Have spotter, do I need Binoculars?

[betelgeuse]

If I forget the binos,I come home

I hiked in a long ways in the dark one time, sat down to get my binos out. Oops. Crappy morning, oof

 

[Huntnnw]

for me I do use my Binos 10X more than my spotter. I hunt all over the west and there is no way I wouldnt have my spotter with me. Its almost always used in judging a buck or bull,plus I use it with my phone for video and target shooting

 

[solidstars43]

Depends on what you want and need tbh. I had the pleasure to try a very expensive monocular of a bird researcher friend. Ever since then binoculars don't seem that impressive.

 

[LostArra]

My spotter (mid level) only goes to the range and watches deer and birds from my house. If I hunted goats or sheep where determining a legal animal is necessary it would probably go hunting but those tags are pipe dreams for me now.

Like most, I stair-stepped around with low and mid level binoculars telling myself they were good enough and most of the time they are good enough. Then I came across a Cameraland NY deal on some open box Swaros and I bought them. This occurred many years ago and I still have zero regrets.

What I learned:
Everyone's face and eyeballs are different and some binoculars don't fit your face/eye relief so testing is important even with alphas. In my case Swaros fit me perfectly while my buddy's Leicas do not.

As you age your eyes will thank you for investing in top tier glass. Hitting the gym in your 70s keeps your body prepared for hunting but the calendar will still affect some aspects of vision.

Buying alpha glass actually frees up a bunch of time you once wasted on reading endless reviews and shopping for deals online.

Edit: I just realized this is in the Elk section not optics. In the elk country we hunt good binoculars get the job done locating the elk. If you're concerned about antler score then a spotter might help.

 

[MuleyFever]

If you really cant afford to keep the spotter get binos and make sure you have a tripod setup you can use them on. Ive taken my spotter on some elk hunts where I know I will be glassing a long ways but it wasnt really needed. I do think a spotter is needed for deer hunts in the open country because its nice to know if the deer is big enough to go after without waling way over there to get a better look. Now, if you just want to kill a deer the spotter becomes less necessary.

 

[CarterHunt]

They are two different tools. I like a spotter for not just field judging but also picking apart country. This season I actually turned up a lot more game with my spotter than my binos.

 

[Jaquomo]

I primarily hunt elk in the mountains and deer and pronghorns on the prairie. I own 7 pairs of binocs and 2 spotters. Don't even take the spotter to elk camp, because a good pair of 10x42 tells me everything I need to know for the kind of mountain hunting I do.

On the open plains I used to use the spotter for truck glassing, but since getting a pair of Sig Zulu HD 16x42 image stabilized binocs, I rarely need to use the spotter. Amazing, affordable tool.

Granted, I'm at a point in my hunting career where I no longer worry about five or ten inches of antler score, so this is what works for me for how I hunt. Optics for Coues deer hunting a whole different topic. Buy or trade for the best quality 10x42 binocs you can afford, and go hunting. YMMV.

 

[PredatorX]

I gotta say after owning quite a few different pair of alpha glass I am really liking the image stabilized sig Zulus. With their 16x it should do 80% of what a spotter does.


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[Big_wals]

I would never go hunting without binos. Spotters are nice, but binoculars are a necessity. If you can afford to keep the spotter and still pick up some binos that would be best obviously, but if money is too tight I would 100% sell the spotter.

Don’t overlook 8x42s either, for sure if you keep the spotter. There is a pair of 8x42 Vipers in the classifieds right now for $300, used vipers are some of the best bang for your buck IMO.

 

[SethB_9]

I use 10x42's on my chest and then 15x56's on a tripod.

 

[Brandon_SPC]

The only reason I use a spotter is to identify a "legal" animal if I can't do that in my binos or just want footage for my phone. I personally hate glassing with a spotter and if I know I can get by without it, it stays in the truck.

 

[jmez]

Unless you are trophy hunting go with binos. If you are trophy hunting, you need both.

 

[theavgjoe]

I think using one or the other or both depends on the terrain and game you are pursuing. For example if you are hunting an area where you have the ability to glass for miles or you are sheep hunting binos and spotter may be necessary. It is nice to have the option for both if needed but Bino's will always be used so buy the best 10x or 8x and cry once.

 

[7RemMag]

I recall Steven Rinella having a saying on his show, podcast, etc. that was something to the effect of "Search with Binos, Scrutinize with a spotter.". 9 times out of 10, I have both in my pack. My preference for binoculars is 12x50, but I'm probably in the minority there. Basically, the only time I don't have my spotter is when I'm hunting in the timber.

I suppose if a guy didn't want to carry both, a nice set of binos with a tripod would work pretty well in a lot of cases.

Leupold is my go-to, but I've handled plenty of other brands that I didn't mind either. It seems like every Fall, many of the big box stores discount Leupold and Vortex optics pretty heavily. I personally think I'd prefer to have a really good spotter and a decent pair of binoculars as opposed to a really great pair of binoculars and a decent spotter.

 

[theavgjoe]

I agree with 12x50, my primary is 8x42 or 12x50 depending on terrain. I use the same setup, I have sub alpha binos and alpha spotter.

 

[eyeguy]

Havent read all the replies but the question should be have binoculars do I need a spotting scope. You need a spotting scope if you are worried if its worth the hike bc the bull might be 330 and you only want to hike if over 350. Then you need a spotter. but if just hunting elk very little need for a spotter. IMO.