Are expensive glassing optics a must

[Elkangle]

Doesn't matter how expensive if it isn't steady

If you think it's too heavy then get in better shape

Do you want to kill elk every day or kill elk every other year...there so many levels to this that most don't even think is possible...when people miss stuff glassing very rarely do they realize it. They just think it was a slow day

I personally feel most hunters see maybe 30% of the game in an area if they are lucky

Just some thoughts

 

[TNKnoxville]

My first elk hunt I had a pair of older Cabela's. They were okay, I could pick elk and mule deer out but really could not see great detail. Looked thru a pair of Steiners and Zeiss and wow what a difference. So this year I bought Maven 9x45's for about $1000. Awesome glass! Heading out to CO in a week to give them the real test!!!!!

You really don't appreciate good glass until you looked thru some. Another note is that not all eyes are the same, try some of the higher end if you can. My 60 year old eyes did not see a $500 benefit in the Swarovski SLC's or $1000 more for the EL's, but your eyes may see a benefit that is worth the $$$$.

 

[Hatchet Jack]

you don't need high end glass to find and kill critters, but it certainly helps. Better glass+ tripod= more time glassing effectively = finding more critters = killing more critters.

My favorite is guys who opt for lower quality glass saying "i don't feel like my missing anything with my (insert chinese optic here)". Well no schit, you can't see what you're missing lmao.

high end glass is one of the things you can buy now and resell whenever and not lose a dime, that's how i justify it my wife, especially since i buy all mine used.

 

[KChunter71]

Doesn't matter how expensive if it isn't steady

If you think it's too heavy then get in better shape

Do you want to kill elk every day or kill elk every other year...there so many levels to this that most don't even think is possible...when people miss stuff glassing very rarely do they realize it. They just think it was a slow day

I personally feel most hunters see maybe 30% of the game in an area if they are lucky

Just some thoughts

I believe that game is overlooked at time.

 

[pc3]

I think that "mid tier" is where the best value is to be found and the point where you will own optics that wont cause you to miss game.

I have a Meopta S2 spotter and Meopta 10x42 B 1.1 HD Bino's and am happy with the performance. These still are not cheap when you consider where else money needs to be spent when you have a couple of kids etc.

Above this level, you get ever so slightly better optics in some instances but you are definitely in the "law of diminishing returns territory"

 

[Geewhiz]

The answer is no. You absolutely do not have to spend thousands on optics to kill an elk.

It baffles me that this is even a thread. Sure, good glass helps, but for an out of state fellow already dumping loads of cash into logistics of getting out west, thousands more just for optics is not a necessity. To think that you cant kill an elk unless you have swaro's is ridiculous.

 

[Moserkr]

You can glass much further with a lot more clarity with high end glass. Definitely go binos first. I got SLC 10x42 and couldnt be happier. I can see elk over a mile away perfectly clear. I may end up with a mid range spotter for the next few years though until i can get alpha glass again.

If I had to do it all over again from the very beginning, I would have bought swaro right away. Years of hunting and who knows what opportunities I missed with inferior glass.

One mid-range glass option to consider if maven c-series. You could get the c series spotter and binos for close to $1k all together. Or go big on binos for that price and never look back. Then do a spotter in the future as needed.

 

[Steve O]

I want to hunt elk for the first time. My plan is to buy a otc tag for Colorado! I’m confident with my conditioning,scope, rifle, and shooting skills upto 400 yds! I need to buy binoculars and spotting scope, my budget is limited so do I really need to spend 1000s of $s or will low to medium cost optics like Simmons be sufficient ?

you don’t need expensive options for 99.9% of elk hunting. They are big uglies that move around in large groups most often! Go Leupold.

 

[Wapiti1]

Frankly , no. Glassing is far more about technique and skill than glass. I know a lot of guys with great glass that wasted their money. They have little ability to use it.

There is some great glass out there in the low to mid price range. It will do anything you need. There is a quality level that you do need to get to for performance and comfort, but it is not at a high price level relative to the top tier glass. $500-700 will get you good glass that will get the job done.

I've sat with groups of guys that have solid glassing skills and they each had a different scope and bino combo. Some were super high end, others were mid level. No one was any more or less able to spot game. Where glass quality came into play was when you needed 60X on a spotting scope. Then it mattered. Otherwise, good enough was good enough.

There used to be a large difference in quality between the price points, and that is no longer the case.

Jeremy

 

[OutdoorAg]

I want to hunt elk for the first time. My plan is to buy a otc tag for Colorado

Wait a year or two and buy a few pref points. Then hunt a draw unit. Much better money spent than OTC tag and fancy glass.

 

[BigLebowski]

You don't need super high end but if you can afford a $300 to $400 set of bino's it seems you really get a lot of bang for your buck and they are pretty good in that price range.

