WeiserBucks
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I have a Swarovski spotter and $550 Vortex binoculars, I use the binoculars 99% of the time
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backpacking spotter
- Thread starter jjrgr21
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If a person can only afford one or the other, then I guess the binos are more important?
What kind of power is best? I hunt the mountains- sometimes in areas where you can see forever and other times where things are a little more closed in.
Are there any budget-friendly binos worth looking at?
Unless you are a CYCLOPS yes binos are what you will use 99% of the time. I guided and shot control for over 10 yrs on the plains and glassed ALL DAY. Regularly spotted game up to 10 miles or further depending on AIR QUALITY.
Out of 10+ hrs a day glassing, I might pull a spotter .1% of the time. MAYBE. When the air was clear. Glassing is a 2 eye deal. Your brain doesn't work right with one eye. Yeah you can see something that you have already found BUT, God gave animals 2 eyes for a reason.
I have glassed ELR like 10+ miles with a spotter but just because I didn't have any binos with me that would do it.
As to CHEAP binos....ugh....glass aint cheap. All of my binos are not cheap because I made a living with them.
First I would 100% council that you go to several stores and COMPARE as many binos as possible BEFORE you even consider buying. My 1st pair of binos I spent a whole week on vacation traveling to glass shops all over the US, my wife thought we were visiting relatives lol. I literally spent 40+ hours testing every brand I thought I might want to buy. The interwebs is NO PLACE to look at glass. Once you have looked thru it, FINE. Buy online, evaluate IN PERSON.
I took optical charts and a tripod with a Velcro mount so I could really evaluate the glass. I also looked in lower light once I narrowed it down to check low light performance. Drove 10 clerks NUTTY.
Glass is a huge investment even if it isn't a lot of $$$. Buy crummy glass and it will COST you. Cost you game, your eyes, your sanity and your TIME.
For cheap binos I would look at the Vortex, Minox, Nikon,Zen Ray, Sightron, Pentax or something used even better. Also take a gander at Athlon and Tract, they are sponsors here I believe. Go look at it in person then find a deal used online if you can, if not buy new . If I buy new I buy at the store as a courtesy to the clerk I just jerked around for 4 hrs.
Birding websites are a great resource as well, they KNOW glass.
The main thing is look at a LOT of glass AT optical charts and take your time. As to mag you will figure it out while doing this. I like higher mag as my eyes NEED it. Someone with better sight may not need it. If you hunt mountains I would say 10X+ and I ran 15X all the time personally but we had very little heavy cover.
i have the sightron blue sky 8x32, for the $$ the glass is great, but you can't use a tripod adapter with them.
from what i've been reading, the vortex viper HD, Talon HD, Bushnell elite, and Zen-ray ZRS are worth taking a look at.
i'm probably gonna get the viper HD's, as most reviews put them just a tough below the Razor which are pretty good.
from what i've been reading, the vortex viper HD, Talon HD, Bushnell elite, and Zen-ray ZRS are worth taking a look at.
i'm probably gonna get the viper HD's, as most reviews put them just a tough below the Razor which are pretty good.
There are tripod adapters for NON TRIPOD binos or just get a plate you can Velcro them to. I have done it.
With your current binos, I would buy a set of higher mag binos in the line you listed since a spotter in the $$$ range you listed wont be clear enough to really perform well whereas a set of 15x in the lines you mentioned will be. A good $400 spotter is a hard find even 20 yrs ago when the Bausch and Laumb 20x60 was common.
300 Driver
Well-Known Member
I 100% echo what the guys here are saying about get good Gino's fist. I have a set oh Vortex Talon HD 8x32 that I got for $275 on close out. Optics are so expensive, I recommend checking them out in a store and then SCOUR the web for a great deal. They do come along.
I just bought a Vortex RAZOR HD 11-33x50 spotting scope for $429 from optics planet. That thing retails for $1k. I could never afford that on a normal day. Save your money up, take your time, and get the best glass you can buy.
I just bought a Vortex RAZOR HD 11-33x50 spotting scope for $429 from optics planet. That thing retails for $1k. I could never afford that on a normal day. Save your money up, take your time, and get the best glass you can buy.
I will chime in and say, a spotting scope is great if you have already found your prey and want to check it out closer. For glassing to find your prey you need a good set of binos. They are easier on the eyes and you will find more game with them than you will find with a spotter. As for binos and the conditions you have described I would say a 12 or 15x50 bino would be your best best. I have swaro 12x50 ELs and I can glass long distance and short distance with them. As far as a tripod I use my monopod shooting stick and set the binos on the yoke and I can glass for hours comfortably. I hunt by myself so I don't need to hold it still to let some body else look through them. I also agree that you need to look through several different pieces of glass to see which fits you best and don't show up at noon to do your looking. Show up late in the afternoon so you can check looking in the general direction of the setting sun(do not look directly at the sun) for glare and if possible if you can do it now check to see how long you can see in last light. I carry my spotting scope in the summer and winter on my SxS for spotting animals, but I have not carried my spotter hunting in a long time. To much extra weight that you don't need. As always this is only my opinion and usually does not correspond with anybody else.
300 Driver
Well-Known Member
I'm interested to hear what you think of the 11-33 RAZOR. I love mine, it's the best glass I've ever owned.
Thanks!
I have a cheap pair of both, never carried the spotter because, well, its REALLY cheap.
Glad I ran across this thread because I was starting a fund to replace the spotter.
Guess I'll do the binos instead!
Second on the binos. And i would make the suggestion that if possible hold out for the best binos you can afford. Test a variety of binos. If you think you could swing the 1000 to 1600 pair . Go check them out. See if to you they seem much better. We humans generally find game with our eyes. Better vision through binos means more game spotted which means more game killed. And really good binos will last a lifetime. A spotter has its uses. It will let you see into the trees when you think you have something in your binos. It will let you judge an animal to see if its worth a 2 mile stalk for. But a good pair of binos are used 90 % of time
