I'm looking to buy my first set of binos and was wondering how important is it to carry them. What is a good size to carry? Suggestions?
Pretty darn important! You can't always see deer with the naked eye. Once you get a pair, you will never want to enter the woods without them. Look into the Vortex diamondback line. I have 8 x 42s. All you need.
yelp almost shot a spike because i couldnt see the horns in low light.... but i checkd before i shot and he got the pass......
Binoculars are one of the most important pieces of equipment that a bowhunter can use.. IMO Not only can you pick out pieces of whitetail with them, knowing then not to move, how to call etc.. but also what you're looking at, confirms what your looking at, stop paying attention to that bush that looks like a whitetail, that branch that looked likes an antler, oh that's just a squirrel, look elsewhere... I've killed bucks that I spotted with my binoculars but not my naked eye which led me to calling and taking where as I would have never known. I'd rather see and make decisions w what my bino show me rather than sitting there pondering... Light gathering... when light fades, with your naked eye, everything in the woods and fields become whitetails, binos clear those images up and allows you to make decisions... I've not gotten down because a quick scan of my hunting area with my binos showed an approaching shooter... even though it wasn't light enough to shoot, watching him with the light gathering ability of my binos allowed me to let him leave the area before getting down, not to blow him out of the area. That said, they are also invaluable after the shot... immediately upon shooting an animal I grab the binos and follow the animal as far as I possibly can. I've watched deer lay down out of eyesight but with binos I've been able to make the right move and study and watch the animal... I've glassed and found my arrows from the stand which leads me to make the right decision. I've also followed blood trails with my binos from the treestand which leads me to stay put, back out or follow... You don't want to purchase more than an 8 X, the benefits you get from a 10 X don't outweigh the degradation that you can't actually hold still with making the 8X clearer... as long as you get a good set in 8 x 42's... and Nikon Monarchs are fantastic... get the best set you can afford.
A few things determine the correct size to have. Regardless of your terrain - very high magnifications (12+) are going to be very difficult to hold steady for a clear view. Higher magnification means small movements appear very big. Magnifications of 8-10 are easier to hold freehand with one or both hands. The other main aspect to consider is the objective lens size (second number). Larger objective lenses gather more light - making them more effective in low light. The downside is larger lenses are...well larger and heavier. The last thing is quality. You get what you pay for. Cheap binocs are often not waterproof or fogproof which is very important if you're out in damp or rainy weather. Cheaper binocs also have cheap glass which lowers image quality. I use a pair of 10x25 that are fogproof and waterproof and they've worked great for me so far. Not too big.
I agree they're one of the most important items a bowhunter takes afield. My last two bucks I shot were taken from information I gathered on his movement from previous years, being able to identify deer is of upmost importance.
I'm going to disagree a little bit with some guys up top. I would never get anything less than 10X. To me thats your perfect magnification. 12X is too much for the woods and 8X is not enough for open fields. 10 seems to be about just right. Another thing is I wouldn't get less than a 42mm. About the best pair of binoculars I ever carried as far as weight/resolution/size go was a pair of 10X42 Nikon Monarchs. They were great. I have a pair of 10X38 Monarchs and they are alright but at first and last light I'm wishing for the bigger lenses. I with the other guys saying that behind your bow they are probably the most important piece of equipment you can carry in the woods with you. They have helped me spot tons of deer I otherwise I would have never known were there.
Agree with everybody else here for the most part. First thing I would do is set your budget then, if you can, add another $50-$75 to that. Get the absolute best you can. How do you determine the best? Easy, go look through them. Every piece of glass can and will appear different depending on the users. Everybody's eyes are different. The best time to look through these is outside, right at last light. Natural light vs. artificial lighting will reveal subtle differences in clarity, sharpness, and light gathering capabilities. Low light conditions will only enhance these differences. Nikon, Leupold and Vortex are our top selling mid price brands ($150-$400) Nikon- Lifetime Manufactures Warranty, PITA to deal with, seriously. Japanese Glass Assembled in Philippines Leupold- In this price range, generally a 3 year warranty. Lifetime in Gold Ring series. Easy to deal with. American Made Vortex- Unconditional, transferable lifetime warranty. Best in the business hands down. Easiest to deal with. Japanese Glass Assembled in Philippines I use Vortex Optics exclusively.
Vortex's warranty is top notch. I sent my binos back to them a couple years back for them to make some repairs (heavy use issues) and they sent me a brand new pair. Can't beat that. Their quality is comparable to more expensive brands.
I've seen more deer in heavey cover within 100 yards with binos that I would have never seen with the naked eye. Its like x-ray vision. Those deer stick out like soar thumbs. If it was a mile to my stand and I made it 3/4 the way and realized I forgot my binos I would be walking back. I haven't forgot them in quite awhile!
Here there a must. When we spot and stalk we like to use 10x42 to 12x50. We spot the animals then put the spotting scope on them to see how big they are. If I am sitting at my stand I use my 10x42. Then again I am old and my eye sight sucks
I'll even give you a real world scenario that happened to me just today... So I saw movement at about 150 yards away in the cover, with the bino's I was not only able to determine it was a deer\buck, but also that if the deer gave me a shot, I was going to take him... He was moving briskly so when he was at about 60 yards I drew back and just waited until the shot. Having easy access to the bino's allowed me to just focus on the shot opportunity and not have to try and judge the deer at full draw...
As Rob said, they're extremely important IMO. I feel naked without them. BUT, if you are going to invest in a pair, do yourself a favor and buy good glass. I hunted for years with cheap binos in the 50-100 dollar range and got by. Then one year, I went all in and bought a good set of Leupold Gold Rings. The difference was absolutely astounding. The eye relief is much better on high end sets and you can look through them more often and for longer periods of time. At the end of the day, even if you glassed quite a bit, your eyes aren't tired. Good, quality binos make a world of difference.
I only hunt in the woods, I don't like hunting in big open fields with dozens of deer, it just doesn't excite me and they're usually too far away anyway. So with that being said, I don't use binoculars, it's too much movement for me and since I don't worry about the size of deer I kill I don't use them to count points or any of that. I only use them if I am looking for a deer I've shot to see if it crashed or while tracking.
Well, just bought an inexpensive set of $50 Simons 8X40. Them seem to be a good set for starters. Probably upgrade in the future. Thanks for the info.
To me my bino's are as essential as my weapon. I personally prefer a high quality compact. I can't tell you how much game I've seen with my bino's that I would have never seen with the naked eye. I only hunt woods...nothing better than being able to sort through the mess and pick out a deer. Compacts for me are great, and though you sacrifice a little in low light.....its never made any difference to me in the end for my hunting. If I primarily hunted fields, I'd probably get bigger. I've used my dad's Nikon 8x42's a good bit, and while they are awesome, I just prefer smaller size .
Hunting open country mulies where its either walk miles to see its a buck or not I rely on my binos. When hunting whities out of a tree they help me see through trees and tamarisks to tell if anything is there. I don't leave home with out them. I have the Leupolds currently but have had the cabelas brand and liked them and also have looked at vortex and hawk optics. Redfields are also a good choice.
