If your type of hunting requires sitting and glassing, your missing things if your not using a tripod, regardless of glass quality.
For those interested in using binoculars for hunting, and especially those who use them for long glassing sessions, there are several very good articles on the 24 Hour Campfire site (archives) list id suggest reading.
First go to the 24 hour Campfire site.
On the top of the page, clik the (home page.)
Then click on the ( archives.)
Then click onto (page 2.)
The will be 2 separate articles, both very good, but be especially sure to read the one entitled ( big eyes ).
Realize that modern day long range hunting has been taking place in certain areas of PA for a very long time.
Also realize that virtually (all) of the hunters doing that there are using tripod mounted optics.
Also realize that the vast majority of them are (choosing) to use twin spotters in brackets as their choice of optics.
And the reasons for that are numerous.
But non the less, the technique is the same regardless of optics.
Read the article, consider the experience level of the author prior to him writing the article.
When i first read it, now probably a decade ago, there was one thing i for sure didnt need.
That was another set of good tripod mounted glasses.
But then our good friend Doug left me know he was clearing out the inventory of the 15x58 model Minox as it was being replaced with a newer model.
So i ordered a set, and before i hung up the brown truck delivered them.
Typical of how Doug does things.
We did our own version of the comparison test on the lawn at our NC PA camp using 15x56 Leica Geovids, 15x56 Swaros, and the 15x58 Minox, by looking at very small things at very long distances.
We all felt the Leicas were just a tad bit brighter, but the only one who thought the Swaros were actually better but by just a little bit, was the guy who owned them.
But even he said that he wished he had seen all of them before he bought his.
Especially since i had only paid $500 for the Minox on close out.
But the biggest surprise was how well a very old set of clean Bushnell 50 mm spotters in a bracket with a good set of 16x eyepieces compared with the high priced stuff.
Seeing is believing, all the talk about optics is just that unless your actually comparing them side by side on the same day at the same target.
