Which binos for high country long range hunting

[mpayne]

Mram my son had Swarovski 10x42 Razor seems mor clear Razor at the 12 power are a little unstable but any kind of rest works great. The Razors are much brighter and clearer than my Leupold 10x42 HD's but my daughter in college was glad to get my hand me downs. I live in sage brush county and can see for miles with my aging eyesight and the distance I look I'm glad I went with the 12x50 I did have to buy a new bino harness the 12x are tall

 

[vancewalker007]

Even with me packing a spotter?

Yes, you locate game at long range with the Binos then use the spotter to verify its an animal you want to go after. You'll blow your eyes up trying to "glass" through a spotter. When we glass for Coues deer for hours our Binos don't wreak our eyes.

 

[30378wbymag]

I've had my Swarovski 10x42 EL's for about 15 years... ABSOLUTELY the finest bino's I've ever looked through. I shoot high end glass in DSLR's Sony G glass and Zeiss glass, these bino's give up NOTHING to the finest glass ever devised by mankind. No kidding, go look through some... Not in the bright of day but the darkest nooks and cranny's of the store!!! No cheap GREAT glass, a lot of affordable GOOD glass... Never skimp on optics... Best of luck, let us know what you decide...

 

[Liddy]

Using my Leica 10X42 HD-B right now on a youth Cous deer hunt in Southern Arizona. This is the first time I have had them mounted on a tripod after owning them for several years. I can say that I hope to never have to glass without this set up again. My Razor 27-65X85 spotter now only comes out after something needs a little measurement at distance.

 

[SteveBurton]

I have used several different mid-level brands of 10x and 12x binos. As others have said, it is easier to spot animals with a lower magnification. The wider FOV really makes a difference. Of those, I think you are covered with the Razor HDs unless you just have to have the UHDs.
With that said, I have found it easier to find stationary or bedded animals with 15x Swaros. Using a tripod will definitely help when glassing for a long time. I still find myself going to a spotting scope to look at size and mass after I find them. My only comparison to the Swaros has been some Kaibabs. Both are great glass during the day but the Swaros have the nod when the sun is low in the horizon. An easy 15-20 minutes more time. I have no experience with Leicas.

 

[Country Bumpkin]

I live and hunt in Idaho. Picking out bucks in brush, in rocks, in timber . . . has become the highlight of my fall. There are times when we might even find a shooter, but we can't stop ourselves from continuing the search . . . it's just so much fun to spot them as they nap.

I used to look down my nose at guys looking through Bino's on a tripod ("silly rascals"). When I bought a pair of Leica 15's I quickly realized that I was the limiting factor in the relationship. I used my cheap vortex tripod and, as has been said numerous times, it was a game changer for me.

It completely changed the way we hunt. We used to sit and glass off our knees for 15 minutes, quickly "picking apart a hillside". We'd spot a few does, pick up our gear, hike to the next vantage point (which was silly because we could see the next spot just fine but we thought we needed to get different angles or minutely closer). We would hike miles and miles each day during the daylight. During mid-day we'd take naps, play washers, anything to pass the time away when "nothing's moving".

Last year we stayed put for anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours picking apart an area before moving on. We couldn't do it any faster because it took that much time to rule out ALL OF THE DEER WE WERE FINDING!!! We have hunted this same area going on ten years and have never found so many deer. Bedded, feeding, thick timber, brushy hillsides, 50/50 snow/earth hillsides..... we found deer everywhere we looked. It was incredible. This fall was a repeat. We both shot nice bucks, I got a 160, he got a 170 (in the most heavily hunted unit in the state).

I will NEVER hunt without my tripod and 15's again!! My next investment will be a microlite tripod.

My vote would be Leica, I love the rangefinding capability, the clarity is amazing and I get zero eye fatigue. I sometimes take a spotter, but half the time I'm wondering why I'm carrying it. From 1,000 yards and in, I can tell whether or not I'm going to kill that buck with just my binos.

