Binocular Use

VikingsFan8178

Guest
I usually do not hunt wide open areas so I do not have a lot of experience with binoculars.

Do you use them frequently when hunting and what type of magnification do you use?
 

lbksmom

Banned
If you are in to management hunting they are great for determining button vs spike etc. from a doe. Or if after certain size bucks, low light situation especially. Swarovsky 6x or so is good. I use in 100 yd. less areas here mostly. Safer vs swinging gun around on people? ETC. Have a safe hunt.
 

Familyman

Twelve Pointer
My binoculars are essential gear each and every deer hunt. I wear them almost every time I go to the woods for any reason, in fact. They're just so handy to have...to be able to, in an instant, positively ID anything out there that warrants a closer look. My all-purpose binos are 10 power, but 7 or 8 power is good too...in fact better in the woods. Get you some good glass, and once you get used to having them, you'll never be without them again.
 

MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
If I don't have my binos I'd just as soon stay home. I use them every time I hunt no matter where I hunt.
I like a 10 power for fields and clearcuts and a 6 power for woods.

Get a decent pair....buy once, cry once.

sent from...... Tapatalk
 

NCHNTR

Old Mossy Horns
My binoculars are essential gear each and every deer hunt. I wear them almost every time I go to the woods for any reason, in fact. They're just so handy to have...to be able to, in an instant, positively ID anything out there that warrants a closer look. My all-purpose binos are 10 power, but 7 or 8 power is good too...in fact better in the woods. Get you some good glass, and once you get used to having them, you'll never be without them again.

Yep....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

nchawkeye

Old Mossy Horns
Yep, use mine even in the woods, look at it this way, with binos in the woods, it's like you can walk closer and get a better look, without making a sound...
 

buckshooter

Old Mossy Horns
It's like owning a pick-up. Once you have owned one , you wonder how you got along without having one.

I never hunt without mine. Tha addition of the crooked horn bino straps was a must. 10 power are what I use.

I've even gone back to the truck to get them a couple of times won't hunt without 'em.
 
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VikingsFan8178

Guest
My binoculars are essential gear each and every deer hunt. I wear them almost every time I go to the woods for any reason, in fact. They're just so handy to have...to be able to, in an instant, positively ID anything out there that warrants a closer look. My all-purpose binos are 10 power, but 7 or 8 power is good too...in fact better in the woods. Get you some good glass, and once you get used to having them, you'll never be without them again.

So I was looking at 10x42 but now I am wondering if 8x42 might be better since I am usually in the woods more than fields, etc. Thoughts?
 
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nchunter2

Eight Pointer
8x42s are simply more versatile in terms of using in our varied terrain here in NC. Less hand shake and more comfortable viewing for longer duration. If I lived out west I'd probably opt for 10x42, but in the East 8x every time.
 

Familyman

Twelve Pointer
So I was looking at 10x42 but now I am wondering if 8x42 might be better since I am usually in the woods more than fields, etc. Thoughts?

You can't go wrong either way. It's more important to get good glass...the best your budget will allow. Whether 8X or 10X, either will work in woods or fields. I went with 10X because I do hunt some large fields at times and having the extra magnification at long range helps ID a deer just a little better than 8X. But in the woods the extra field of view offered by the 8X is helpful in quickly picking up your target. Those are basically the trade-offs...magnification vs field of view. Personally, I would opt for the greater magnification over the wider field of view. But if I were in your shoes and predominately hunted woods and small fields, I might get 8 power. Again, you can't go wrong.
 

nchawkeye

Old Mossy Horns
Yep, I prefer 8x, Mine are Nikon Monarchs I think the objective is 40-42...Don't get a small objective or they won't gather light at dusk...I use these for fields as well, heck if he is worth killing, a 8x in a field is fine...:)
 

aaronmdln1

Six Pointer
Always wear mine,,every hunt. I have spotted more deer with binos in a thicket then I have with my naked eyes. I was cursed with the dreaded farsightedness. And have to wear contacts. They tend to make me strain my eyes when im trying to pick out that ear or flick of a tail or even seeing the horizontal backline. You put yourself at the same advantage as animals have by increasing your sight magnification. I use a set of 8x40 Leopold Yosimities and they are really good glass for budget minded folks like me. Alot of good glass out there though to choose from.

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
 
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Billy

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I have more binoculars than I can justify, but the 8x42 is what I carry most of the time. Otherwise, it's the 10x50.
 

redbow

Ten Pointer
I agree with buckshooter. This was the first year I used binoculars and now I will not hunt without them. Essential piece of equipment in my opinion.
 

Combat Diver

Eight Pointer
Got my first set of Bushnells 7x21s in Fayatteville in 84'. Primary use then was military use then hunting. Still have that set here in Afghanistan today. First set I got when I was in KY were a pair of Stiener 8x30s, great glass. Last year while out in ND got a set of Nikon 10x50s (took my Leupold 10-20x compact spotting scope too). Also take them out with me.

CD
 

apexhunter

Ten Pointer
I strap on my 10x42 binos before grabbing my gun every time I go hunting. Personal preference is 10x42 as the exit pupil (4.2mm) matches up to the human eye's capacity to receive light (4mm). If I were going out west for open range hunting I'd take my same binos (Vortex Viper HD 10x42) and get a good spotting scope for way off viewing along with a tripod to mount the spotting scope as well as a flat base to mount the binos for general scanning. Above and beyond the glass is a good shoulder harness to carry them without neck strain- and if properly adjusted the strap can make longer sessions of glassing much more comfortable.

If you have an open budget check out the Zeiss Victory SF 10x42...my brother bought a pair last year and they are simply amazing (should be for $2,200) with amazing clarity and wide FOV.
 

stiab

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
There was a lengthy thread on this same subject a month or so ago, most people on this forum use binocs while deer hunting.
 

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I'm with Familyman. 10x or 8x are both fine, quality is more important than power. 10x is better for anything over 100 yards, and 8x is better for under but either will work. I used 10x for years even trad bowhunting. I recently got a great deal on a quality 8x, so that's what I'm using now.

Everyone thinks about looking at things far off, but I can't count how many times I used them to look at bucks who were right under me in the last few minutes of light. When you are choosy on which bucks you shoot, that becomes really important in the last 15 minutes.
 

bertienchunter

Twelve Pointer
I'm gonna play Devil's Advocate...Why would you not wear/use binoculars??? :)

I will tell you why I don't wear any.

I hunt lanes, streaks and roads. There have been many times where I would not have killed the buck I killed by looking at them first with Binoculars. Just never hunted with them unless I for some reason hunted a field and I don't have any land with fields on it.

I don't prop the rifle in the corner of my stand. Lay it across the shooting rail in front of me and have it ready to look when I see a buck walk out.

I can tell if it is a decent buck 250-300 yds in. Most of my shots are going to be less than 300 yds.
 

25contender

Twelve Pointer
Never leave home without my 10x42s. I always use them. People that do not use them would be amazed at what they are missing. I am consistently scanning thick brush, swamps, pine thickets,etc. Some times all you might see is a tip of a horn but that is all you need. The last big buck I found was laying in a huge grown up field. Took me a month to find him but did it with the use of binos. He was over 400 yds away.
 
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