Binoculars for hunting?

[Martinjmpr]

Years ago I read somewhere that an "experienced" hunting guide will spend more $$ on his binos than on his rifle. Not sure if that is true or just hyperbole, but I finally drew a tag for Antelope in Wyoming (first time since 2014) and I'm really not liking the cheap roof-prism binos I currently have been using (bought at Sportsman's Warehouse probably around 2007 or so.)

I do recall reading that while roof-prism binos are more compact, they have less clarity and more distortion due to the light having to go through twice as many prisms as in porro-prism binos. So I'm thinking a nice set of porro-prism binos would be good to have.

So who can recommend a decent set and realistically, for a guy who only usually hunts once a year, how much should I spend on binos? Obviously in addition to something that offers good visibility, I'd also want something that can be knocked around and exposed to the elements without getting damaged or knocked out of alignment.

I think I'd feel comfortable spending up to maybe $250 on a good pair of binos. Does that sound reasonable? Any more and I'd seriously start to question the cost/benefit ratio.

Thanks in advance!

[Martinjmpr]

Forgot to add: Range finder would be nice but not neccessary.

These are 7 x 50 and advertised as waterproof with a military reticle feature for calculating range.

https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Floating-Binocular-Rangefinder-Navigation/dp/B01MG8N225/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1534180469&sr=8-9&keywords=military%2Bbinoculars&th=1

[travisty4]

I would avoid the Chinese kaleidoscopes. Just try reading the amazon description and it becomes obvious that these probably aren’t very good quality. If you are really on a budget like that i would look into vortex. They have several different models with a wide variety in cost


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[encorehunter]

I look through my binos a lot more than my riflescope. I think they are more valuable than the gun scope combo. I'll spend hours a dat looking through them, so if they give me a headache, I probably won't use them as much. As to the range finder, I prefer a seperate one. Do you want the rangfinder to fail and then you have to replace the combo unit, or just replace the range finder.
Bushnell actually makes a great rangefinder. I much prefer it to my Leupold that I spent three times as much on. It is more accurate than my Leupold and ranges further as well.
As for binos, spend as much as you are comfortable with. I have had Bushnell, Brunton, Leupold, Minox and several others. I have a couple pair of Swarovski now, and I wish I hadn't wasted the money on all the others. I easily spent as much on cheap binoculars as I did on the Swaros. I figure I will have these for a lifetime. I will be getting another pair of Swaros, as mine are both 10x. Im looking for a set of 7x, but if I have to 8x. The 42mm lenses are much clearer and allow more FOV than the 32mm. I feel they are worth the extra weight for the amount of FOV they allow.

[CS1983]

Check pawn shops. I got my dad a set of Swarovski binos at an insanely discounted price.

[encorehunter]

Check pawn shops. I got my dad a set of Swarovski binos at an insanely discounted price.

I need to find better pawns shops. Lol

[henpecked]

Pentax 12x50 pcf binos on amazon

[TRnCO]

I have a Vortex and a Swarovski and I almost always carry my Vortex. For the money I think Vortex is hard to beat.

[def90]

Years ago I read somewhere that an "experienced" hunting guide will spend more $$ on his binos than on his rifle. Not sure if that is true or just hyperbole,

I think I'd feel comfortable spending up to maybe $250 on a good pair of binos.

Yes it's true.. Spend $$ on your binos before your rifle, a $400 Remington will put the same hole in an Elk as a $1500 whatever... but you can't shoot an Elk that you can't find/see..

$250 is not a good pair of binos, I would almost go without and save the money.

10x42 is the general norm that you should be able to get by on for western hunting (some people go bigger) if you have quality glass, once again that will be dictated by the money that you put in to them. Vortex is quality stuff and I think you get every dollar you pay for with them. If you are on a budget look at the Vortex Vipers.

Vortex has a model of binos with the range finder built in to them. Should work fine for a rifle hunt. I would prefer to have a separate range finder for archery though.

[Martinjmpr]

I look through my binos a lot more than my riflescope. I think they are more valuable than the gun scope combo. I'll spend hours a dat looking through them, so if they give me a headache, I probably won't use them as much. As to the range finder, I prefer a seperate one. Do you want the rangfinder to fail and then you have to replace the combo unit, or just replace the range finder.
Bushnell actually makes a great rangefinder. I much prefer it to my Leupold that I spent three times as much on. It is more accurate than my Leupold and ranges further as well.
As for binos, spend as much as you are comfortable with. I have had Bushnell, Brunton, Leupold, Minox and several others. I have a couple pair of Swarovski now, and I wish I hadn't wasted the money on all the others. I easily spent as much on cheap binoculars as I did on the Swaros. I figure I will have these for a lifetime. I will be getting another pair of Swaros, as mine are both 10x. Im looking for a set of 7x, but if I have to 8x. The 42mm lenses are much clearer and allow more FOV than the 32mm. I feel they are worth the extra weight for the amount of FOV they allow.

WRT the "range finder" it seems the lower end binos that are advertised as having a "range finder" actually just have a reticle with a scale that is graduated in mils that you can then use to calculate range. Which I'm fine with, I used binos like that in the military so I'm comfortable with how they work.

As far as power goes, I think 10x is the most I need. The more power you get, the more shaky the image. Objective lens size I know is what determines how much light gets in so I'm pretty set on 50mm.

[encorehunter]

Those would make a lot more sense then. I don't like the idea of a laser rf in because of failure. I have used the range finding reticle in scopes and they are great for quick estimation.

