Tripod with binos

[jimss]

I'd have to agree that a high dollar tripod plus tripod head is definitely worth every penny. I sheep and mtn goat hunt on a regular basis and would much rather have binos around my neck plus a spotter on tripod. It's nearly impossible to field judge rams, billies, bucks, and bulls at long range with 15x binos.

I seldom use binos on a tripod...even though it may be more steady. If I'm spotting and stalking it's a lot easier having binos around my neck that I'm constantly glassing while hiking. I'm often glassing every couple minutes with binos around my neck and carry my spotting scope attached to tripod so it's ready to go. I can always place my binos on top of my spotting scope on my tripod. The other nice thing about carrying a spotter on a tripod is I have a steady rest for shooting when hunting in tall grass or areas where I can't shoot from prone position.

In most units in Alaska a FC+ ram with 8+ rings is legal and I would definitely want the highest power available to determine this. Also, when a 8 3/4" billy is good and a 9 1/2" billy is a whopper it's pretty tough to judge the difference with 15 or even 20x binos! I prefer a quality spotting scope for field judging muley bucks, elk, and antelope in the West. It would likely be tough determining if a pronghorn buck has 6 4/8" or 7" bases, 5 1/2 or 6" prongs, and 15 or 15 1/2" long horns at a 1/2 mile away with 15 or 20x binos….. or a muley buck has 2 or 3" brow tines and other tine lengths....etc...etc!

I'd likely have to stalk a lot closer to judge the same lengths and measurements with binos vs a spotting scope. I'm not sure how many miles I've saved myself hiking using a spotting scope rather than a 15 or 20x binos. There's no way I would want to lug around both sets unless hunting from a vehicle or setting up in an area to glass from 1 spot for hours.​

High power binocs may be just the ticket for "finding" coues deer in AZ when you are glassing thick brush from a distance all day long but for field judging those little buggers! Even for coues it may be worth carrying 2 sets...high power binos plus spotter?

 

[Country Bumpkin]

I'd have to agree that a high dollar tripod plus tripod head is definitely worth every penny. I sheep and mtn goat hunt on a regular basis and would much rather have binos around my neck plus a spotter on tripod. It's nearly impossible to field judge rams, billies, bucks, and bulls at long range with 15x binos.

I seldom use binos on a tripod...even though it may be more steady. If I'm spotting and stalking it's a lot easier having binos around my neck that I'm constantly glassing while hiking. I'm often glassing every couple minutes with binos around my neck and carry my spotting scope attached to tripod so it's ready to go. I can always place my binos on top of my spotting scope on my tripod. The other nice thing about carrying a spotter on a tripod is I have a steady rest for shooting when hunting in tall grass or areas where I can't shoot from prone position.

In most units in Alaska a FC+ ram with 8+ rings is legal and I would definitely want the highest power available to determine this. Also, when a 8 3/4" billy is good and a 9 1/2" billy is a whopper it's pretty tough to judge the difference with 15 or even 20x binos! I prefer a quality spotting scope for field judging muley bucks, elk, and antelope in the West. It would likely be tough determining if a pronghorn buck has 6 4/8" or 7" bases, 5 1/2 or 6" prongs, and 15 or 15 1/2" long horns at a 1/2 mile away with 15 or 20x binos….. or a muley buck has 2 or 3" brow tines and other tine lengths....etc...etc!

I'd likely have to stalk a lot closer to judge the same lengths and measurements with binos vs a spotting scope. I'm not sure how many miles I've saved myself hiking using a spotting scope rather than a 15 or 20x binos. There's no way I would want to lug around both sets unless hunting from a vehicle or setting up in an area to glass from 1 spot for hours.​

High power binocs may be just the ticket for "finding" coues deer in AZ when you are glassing thick brush from a distance all day long but for field judging those little buggers! Even for coues it may be worth carrying 2 sets...high power binos plus spotter?

I don't think you will gett many arguments, there's no comparison between spotter and binos when trying to assess trophy quality. I don't think the OP was concerned with spotters though, I thought he was trying to decide if the marriage between binos and tripod made sense (which I believe we all agree that it does).

When we elk hunt, we leave the spotters at home, if it's legal we are going to make a run at it (legally). For deer, yes we always have at least one spotter to assess mass, character, etc. I don't get to hunt sheep or goats :-(

 

[JMack]

I don't think you will gett many arguments, there's no comparison between spotter and binos when trying to assess trophy quality. I don't think the OP was concerned with spotters though, I thought he was trying to decide if the marriage between binos and tripod made sense (which I believe we all agree that it does).

When we elk hunt, we leave the spotters at home, if it's legal we are going to make a run at it (legally). For deer, yes we always have at least one spotter to assess mass, character, etc. I don't get to hunt sheep or goats :-(

Exactly. Thanks. I'll be on a guided sheep hunt, guide has swaro spotter with tripod. Everyone will have binos, I'm just trying to decide if I should throw my ultra lightweight tripod in my pack, it's a 6oz weight penalty and fold up to about the size of an empty toilet paper roll. They work great for sitting down and positioned so the tripod legs straddle your legs. Yes you can also hang your water bottle or a rock on a tensioning string to help stabilize even more. Is it the perfect setup, no I'm sure it's much better with a bigger tripod but.....

 

[jimss]

If I was paying big $ for a guided sheep hunt there's no way I'd leave home without my spotter plus tripod! I spend just as much time looking through my spotter as binos on sheep hunts. It's a lot of fun watching and field judging sheep and other animals. There is also a good chance that you likely pick up rams that your guide with spotter misses. My sheep partner and I always have 2 pairs of spotters on our hunts and we constantly pick up sheep the other guy misses.

