Big binos instead of spotter?

[Mattphillips18]

Maybe it's my own interest, but I've been seeing more and more interest in skipping the spotter and using 15x binoculars on a tripod rather than a spotter. By my estimates, my Nikon fieldscope 60 weighs about the same as a pair of 15x binos. I usually get the best picture at a low magnification anyways, and am left with glassing hillsides with my 8x binos, which are very useful still hunting the trees.
Would the 15x binos be as useful, more, less than the spotter? Would I be more productive with the big binos?
Is the use of a tripod with binos' popularity going to change the optics system we pack into the mountains?
Food for thought.

 

[AZCoues]

I have used both and there are advantages/disadvantages to both.

I like the comfort the big binocs have with using them all day. My eyes don't get as tired as they do with the spotter.

I just can't pick out all the points as clearly at distance and decisively tell the size of the animal with the binocs.

 

[Steve O]

Yep, I don't get it. I've used guide's and friend's 15s. They are great for glassing BIG country but can't take the place of a spotter. I guess if you are going to stalk any animal you find that would work but most going to all that trouble are looking for just that right animal.

I like my 10/15 Duovids and my small Diascope. Don't mind carrying the weight.

 

[Sagittarius]

If I didn't own binoculars, I would go with them over the spotter every time.
Since you already own 8x binoculars, I would go with the spotter.

 

[justinspicher]

I have been thinking about this same thing. I don't like hiking in with binos around my neck, it drives me crazy. So I usually pack them away. I was looking at getting a set of bigger binos with a tripod attachment instead of a spotting scope. I can use both eyes so I don't wear one out and they are also cheaper. I haven't used either much so I don't know if the difference is enough between a spotter or a set of 15x or higher binos to see the animals betters. I will have to do more research on this.

 

[Steve O]

The difference is huge between a 15x bino and a 15-45 spotter.

I spent a month in Colorado S 12 archery hunting bighorn sheep in 2007. That was BIG country and I spent quite a bit of time glassing LONG range with my spotter rather than my 10x Leicas. That is when I added Duovids to my optics lineup.

Are 15x binos better than a spotter for glassing big country? Without a doubt. But you have NO ability to take a closer look. If you value the ability to asses sex or trophy quality, the spotter is a necessity if you want to save a ton of time, effort, and boot leather.

There are a few places where the specialized 15s are a better option than tripod mounted 10s. I'd not want either without my spotting scope.

 

[Mad Mountain Mike]

What kind of distances are you glassing? I spend hours behind my 10x42's on a tripod but when something is spotted on the next mountain you can't beat a spotter for judging trophy quality. I agree that with heat haze a lot of the time you can't see clearly at much more than 15x but at first and last light you can use much more magnification and as stated above can save a lot of boot work.

 

[Hardstalk]

I have a buddy who is a sheep guide and swears all he will ever need is his 15's on a tripod and his little chair. Yet every time I go scouting with him and im glassing with a spottin scope as soon as we turn up some sheep he jumps out of his chair and lines up to use the spotter...

I think 15's on a tripod have alot of benefits especially a huge f.o.v. I have used only binos on many trips. but when inches count on any animal I highly suggest having the ability to zoom in! It saves alot of walking, and potentially pushing an animal out of range.

Unless you wanna rock some BIG EYES (kowa/docter) but I think your only talking 15's.

 

[Tilzbow]

I believe the tripod mounted 15x binos are much more effective for finding game and much easier on the eyes for extended use but the spotter is mandatory for assessing trophy size. Unless I'm hiking in more than 3 - 4 miles I'll take both and my 10's, always carry all 3 if hunting from a truck or quad, making short walks to lookout points and covering lots of ground. Did 12 miles last Friday at 8,000 to 9,000 feet in 6" - 8" of snow with all three sets of optics but was scouting and not carrying my bow. Don't want to pack that much weight again in that country.....

I've got a Stone Sheep hunt booked for next August and I'm trying to decide if I'll be packing my 15's or my big spotter. I know the guide will have a spotter but I'd love to take a bunch of digiscoping pictures.

 

[MattB]

First buy 8x-10x binoculars. Second, buy a spotting scope. Third (if they fit a need), buy the 15x's. I have all 3 and the 15's are not a substitute for a spotter. On a recent blacktail hunt, I put my 10x42 to my eyes 100+ times. I pulled my spotter out 3 times, and the 15's never left my pack.

