Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Gdpolk on May 05, 2017, 10:30:00 PM
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Simple poll. How often do you bring binoculars hunting?
If you care to post in addition to answering the poll, please state how often and why you chose what you did.
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I vote always/almost always. I find them invaluable for looking ahead before moving into an area, differentiating between brown bumps and animals, scouting, differentiating between sex of animals at distance, looking through brush, and generally enjoying the birds and other wildlife. I probably spend 1/3 - 2/3 of my time when hunting looking through glass. I almost never hit the woods without some and for how and were I hunt I sometimes consider them more important than my weapon of choice. I've taken home quite a few animals that I never would have known were there if I had left the binoculars at home. I've also filled some nice buck tags that I wouldn't have been able to ID as a legal buck without them because the brush was so thick. It allowed me to punch through the brush and count tines as they moved along then scan for shot windows to thread the needle through. My second best buck to date was taken solely because I was able to ID him as legal through the brush and pick a shot window out with binoculars and that wasn't even in very open territory or over a long shot distance; it just happened that the glass helped me to better ID and plan for a shot that would have been too risky for me to want to take without being able to plan it like I did and my naked eyes couldn't cut it by themselves.
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Very rare that I carry them. I'm a minimalist especially since I started trad hunting. I'm a bow, tolit paper, bottle of water and if it's early season a thermacell kind of guy. Sometimes I don't even take a big knife, I'll just let my old case mini trapper pocket knife do the work .
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I voted never/almost never. Most of my hunting is from stands where I can't see very far anyway. I do take binos on hunts where they have age or point restrictions on what you can shoot, or on the few western hunts I get to go on.
Bisch
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Never leave home without them, even in thick cover.
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Don't leave home without them, ever. Have some in my pack, both vehicles, turkey vest, and my travel duffel bag. Have several fairly low-end glasses, but rely on Zeiss 10x30. Wish I had another pair just like them in 7 or 8x for most hunting in Tennessee.
Murray
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Don't leave home without them, ever. Have some in my pack, both vehicles, turkey vest, and my travel duffel bag. Have several fairly low-end glasses, but rely on Zeiss 10x30. Wish I had another pair just like them in 7 or 8x for most hunting in Tennessee.
Murray
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We only have two sense's that help us be successful in hunting, sight and hearing. Binoculars enhance our sight. Spotting game in thick brush when sometimes only a ear, or antler can't be seen with the naked eye I NEVER hunt without them.
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Almost all my hunting is for deer done at short range. Therefore, I don't feel much need for binoculars. I have found it inconvenient to use them, particularly since my eye sight has declined making focusing them difficult, and find myself making too much movement. I do better sitting still till the deer comes in close.
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Ron said it all, I never go hunting without my binoculars.
Jason
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I hunt the mountains so they are a must for me also if after LASIK I see like a eagle.
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Always! Not just for hunting.
So many uses, too.
I am surprised more survival/ prepper "experts",
don't recommend them in a pack!
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Always. I find one of the best uses is after the shot. You can often see where the hit was made.
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Pretty thick here in Maine, I only bring them if I'm lucky enough to draw a moose permit
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I always bring mine but don't use them as much as I should. Have always tucked them into a shirt or coat to keep them out of the way and protect from rain and snow but it is a pain and a lot of extra movement to take out and put back. Had been looking for a harness but didn't see one I liked. Recently saw a post here about the Rick Young harness and think it will make a big difference for making better use of them.
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Rarely/never. If I have them, I use them, which means I am moving. Generally hunting thick cover here though. If I am intentionally setting up to watch a large field or clearing just to pattern activity then I will
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I always have binoculars with me. If I am elk hunting it is important because there is a point restriction on bulls and I'd better be sure. It is also fun to glass avalanche shoots and other spaces and appreciate the sights. Sometimes I'll see sheep, goats, deer or bears. Other times I just enjoy watching pine squirrels gather up food for the winter.
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I always have mine on using a bino harness, Crooked Horn I think. I use them a lot to evaluate the critter I am hunting and for watching other wildlife.
However, they have become part of my hunting setup because they keep my clothes compressed on my upper body. I have never had a shirt or vest get in the way of my string since I started using them this way.
D.P.
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Always bring with me.
But, they usually sit in the truck.
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Never while hunting whitetails from a tree stand
Always while prowling on the ground for hogs
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I'm an always guy. Besides being helpful spotting game the same way others have mentioned, I like looking at birds and other small critters. I just enjoy looking through them.
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Wat too much space out here. Either use lenses or bootleather-i opt for glass
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I'm an "always" "never" guy.