 

[Sirrated]

If you go rangefinding binos, then the Leica are noticeably nicer than the swaros. way better ergonomics, and the glass was unbeatable. best I have owned is my Razor HD 12x50s, but I have spent alot of time behind other glass and comparing things head to head of tripods. just my 2 cents. Good luck and congratulations on your upcoming dream purchase!

The Leica ultra-vids that I purchased a few years back have proven beyond all expectations, that it pays to buy the best. The best bit of advise that was given to me when it was time to buy, was to take them out-side, and look into and under those dark scrubby bits of bush, what I found was that the Leica's were as clear as you could get, where as some of the other top brands were definitely sub standard. Good luck and good hunting.

 

[azsugarbear]

In Arizona, we have the small whitetail known as the coues whitetail. Its coloration is so close to its desert surrounding we call it the grey ghost. The name of the game here is glassing - lots of glassing. If you talk to guides and knowledgeable hunters that hunt these small critters, you will mostly see Swarovski and Leica binos - and almost always on tripods. Tripods are necessary for stability and to avoid arm/hand fatigue.

I hang Swaro 10x42 HD's around my neck when hiking into my spot. Once there, my Swaro 15x56 HD's come out and are placed on a tripod where I begin to systematically tear the countryside apart. Leica's are equally good. We all see color differently, so choose the pair that is best for you.

 

[Mram10us]

Great info guys, keep it coming! I'm very familiar with the use of binos and spotters on tripods, I am just wanting to know what the best binos are in your opinion BASED ON EXPERIENCE Sorry, had to say it.
Leica and Swaro are always the 2 that come up in talking to other high end hunters, but new stuff is always coming out.

 

[Triple BB]

I do a guided hunt in Wyoming's region G every year. High end optics are the name of the game. Every guide I've hunted with uses high end bino's and usually a Swaro spotter. Its the same every day, hit a glassing point and look through the bino's and as soon as you find a deer, switch to the spotter. I carry Swaro 10x42 EL's. They're great, but for steep mountain hiking, I'm ready to give up some weight even if it means sacrificing something with the glass.

 

[James L Holzhauer]

Clarity trumps magnification. All the PH's in Africa use 10x42 Swarovski. Training you eyes to really see, instead of look, is where you win or lose.

 

[bigngreen]

A lot is going to depend on your conditions too, I've had a vortex razor and a Swaro spotter set up looking for sheep and in the conditions we had the razor was easier to spot rams BUT in good conditions the Swaro walked away. If your really serious a set of big eyes can't be best unless you packing them stupid far!! I'm going to build a set of 11-33 Razor big eyes after using a friend's!!

 

[BlackTail30]

Lot's of good info here already but I'll add my 2 cents. Everyone's eyes are different so you really owe it to yourself to get your hands on as many of these as you can and check them out for yourself, preferably side by side. Another piece of advice is to make sure you know how to set the diopter on each bino, to make sure you're getting the best image possible out of each set. I've watched dozens of guys grab a set of binos at the store and I've yet to see one set the diopter, so that it can be properly focused for their eyes.

About 10 years ago I was dead set on a pair of Leica's based on reviews. Almost ordered a pair online but decided to check them out in person first. When I compared the Leica ultra vid HD side by side to Swarovski EL swarovision, to my eyes, the Swaro's were noticeably better! The other thing I found out, by getting my hands on a set, was I could not use the Swaro 15's. They were too wide for my eyes. I couldn't be happier with my 10x50 EL's. I think they are the perfect Western bino. Brighter than the 10x42. Brighter than the 12x50 and easier to handhold. A couple years back I started mounting my bino's on tripod and I was completely blown away all over again.

I'm a gear junky! I love looking at gear. Rifles, scopes, packs, boots, clothing, you name it. I'm done looking at bino's. For my eyes, I already know I have the best out there.

 

[Mram10us]

Going to Cabelas tomorrow to try them out. I'll keep you guys updated