New Vortex Talon 10K RF Binocular and Ace Weather Meter

Last year, I focused on becoming a better rifle shooter; I probably shot 10 times more than I have in the past five years. The only time I can remember shooting as much as I did was when I was a small child, shooting birds off my mom’s feeders. To be honest, I think that’s where I developed my shooting the most. I wasn’t working on body positioning or building a steady platform, but I was damn sure learning target acquisition skills that I still use today. As a part of that process of trying to become a better shooter, I took a look at my gear and decided I wanted to try a few different things.

I have used rangefinding binoculars from all of the major companies fairly extensively; some of you may have even read my review on the Leica Geovid pro AB+ in the magazine a few months ago. I don’t claim to be an expert on all the details of how the algorithms are calculated for shooting solutions or why certain wavelength lasers are better than others, but I do have a pretty good sense of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to laser-infused binoculars.

The Specs

The 10K in the name implies that the laser will range ten thousand yards. I’m still trying to achieve that, but I have hit 7,000, which is a new personal best for me. It will range the advertised 4,000 yards on trees, which is what I’ve been impressed with the most, and what matters the most.

One of my least favorite parts about most rangefinding binoculars is that they’re generally either bulky or, at the very least, oddly-shaped. Examples being the large bumps on the bottom of the EL range, the oversized barrels, and the odd curved shape of the Geovid Pro. These go against the grain on that. From a distance, it looks like a regular old pair of 10x42 binoculars. It's a little wide across the bridge, but not enough to make it ugly. It is, however, pretty dang heavy; two and a half pounds, which is a little more than the average, but it’s not a deal breaker for me.

Ease of Use 

During my time of selling optics with Outdoorsmans, I found that one of the biggest issues with rangefinding binoculars was that they’re generally a pain in the ass to set up for anyone who isn’t “good with computers,” and if a guy mentioned that phrase, I knew there was going to be a couple of calls in the future. This optic bucks that trend, sure, but it can do tons of different things like change wind values, swap profiles, and shift your reticle. If you’re a simple guy, it takes just a few minutes to run through the GeoBallistics app on your phone and input your specific rifle and ammunition. After that, the binoculars will give solutions good enough for 90 percent of hunters. Now, if you want to go into the fine details of truing your BC and getting the impact velocities for given ranges into your display, the binocular is fully capable of all that, too.

Connectivity through Relay

The big issue I have come across in recent years is that I use a Kestrel to do most of my load development and truing, and then I have to add the profile I make with the Kestrel into my binoculars and then tweak things slightly to make them line up. Now with the Talon, GeoBallistics App, and new Ace, I can do all of this in one of those three units, and via the Relay system, they all seamlessly work together to provide the same solution across each platform.

Ace 

If you read the paragraph above and wondered what an “Ace” is and what it has to do with any of this, I understand where you’re coming from. The Ace is a ballistic weather meter. This is a brand new product from Vortex that allows you to take wind readings and get the most up-to-date atmospherics, so you’re able to make the most precise shot possible. As I mentioned, it integrates via the Relay system, so not only will the Ace display the best shooting solution via its screen, but it will also “relay” that info directly to the binoculars. The Ace is where I will build and tweak all of my profiles going forward. It has an easy-to-read screen and is extremely intuitive.

Cons

I think this is where everyone would expect me to talk about the glass. That’s always been the biggest downfall of rangefinding binoculars from Vortex or really any other brand. Sure, it's not on the level of an NL Pure, but I bet if you put the Talon side by side with any other binocular in the $2,000 price range, you would not be able to pick these out. The glass is damn good.

The only real issue I have had with these is that it seems like the battery dies more quickly than other binoculars. It takes the larger CR123, but on two occasions, I have shown up at the range and had the binocular be dead. I think this is a function of the buttons being pressed under a pile of stuff in my truck, so maybe it’s a me problem.

Conclusion

The Talon is going to be a player in the rangefinding binocular world, not only for hunters but also for many folks who are taking on things like NRL Hunter. It has performed extremely well for me so far, and I look forward to putting it to work over the 2026 season.

Available now at Scheels:
Vortex Talon HD 10K 10x42 Ballistic Laser Rangefinding Binoculars
Vortex Talon HD 10K 12x50 Ballistic Laser Rangefinding Binoculars
Vortex ACE Ballistic Weather Meter