Hello Gang,
Found out that I am moving westward. The army is moving me to Ft. Carson, Colorado. Having never been west of the ole Miss. I have never really hunted any big ranges or long distances. That being said, I will be investing in some quality glass.  What I am looking for is opinions on which is better, going with a 8 or 10 power pair of binos.   I was thinking that a nice pair of 10x42mm would be about right for general hunting. But I am also wondering if a pair of 8x would do just as good, while saving a couple of bucks.   I will be using them for general big game hunting. Deer, Elk, and pronghorn mostly.

As always thank you for the responses.
Aaron

10 if you have something to steady them on or with. Shawn

I like my 8x for hunting the dark timber for Elk. It makes it easier to pick out shapes than a shaky, hand held 10x...
If I was going to be glassing more open areas I'd go with the 10x on some kind of rest like a tripod.
I'd say you'll do fine with a quality pair of 8x though. Good luck choosing...

I've been using 10X Leica and Swarovski and for me they are the perfect binocular for out here.......and have been for the past 32 years for me anyway.

I have used both and I don't think it made much of a difference for me.  A quality pair of 8 or 10 power will be fine.  I would not spend the money to purchase another pair if I already had one.

The thing to look for out here is not so much the 8x or 10x its the other number. Light gathering is very important, especially at the ranges we glass out here and the time of day we do the glassing. 10x42 are the way to go, but most guys have spotting scopes for detail.

I like my Steiner 8X30 for most situations......

If you look for antelope or above timberline elk and deer the 10X is for sure better.In the black timber the 8X is easier to handle and it is lighter too,great feature in the high country.

I hunted CO for elk a few years ago and found my Swarovski 8x30 's really clear and well worth the outlay of the $$.

The quality of glass will beat cheaper, more powerful glass any day hands down.

Best investment i ever made.


ak.

having guided in CO for several years my opinion leans toward the 8x for general hunting---unless you have a very steady hand the shaking of the higher power image and your eyes attempts to stay focused will give you a hammer of a headache. i always used the binocs for general stuff, really big binocs or spotting scope for serious looking at longer distance, above timberline, sheep, goats, etc.

I agree with those who say 8x is more versatile, plus there really is not much reason for anything higher for bowhunting since you are going to need to ultimately be close anyway. But a 10x is fine too. I have several of each, plus other powers. As Al Kidner said, the quality of the binos is much more important than the difference in power. The 8x30 Swarovskis are wonderful, as are the 8x32 Leicas. For most purposes, I prefer not to carry around the weight of a 10x binocular because they usually have 42mm objective lenses and tend to be heavier and bulkier, but I recently got a pair of 10x32 Vortex Viper binos that would work well for most open country hunting and are the same size as the 8x30 binos. Although the Vortex Vipers are nice, the optics of that model are significantly inferior to my Swarovskis an Leicas. I know the top of the line Vortex binos have excellent glass and coatings, but the Razors don't come with anything smaller than a 42mm objective.

Like Joel, I use the big heavies like my 15x56 Swarovski binoculars and my 15-60x80mm Swarovski spotting scope for serious long-distance viewing.

Allan

I have found my 8x30 Steiner compacts do a great job.. Lots of light gathering, great optics at a reasonable (not cheap) price compared to others and just the right size.

I have to agree with others the light, lense quality and size factor are more important

10X if you want to "study" the animal, 8X if you just want to see him.

I tested a bunch in the power range I wanted 8x42 and 10x42. I choose 8x42 because

1)easier to steady and that matters when under stress

2)good binos have very good exit pupil light capacity.  ie: I was able to see much more in low light using an 8x over the 10x.

I felt it was worth it to have better low light capacity than the extra power.

Joshua

For mountain hunting my vote is 10x42s. The extra magnification is nice for checking out bulls or muleys across a basin.  We rarely lug spotting scopes around.  I use my 8x for stand hunting whitetails.

My first trip for elk in Colorado I use a pair of 8X Swaro's SLC, the second trip I took 10X Leica's.

I love the Leica's for viewing, but the swaro's were a little handier.

If I had to do it all over again, I would go with the 8X, I think.

Thanks Guys for the opinions. There seems to be more support for the 8x than I was originally thinking there would be. I normaly don't use binos when I'm hunting because I've never hunted at any real ranges that required using them. I like the idea of the smaller size/lighter weight in addition of the wider field of view and more stable image of the 8x's proubally what I'll go with in the end, that is unless I can find a good deal on some 10 powers.

QuoteOriginally posted by ron w:
I like my Steiner 8X30 for most situations......

Same here, I use mine all the time.

http://swfa.com/Burris-8x42-Signature-Select-Binocular-P5981.aspx

PM Sent

I used 10's for yrs and a couple yrs ago went to 8x. There is no way on gods green earth I'd ever go back to 10 now. The 8's are so much easier to hold steady that I don't miss anything a 10 would see. If anything I am probably seeing more game than before. If you want a close up look carry a 13x30 Nikon Fieldscope in your pack.