In your opinion. Cheaper Binos and Spotter or better Binos

[Luked]

Would like to get some opinions from you all with more experience than me.
I have a trip planned this coming season with a friend to CO OTC for Elk. This will be my first time out west hunting but he goes multiple times a year. Most of my hunting is done in the midwest for whitetail.
I am hoping to do at least hunt a year out west somwhere.
My question to you all is i have a budget right now of around $1200 give or take a bit to buy some optics. What i am unsure about is weather i would be better off to get a cheaper pair of Binos and a spotter like say the Maven C1 10x42 Binos and a CS1 Spotter.
Or would i be better off to drop the spotter option and get a better pair of Binos, like say Maven B1 so something comparable.

 

[BBob]

To start I'd buy the best binocular you can afford. There are tons of places in CO OTC Elk that do not require a spotting scope to kill.

And on second thought even though I'm a huge optics snob you probably don't need top end optics (binoculars) to hunt CO OTC Elk either. Get a decent pair and go hunt.

 

[ljalberta]

I almost never use a spotter elk hunting, but I sure do use my binos a lot at times.

I’d personally go with the better binos.

 

[AnnualRye]

For elk, buy a nice set of binos. Actually, for most species just buy really nice binos and a tri pod. I bought a Kowa 773 spotter a couple years ago, which is a great investment, but I would've bought a really nice set of alpha binos if I had to do it over again.

 

[ZackP]

Nice set of bino’s off a tripod is adequate for elk.

You would be surprised how far away you can usually pick them up with just the naked eye when the sun starts coming up.

I’m probably in the opposite situation of what most would say. I too spent the majority of my optics fund on a high end spotter, and run mid tier bino’s. But i dictate that off the terrain I hunt.

 

[bowhuntrben]

The best binos you can afford is what I would choose. Don't overlook used alpha glass.

 

[BBob]

Don't overlook used alpha glass.

For sure. A used pair of EL's even an earlier generation would/could be a great choice.

 

[TL406]

I’ve spent time glassing with the CS.1 spotter (my buddy has one) and I don’t think it’s worth buying, not good clarity at the top of its magnification range. Also I never bring a spotter archery elk hunting, too heavy and elk are big. As a general rule, clearer glass will find you more animals than higher magnification. The C series maven binos have mixed reviews from everything I’ve heard from people I know who have them. Maven B series are fantastic bang for the the buck though.

 

[sndmn11]

Id put it all in binoculars.

 

[justinspicher]

I have a spotter and it sits in my safe, but my binos always make the trip.

 

[svivian]

Spend it on Binos and a Tripod.

 

[Newtosavage]

Id put it all in binoculars.

This - and a solid tripod and mount you enjoy using.

 

[Newtosavage]

I’ve spent time glassing with the CS.1 spotter (my buddy has one) and I don’t think it’s worth buying, not good clarity at the top of its magnification range. Also I never bring a spotter archery elk hunting, too heavy and elk are big. As a general rule, clearer glass will find you more animals than higher magnification. The C series maven binos have mixed reviews from everything I’ve heard from people I know who have them. Maven B series are fantastic bang for the the buck though.

I don't know of any variable magnification spotters that are worth much at the upper end of the zoom range. I will only use fixed power eyepieces on my spotters from now on.

 

[Deer777]

How do the mavens in that price range compare to vortex?

 

[wnelson14]

Go Maven B series, some will pop up on here from time to time in the classifieds for a good price, and you will have money left over for a nice tripod.

 

[Dos Perros]

Good binos because you’re not trophy hunting.

 

[Peaks&Creeks]

You don’t need a spotter for elk. Buy a nice set of binos and a tripod and head setup. You’ll find the elk if they are there with that setup.


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[neil.hansford]

I'd look at a used set of good binos. Zeiss conquest, Meopta, Nikon HG, Vortex RZR, Maven B1, etc. Those can easily be had for well under $1000, often under $800. Get a decent tripod, and you'll still have money leftover, which will be easy to spend getting ready for an elk hunt.

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[ShakeDown]

A spotter is unnecessary weight on an elk hunt IMO.

All in on a nice pair of 8x or 10x and a solid tripod/head.

 

[Jimss]

I would bite the bullet and buy an almost new or demo pair of Leicas or Swaro binos. If you watch you may be able to save a lot of $ on an almost new pair in the classiied section of this website, Craigslist, Marketplace, etc. I sold a bunch of my old gear and stuff around the house to help pay for the Leica bino/rangefinder combo that I currently use. It was definitely worth it.

My preference for my style of hunting is both binos plus spotter but I'd pick binos if you are only going to go on one elk hunt. You can always sell them for almost what you pay for them...so that may be another option? If you drew a once in a lifetime elk tag a spotter plus binos may be important but if you are hunting OTC elk tag in Colo a raghorn may be considered a trophy so a spotter won't help much except for spotting elk in relatively open country and telling if there are any bulls in a group of elk. You may need to do a little more hiking to get close enough to tell with only binos. If you are hunting dense timber a spotter isn't going to help at all.

If you plan on hunting the West on a regular basis I would buy the very best of the best.....Leicas or Swaros.