12x Binoculars: The Perfect Optic For Western Hunting, By Jake Potter

[DavePwns]

I have really enjoyed using 12s, they force me to use my tripod more, which is a good thing!

IMO, For more open country western hunting

8s = incredible hand holding, decent on tripod
10s = good at hand holding, good on tripod
12s= decent hand holding, incredible on a tripod
15s = tripod only unless you want a headache

I also use the bill of my hat for hand holding for quick glances, good point

 

[gretch6364]

I know you get what you pay for...in dollars and weight. I am however having a hard time wading through Bino options. First, I am not willing to pay $2K for binos and I am looking for the best performance to weight ratio for a set of 12X50s.

I know Vortex has their critics, but the Razor HDs look to have the weight side of things nailed. Any other options out there in that weight range?

I hunt primarily elk in the west, with mulies mixed in. The plan is to carry a combination of the following between two guys depending on the hunt:

10s
18s
Spotter
12s...which I am looking to buy now.

The 12s will be in a harness on my chest. Does anyone else make a good 30oz set of 12X50s?

 

[Tyeguy]

If you can’t go Swarovski route, next best would be GPO. This is a solid binocular and lightweight. It’s a 12.5x50. Western Hunter magazine did an article on them and said GPO would be second best to Swarovski. The owner of GPO was VP for ZEISS and before that was an executive for Swarovski. He knows his glass. These sell for about same price as vortex.

 

[Bailer]

If you can’t go Swarovski route, next best would be GPO. This is a solid binocular and lightweight. It’s a 12.5x50. Western Hunter magazine did an article on them and said GPO would be second best to Swarovski. The owner of GPO was VP for ZEISS and before that was an executive for Swarovski. He knows his glass. These sell for about same price as vortex.

i had gpo 12.5‘S before getting swaro 12’s. If you go that route hold out for used, they have the worst resale in the optics world. The glass was as good as anything else in that price range. That said, I wish I had listened to the “buy once cry once” crowd.

 

[Dillan48]

Jake (@Jpott3) is very fortunate to be married to an understanding wife Kalie who supports his hunting and fishing habits. They have two young children Cal (3) and Hayden (1). They live in western Washington where he's lived most of his life. Jake grew up with a love for the outdoors, fishing as often as he could. While he still fishes for salmon/steelhead he's developed a true passion for hunting and now spends his fall months chasing Blacktail deer, and Roosevelt elk. He also enjoys going out of state as often as he can to chase mule deer and elk. One of his favorite things is being able to share his love for the outdoors with his son and daughter, whether it's looking for frogs/bugs in the yard or looking for the elusive blacktail buck on the state land near their home, he enjoys their sense of wonder with each new creature we discover.

Give Jake a warm Rokslide welcome and enjoy his first Rokslide article.

12x Binoculars: The Perfect Optic For Western Hunting

Good article!

 

[Trimbandit]

These are some great observations. I completely agree. I prefer 12 or 15 power binos. I generally use both free hand but use a trigger stick a lot of the time as well. They really are the best way to glass.

 

[GlassItShootIt]

I switched to 12x50 Vortex Razors and a Leupold 12-40x60 Spotter for Coues hunting 3 years ago. I don't carry the 12s on a chest harness but I guess you could. In about 90% of the places I hunt the 12s are more than enough power wise and the brightness is great. When I see a buck I can switch to the spotter to verify. I have looked through the Swaro EL 12x50s and frankly those are a game changer clarity wise. One day I may step up to them.

 

[Middleofnowhere]

I finally broke down and bought a good tripod. It’s amazing how important a stable viewing platform is.

when I added a tripod to my old 8x42, it dramatically improved my glassing. I was finding stuff I could never find freehand.

With the EL 12x50s, it’s a noticeable difference going from the Kramer Designs to the cheap carbon fiber. Now with a Really Right Stuff tripod under the glass, amazing...

 

[keilbachpsu]

I'm going to sound like the world's cheapest beginner here, but is there a marked difference between the vortex crossfire and diamondback in 12x50?

 

[Jpott3]

I'm going to sound like the world's cheapest beginner here, but is there a marked difference between the vortex crossfire and diamondback in 12x50?

I’ve never looked through the crossfire but I know a lot of people that have diamondbacks and are happy with them for the money spent


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ChrisAU]

I'm going to sound like the world's cheapest beginner here, but is there a marked difference between the vortex crossfire and diamondback in 12x50?

I haven't used Crossfire binos, but I've had scopes in both lines and the Diamondback is a huggggeee step up from the Crossfire in a rifle scope as far as glass quality.

 

[Phillyd044]

Good write up. I’ve never owned anything smaller than 12x.

 

[Awaldier]

Thanks for the article!

 

[FishTacos]

Great article - Did you have any thoughts on 8's? I appreciated your insights and experiences with the 10's, 12's and 15's would be great to fold in your opinion on 8's

 

[Jpott3]

Great article - Did you have any thoughts on 8's? I appreciated your insights and experiences with the 10's, 12's and 15's would be great to fold in your opinion on 8's

Thank you! Unfortunately I don’t have any experience with 8x as 10x is as low as I’ve owned.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Middleofnowhere]

Great article - Did you have any thoughts on 8's? I appreciated your insights and experiences with the 10's, 12's and 15's would be great to fold in your opinion on 8's

I grew up using 7x50 and still keep a pair on my boat. They were a PITA to carry, but decent in low light. My first pair of real “hunting binos” were 8x42. They were lower/mid range glass. Friends recommended the 8’s to me over the 10’s, said I didn’t need 10x. In SoCal desert I had a hard time sexing deer at 500+ yards with the 8’s. The reason could have been glass quality or a combination of glass and magnification. I will say that with the larger field of view I was often the “first” to spot an animal before my buddies who were using 10’s. With the lower magnification and wide field of view, you can just see more ground.

A tripod or equivalent rest will help any magnification level of binoculars. The whole character of the 8x binos changed when put on top of a tripod. JPott’s article makes a lot of good points in his article and I wish he would have written it a few years earlier.

 

[FishTacos]

with the larger field of view I was often the “first” to spot an animal before my buddies who were using 10’s. With the lower magnification and wide field of view, you can just see more ground.

This is what has me interested in the lower magnifications. I'm seriously considering dropping down to 8X and pairing it with a spotting scope, which would leave 12x out because backpacking in with 3 sets of optics isn't for me.

 

[Rchance83]

Switched last year to Swarovski EL 12x50. What a huge difference. Never thought it would be so drastic. Spotting so much more game. If you can find a way to afford it a highly recommended it.

 

[LongWayAround]

A few years ago I snagged a pair of 15x and have been using them as my primary binocular. The idea of throwing them in my backpack and carrying 10x on my chest never made any practical sense to me. Over the last year or so I have definitely started to feel like I should have gone with a 12x though. I haven't had any trouble with the 15x really. They are a bit heavy for freehanding but I typically rest them on my bow can or use the hat bill method, or the old trekking pole nest. I'm typically not glassing for hours on end and so can't say that I've experienced eye fatigue or headache. Despite my overall level of satisfaction, I can't shake the idea of trying a pair of 12x for myself.

The grass is always greener on the other side and Rokslide costs me too much money.

 

[Blaster01]

May have just made up my mind to throw the 10’s in the truck and buy a pair of 12’s for the pack!