Glass Question

[coloyooper]

I’m more than likely going to be hunting solo for my sheep tag in august. It’s my first sheep hunt so I’m trying to dial in all my gear. More than likely looking at anywhere between 4-7 mile pack in with around 4k in elevation gain along the way.

I’ve got the option to take a Meopta Meopro 80mm spotter, or a Kowa 554 55mm. Is the extra glass in the 80 worth the added weight?

 

[sndmn11]

I’ve got the option to take a Meopta Meopro 80mm spotter, or a Kowa 554 55mm. Is the extra glass in the 80 worth the added weight?

No

 

[tdot]

Yes. Without hesitation.

 

[idig4au]

Take your best glass regardless of weight. It may save you some footsteps

 

[fatbacks]

While hunting sheep in Alaska, I consider my spotter in the top three most important pieces of equipment… saved me tens or hundreds of miles of needless walking in the hills.

Not sure if the same applies for bighorns down in the lower 48….

 

[alaska_bou]

I believe Kowa makes the best spotting scopes on the market, and I have owned the 55, 88 and now the 99, but I feel one segment you should consider is the lighter, older style swaro S or M series 65mm hd scopes. The kowa 55 is fantastic for what is is, but simply does not have an adequate eyepiece (imo), will not gather enough light or offer quite enough zoom that the larger scopes will excell at. Side by side, I found the 65mm scopes signficantly better is usable performance vs the 55 kowa. The bigger question, to me is, is an 80 or larger class spotter worth the extra weight over a 65? That is very subjective. Are you counting rings or evaluating full curl to ensure a legal harvest? If so, a larger objective and mag range would be benificial. Otherwise, I personally find my 65 will do just about everything I need it do, but I do opt for the larger 99 when weight and packability are of no concern.

 

[Gadjet]

Take the lighter of the two. You don't have to count age rings in Colorado. Use your glass to locate sheep and you should be able to get a good idea if they're rams by the bulkiness of their neck and body. At long distances look for a mass on their head. This will give you an idea if it's a mature ram worth getting a closer look at.
Good Luck!

 

[BBob]

I feel one segment you should consider is the lighter, older style swaro S or M series 65mm hd scopes.

Love my lightweight STM-65 HD w/25-50. It's the lightweight pick for me. On the 65's the 25-50 excels over the 20-60's (still does on the 80's too ).

 

[Wyobohunter]

What is the weight and zoom range of each? The 80mm gets you a bigger exit pupil (better low light) if zoom is equal. Any zoom past about 45x may not be useable due to mirage. You should post up all of the specs.

Personally I’d be guided in large part by hours of daylight for when and where you are hunting. If you’ll have to glass a fair amount at dawn and dusk I’d go with the bigger exit pupil. If you’ll get to wake up to good light and go to bed before it gets too dark the exit pupil matters less. Think about how much sleep you need vs sunrise and sunset times, then decide how much low light performance matters.

My “from the hip” response would be to bring the lighter glass. But if it’s a difference of only 8-10 ounces I’d probably bring the bigger glass. Especially on a once in a lifetime hunt. If it’s a matter of pounds I’d go with the 55mm. Tough call if the difference is anywhere in between.

Basically. Answer the how much glassing in the dark question and post all of the specs for each. Then people can give opinions based on more information.

 

[BuzzH]

I used both my leupold 12-40x60 and Swarovski 20-60x80 on my Wyoming sheep hunt in 2019.

I did 4 trips, total of 26 days some with a friend while using his horses and mule and some while backpacking.

When I backpacked in I took the Leupold, less about the weight but more about the size for convenience of packing it. Honestly, unless you're counting growth rings, the Leupold was more than enough glass, IMO. Was the swaro nice too? Yeah, if the mule was packing it, but not if I had to.

Looking at some rams with my Leupold:

Picture from maybe 1200-1300 yards through the Leupold:

Personally, I think high end binoculars are the most important thing for hunting by a landslide. Spotting scopes are great too, if you're judging minutia on say growth rings, judging pronghorn for B&C score, or picking apart score on deer, elk, etc. In those cases, the spotter can save you lots of time and effort.

But, good binoculars are what you use the most to find those critters to start with, long before you start picking them apart with a spotting scope.

My 2 cents...

 

[coloyooper]

I used both my leupold 12-40x60 and Swarovski 20-60x80 on my Wyoming sheep hunt in 2019.

I did 4 trips, total of 26 days some with a friend while using his horses and mule and some while backpacking.

When I backpacked in I took the Leupold, less about the weight but more about the size for convenience of packing it. Honestly, unless you're counting growth rings, the Leupold was more than enough glass, IMO. Was the swaro nice too? Yeah, if the mule was packing it, but not if I had to.

Looking at some rams with my Leupold:

Picture from maybe 1200-1300 yards through the Leupold:

Personally, I think high end binoculars are the most important thing for hunting by a landslide. Spotting scopes are great too, if you're judging minutia on say growth rings, judging pronghorn for B&C score, or picking apart score on deer, elk, etc. In those cases, the spotter can save you lots of time and effort.

But, good binoculars are what you use the most to find those critters to start with, long before you start picking them apart with a spotting scope.

My 2 cents...

I’ve got a pair of 10x42 Meostar’s that I’ll be taking. Don’t have the extra scratch to bump up right now so I’ll make them work.

 

[sndmn11]

Take the lighter of the two. You don't have to count age rings in Colorado. Use your glass to locate sheep and you should be able to get a good idea if they're rams by the bulkiness of their neck and body. At long distances look for a mass on their head. This will give you an idea if it's a mature ram worth getting a closer look at.
Good Luck!

This was the basis of why I said no as well. Those who have sheep hunted that I know in Colorado talk about not needing a lot in a spotter because of terrain, requirements, "trophy" perception, and accessibility. I am sure there are some exceptions to those feelings.

 

[cbarg14]

Take the best glass you're comfortable carrying along with a ton of patience to get the most outta your glass. Sheep blend into their surroundings and are easily missed even with good glass. Good luck!!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Tanner]

Take the lighter of the two. You don't have to count age rings in Colorado. Use your glass to locate sheep and you should be able to get a good idea if they're rams by the bulkiness of their neck and body. At long distances look for a mass on their head. This will give you an idea if it's a mature ram worth getting a closer look at.
Good Luck!

This is where I’d align also. I’ve guided quite a few Dall sheep hunts in AK and would always opt for more glass when age and 1/2 inches matter for legality, but for bighorns in CO I think I would opt for a lighter spotter.

 

[Blockcaver]

I’d take the 55mm into the Sangres on a backpack hunt in CO, or in my case a Nikon ED50 w 13x30 eyepiece. Where age and or curl determine legality like BC it would be my Swaro ATM 65mm. I don’t like to pack the extra weight and volume of an 80 mm scope unless you are glassing from the road or from an ATV or Quad. I would have a phone scope in either case. Good luck! And your 10X binoculars are perfect in my opinion. Hope you get one! And I’ve bow-hunted the Sangres 3 times. It a lot of climbing!

 

[shoeshineman]

what is the consensus on 15x binos for sheep? i have a ewe tag and will be backpacking in this year.

I currently have the following:
8x30 swaro
x50 & x82 nikon spotters