 

[justinspicher]

Do you think a spotter is necessary if all I were to use it for was to find animals, not necessarily trophy animals vs. a 15x set of binos?

 

[ftballman125]

I can sex animals at around 1.5 miles with my 15s and can see animals pretty easily at over 2 miles. But, I can't see the antler details unless the animal is closer than a mile in. Because I don't really trophy hunt, they work great for me. Where I hunt, seeing deer at all is something to get excited about. I haven't found that I've really needed a spotter. But, I think the best setup would probably be to have a partner that has 10x42s and a small spotter. They can glass closer in and if you find something 2 miles out, they can tell the sex with the spotter most likely...

 

[HellsCanyon]

Do you think a spotter is necessary if all I were to use it for was to find animals, not necessarily trophy animals vs. a 15x set of binos?

Two weekends ago I spotted a skylined doe and what I thought was a buck in the desert at 2.25 miles in a BAD mirage with my 12x50 razors. I put the spotter on him and was convinced enough to go after him. Had I not the spotter I wouldn't of made that choice even with him bedded on the skyline. I couldn't really use anything over about 25X power cause of mirage but it was night n day difference between the binos and spotter. Due in part to both having a steady tripod and a quality higher powered spotter.

Mike

 

[AZ Vince]

I can sex animals at around 1.5 miles with my 15s and can see animals pretty easily at over 2 miles. But, I can't see the antler details unless the animal is closer than a mile in. Because I don't really trophy hunt, they work great for me. Where I hunt, seeing deer at all is something to get excited about. I haven't found that I've really needed a spotter. But, I think the best setup would probably be to have a partner that has 10x42s and a small spotter. They can glass closer in and if you find something 2 miles out, they can tell the sex with the spotter most likely...

I have the 15X Binos and 10X Binos.
My hunting partner has the 8X Binos and the Spotting Scope. We each have a tripod. This system works for us and keeps cost down. 90% of the time I'm behind the 15X Binos and he's behind the 8X Binos. When we want a closer look is when we break out the Spotting Scope. The 10X Binos are for when we are hiking and I want to look at something nearby.

 

[Coues hunter]

I hunt in southeastern Arizona for coues deer and Muleys. I own a pair of 12x50 swarovski ELs and a Razor HD spotter. The majority of the time I glass with my 12s on a tripod. Archery hunting in December and January I have no problem finding the big bucks with my 12s. Frankly, I use the spotter more often during early hunts with my friends and my kids. They generally will shoot anything with horns and I need the spotter to see if I can put horns on that deer 2 miles away.

 

[boom]

I hunt in southeastern Arizona for coues deer and Muleys. I own a pair of 12x50 swarovski ELs and a Razor HD spotter. The majority of the time I glass with my 12s on a tripod. Archery hunting in December and January I have no problem finding the big bucks with my 12s. Frankly, I use the spotter more often during early hunts with my friends and my kids. They generally will shoot anything with horns and I need the spotter to see if I can put horns on that deer 2 miles away.

welcome to the rok. good first post!

the ONLY time i have ever seen binos bigger than 10x are you AZ guys looking for those invisible couse. my friends out of tuscon camp out behind big glass for hours.

my favorite hunt of the year. by far. getting close to a couse is such a challenge. gah..just thinking about it frustrates me, and gets me all riled up. so much fun!! hopefully the star align again, i am in the desert again this jan.

 

[Nick Muche]

I am glad I read this thread. I have been asking this same question to others in order to base a pretty spendy decison on actual field experiences rather than hearsay. My plan was to ditch my spotter for a pair of 15s for sheep and goat hunts in order to save some weight and reduce eye strain while glassing for long periods. Basically everyone said that you can find sheep/goats with the big binos, but figuring out if they are legal or a Billy/Nanny is extremely difficult unless you have a good spotter.

For deer/elk hunting, I am not picky in terms of the size of antlers, so the spotter usually stays at home. Sheep/goats, etc are a bit different in that it will expend a good amount of time/energy to get to where they are when spotted miles away.

For me, for now, the spotter will stay in my pack for these types of hunts. I do have my bino's rigged up for the tripod too and will continue to use that set-up as well. Bino's on a tripod make things so much better for longer periods of glassing, but it will be nice to pull out the spotter for closer inspection!