They are always taken on the hunt but almost always left in camp or the car. The main reason is that it's just one more thing to carry and get in the way.
When I elk hunt it's almost always in the thick stuff and up close and personal so they might be momentarily Handy but the rest of the time an inconvenience.
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Only when I'm out-of-state hunting in open country, which means almost never. I hunt from stands most of the time and that horizontal bit of back line will either become a deer headed for my shooting lane or not. I always imagine a deer is looking my direction beyond my clear vision.
46+ years of not having them on me. Tough habit to break.
Even though I went nuts last August and bought Swarovski.
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Always and whether in dense timber or open country have I ever been sorry I had them. Ron said it well.
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I primarily hunt from tree stands and Binos are right below bringing my arrows on the priority list. I use them for judging the caliber of bucks I see if given a chance before the shot. They have saved a lot of lives over the years. I also use them to locate my arrow and down game after the shot. I once even saw a woman give a guy a BJ along the road from my stand. You never know what you might see. I also use a Bino harness to keep the out of the way.
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I always have them on me. For me it is not out of necessity - more for the enjoyment. I use them constantly - I even use them to look at arrows that have passed through game - looked at the beginnings of a blood trail from up in the stand - so well beyond the closer look at obvious views.
On the necessary side of things seems like everything looks like a moose first few days of a moose hunt - everything looks like a gobbler first few days of turkey season - and so on - so binoculars have saved me thousands of miles of unnecessary walking - riding - whatever.
Our crew always use them on whitetails too and we mark male - female - age classes first opportunity - often before they are in range - and for us at least we have never accidentally shot a button - which I see this all the time outside our group.
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Im a rarely guy. If it wern't for turkey hunting, id probably be closer to never. Its indeed a rare day that I want my compacts in my way on stand or in blind for deer, but I will carry them from time to time for turkey, and mainly if im planning on being more mobile then normal.
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Always. I am primarily a eastern Bowhunter and I hunt fairly thick stuff. I'm still an always. If you ever get truly in the habit of using them you would as soon leave your bow at home as your binos.
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Always
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Just like my master card, I never leave home without them...
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Maybe if I hunted out west I would see some value, but the thick timber in my area prevents seeing anything more than a couple hundred yards away so really no point.
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I would rather leave my bow home than my binoculars
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My binoculars help me penetrate thick stuff by focusing near and far. Things in the foreground blur, and what lies beyond the slim gaps comes into clarity.
They go with me every time, unless I get vapor lock in my brain and am 200 yards out of camp before I remember them. Even then, I will likely turn around and get them. I feel so disadvantaged without them.
Killdeer
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I'm an always guy. I can't imagine hunting without them. In thick cover, I can see into the brush and pick out that movement as a bird, squirrel or deer. In open country, details are so much easier to see
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I'm a never guy. When bow hunting, I won't shoot much more than 20 yards, 30 max...I can see just fine at that distance.
If I'm hunting with a gun, all my guns have a magnifying device with crosshairs attatched to the top of them. While others are looking through their binoculars and decided it's a " shooter", I've got the crosshairs behind it's shoulder and pulling the trigger. Heard MANY tales how the big one got away while the hunter was laying down the binos and reaching for their weapon.
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I keep a pair under the seat in my truck, won't leave home without em
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Going hunting without binos would be like heading to the toilet without TP. I have binos on my person when fishing, backpacking, hiking, snowshoeing, oh yeah AND hunting. Anytime I'm outside I have them, you never know what you may be able to witness while in the woods.
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Originally posted by Doc Pain:
I would rather leave my bow home than my binoculars
Me too!
Almost :)
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I always used them before I needed eye glasses. Now, almost never.
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Seldom here. When hunting out west and Alaska, they were essential. Where I can hunt here in NY, generally I can't see more than 30 or 40 yards, usually less. I found them to be one more unnecessary gadget.
I will admit on occasion I wish I had a set of binoculars but its seldom enough, I make do without.
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Like American Express, "I never leave home without it"
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Shag, i am hoping you are not the one "scoping" me with your rifle cause you dont have binoculars.
I have used them many times at 30 yards on cloudy day last minute decisions. Does that deer have little spikes ( technically a buck, for tag purposes) or is it a doe. Also, as others point out, i can search the thick stuff.
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Originally posted by ChuckC:
Shag, i am hoping you are not the one "scoping" me with your rifle cause you dont have binoculars..
That was my first thought too.
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Every time.
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Food for thought, Bino's was one of the item's that Mr. Hill would always have when he hunted. To this this explain's the importance of having them for stalking.
