Guys who only carry a 10x bino…

[Fowl Play]

Or you could be like me, who carries around a 10x for some reason, even though I only hunt thick timber during archery where if I can see them they are in shooting range.... and I have probably only pulled them out of my chest harness like once a year to look at a Great Gray owl in the distance.... typing this out I need to rethink this.

 

[Ross]

Only binos for 2 decades 10x42 geovids…heavy timber hunter would not change and wish I had them the first 3 decades

 

[Sccritterkiller]

10x42s for a decade...I do pack a tripod from time to time depending on what I am after and the landscape.

 

[Mr.Ktm]

10s are great. I don’t wanna carry a loaf of bread sized binos on my chest. I never felt under gunned with 10s. If I need to count points I pull out the spotter or get closer

 

[SleepyJones]

I carry 10x42 and don't own (or have ever used) a spotting scope. I don't hunt in the mountains but more foot hills, river valleys and a mix of farm land w/ surrounding forest. I'm finding I'm leaving my 10x42's at home more often too, as I rarely use my binos at all.

 

[butcherboy]

I use 10x42 and 8x42. 10’s for more open country and 8’s for thicker timber. Also have 15’s but I actually only use them for spotting from the truck on a tripod. Only used them twice. Once for antelope and once for oryx. I want to sell them and my tripod since I never carry them while hunting. I don’t count inches either and go hunt an animal if it’s legal. I think for me I would prefer to have one pair of 10x32 and a good range finder.

 

[Huntnnw]

Binos are super individualized. I find 10x to be more difficult to stabilize, narrower FOV and more prone to mirage than 8x....but that's just me.

and thats relative to the quality of glass you are using

 

[Beendare]

Maybe I should’ve been more clear with the title. I meant “guys who carry only low power binos and no spotting scope to back it up”. Is that normal? Like you guys that are commenting that you carry 8x or 10x, do you also carry a spotter like mavinwa2 said?

It's dependent on both Terrain and whether you are trophy hunting- counting points or not.

I have used the 30mm in both 8x and 10x and IMO, the smaller lens is not worth the minor difference in size and weight penalty.

In open country on Trophy units, it's nice to have more glass and a tripod. In avg units where I'm happy with a legal bull, I use 8x40 or 10x42.

 

[cole96]

I used to use 8x, but have run 10x for close to 10 years now and wouldn't go back for anything

 

[Maidenfan539]

Maybe I should’ve been more clear with the title. I meant “guys who carry only low power binos and no spotting scope to back it up”. Is that normal? Like you guys that are commenting that you carry 8x or 10x, do you also carry a spotter like mavinwa2 said?

8x are in bino harness and 15x in pack with tripod.

 

[LostArra]

Regardless of the glass, some folks are just better at spotting game in any terrain

 

[kcm2]

IMO, you need definition more than magnification. High end 8x binos will see as well or better than 10x of lower quality. I did a comparison when helping a friend hunt bighorns. If you want 10x30, buy the best you can afford. But the 8x30 Swarovskis, older and used, will likely be better than a lesser quality 10x pair.

It also depends upon what you are looking for. I'm not looking for a top 10 record book elk. Legal elk, good enough for me. Elk are delicious.

 

[Dark timber]

Having a spotter could save you a ton of time trying to get closer to see if there’s a legal bull in the bunch of elk you spot a mile or more away. I carry 10x50 ELs on my chest and a swaro ATC in my pack. If you’re gonna be anywhere that you can see a long ways, I highly recommend at least a mini spotter and a tripod for glassing with both. I dont sit down and start glassing with my spotter but I use it a lot to verify bucks and bulls. I can’t imagine not having it.

 

[mavinwa2]

even with 10x32 Swaros on my chest, it's surprising how many elk that I've spotted when hunting in thick timber with my 7x rangefinder!

 

[Whitefox82]

If I was going to run 30mm binos it be at 8 power. I think you’d appreciate the extra light getting through. I think that would be a sweet, lightweight bow hunting setup. But, for an all purpose set it’s tough to beat 10x42s.

 

[SloppyJ]

I carry a pair of kilo 10k gen 2s and just got a set of the zulu 6 hdx pros in 16 power.

I think you'll find the FOV differences arent a thing on the stabilized sigs. Specifically the HDX pros. Thats what pushed me to the higher magnification.

 

[Jimss]

If I just hunted flat timber country I’d likely just use 8 or 10x. I almost exclusively hunt open country so my 10x plus spotter is a necessity. Something I don’t think anyone has mentioned is having a rangefinder/bino combined into one. It saves time and weight not carrying both. I can spot and rangefinder a bull in seconds with the combo instead of fumbling back and forth.

I can spot a tine, rump patch, ear at over 1/2 mile away that can’t be seen with 12 to 15x binos! A spotter on a steady tripod in open country will likely save you miles and time hiking…and spooking game!