Do I need the spotting scope?

I was in the same position as you this year... 1st time western hunter for 2nd rifle elk. I have a spotter that I primarily use at the range to spot for friends. I brought it with me to CO thinking it was better to have it and not need it vs. need it and not have it. It stayed at camp a couple days until we glassed up a heard of elk over a mile away. With 8's and 10's we could not tell if any in the heard were bulls. I brought out the spotter (15-45x65) and quickly confirmed that there were 2 legal bulls. So in the end I'll always at the very least have a spotter in the truck. You can decide based on the scenario wether it's worth carrying or not.
 
Just finishing up a 2nd season elk hunt. No you do not need a spotter. When they come out and you want to glass them it is pretty obvious. I only used one to make sure they were legal at very far distances
 
Post is a bit old, but I know I didn’t. All depends on the area, but we didn’t have any good glassing points you could see far enough for it to matter. Good ole 10x42s were more than enough
 
Post is a bit old, but I know I didn’t. All depends on the area, but we didn’t have any good glassing points you could see far enough for it to matter. Good ole 10x42s were more than enough

Yup. 10x42s are great! A spotting scope is nice for what it is, but the extra weight considerations and terrain determine whether I need to pack it out or not. Open terrain, it's coming with me.
 
Depends on where you’re hunting. Half the years, my spotter didn’t leave the case. The years it did was still pretty minimal. Only once did I need it to confirm a brown spot was an elk at like two miles.

I say leave it the truck for spotting near the road.
 
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