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I would rather hunt without my bow thank without my glass.
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All of the areas that I bow hunt are fairly thick, so I generally don't. It's just something else that I need to carry with me into the woods. The only time that I carry them is during rifle season if I'm sitting where I can see a long ways.
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Glad to hear there are some other "never" or "seldom" guys out there. Maybe it's just one of those skills I've never mastered. I keep hearing folks talk about how essential binocs are for hunting. But I've never been able to find much of anything with binoculars. The deer I find are usually within a couple hundred yards & I catch them moving or by their shape. I carry a cheap monocular but by the time I get it out, whatever deer I saw has already moved on into the brush. It's mostly just for fun.
I did use them once to some measure of success about 20 years ago. I had walked up on a deer feeding in the brush. He was behind some thick manzanita & soon moved his head behind it so I couldn't even see his head anymore. His head didn't come into view again until he laid down to take a nap right in front of me. I spent about 15 minutes slowly unzipping my backpack to retrieve my binocs with this deer sleeping about 12 yards from me. I was hoping to see enough of a branch on his antler to take a shot (forked-horn or better out here & I was carrying a rifle). I glassed those antlers hard but, alas, he was a solid spike.
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I've also never viewed high quality optics of any kind as a traditional skill. That's why I don't put a scope on my muzzle-loaders either.
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I have them with me but rarely use them. However, since antler point restrictions were implemented in my area I have been using them more. The thick areas I hunt a lot of times the animal is right on top of me before I see it so I don't get a chance to glass them. I need a good harness so maybe I would use them more.
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I've come to enjoy the simplistic nature of traditional gear, and the added difficulty. But I haven't given up the modern technology to help me find and locate game. As more people take to the woods to hunt during "archery" season, locating game has never been more important. I will not be without my binoculars.
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Always, always, always take binoculars. I would feel almost naked without them. Almost as important as the bow and arrows. I can see farther, look into thick cover, see what critters are doing, etc. So many times i have seen something that caught my attention, but needed the glass to tell what it is.
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In the Midwest, I almost never carried them. Now that I'm in the Mountain West, I almost always carry them. That includes whitetail hunting on the plains. The terrain makes a big difference, but I've come to appreciate them even in a bit more cover. You can always stop and confirm what you think you're seeing.
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Looks like a good poll. I'm enjoying the discussion.
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I never head to the woods without them. Sometimes, I have been in a rush and started to my woods without them. I always go back and get them.
Like others have stated. I almost feel naked without them. Even in the thicker parts of the woods that I hunt. They help me spot and identify game easier.
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I rarely go without them when I bowhunt. I carry them occasionally when squirrel hunting just to keep track of fellow hunters in a skirmish line. I sometimes carry them when fishing if I am in a wildlife rich area. Certainly carried when fly fishing Yellowstone and Alaska to watch for bears, buffalo, or other hazards.
As many have stated, I use them to watch other wildlife. I am guessing my glassing activities have alerted deer I never saw because of extra movement. But I am willing to accept that as part of the total experience.
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I am among the Always votes. There is so much more to see than just the animal you're hunting. I know tons of folks like those harnesses, my wife among them. She always has her glasses with her, too. I prefer to just shorten up the neck strap to where it'll just go over my punkin head, and the binocs ride high on my chest. They're out of the way of my bowstring, my rifle, my camera, my whatever. We have become sort-of bird watchers, and have enjoyed many times identifying a bird that only binocular use would allow. We have them in both our vehicles, and on the tables at home that allow viewing outside.
Murray
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All the time, once you get use to them it is hard not to use them. It is amazing what you miss with the naked eye.
Tundra
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Never. One less bulky item to tote along. Plus, I do most of my deer hunting from treestands. No antler restrictions here in NJ, yet, so don't need them to ascertain a legal buck. And by the time they're within shooting range, I wouldn't need them anyway.
Now if I hunted out west, that would be a different story.
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always!!
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During bow season it depends on the property I'm on. My place it is pointless; too thick to see any farther than the naked eye can handle just fine; same with a friend's place. There is one property that they can be useful on.
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I never leave the vehicle without mine. There's always something I need a closer look at regardless if its a animal, insect, tree, etc.lol I feel naked without them. There's no telling how many times I've noticed something in the distance and zoomed in and just had to check it out on foot, only to stumble upon a better stand sight or setup spot, funnel, escape route, shed!
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I always have them and go back to get them if somehow I forget. That usually only happens early in the season. They seem most helpful in thick areas.