[Shooter45]

Binoculars are worth their price by far. You can't shoot what you can't see, or stalk up on it to shoot. I switched to Vortex Viper HD 10x50 about 5 years ago and have been more than impressed. Great color contract, clarity, and low light vision at prime times. I see way more and they compete with higher value brands. $250 is too cheap to me for good binoculars unless you find a screaming deal on a used set.

https://www.amazon.com/Vortex-Optics-Viper-Prism-Binoculars/dp/B004I8Q8M4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1534230947&sr=8-4&keywords=vortex%2Bviper%2Bhd%2B10x50%2Bbinoculars&th=1&psc=1

[Rucker61]

42mm binos with good glass are much better than cheap binos in 50mm with crappy glass.

Near your price range I'd look at these: https://mavenbuilt.com/c-series-binoculars/

You also might consider tripod mounting them. Definitely worth the weight.

[Blowby]

Picked these up and compared with Razor HD 12x50 and Swaro's. I checked these out at Cabela's when sun was above foothills, setting behind foothills and at legal light and beyond. I could not justify spending $650 more for the Razors where I saw a smidge better color after going back and forth 8-10 times before I noticed. The Swaro's were better in eye refief but with my eyes it was still hard to see a difference greater than 5% in color, contrast, edge to edge and glare reduction. Also $2000 more than my Meopta's.

Really impressed: Select Promotions for 13% or if SH member 14% shipped!
https://www.sportoptics.com/meopta-meopro-10x42-hd-binoculars-562550.aspx

[def90]

Picked these up and compared with Razor HD 12x50 and Swaro's. I checked these out at Cabela's when sun was above foothills, setting behind foothills and at legal light and beyond. I could not justify spending $650 more for the Razors where I saw a smidge better color after going back and forth 8-10 times before I noticed. The Swaro's were better in eye refief but with my eyes it was still hard to see a difference greater than 5% in color, contrast, edge to edge and glare reduction. Also $2000 more than my Meopta's.

Really impressed: Select Promotions for 13% or if SH member 14% shipped!
https://www.sportoptics.com/meopta-meopro-10x42-hd-binoculars-562550.aspx

Those are more in line price wise with the Vortex Vipers, did you do a comparison with those?

[Delfuego]

Spend money on both!

For sub $300 bino I would get the Steiner 8x or 10x
For mid-range the Mavin's are supposed to be fantastic.
For all the cash look at Swaro or Meota $2k

For LRF combo I run the Rudolph Optics http://rudolphoptics.com/rudolph-binocular-rangefinder-8x42-1800m/ I might be able to get you a discount on these.
I used to run the Bushnell ARC/Mile Combo and the were good although the glass wasn't great.
Vortex and Nikon now have Bino/LRF combos for around $1k the lasers are only ok on these, but may be fine for hunting ranges.
For all the cash get the Leica HD-B +$2k

I think the combo is the way to go. As others have said, you will be on your binos all day and on your rifle for minutes. Either way, you can't hit what you can't see (or can't find).

[OneGuy67]

I have a Vortex and a Swarovski and I almost always carry my Vortex. For the money I think Vortex is hard to beat.

Plus, their guarantee can't be beat. With the exception of loss or theft, they will replace the binos with no questions asked. You drive over them? They replace. Your kid scratches the lenses? They replace. You leave them on the roof of your work truck and your partner drives over them? They replace.

[hatidua]

Learn from my mistake: never look through binoculars you can't afford or are unwilling to pay for.

I was invited on a "sunset cruise" in Key West a few years back, which invariably lead to low light conditions where poor optics really start to show their flaws. Over appetizers on the boat I noticed a woman (obvious birder) who had a pair of Leica binoculars. I struck up a conversation and asked if I could look through the binoculars. The boat was pitching a bit in the swells coming through Calda Cut and so it wasn't a perfect scenario for judging optics but it was still blatantly obvious that they were, by far, the best binoculars I'd ever looked through (my own binoculars are Kalhes which I paid $900 for). A week later I mentioned the experience to a friend who was the store manager at a resort in Key Largo and he said he had those in stock and could get them for half off retail for me....bringing them down to a paltry $1,800! I stopped by the marina the next day, took them out on the deck and looked at boats moored anywhere from 100-1,000 yards away. The glass is just astounding...but still too spendy for how often I use binoculars. My Kahles will have to suffice.

Lesson: best not to even look through glass you aren't willing to buy, -because then you realize how much better things can be. I should have learned my own lesson when I briefly switched to Leica glass for photo reasons but I stupidly looked through those Leica binoculars....they were really far better than any binoculars I've looked through, I thought they were noticeably better than Swaro's.

[Blowby]

Those are more in line price wise with the Vortex Vipers, did you do a comparison with those?

Leaves the Vipers in the dust. If you are around South Boulder I can let you look for yourself.

[def90]

Leaves the Vipers in the dust. If you are around South Boulder I can let you look for yourself.

Interesting.. the reviews at Allbinos.com has them pretty even. The main difference and point against the Meoptas seems to be that they have a bit more distortion around the edges.


Vipers:
https://www.allbinos.com/index.html?test=lornetki&test_l=114

MeoPros:
https://www.allbinos.com/index.html?test=lornetki&test_l=311

[Blowby]

Have a set of Athlon Cronus 10x42's coming in next week to compare.

[Little Dutch]

So...I agree that an awesome set of optics is worth the money. I disagree that you need a super-high end pair of binocs for hunting big game in CO. Your experiences and needs may differ, of course. I am not a professional hunting guide, just a guy with a backpack and rifle looking to bring home the tasty parts of an elk.

I have been hunting with a set of Nikon Aculon Binoculars A211, 10x42, for a handful of years now. Elk and pronghorn hunting mostly. They've never caused me any grief and are comfortable for long periods of glassing. They are also not so expensive that I would cry if something bad happened to them while hiking through the back country.