 

[AlphaIncog]

Vortex Viper HD would be a good place to start.

 

[LookinforDirt]

Don’t know about elk but 5 days of coues deer hunting glassing for hours a day, my Meostar 12x50 were great, $1050. I have MeoPro 8x10 I use in the woods but have used for glassing out to 550 yards for whitetail. Thats pushing 8x for judging racks at that distance, even if not being to picky, but the quality of the glass is good, $390. After that experience I’d be confident using the less expensive MeoPro’s at 12x or 15x if glassing out to 600-700 yards if that was my budget. It certainly won’t be the factor that stops you from shooting an elk.

 

[grfox92]

I can't believe no one has said this but dont buy any optics made by simmons. Ever.

Tons of great advice given in this thread. Get the best glass you can afford, giving my a budget would get you better recommendations.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[TheGDog]

Simmons? Ugh... I think I just threw up a little into my mouth.

Buy some used top tier glass Binos. It's amazing how that extra notch up in clarity will let a regular 10x42 bino see that much farther! Since getting a ZEISS Conquest 10x42 HD... and comparing side-by-side with my Vortex Vultures 15x56. I don't think I'll be using the Vultures anymore. Not much advantage anymore, since the image on the Vultures, at distance, comapred to the ZEISS has this... sorta.. faint haziness to the image. Ya gotta see the difference for yourself. Once you do, you'll understand why it's worth it. If anything....*maybe* consider trying to a top-tier 12x as a one-and-done type of deal?

Also seems like they tend to weigh less since they make use of Magnesium bodies.

As an example... these were images I took by just holding my Samsung 10e up to my ZEISS by hand...
these subjects were 700yds up the hill.

these two were 200yds away with good sunset lighting.


Edit... in no way shape or form are these pics doing justice to what your eye actually sees!!!

 

[longbarrel]

I agree to get good binos first. I like the Leica Ultravids Doug at Cameraland sold me, but if you are on a tight budget, the Leupold BX4 does well--I have a set of 12x50 for example for people going with me to hunt.
For a spotter, there are two basic choices, but get good enough optics that you probably won't miss something when you are using glass to lessen hiking. First is big and heavy with a heavy duty tripod. My 20-60x85 Vortex Razor is decent and just over 4 lb, and the tripod to stabilize it is another 4+ pounds. Or, spend a lot more for Swaro, Leica, Zeiss which are better if you go to 80+mm objectives. Fine at the truck, tends to get left there when hiking. Or, get the excellent Kowa 553 (angled) or 554 (straight) at 28 ounces, with a little 1.2 lb. tripod. Now you have great glass (only downside is less eye relief) in a packable package.

 

[TheGDog]

I looked at the eye-relief specs on that and I'm concerned if I as a eyeglass wearer would be able to make use of the top end of the magnification without having to touch my own glasses against the lense of the eyepiece on the spotter. This IS something that has to happen on my Vortex Razor 11-33x50mm one. So I'm curious if the 554 will allow me to not have my eyeglass lenses touch against the objective lense.

 

[eaglemountainman]

Hey GDog, I think the only way for you to answer that question would be to actually look through the scope. I understand that can be a real challenge, since Kowa dealers aren't popping out at you on every street corner. It's a lot of money drop on a leap of faith. The only thing I could suggest would be to contact Doug at Cameraland or Rob at S&S Archery and see if they'll let you check out a scope and return it for a full refund if you're not completely satisfied with the performance.

 

[bmicek]

There’s a reason no one regrets getting high quality optics unless they just truly don’t use them. But like others have said, buying a high quality set of binos right out the gate just saves you in the long run. If you go through two pairs of lower end optics before splurging, you’re going to lose money on resale anyway. $1000 may seem like a lot but that’d get you into some Meopta Meostar’s and you’d be set for a long time. $1 a day for 3 years and they’d be paid for. Don’t eat fast food or any other things you do to save a few dollars and you’ll be glad you did.

 

[jwelch1103]

Like 3pointer said, the short answer is yes!
With optics, like many things, you get what you pay for. Making high quality optics has always been, is, and probably will always be an expensive operation.
Folks might say I paid $X amount y years ago but I bet if you adjust for inflation it was good money then, don't want to call out any well meaning folks here though!
I bought a set of Steiner 8x30 field glasses (binoculars) in the early '80's. They are great optics and at about $150 they were quite expensive then. I've kept them clean and they are still great optics, bright and clear but $150 then was a good piece of change.
I don't know if you absolutely need a spotting scope but high quality binoculars will definitely help, just take good care of them. Good (or excellent) ones will last the rest of your life. And don't go too high power on binoculars or you will need to brace them.
Not sure how old you are but wait until your eyes get old, lifes a bitch! If you are young, i.e. under 30, you probably already have Simmons quality optics in your eye sockets