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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: BAK on December 07, 2019, 07:23:02 PM
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Another thread got me to thinking. I've never carried or felt the need to carry binoculars while hunting. Maybe it's just a function of being restricted to hunting white tails, turkey, and black bear. Have killed a couple of antelope but don't focus on them. Just more weight I don't seem to need. Anybody else? :dunno:
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I don't. There are times they would be handy, but I carry enough and my big 10x40 would just be in the way.
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I don't, find any need for them and I can't see through them anyway.
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The only time I use them is if I go in a hunt where I am apt to see animals a long ways off, like pronghorn, or elk maybe. I rarely take them for hunting whitetails or pigs, or anything else where I’m sitting in a blind and I can only see 20-30yds anyway.
Bisch
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I use them so little I might as well not have them with me, but I also have very very good eye sight, and usually when I pull them out, it's to confirm or deny what I'm seeing with my eyes is an animal. That's mainly elk hunting, I take a monocular hunting whitetails and usually can't see far enough to need it!
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Most of my hunting is, and has been, in the woods so I use them mostly for looking through cover. Lots of things that look like a log or a tree knot with the naked eye is a deer;s back or nose when seen through optics. Comes in handy when still hunting.
That said I don't use them much any more. I bought the pair I have long before I needed eye glasses. The eye relief is way too short so I can't use them very well unless I take my glasses off. What a monster pain in the backside that is when you're carrying a bow and bundled up in a warm hat.
The longer eye relief models are pretty expensive so I haven't wanted to spring for them.
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I don't when archery hunting for whitetails/pigs. I set up in close cover and feel the extra movement is more apt to spook the game. If hunting out west where I need to spot the game at long range and then work my way in, I use my binoculars.
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Guess one would classify me as a minimalist, less is more, type person. That is what attracted me to traditional archery, and still does. So no I do not carry or use binocs while hunting. Another big reason, I wear glasses and removing them so I can actually see through the binocs is way to much movement.
I can certainly see the need in big open country if spot and stalk is the preferred approach to getting stickbow close.
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Me
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I do carry binos on every hunt. They’ve come in very handy so many times I feel naked without them. I have recovered deer I would have had trouble finding because of them and I can look into the brush to pick out that movement and tell if it’s a bird or a deer. Always carry them. Swarovski 8x30
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I typically haven’t, but with antler restrictions in place I find myself using them to make sure a doe is a doe and not a lil spike. In low light it’s just too hard to see spikes and little antlers. I began using compacts, especially for stalking but now I’ve been moving back toward the relatively PIA 10x42. Just heavy but so much better optics.
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They tend to get in my way. The stands that I hunt from are all set up for close shots, so binos just aren't particularly useful.
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Same as DNVO, I also use Swaro 8x30 I’ve had for 20 years. I use them a lot and they are handy for checking antlers in antler restricted areas while they are still at a distance or checking for buttons on does.. on recovery situations they are great for checking what might be discarded as a log when it’s the back of a downed deer they don’t always fall with the white belly showing in your direction . I use a ricks outdoors ultra lite harness and don’t even know they are there most of the time
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I agree with Dnovo. I'd feel naked without my binos (8x32 Leicas). They're always on a strap around my neck, whatever I'm hunting, wherever I go. They help pick out critters in thick cover, even at fairly close range. I find I use them more in thick cover, close in than I do in wide open areas, spotting, for example.
I've worn glasses a long time and have no trouble using binos with them. Just have to buy glass with proper eye relief. I would have missed out on seeing a lot of critters over the years had I not had my binos. Of course, I don't always get shots at them, but without my binos, I wouldn't have even known they were there, or spooked them long before I came within range.
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I have a couple compact sized binos I use for spot and stalk on pigs. Good to know if that log at fifty yards has hair on it of not, before I bust it out. One 6x30 Leopold Yosemite gets that most use.
:coffee: :archer2: :campfire:
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I don’t use them.
