In the long-range shooting and hunting world, your tools are king. In order to hit a small target a thousand yards away with a tiny projectile sent from a handheld firearm, everything must be perfect. For decades, optics, laser rangefinders, inclinometers, weather/atmospherics devices and ballistic calculators have each been their own separate unit. All were necessary to accomplish the task of setting up for a difficult shot.
Recent developments in the optics industry have allowed for all those tools to be combined into one superbly capable unit. Now your binocular can house a laser rangefinder, sensors for weather, atmospherics, angle and compass readings, and a state-of-the-art ballistic calculator. You can spot game, press the fire button, and receive real-time hold over and windage solutions from one simple unit. No longer must you carry three or four separate devices to the range or field.
If you are a serious shooter or hunter (or AH reader), you have likely heard of Gunwerks; the leading manufacturer of precision long-range rifles and shooting equipment in the U.S. You may not have heard of Revic, their sister company that designs and builds optics for precision shooting and hunting. The same intensive research and development, engineering and testing go into Revic optics as do into Gunwerks rifles. Simply put, if anyone is going to get it right, they will.
Revic has just announced their brand-new Acura BLR10b rangefinding binocular. BLR10b stands for “Binocular Laser Rangefinder 10-power ballistic.” This unit does everything, including several functions heretofore unseen in rangefinding binoculars. In typical fashion, Gunwerks/Revic are at the vanguard of innovation. Let’s take a close look at what makes the BLR10b awesome.
The new Acura is solid, yet more compact than similar models from other manufacturers. The adjustment dials are firm and well-designed. There are four buttons: on the right side the Fire and Menu buttons, and on the left the Up and Down buttons. These can be reversed for left-handed use. I don’t have room here for a full tutorial (those are available on the Revic website), but in a nutshell, the Up and Down buttons operate your windage settings, the Fire and Menu buttons the rangefinder and menu, and combined they provide quick key shortcuts.
The BLR10b features a durable, grippy rubber armor that feels comfortable in the hand. The eyecups are adjustable and tactile. The hinge is threaded for a tripod adaptor, and there is a knob for diopter focus and another for the LCD display.
The Revic Acura BLR10b has excellent low dispersion (ED) glass. I’ve tested the unit in conditions ranging from early dawn to bright midday sun, and have been universally impressed.
Lens coatings are an important component of any optic, and especially so on rangefinding binoculars. Coatings can interfere with the laser’s ability to function. As a result, some manufactures use coatings that give rather odd coloration to the landscape. Much to my delight, the BLR10b has no such issues. The Acura’s optical system is nitrogen-filled and features multi-coated lenses with exterior hydrophobic properties that render a crisp, clear image with true and natural color.
When shooting long range it’s critically important to laser your target with precision, because an error of even a few yards can mean the difference between a hit and a miss. The BLR10b is unique in that the user has the option to choose between several ranging modes, which give you the ability to scan at close range, laser through mirage or humidity at extreme range and so forth. You can set your rangefinder to pick out the most distant reading (for instance, a pronghorn in a sea of prairie grass) or the nearest reading (an elk in front of a patch of timber).
The BLR10b ranges targets as close as 10 yards, and as far as 5,000 yards. (Mounting the unit on a tripod is recommended for ranging extreme distances.) Handheld, braced just with elbows on knees, I could reliably hit targets with my Acura out to around 3,000 yards with the rangefinder set to the “Long Range, Far” mode. In my observation the BLR10b contains one of, if not the, most capable rangefinders on the market.
Gunwerks developed their own ballistic technology early in the game and have proven it in the field and on the firing line for nearly two decades. It is a superbly capable and accurate system. The BLR10b pairs via Bluetooth with the Revic Ops app on your phone, and can accomplish every ballistic task known to today’s smart rangefinders.
The BLR10b toggles among several scanning modes and, with the Revic Ops app, it performs just about every ballistic calculation known to shooters.
Revic provides a free downloadable ballistic app (iOS or Android) for your smartphone or device. I’m technologically challenged and am regularly flummoxed by sophisticated electronics. But Gunwerks designed their Revic Ops app to do every ballistic acrobatic under the sun, and still be user friendly for folks like me. And it’s educational: next to almost every tab or button is a little blue information icon. Press it and a concise explanation of the function pops up. I’ve learned a lot just by bouncing around on those little blue icons.
One of the most innovative advancements offered by the new Acura is the capability to work with a custom BDC (ballistic drop compensating) turret on your riflescope. If you run a custom turret cut to match your rifle’s ballistics instead of an MOA or MIL turret, simply enter your turret’s data into the app and sync with the BLR10b. When you range an object, the Acura will provide a BDC-friendly solution perfectly calculated to match current atmospherics and angle.
One of the things I love best about the new Acura is the windage calculator. This is a recent development in combination bino/rangefinder/ballistic units, and in typical style Revic got it right. Entering or adjusting wind direction and velocity is simple and fast. You have the option to use either Base or Vector wind modes to obtain the most complete calculation possible. Once entered, when you hit the fire button the BLR10b provides a windage solution in conjunction with the yardage and “come up” solution.
Revic has incorporated state-of-the art pressure, altimeter, angle and temperature sensors. These collaborate in real time with the ballistic calculator to provide the most precise solutions possible. But that’s not all. The BLR10b also reads azimuth (compass heading), factors in your latitude and automatically compensates for earth-based effects.
After spending several weeks using and testing the Revic Acura BLR10b I believe it’s the most capable smart bino/rangefinder on the market. With an MSRP of just under $2,700, it’s also one of the most affordable. It comes with a two-year warranty on the electronics and five years on the optics. (I’d like to see Gunwerks up those numbers a bit.) All in, I’m confident in stating that the BLR10b will render you a more precise and deadly shooter on the range and in the field.
Technical Specifications
• Type: laser-rangefinding binocular
• Magnification: 10X
• Objective Lens Diameter: 42mm
• Measurement Range: 10 yds. - 5,000 yds. (reflective targets)
• Eye Relief: 16mm
• Exit Pupil: 4.2mm
• Field of View @ 100 Yards: 32 ft.
• Coatings: fully multi-coated
• Construction: aluminum frame, rubber-armor coated; ED objective lenses; nitrogen-purged; waterproof, fog-proof, shockproof
• Length: 5.2"
• Weight: 31.75 ozs.
• Accessories: soft carry case, lens cap, cleaning cloth, CR2 battery, quick-start guide
• MSRP: $2,695; revicoptics.com
