance of 385 yards will be displayed.
This takes the guesswork out of calculating the
corrected shot placement at that angle.
The Rangefinder in this binocular runs off a single
bat tery offering literally hundreds of scans, however, the
bat tery life is always visible in the display, so you’ll know
when the bat tery needs replacing. The Vortex Fury HD’s
offer XR fully multi coated HD Lenses (high density low
dispersion glass) and dielectric-fully multi-coated prisms
producing exceptional clarity and superior light
transmission, even in low light conditions. To customise
these binoculars to your eyes, the fury HD’s offer dioptre
adjustment located under the twist-up eyecups. The lef t
bell is for dioptre adjustment marked “D” while the right
bell adjustment (marked “R”) takes care of focus on the
display. In addition, a conveniently located focus wheel,
green, rubber armoured body for non-slip grip and single
bridge construction make these binoculars very
comfortable to use.
With regards to rangefinding capability the maximum
range on these binoculars is stated at 1600 yards,
however, this relates to large reflective surfaces only
and while it might work on large rock faces or tree
trunks way out yonder, I believe the effective range on a
deer sized animal for an accurate reading would likely
be around 1000 yards, but I believe that goes for any pair
of rangefinding binoculars or dedicated range finder on
today’s market.
The Vortex Fury HD’s are gas purged and “O” ring
sealed for fog and waterproof performance, while
their ultra-hard exterior lens coatings protect against
scratches, dirt and dust.
Like all good Vortex product, the Fury HD 10 X 42
RF binoculars come with the Vortex unconditional,
unlimited lifetime VIP warranty.