Kansas Optic Advice

wileywild

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Aug 3, 2019
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In keeping things brief, I'm a optic's newbie who drew a Kansas tag and will be traveling from the east coast to hunt whiteys. I'm looking for optic's advice for this hunt. Should I look to scoop up a pair of 10x42's or will 8x42's suffice? I'm planning on glassing from a distance and moving in letting terrain dictate stand vs stalk. Where and how I typically hunt back home optics have played a very little role in my hunting. This would be my first time hunting/glassing an open terrain. Any advice or thoughts would be much appreciated.
 
Might depend on where in the state. In the east, most parcels are only 80 acres. Far western ks you can watch your dog runoff for 3 days.

I would bet 8x42s are ok
 
In keeping things brief, I'm a optic's newbie who drew a Kansas tag and will be traveling from the east coast to hunt whiteys. I'm looking for optic's advice for this hunt. Should I look to scoop up a pair of 10x42's or will 8x42's suffice? I'm planning on glassing from a distance and moving in letting terrain dictate stand vs stalk. Where and how I typically hunt back home optics have played a very little role in my hunting. This would be my first time hunting/glassing an open terrain. Any advice or thoughts would be much appreciated.


Where are you hunting in the state? I live in the east and there is no place I am aware of to spot and stalk with reasonable success. In the western portion of the state things are a little different.
 
Some very good questions here. Kansas is very diverse from east to west.

What is your primary use for your binoculars? Are you looking for any deer or judging inches?

Quality 8x42 should cover your needs to find deer. Judging deer at a distance is always easier with a quality spotter.

I am also from the east and travel to the midwest to hunt whitetail every year. I am a bit of an optics junky and enjoy owning and using quality optics. It amazes me every year how guys spend really big dollars to go on hunts and skimp on optics.
 
I hunt Nebraska once a year and I finally bought a spotter. If you’re hunting around big ag fields(~1mi distance) like I am i think you’ll need a spotter to judge quality. I had some 8x42s and I could only really tell if it had horns at the distances I was looking. Also the woods where i hunt are so tight that i never really used binos. I now have some 10x42s and a spotter that I’ll use this year. I bow hunt the woods off the large fields with lock ons and I only use the optics to find deer to setup on.


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In keeping things brief, I'm a optic's newbie who drew a Kansas tag and will be traveling from the east coast to hunt whiteys. I'm looking for optic's advice for this hunt. Should I look to scoop up a pair of 10x42's or will 8x42's suffice? I'm planning on glassing from a distance and moving in letting terrain dictate stand vs stalk. Where and how I typically hunt back home optics have played a very little role in my hunting. This would be my first time hunting/glassing an open terrain. Any advice or thoughts would be much appreciated.
Swarovski 8.5 EL range
 
Hey guys, thanks for all the replies. I drew units 15 and 16, south central to south west. This is a DIY hunt, no guides, no outfitter public land hunt. As for budget I'm looking to stay under $500. I'm looking at these for both judging deer and spotting them. Maybe that isn't possible with one bino at that price range. I'm completely open to suggestions. Back home hunting doesn't provide a lot of long distance scouting or demand a high end bino nor have other states I've traveled to hunt. Things are thick and I typically scout/hunt with stand on my back. Find the sign and hunt it. I could be wrong with the spot and stalk approach but am sure looking to broaden my horizons and use whatever tactics the situation dictate. Maybe these units are long distance glassing friendly? This is all new territory for me. Kind of starting to wonder if I should roll with the 8x42's and invest in a spotter? Obviously there goes the budget. Ha.
 
I’m a total noob to optics as well but they save me so much time and energy on this Nebraska hunt and I am planning some western hunts for next year so I’m slowly upgrading them. I had a $500 budget and went with an athlon ares 15-45x65 and I’m certain i will be able to judge the quality of the bucks I see. If I find some deer or sign I have to tote my lock-on in, hang it, hunt it, hope the right deer come by and contemplate if I’m in the right spot the entire time I sit there. It just saves me a lot of time being able to confirm activity from a distance before I go in and hang my stand.

I’ve hunted in Comanche county Kansas(unit 16) and most of it was large fields with tree lines in between. If the terrain is similar I think the 8x42s and a spotter would serve you better than a lone pair of 10x42s.


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I recently moved to Tennessee but spent my first 35 years in Kansas and Western NE. To me once you get much west of Wichita the country can get fairly open and hilly (the Gypsum Hills area is a really cool area), lending itself to more movement while your hunting.

Personally I would stick with 8x binos, it's probably just me but I struggle to see a real world difference when going to 10x except a more "cramped" view. I always have a small, lightweight spotter with me. Even in that country you can save yourself a few miles and the possibility of busting a lot of animals trying to get get closer for a better look. You also will spend lots of time in the afternoon looking in the shade on hillsides and picking apart plum thickets for an ear or antler.

don't think you need to go overboard on the spotter, something like a Kowa 500 series or Minox md50 should work. You can always use it later at the rifle range.



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Quality will trump power for binoculars. Judging a buck will be much easier with a good pair of 8x than a cheap pair of 10x. That said, if you really want to be choosy and are hunting open country, a spotter may serve you well.
 
Just got back from Kansas hunting the early muzzy season. A good pair of 10x42’s would suit you well but a spotter is almost a must have. It was nice being able to take a good look at bucks from the truck as we got there two days early to scout. Most bucks weren’t Moving until the last few minutes of light and I could only tell it was a deer through binos until I put the spotter on them to Id it as a buck.
 
here’s what I did that I’d maybe recommend, I bought some vortex diamond backs to start for like $200 maybe, I rocked those for a year. They are good enough you’ll definatly see deer With them. But over the next year or two save money and get some high end 10’s or what ever. then I just gave the diamond backs to my dad as a birthday present since he never owned a pair of binos over $70. Kind of a win win after that year of saving if you ask me
 
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