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I didn't until a few years ago, and I don't know why I didn't start sooner. It makes it so much easier to identify things at longer distances that look like deer, or have potential to be a deer. I also love them for still hunting. I can scan much more effectively. The weight doesn't bother me. I don't even really notice that they're there.
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When I first started hunting I didn’t think the extra weight and bulk were worth carrying them. Now, after using them for 30 years, not using binoculars doesn’t make sense when hunting; You miss too much and waste too much energy and time.
Like Donovan, Dave Lay, and Onion, I feel naked without them. I used the Swarovski. 8x30’s for years then bought a set of 10x25 Leica’s around 10 years ago for elk hunting because of compact size (they fit in a shirt pocket) and weight. Started using them when hunting whitetails and ended up selling the Swarovski’s because I didn’t use them anymore. Still carry a set of mid priced 10x’40-50’s in all my vehicles but my hunting setup in the field always has the 10x25’s. Back east the 8x25 compacts might be better option. If I am going to be glassing for extended amounts of time I pack and use full size glass.
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I ALWAYS carry binoculars on me and I ALWAYS use them - bow hunting - scouting - duck hunting - turkey hunting - even bears on baits - any time I am outdoors. The reasons are endless - and I cannot think of a single reason not to have them on me and ready.
And for you guys in super thick cover - yeah I hunt super thick cover - and I always identify buttons immediately BEFORE shooting - and I usually have my arrow located - studied - and first blood located BEFORE getting down after a shot.
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ID of buttons is a very good reason when hunting in areas with severe restrictions and a button is your buck for the year!!! Looking for sheds binos save a bunch of walking. And again that log at 45-50 yards that explodes out at 30 is another good reason to use them during hog hunts.
:coffee: :archer2: :campfire:
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About three years ago a thread like this inspired me to pick up a good pair (Swarovski) binocular. The VERY first time I took them into the tree with me, I spooked a deer that was coming from the side and saw me moving. I very rarely spook deer (that I'm aware of).
I know, it wasn't the binocular's "fault", it was my technique.
I will occasionally put them in my pack when I'm turkey hunting in case a hen :goldtooth: is trying to hide her beard.
Hunting without binoculars since 1970 I just never developed the habit. Except for incidental scouting while on stand (whitetails), I don't need to and often cannot see beyond close (50-75 yards) range. I don't need binoculars for that.
So, I use them more for looking out my deck door about 300 yards up the lane between two large blocks of forest.
I should probably make myself give them another try. My ears don't pick deer walking at distance any longer, maybe my eyes could use some help "seeing" through thick stuff?
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I never hunt without them so many times Ive had to identify something or on very cloudy days in that last half hour you can judge a rack you wouldn't see with out binos . I have 2 pair one compact and one 8x30 both Swarovski and I have a Vortec monocular in 10 x which is too wiggly for me I wished they were 8 x . In the trucks I carry spotting scopes .
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Always carry them but not the high power but 6x32. I like looking at other wildlife while on stand. As the light fails I adjust to about 25 yards so I can tell if a buck is a shooter or not before he's in range.
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Even though I only hunt the woods of the Midwest, I would rather forget my bow at home then my binoculars. I use them in low light, shadows, dense woods, to identify animals or movements far off, and to aid in recover of animals after the shot. Sometimes even just to study small birds or animals up close for entertainment.
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Like Walts experience, I have had Swarovski 8X30 binoculars for probably thirty years. I like them a lot. But for just archery hunting I have a pair of Zeiss 8X20 Binos that fit nicely in my Safari-Tuff quiver pocket. They are helpful to me especially as daylight starts to fade, but also when I see a little movement back in the brush that I want to identify.
I use them on almost every hunt. On the rare occasion that I forget to pack them, I am usually wishing I had them.
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Have to add, as I'm sure my use of the binocs spooked that doe a couple years ago, I'm equally confident that I haven't failed to get a shot because I didn't have binoculars with me.
