Thanks for Your Consideration
As with many, I'm a father of young children on a modest income. 4 boys, all currently 5 and under. They all talk about "shooting deers" and wonder why I haven't gotten that done yet since I've hunted 1 WHOLE fall already ; ].
Much of what little excess budget I'm able to free up ends up going into gear and training for the Law Enforcement agency I volunteer for. We attend an academy and work with full powers of arrest, all with zero agency financing. I love doing it for the opportunity to serve and assist the other agencies nearby, but it is not a cheap endeavor.
My grandfather has been an avid Eastern hunter his whole life, missing last year for the first time since he served in World War II due to age. I've always looked up to him and love making him proud. He knows I hunted last fall, but some great glass just might help me earn the chance to send him a success photo before that opportunity is gone.
Here's a couple images illustrating my current optic situation.
My 3 oldest boys (the baby is just 3 months old now) are seen here spotting some animals in the distance:
A closer look reveals a small cow and a young nanny! (The goat currently provides the milk for my family while the cow is reaching breeding age as 2 of my boys have difficulty digesting processed milk, and buying goat or raw milk locally would cause us to go broke.):
Finally, a close-up of the glass. On the right is literally the best binos I owned for my hunt last season, as you can see, my boys have since dismantled them. In the middle are the pair my wife and I will be taking for her Mule deer hunt as a 2nd if we can't find any to borrow. I believe I've owned those since I was 8. On the left is the set of Celestrons that I grabbed off Amazon for this coming fall for ~$50 as a massive upgrade. The glass seems solid to me, though fit/finish is lacking severely. I assume that is my lack of experience with quality speaking, and fully expect to be blown away by an upgrade in the ~1k tier, wether the contest pair or sometime in the future.
Thanks to Rokslide and Nikon. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be in the running for this massive upgrade and best of luck to all!