 

[AZ Ron]

Here are my thoughts on the subject of a spotter vs 15's. I asked myself this same question when I started researching spotting scopes about 7 years ago with the intent to get a spotter. After researching and reading some, I went with 15's, and still haven't bought a spotter. I mainly hunt in AZ, so 15's are very popular and widely used down here. I typically don't 'trophy' hunt, and just use the 15's to find animals. However, sitting on a hill and glassing all the surrounding country usually allows me to glass up the best deer or elk around for the area.

My setup is 8x binos that I carry around my neck (with a tripod adapter) and a set of swaro 15's. I carry a (sturdy) tripod to use both pair of binos off of.

My first hunt of the year this year was a pack in archery hunt in CO. I left the 15's at home and only brought my 8's and a lightweight tripod. Only comment about this is I was glassing up mule deer easily with the 8's, but some of the ones at longer distances (>1 mile) I was having a hard time judging them, and depending on angles, light, etc, I sometimes felt a little underpowered with my 8's compared to my buddies 10x. Then again, after comparing them, I had a hard time noticing the 2x difference. (I won't go into that any more, as that is a whole nother topic...) There are a few times I wish I had a compact spotter to have a better look at a buck, but at the same time, we weren't being picky and so just finding deer and seeing antlers was good enough.

For other deer and elk hunts (here in AZ), I use the 15's to find animals. For my wife's limited opportunity elk hunt here in AZ we were glassing up elk at 3 miles away with 15's. Antler detail didn't really matter since she had a cow tag. Just finding animals was the important thing. On my southern AZ coues hunt a few weeks ago, we used the 15's to find the deer. We'd glass up coues bucks a mile away, and while yeah, I wished I had a spotter to really look at the antlers, we could tell through the 15's whether the deer was a buck and if the buck was a shooter or not. We weren't trophy hunting, but we were passing up spikes and (young) forkies too. My buddies with 10's could find the deer, but couldn't always put antlers on them.

I recently helped out a buddy on his AZ Strip mule deer hunt. This was a trophy hunt. For that hunt, we did a lot of glassing, me with my 15's (and sometimes with 8's depending on distance) and him with 10's and a swaro 80mm spotter. I got to try out the spotter and he tried out my 15's on that hunt. The spotter was nice, but I personally have a hard time using only one eye to look through a spotter. I only used the spotter a few times to glass by looking under trees at long distances midday, but it was rough. I'm sure with more practice it'd be easier, but I felt like I could see more and better with my 15's, even if it was lacking the higher zoom. The few times I found something questionable with the 15's and we put the spotter on it to figure out if it was a tree/rock or a deer, or pulled out the spotter to evaluate the buck, the spotter was helpful, but not as good as I thought it would be. Zoom in too far too look in the shade of a tree, and it is still dark. The spotter also shook more than I wanted on my buddy's tripod setup (need a good solid tripod head for a high power spotter [=more weight]). I've tried cheap spotters before, and was never happy. I thought I'd be happier with the swaro 80mm, but I still think I expected too much. Heat waves also were a concern with the spotter. They were sometimes manageable with the 15's but cranking up the power on the spotter made what we were looking at look worse.

However, in saying that, for a couple of sheep hunts I've helped on, a spotter has been instrumental in judging sheep, or even glassing at 2-3 miles out. However, for overall glassing, 15's are hard to beat and were used to find the sheep.

For me, for the animals I hunt, and the way I hunt them, I carry 8's around my neck for glassing while on the move or on a tripod for less than 600 yards, and 15's on a tripod (carried in the pack) for glassing at greater than 600 yards. I still want a spotter, but it is low on my priority list and I know I'll mainly use it to evaluate animals and use it the least of all my optics. I'd also like to get into digiscoping with a spotter. I'm continually trying to cut weight out of my pack, so the thought of adding a big (heavy) spotter isn't appealing. I don't think a small 50mm (13-40 power) would add any benefit to my 15's, since I think I'd lose light gathering ability and only be able to use one eye. A small spotter in conjunction with my 8's would work well, I believe. I think the biggest benefit is putting a pair of binos on a tripod. For 8's and 10's, you don't need a very big/sturdy tripod either, unless you want to stand up a lot.

Sorry for the wordy explanation...