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Trying to pare down my stable, see classifieds. Still have 10x28 Votex Diamondback, 6x30 Leupold Yosemite, and 10x42 Vortex Diamondback. 10x gets the most use when stalking hogs as mentioned above. 10x28 gets more use for backpacking trips when ounces count. Yosemite are what I call perfect for whitetail hunting. Probably don't use them enough, but glad to have them. Especially, on Federal land where a button buck or doe fawn can end your season.
:coffee: :archer2: :campfire:
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I used to not... but now carry a pair of 6x30 Mavens. Now 20 yards is about the biggest opening I get in Florida, but you can see way further with binos as it turns out by looking through brush. Also very helpful at low light when you hear footsteps but can't cut the shadows with your naked eye.
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I don't use them. I hunt in cedar woods; things happen so quick without much sound that I have my bow in hand all the time. By the time I see them I would worry about the extra movement also.
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Mine are always in my day pack. Small, compact, I can pull them out to zone in on movement out of visual clarity range, and also great for just plain scanning when nothing is moving.
I wear glasses but don't remove them, just push them up with the binos.
Better to have them and not need them than the other way around.
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It seems that I am in the minority, but I carry them every time I hunt deer.
We have antler restrictions so it is necessary to determine if he is legal as soon as possible.
I have also had numerous times when the binoculars have allowed me to find deer hidden in brush.
I have a harness but once in the stand they hang on a hook.
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My opinion...
Binos are the third most important piece of equipment to have with you in the woods after a bow and arrows (with sharp broadheads).
In wide open country 10Xs are the norm if the plan is to sit and glass before stalks but 8Xs are useful while on the stalk or just as all purpose binos. In close-in hunting situations they might be even more valuable. I have a compact size pair of 8Xs that I use focused in close to pick apart the cover around me from shooting range out. They are very light and I keep them on a short bungee lanyard so that the movement from the hanging position to my eyes is minimal. This also keeps them up away from my drawing the bow. Even modestly priced binoculars usually have adjustable eye pieces that move in and out so that they can be adjusted for those who wear glasses or need different eye relief.
It seems like every article about binos always says... "Spend as much money as you can afford" when giving advise on how much cash to put towards binos. Some even advise to take what you can afford and then wait until you can double it because "Good glass is worth waiting for". My advise is to head to whatever outdoor gear store you prefer and get what meets your needs and is within your budget. You do not need a $1000+ pair of binos, you don't even need a $350 pair. Undoubtedly the $1000+ pair has features and functions that the $350 doesn't (most of it just in the ability to SAY you have a $1000 pair of binos).
There are several budget options that will work fine for the average hunting situation. Vortex, Leupold, Nikon etc. all have options for a few hundred dollars that will work fine. I still have a $20 pair of small fold-up Bushnell's I bought at Wal-Mart in the late 80s. They are the camo rubberized, "armored" type that were popular back then and they still ride in my pack wherever I hunt.
I have two or three pair of binoculars in my truck at all times. At least one pair for me and at least one pair for my passenger (usually my wife). They are handy for looking at the countryside, or critters out in the middle of a field. They are invaluable for settling the argument of whether or not that was a Dark-eyed Junco or a Brown-headed Cowbird in the bush we just passed (she was right... Junco).
I do not agree with the opinion that bad (sometimes interpreted as inexpensive) glass is worse than no glass... no glass is, no glass. When I was a kid I hunted for years with my Dad's hand-me-down pair of WWII binos. I think they were 6X or 7X and they had the etched range-finding reticle in them. No coatings, I doubt they were nitrogen filled because they fogged-up constantly and they seemed to be built out of something that weighted at least as much as depleted uranium because they were HEAVY! I am pretty sure that these days $20 binos off Amazon are better than those.
Second hand is always a good option as well...
Growing up my Uncle was an avid birder and had a set of binos on the windowsill looking in every direction from the house. As a kid I was amazed at what I could see with them. I will admit to being a binocular fan-boy I guess but they really are handy to have in one hand if you have a bow and arrows in the other.
