Are expensive glassing optics a must

[Craig Geerdes]

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 ?

 

[Ross]

If your in for the long term and want to be successful glassing ie spending hours behind the glass with clarity and not wishing you had bought something better buy the best binos you can afford and buy a spotter later....this will save you in the long run and You will be very happy with this choice decades later....

 

[Shortyfoster33]

Definitely start with good binos first! I bought Swarovski SLC’s and absolutely love them. You can put them on a tripod and spot game from a very long distance with 10x and eventually invest in a good spotter.

 

[MuleyFever]

You dont need a spotting scope for elk hunting unless you are trying to score the elk from a mile away. If you just want to hunt for any legal bull I would not worry about a spotting scope. Put a decent set of 10x binos on a tripod and you will be just fine.

That said if you can swing $700-1000 on binos you can get a great pair that will serve you for many years. Watch the classified for Maven, GPO, Nikon HG, Meopta.

Do a search for $1000 binoculars on here and you will find some good info.

 

[Kenn]

I really like high end bins, but you certainly don't need them to hunt. All of us on here can only relate to the pairs we've had and, in addition to that, we all see things a little differently. If you want unbiased reviews on different levels of binoculars research on allbinos.com.

I agree with others that a spotting scope is not a priority.

 

[Hunt4lyf]

No you don't, I hunt with a 20 yr old pair of 8x30 SLC's that I paid $400 for, never needed a spotting scope and I kill elk most every year. You can get some nice binoculars in the $500 range, especially if you buy used.

 

[JeffRaines]

It depends on application -

If you’re gonna be still hunting, using glass sparingly, then yeah you can get away with cheaper optics.

If you intend on sitting behind glass for hours at a time, those cheaper optics are gonna start to be detrimental to success. Cheaper glass has a tendency(not always a guarantee, and it varies by individual) to cause headaches and make your eyes feel funny when using them for hours at a time.

The caveat to the first option is if you buy the cheap glass now and decide later on you want to use it for serious glassing, you’re gonna end up buying the nicer glass, so just buy now.

Keeping your eyes open for used options would be the best bet. You can regularly find newer SLCs for around 1k, the meopta/cabelas euros for well under 1k. Id stay away from Vortex - after giving their binoculars a go when I went to upgrade mine their offerings above the Diamondbacks fell flat in comparison to other similarly priced optics.

 

[DavePwns]

If your in for the long term and want to be successful glassing ie spending hours behind the glass with clarity and not wishing you had bought something better buy the best binos you can afford and buy a spotter later....this will save you in the long run and You will be very happy with this choice decades later....

I agree, spend your entire budget on the best binos you can right now

 

[KChunter71]

If I had to do it over again. I would drop all the money on my binos. That said my Razor 65mm is nice at the range and sits in the truck. As above buy what you can afford in binos 10x and get it done

 

[jspradley]

Take your entire budget for binos and a spotter, ditch the spotter and drop all that on your binos.

Top end optics are nice but not entirely necessary but you will want the best binos you can afford on a tripod.

 

[Rob5589]

What is your budget?

 

[Craig Geerdes]

You dont need a spotting scope for elk hunting unless you are trying to score the elk from a mile away. If you just want to hunt for any legal bull I would not worry about a spotting scope. Put a decent set of 10x binos on a tripod and you will be just fine.

That said if you can swing $700-1000 on binos you can get a great pair that will serve you for many years. Watch the classified for Maven, GPO, Nikon HG, Meopta.

Do a search for $1000 binoculars on here and you will find some good info.

Most reply’s including you suggest spending my budget on my BInos and hold off on the spotter and that makes sense. You mentioned the 10x do you prefer 10x over the 15x ?

 

[KChunter71]

15x are harder to freehand and work best on a tripod

 

[MuleyFever]

Most reply’s including you suggest spending my budget on my BInos and hold off on the spotter and that makes sense. You mentioned the 10x do you prefer 10x over the 15x ?

10's are more versatile. I would start there. I dont think 15's are a good replacement for 10's. As said above, 15's are mostly for glassing off a tripod.

Dont get caught up in bigger is better. You will spot elk from a long ways off with 10's or even 8's. And they are still very useful if you end up hunting in the timber.

 

[AkMtnRunner]

The magnification question depends on your hunting style. If you stop and scan often, I recommend 8-10 since it’s more difficult to steady while breathing more and with higher heart rate. But if you just get to a couple great spots to glass for long periods, go for at least 10x and 12x may be ideal. 15’s are awesome but heavy and really only useful on a tripod. Usually people with 15’s will have a pair of 8-10’s also with them.

Whatever bino you choose, definitely invest in a light tripod for the longer glassing sessions. It is the best bang for the buck part of a good optics system.

 

[BadDogPSD]

I've been very happy with my 10x42 Leica Trinovids. Excellent glass in the sub $1k range.

 

[jspradley]

I'd personally recommend starting with the best 10x you can afford, that's going to be the most versatile for as many different scenarios, once you stick them on a tripod you're going to be shocked how different it is from hand held glassing. Just starting out you're not likely to be judging sheep so much as just finding animals and 10x is going to be great for that.

Glassing technique and patience makes a huge difference as well, my wife consistently out spots me using my old Vortex Viper 10x when I'm using Swaro EL 12x and the glass quality there isn't even a contest.

If you can swing $500+ then something in the price range of the mid tier Vortex, Maven, or Leupold will work well enough for finding animals but you get quite a step up if you can get into the $1000-1200 range so it might be worth it to save up.

if you are wanting them for this season it might be a good idea to see if you can borrow or rent some decent optics and save up the cash to buy some baller optics for next season.

 

[WCB]

Personally, I'd go with 12x binos on a tripod (or Free hand) over 10x or 15x. You are not going to want to carry 15xs around and will almost exclusively need to use them on a tripod.

I went from 10x-12x a few years ago and I will never go back even when bowhunting in timber. Look into Meopta binos.

 

[Brooks]

You can hunt and kill elk without top of the line glass for sure but if you start holding out for big bulls top of the line glass is a big plus. Call Cameraland and see what they have in your price range and tell them you are a rokslide member and get the discount. Good place to do business.

 

[3pointer]

Yes