binoculars useful for northeast hunting (turkey, deer)??

[SalmonEater]

I'm a new hunter, located in the northeast. Lots of hills and dense woods, so I'm wondering if there is any benefit of using binoculars when turkey or deer hunting? I was looking at the Maven 7x28 or Kowa 6.5x32 as a pair of lightweight, compact binoculars. Would either of these be a good size/magnification for my needs?

 

[eamyrick]

I really like my Swaro CL 8x30s. I run them with the supplied strap, no harness.

 

[Agross]

Binos would definitely be beneficial. I have the maven 8x30’s and they are great in Michigan.

 

[keystone112]

I prefer my 8x36 Nikon in the thicker stuff.

 

[crrakcrrak]

I really like my Swaro CL 8x30s. I run them with the supplied strap, no harness.

another vote for Swaro CL 8x30s

 

[N2TRKYS]

I use 10x42s for everything and love them. I find them very useful in tight quarters while turkey hunting.

 

[Macintosh]

Im also in the northeast, likely similar use. Binos are hugely helpful especially in timber. Among other things you wont be tempted to use your rifle scope to see what “that thing” is and realize its a dude in camo who just crapped his pants because you aimed your rifle at him. I think the compact binos you mentioned are perfect, I actually purchased my current compact binos after already having a nicer pair of full size (10x42) binos because I wanted a more compact footprint. Some of the low and mid tier binos look better to my eyes in lower magnification especially in the woods at dusk. If you get swaros no issue with that, but dont write off 6-8x binos.

 

[Team4LongGun]

Former PA bow hunter, always had binos with me. At first sound of a deer, I like to verify what it is and if I’m preparing to shoot or sitting tight.
2 of my favorite reasonably priced binos for archery are the BX-4’s or BDII’s.

 

[Curmudgeon]

My go to binoculars for bowhunting deer in timber out of a tree stand has been a pair of Leica 10x25 compacts. I like them because I can use the factory lanyard around my neck but the binos fit in a shirt pocket and keep weight and clutter down. You definitely need some kind of optic even in timbered terrain.

 

[Jpsmith1]

I've used 10x50s forever in tight Eastern woodlots.

 

[Tod osier]

I'm a new hunter, located in the northeast. Lots of hills and dense woods, so I'm wondering if there is any benefit of using binoculars when turkey or deer hunting? I was looking at the Maven 7x28 or Kowa 6.5x32 as a pair of lightweight, compact binoculars. Would either of these be a good size/magnification for my needs?

The time they are the most useful is the half light when your eyes don't have enough light, already, so going with compacts doesn't make much sense to me. Going with a 7X or 8X with an 40 mm plus or minus a bit objective will be advantageous. For turkey they are great to keep track of birds on the roost or keep track of a bird sneaking around at the edge of sight (when their head is just dipping in and out of sight). I use binoculars religiously rifle hunting, but for archery stand hunting I ditch them when weight or space is a concern.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I hunt a lot of NY/PA woods. I have hunted with and without binos and prefer with. In deep woods, by the time I hear a deer, it is usually close enough to see with my naked eye, but if I can catch it at a distance, I like binos. When I am hunting some place with some sight lines - like fields or cut timber - I use them a lot.

I think both of the options you mentioned are fine. If you have western hunting aspirations, then you may want to step up to an 8x.

 

[DooleyVT]

My NE rifle scope is 2-7x and has been great and wouldn’t think about going to a 10x rifle scope. I love my 10x42 SLCs for the clarity but I’m often looking in the classifieds for a nice pair of 8x binos to see if it would help find what I’m looking for faster.

 

[BradArnett]

I use an old pair of 8x32 leupold katmai's for turkey hunting in the spring. Everything else I use 8x32 swaro nl's. The leupolds are a good bit smaller and more compact than the swaros

 

[Crusader]

I really like my Leupold Yosemite 6x30; predominantly eastern woods, occasionally used for field edges. Never feel "underpowered" with them and I really like their compactness/portability.

 

[kpshunts91]

I hunt deer and turkeys in West Virginia and always carry a pair of 10x42s on me. I found used pair of Leupold BX4s and really like them

 

[tankgijohn72]

8x32 vortex are good in tight. A lot of times I just use my 7x rangefinder when hunting big woods. Small in size and needed on archery hunts

 

[tankgijohn72]

I would get the 6.5x32 assuming glass is the same quality. It will give you a bigger exit pupil and more light will get through.

 

[morphetm]

I have a pair of Nikon 10x25 that are my go to for turkey and archery deer. Good magnification and lightweight. If I am hunting open fields I will grab my Vortex 12x50.
I would probably go with the Mavensout of the two mentioned.

 

[roosterdown]

It's not all about Exit Pupil...but it mostly is, especially out east in the thick stuff. Get some education on the subject:

Exit Pupil info

Out west resolution and magnification tend to matter more, but I for one want to be able to see better at first and last light...4mm is considered the minimum exit pupil (objective diameter in mm divided by magnification) to make things brighter to the typical human eye in low light situations.

Of course, on top of this, get the very best glass you can afford...optics are an area where price is definitely correlated to very noticeable quality.