OkKeith
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I always have my binos on me when I'm in the woods...hunting, scouting or whatever. I glass the thickets and hillsides whenever I "thought" I spotted movement and before I need to move. Due to low back issues I can only sit for so long so before I have to stand (or sit) I glass the areas where I expect to see deer moving to keep an unseen deer from picking me off.
Quick story-Several years ago a good friend wanted to get into bowhunting. He practiced hard all summer and come season I set him up in a good spot to get a shot at an early season doe. After a few evenings in the stand he questioned me as to why I set him up in a dead spot. I had loaned him a small pair of binos and asked him if he had been using them. He told me that he could see everything just fine and had not used them. I asked him to use the glasses to really study the terrain around him before he stood up or sit down and if he thought he spotted movement to use the glasses to really check out that area. Long story short, the next time out he saw 7 deer and had 3 walk right past him. He even missed one!
Deer seem to like to show up when you least expect them and appear out of nowhere. Since I started glassing, I see a lot more deer and have killed more deer. I move slowly and really study the cover around me and many times will see the deer well ahead of when I would've seen them with the naked eye. Glassing adds to the hunt for me.
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Our country is mostly hardwoods with mixed brush at the edges and some in the more open woods. I like having my Steiner Predator 8x32 compacts with me to be able to look "into" the brush for all the above listed reasons. They have saved my butt on not spooking a deer a number of times.
I have been wearing glasses for the past 20 or so years and would just push the glasses up to my fore head when I wanted to use em.
Fast forward.... In the last two months I have had eye surgery and now have new lenses in both eyes and I am seeing better then 20/20 binocular so I am good to go. No glasses save for real small print.
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Before I needed eye glasses there was binoculars around my neck. Now I have a harder time using them and find them to smear my eyeglass lenses. I still carry them (pocket or pack) and will use them after I remove eye glasses.
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I only wear glasses for reading or up close work (tying flies, sharpening broadheads, fletching arrows, etc.) but my Dad has always worn glasses. He prefers to set his binos up to use without them.
After adjusting the eye cups in or out depending on what he needs for eye relief, he closes his right eye without his glasses. Looking through the binos he focuses on a specific spot. Once the focus is clear he closes his left eye and adjusts the ring-diopter on the right lens of the binos (usually has a "+/-" symbol) without changing the focus, to correct the sight picture into good focus. This adjusts for any difference in the acuity of his eyes.
He never pulls his glasses off to use the binos... he just slides the eye cups under the bottom rim of his glasses and pushes them up while he looks through the binos. The glasses slide back down on his nose when he drops the field glasses. I have watched him do this for fifty years!
Keith
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I use them for Every hunt except when I hunt deer from a tree stand.
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I only wear glasses for reading or up close work (tying flies, sharpening broadheads, fletching arrows, etc.) but my Dad has always worn glasses. He prefers to set his binos up to use without them.
After adjusting the eye cups in or out depending on what he needs for eye relief, he closes his right eye without his glasses. Looking through the binos he focuses on a specific spot. Once the focus is clear he closes his left eye and adjusts the ring-diopter on the right lens of the binos (usually has a "+/-" symbol) without changing the focus, to correct the sight picture into good focus. This adjusts for any difference in the acuity of his eyes.
He never pulls his glasses off to use the binos... he just slides the eye cups under the bottom rim of his glasses and pushes them up while he looks through the binos. The glasses slide back down on his nose when he drops the field glasses. I have watched him do this for fifty years!
Keith
That's exactly how I do it as well.
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Well I think Keith about covered it for me. :thumbsup:
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I’m a believer in using binoculars even in thick eastern woods. Just a few days ago I saw a flicker of movement in some brush. I thought it was a squirrel but when I focused in with binoculars it turned out to be a fork horn! The times I’ve left my binoculars in the truck I have always wished I had them. Of course my eyesight isn’t what it used to be!
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Of course my eyesight isn’t what it used to be!
