“Glassing” set up for the house?

[rayporter]

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i have had these 25x orions for a while. great buy!!!! under 400$.
you have to spend 4x as much to get a better glass.

the tripod is very important - get a sturdy tripod. this one is 20lbs,

if you ever see a set of 30x for sale let me know, i want some to replace stolen ones.

 

[ztc92]

Thank you all for your thoughts. I spent some time on Basemaps and with my rangefinder at the new place and it appears I over-estimated the distance I’ll be looking. It’s more like 0.5 - 1.5 miles where I have been seeing wildlife and hope to focus on with the home setup. Also have a lead on an older Swarovski spotting scope that a family member is no longer using so will likely start there. Waiting to hear exactly what model/power but I’m sure the price will be right and it will be hard to pass up.

Family owned spotter aside, for these distances that are closer than I initially thought, I’m now thinking some 15x binos may be better since they’ll be far more versatile for hunting I was watching elk comfortably at about 1 mile with my 10x leicas on a tripod but it was hard to see details like size or antlers. Makes me think with 15x binos it would have been about perfect.

Here’s a very poor quality photo through the 10x binos with no phone adapter for reference:

 

[Blockcaver]

We have a great view of the mountain that starts right behind our house. Critters are a 100 yards to a mile away. We see mule deer, California bighorns, black bears, coyotes, chukars, eagles and even one whitetail and a pair of California quail.

We have a set of Leica 15x56 HD Geovids on a big Manfrotto/Bogen tripod (we bought the Geovids from Doug at CL in 2012) that stay set up at all times. Love the 15X for viewing distances I mentioned.

I do bring out the Swaro 20-60x65HD when we want to digiscope, or really census the sheep herds that pass through. Being able to magnify the view and the photo with the iPhone is a game changer.

But our most used optic is the 22 year old pair of Swaro 10x42 EL binos. They reside on the pantry shelf and get used daily, many days more like 4 or 5 times. Good that looking through them doesn't weear them out, or they'd be totally worn out....but are in excellent shape despite spending their first decade as my primary hunting binocular.

 

[ztc92]

For anyone following along, I decided to dip my toes in the waters of 15x binos and have been very happy with this setup so far. I was doing a lot of reading/researching on entry level 15-16x binos on this website and others. Learned that the Nikon Monarch 5, 16x56 is highly regarded and can often be found at a steep discount, so I began searching for a used set. I ended up finding some for $400 shipped and couldn’t resist. I’ve briefly used a friends 15x Swaros in the past and while these Nikons don’t compare, they still seem like an excellent value and starter set. So far I’ve had a great time watching deer, elk and antelope from home with them. It has me really considering an upgrade to the maven 18x in the future when money allows, as I suspect those would be just the ticket for watching critters at these ranges.

 

[jimh406]

I use both binoculars and spotting scope with tripod at my house. If you want to see the species or if there are animals, binoculars are fine. If you want to see the number of points, etc, I prefer my spotting scope. It’s also better for digiscoping.

 

[SikaSeeker]

Binoculars mounted is what you want. Do you have a porch or will they be indoors ? I’d suggest Fujinon 10x70 /16 x 70 (FMTRSX2) or Nikon Astroluxe 18 x 70(red ring version) These should fall into $800-1200 range and May need to be imported depending on dealers local to you. The fujinon are milspec. Zeiss 15 x 60 BGA T* another option.

This is a good “bang for buck”. I’d give serious thought to Kowa Highlanders or Docter 40x80 for premium option.

Budget Highlander is Kowa 664 big eye setup.

 

[Hotmail]

If you bought one of these used ones for $399 on Amazon then be aware they have zero Nikon USA warranty support whatsoever and only 7 year current warranty applies to original owners who purchased their Nikon's brand new sealed boxes from authorized Nikon USA dealers with original dated proof of purchase receipt.

"Amazon.com : Nikon 7582 MONARCH 5 16x56 Binocular (Black) : Cameraphoto : Electronics" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E3URVH8/ref=olp-opf-redir?aod=1

Honestly I'd return the Nikons to Amazon if I were you and just buy the Japan made Burris Signature HD for $551 with a no questions asked Burris FOREVER WARRANTY currently on sale from Amazon which is probably not gonna be this cheap for much longer. They're selling for $799.99 everywhere else and have a $960.00 MSRP. These Burris Signature HDs are made in JAPAN not China as the Nikon Monarchs are.

These are the new improved Japan made 2023 models and the 15s are still $551 which is unbelievably cheap. I ordered one and awaiting delivery with Saturday or Monday. I already bought their 8s and 10s while they were just recently on sale for dirt cheap and those prices just went right back up.

"Amazon.com: Burris Signature HD 15x56 Hunting Binoculars : Electronics" https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0CLPJ4F11/ref=ox_sc_act_image_16?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1


This is one Japan made Binoculars with a no questions asked lifetime FOREVER warranty that you'd probably never need to consider upgrading.

 

[SikaSeeker]

I’d agree on Nikon warranty however from reports they’re extremely well built and due to classic design should be easy to service. Fujinon similar story. Japanese corporates really shoot them selves in foot in this regard.