I'd have a super tough time sitting back while my guide did the glassing through the spotter...it's part of the hunt! It sounds like you are really restricted in weight so maybe that doesn't work out but I would try to figure out a way. With the price of guided sheep hunts there ought to be a way that you can get your spotter plus tripod to sheep camp! I would go to the extreme and say that I would rather have a spotter in camp than binos! You may get bored waiting to view rams in detail through your guides spotter and it wouldn't be near as fun!

 

[waveslayer]

I always roll with a tripod, I use it for shooting, spotting, walking sticks if I need too. I would recommend getting some QD stuff and a set up from Really Right Stuff. It is expensive, but worth every penny. So yes, for long sessions of spotting, I use a tripod. You can use the Bino mount that Swarovski makes, I use that for Binos, otherwise I have QD mounts for my spotting scopes, Bino mount, and rifle. I am able to quickly remove my spotter or glasses and place my rifle on the tripod.

 

[JMack]

If I was paying big $ for a guided sheep hunt there's no way I'd leave home without my spotter plus tripod! I spend just as much time looking through my spotter as binos on sheep hunts. It's a lot of fun watching and field judging sheep and other animals. There is also a good chance that you likely pick up rams that your guide with spotter misses. My sheep partner and I always have 2 pairs of spotters on our hunts and we constantly pick up sheep the other guy misses.

I'd have a super tough time sitting back while my guide did the glassing through the spotter...it's part of the hunt! It sounds like you are really restricted in weight so maybe that doesn't work out but I would try to figure out a way. With the price of guided sheep hunts there ought to be a way that you can get your spotter plus tripod to sheep camp! I would go to the extreme and say that I would rather have a spotter in camp than binos! You may get bored waiting to view rams in detail through your guides spotter and it wouldn't be near as fun!

All valid. This is a backpack hunt so yes trying to limit fly in packs to 45# not including weight of rifle. That's why I'm trying to get the most from my binos with the least amount of weight. We weren't told not to bring spotter.

Thanks

 

[jimss]

It's worth it to me to carry a little heavier pack with binos plus spotter....but that's totally up to you. I would be constantly waiting and fighting with my partner over the spotter if we had to share it! You'll also be missing out on a lot of fun things if you don't have your own spotter!

 

[tinker man]

I use a walking stick adapted with a quick disconnect for glassing as I can no longer hold binos steady

 

[Mystras]

A tripod with bino is a must have for me. The human brain can process a visual image in as fast as 13 milliseconds. Having two eyeballs sending information to the brain gives you incredible power in spotting changes in landscape. Holding a binocular by hand that's moving really diminishes your ability to discern landscape changes, a flicker of a tail or ear from your quarry under a tree can easily be missed. A good tripod and good binocular with a quick detach mount are great tools to have with you on your hunt regardless of the power magnification.

 

[yobuck]

A tripod with bino is a must have for me. The human brain can process a visual image in as fast as 13 milliseconds. Having two eyeballs sending information to the brain gives you incredible power in spotting changes in landscape. Holding a binocular by hand that's moving really diminishes your ability to discern landscape changes, a flicker of a tail or ear from your quarry under a tree can easily be missed. A good tripod and good binocular with a quick detach mount are great tools to have with you on your hunt regardless of the power magnification.

This is as good as it gets for a reason to use a tripod. One thing I would add is arm fatigue without one. Hold your binnocs up and look at the time you can glass before your arms get weary. So now we are hunting with just our eyes. Add that up for the length of your hunt.

 

[7magcreedmoor]

I think of it this way: I don't want shoot at an animal offhand unless I absolutely have to, and I want to glass the same way...

 

[jimss]

I am constantly moving and glassing while "still hunting". It would be impossible to do this with binos attached to tripod. I usually only hold up my binos for a matter of seconds at time between moving slowly a small distance at a time...never had a problem with sore arms doing this! When I come to a nice overview area that I want to glass in detail I sit on my rear and glass through my binos with spotting scope on tripod sitting next to me. I place both elbows on my knees while sitting to glass through binos and it's pretty darn steady with no soreness problems. Sometimes I may set my binos on top of my spotting scope if it's super windy but in most cases I have no problem glassing with elbows on my knees. As soon as I spot an animal I generally switch directly to my spotting scope for field judging. It would be a royal pain in the rear constantly switching back and forth between binos and spotting scope on the tripod.

 

[JMack]

I am constantly moving and glassing while "still hunting". It would be impossible to do this with binos attached to tripod. I usually only hold up my binos for a matter of seconds at time between moving slowly a small distance at a time...never had a problem with sore arms doing this! When I come to a nice overview area that I want to glass in detail I sit on my rear and glass through my binos with spotting scope on tripod sitting next to me. I place both elbows on my knees while sitting to glass through binos and it's pretty darn steady with no soreness problems. Sometimes I may set my binos on top of my spotting scope if it's super windy but in most cases I have no problem glassing with elbows on my knees. As soon as I spot an animal I generally switch directly to my spotting scope for field judging. It would be a royal pain in the rear constantly switching back and forth between binos and spotting scope on the tripod.

This is pretty much what I've been doing as well, sitting and putting my elbows on knees to glass. I just figured I could add some additional stability by using a tripod during longer glassing sessions and use the guides spotter to have a closer look at animals I might find.

 

[BoomFlop]

In my opinion, a spotter is only useful than bino's on a tripod for 2 situations. Spotting game over 1.5 miles and judging animals (score only, I can tell you if it's a big bull or big buck without caring about 10-15"). Inside of that range I'll find more animals with my Swarovski 15x56 SLC HD's! I'll find those animals quicker and with less eye fatigue as well.

Just my opinion however.

Good luck!
Steve