All the more reason to have them. :saywhat:
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I carry 10x Nikon binos in a chest harness on every hunt. Every time I’m in the woods for anything actually. The chest harness is the key. They stay tight against your chest and don’t flop around or interfere with bow string at all. Don’t even know they are there til I need to look at something. I think the perfect bino for me here in Pennsylvania would be a pair of 8x Swarovski but they’re way out of my price range and not in my near future!!
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Can't figure out why so many have to explain why they do use them on a thread asking who doesn't :dunno:
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All just part of the conversation...
OkKeith
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Never without them.
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Never without them.
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Thanks OkKieth and others I will try that.
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Can't figure out why so many have to explain why they do use them on a thread asking who doesn't :dunno:
Because people who agree with the OP's point of view will go out of their way to explain why they agree with the POV and it never hurts a conversation to hear opposing viewpoints, is all. When one posts a blanket statement, they should expect both opposing and concurring answers .
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I'll give my opinion of why those who do and don't both responding. I USE to never carry binoculars. I figured if I'm hunting with a homemade stick bow that I'll never shoot beyond 20 yards why do I need them. I NEVER used them for decades. I finally bought a quality pair and now I feel naked without them. To get a closer look at the buck that just wouldn't come close. To checking things that just doesn't look right at a distance. To watching a bob cat close up. To watching birds that I haven't seen before. As for those who say they once spooked a deer by using their binoculars, yeap and I'm sure I can remember a time or two I spooked a deer by getting a candy bar out of my fanny pack. I still carry food and a fanny pack. I could go on. But that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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I only use them on very rare instances....
Here in the East you really don't need them....
I can't remember anyone wearing them in my hunting circles growing up....
Actually, I never owned a pair until I went out West in 2006.
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would never hunt without them.
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I hardly ever use them. The only pair I have is a 6x that I bought used to have something for when I go antelope hunting or check the fields from my truck.
Growing up in the big woods of northern MN nobody I grew up used them. Even now I really do not enjoy looking through magnification as it fatigues my eyes.
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Just got in from stand, left in a hurry and forgot my binocs at the house, saw several deer but it's more fun when you can bring them in close with binocs. I felt naked, won't forget them tomorrow!
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Always have my binos.....the biggest reason is it makes telling if a buck is legal so much easier. As the years go by those brow times are getting harder and harder for me to see without some assistance.
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I love to have my binos with me. I use bushnell 7x26 as they are really easy to pick up your subjects with. I have found them to be less durable than I’d like so this year I picked up a Vortex 8x32 and love them. I use a leather shoe string for a strap so I can sling it over my neck and shoulder. Easy to bring into action and stays out of the way when needed.
I usually don’t scope deer coming toward me as I want to be as still as possible. I do like to put the optics on the deer to see where I hit or if I hit and also to look for the arrow to see if it picked any color. I also like to do a little birding along the way. If you’ve read Fred Asbell’s ground hunting book you see what he thinks of binos as a hunting tool.
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Rarely use them. Dont need em while I'm in my stand or blind. I do keep em in my truck tho. And have used em to pick apart the brush for a downed deer.
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I own bino's but rarely take them. I might carry them more if they were 8's rather than 10's. In the thick evergreen filled forests I hunt the I rarely see a deer before it is in range or close enough to pick up my movements. I did bring them a couple of weeks ago on my last hunt to glass for bedded deer as I approached the area I was going to set up in. When I stopped for the first glassing session three deer blew out of some evergreens to my right. Even with the binos I wouldn't have seen them. If I walked by they might have stayed bedded and shown up later since the farmer walks the woods all the time and does not disturb the deer's movements. Maybe some day I will become a convert.
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Just now trying to get used to them, got a fair set and a nice chest carrier in the last two years, but find myself not carrying them. Very seldom am I ever more than 50 yards from any animal. But There have been a couple of times I wished I had them, was in the cabin getting ready to go hunting and had a nice buck cross the meadow 400 yards off, I could see antler, but didn't have the bino's. I also pulled into the cabin one afternoon and caught 6 wolves in the meadow about 300 yards out and wished I had bino's to get a better look.
oz