JustinPNW
FNG
Hey all! New member here. Been lurking for a while, but decided to pull the trigger and join the community.
My title says it all...
I'm a new hunter and just finished my first season of bowhunting mule deer in Eastern Washington (sage desert/shrubsteppe with coulees, hills, and ag fields mixed in - big open country). I made it through the season with Vortex Viper 10x42 binos and a Diamondback 16-48x65 spotter, but quickly realized through experience and playing with my buddy's gear that optics are the most important piece of gear for this species and habitat. If I can't spot a muley, then I'm not going to be able to stalk one.
Based on lots of advice here and on archerytalk, I decided to go for alpha glass on my binos and recently purchases a pair of Leica 10x42 Ultravid HD-Plus. Now I'm reconsidering my spotter. If I'm being honest, the Diamondback didn't get much use primarily because I struggled to find it as a better tool than my Viper binos at spotting bedded muleys in the sage due to its dark image that lacked clarity, contrast, and color trueness.
To that end, I'm in the market for a new spotter and want to hear from people with more experience than me as to whether the cost of alpha spotters (Swaro, Leica, Kowa) is really worth it over the mid-range (Razor, Sig Oscar, Athlon Cronus, Maven etc) for what I'm doing?
I fully realize that my proportion of time spent behind a spotter may change once I have good glass, but this season it only got used about 5-10% of the time. To be clear, I am not looking to spot trophies at a mile or two away. I am hunting to put meat in the freezer and while I will take a nice buck if the opportunity presents itself, I am just as happy to get a nice, big doe in antlerless GMU's. Also, I am not discounting that I may evolve to hunting more and different species that necessitate different glass, but for now, I am personally focused on mule deer, as there's just something about them that I really like...
Thanks ahead of time for the help!
My title says it all...
I'm a new hunter and just finished my first season of bowhunting mule deer in Eastern Washington (sage desert/shrubsteppe with coulees, hills, and ag fields mixed in - big open country). I made it through the season with Vortex Viper 10x42 binos and a Diamondback 16-48x65 spotter, but quickly realized through experience and playing with my buddy's gear that optics are the most important piece of gear for this species and habitat. If I can't spot a muley, then I'm not going to be able to stalk one.
Based on lots of advice here and on archerytalk, I decided to go for alpha glass on my binos and recently purchases a pair of Leica 10x42 Ultravid HD-Plus. Now I'm reconsidering my spotter. If I'm being honest, the Diamondback didn't get much use primarily because I struggled to find it as a better tool than my Viper binos at spotting bedded muleys in the sage due to its dark image that lacked clarity, contrast, and color trueness.
To that end, I'm in the market for a new spotter and want to hear from people with more experience than me as to whether the cost of alpha spotters (Swaro, Leica, Kowa) is really worth it over the mid-range (Razor, Sig Oscar, Athlon Cronus, Maven etc) for what I'm doing?
I fully realize that my proportion of time spent behind a spotter may change once I have good glass, but this season it only got used about 5-10% of the time. To be clear, I am not looking to spot trophies at a mile or two away. I am hunting to put meat in the freezer and while I will take a nice buck if the opportunity presents itself, I am just as happy to get a nice, big doe in antlerless GMU's. Also, I am not discounting that I may evolve to hunting more and different species that necessitate different glass, but for now, I am personally focused on mule deer, as there's just something about them that I really like...
Thanks ahead of time for the help!