Carry binos or just rangefinder for hunt in thick forest

[ckaz34]

My fall archery elk tag is in a thick wilderness area. There are no areas to glass further than 150 yards. I was going to carry my Zulu 6 12’s, but not sure they’ll be effective. I’ll have my leica rangefinder. Is there any benefit to carrying the added weight of the binos?

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I carry my binoculars even in the woods. They can be very useful for distinguishing between different bucks or between a buck and a doe. If you plan on stalking, being able to see what else might be there seems useful.

I probably wouldn’t carry the binoculars if I was standing hunting with a bow, but that’s never how I hunt.

 

[JRMiller]

I have a pair of cheap 8x32s I like to carry for that type of hunt/terrain.
Lightweight enough that I don't really notice I'm even carrying them.
Plus I pretty much always have my bino harness on anyway (rangefinder pouch is part of it), so might as well have binos on hand in it.

 

[Sponge]

Binos are very helpful in forest/timber/thickets
Think less in terms of "I need to see the next ridge" and more in terms of seeing 10-30 yards or more deeper in the thick stuff. Can be critical to determine what that flick of movement that caught your eye really is.

I use 8x40s for this, but 6x and and a smaller objective would be just fine

 

[Chris in TN]

I can't imagine hunting without binos. Maybe once a year I'll forget them here at home and it drives me mad and it also makes me more likely to climb down and come home sooner. I'm just not as content, without binos.

YMMV, I guess, but I'd tote them at all times.

 

[5MilesBack]

My Leica RF (7x) has excellent glass. I have a pair of Kahles 8x32's that I use for bowhunting, but sometimes I don't even take those with me. The only time I regret it is when I see a big bull off in the distance and can't see him up closer (that's when I wish I had my 10's). But that doesn't affect whether I'm successful or not. I can always go after the big bull with or without bino's. And the difference between 7x monocular and 8x bino's isn't very large. However, this year I've started carrying my Kowa 55 spotter in my pack, so it goes everywhere I go. It's a 28oz weight penalty.

 

[Sponge]

To add, if you are going to still hunt (meaning moving excruciatingly slow through an area, not sitting still) binos are helpful in two ways
1. after taking a step or two, stop to glass and look for animals in the edges of your new field of view
2. doing #1 slows you down significantly. for deer, moving 100 yards an hour can be much too fast.

Its not uncommon for me to get restless doing #1 and my 'still' hunt becomes a very slow walk...thats when i typically bump deer at 15-50 yards that I may have picked up if I was stopping to glass.

G. Fred Asbell (RIP) was well known for this technique in the trad archery world. he wrote an excellent book on the subject that I think is well worth the spend for anyone doing or considering this hunting approach, regardless of weapon used.

Stalking & Still-Hunting: The Ground Hunters Bible by G. Fred Asbell

https://www.3riversarchery.com/stalking-and-still-hunting.html?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17347443014&gbraid=0AAAAAD_uBCjksZrthaNIY0mYEsTeLe7wg&gclid=CjwKCAjwx7LSBhB3EiwAjcodxAj30njjPBMp24ZSJbPS3SLXIcSBqvK5rptDK-Soj6JVvWnJPcIg5RoCTxUQAvD_BwE