Looking for some direction.....

WyoElk

WKR
Joined
Mar 11, 2014
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I'm looking for some optics direction from you fellas. I currently have a pair of Zeiss Conquest HD 10X42 binos that I've been happy with. I usually run them on top of a Slik 634. I've decided to pony up for a spotting scope this season but as everyone knows, the budget is always a factor.

I'm a single earner for a family of 5 so I'm trying to be responsible to my family. I also subscribe to the buy once cry once mantra so I'm willing to put in some extra hours at work and get something that I know will last a long time. Here are the scenarios I'm considering, let me know what you think is my best use of money.


#1 Keep the Conquest HD's and buy a Swaro ATS 80mm. This will likely cost me ~$2600.

#2 Sell the Conquest HD's, and replace them with Swaro SLC 10X42. I can get a deal on Vortex through promotive so if I go this route the best scope I could afford would be the Razor HD 85mm. I like this option because I use the binos way more than a spotter and I know if I go SLC they will last me forever. I expect this would cost me ~ $2100

#3 Keep the Conquest HD's and buy a Razor 85mm. This is the cheapest option at around $1200 out of pocket.

#4 Other options?

Thanks for the input fellas, I appreciate everything you all have to offer. I will also probably look for some used optics so that may help my costs out a bit.
 
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This is what I think I would do: Swap the 10x42 Conquests for Swaro 15x56 SLC's since you will use the binos 99% of the time and watch for a used Vortex HD spotter... I absolutely love sitting behind my SLC's so I am very biased!
 
I would go with option #2.

My set up is Swaro 10X42's with a Nikon 25X60X65 spotter and while I lose the spotter at first and last light, it was a money manageable option for me several years ago and I haven't felt the necessity to upgrade yet.

(well the urge has been there but I usually have killed the urge by buying an new rifle or a new bow!)
 
WyoElk, Where and what are you mainly planning to hunt? Makes a difference on what I'd recommend. General "everything" binos get the best 10x42s for your eyes and augment with the best used 65mm HD scope you can afford......maybe a used scope in a year? Good luck!
 
WyoElk, Where and what are you mainly planning to hunt? Makes a difference on what I'd recommend. General "everything" binos get the best 10x42s for your eyes and augment with the best used 65mm HD scope you can afford......maybe a used scope in a year? Good luck!

Yea, I should have mentioned that in the original post. I hunt pretty much all species of the west. Could be timber for elk or plains for antelope. I feel like I would rather lean toward more magnification than less. I'm not looking to count growth rings at three miles, I just want to know if I should pursue an elk that I can see at three miles, or more so if its a bull or cow.
 
Yea, I should have mentioned that in the original post. I hunt pretty much all species of the west. Could be timber for elk or plains for antelope. I feel like I would rather lean toward more magnification than less. I'm not looking to count growth rings at three miles, I just want to know if I should pursue an elk that I can see at three miles, or more so if its a bull or cow.

Exactly why I put up my set up. While I live in the East and hunt here, I am usually hunting for at least 2 or 3 weeks in the West every fall and I am trying to identify whether I want to spend the next 4 hours going after an animal that I have just spotted, miles away and the 10X42 Swaro's combined with the Nikon spotter fill the bill for me. Last fall I had an Idaho cow tag and for the first three days of the hunt, I could only find bulls! My Swaro's saved me a lot of miles and they also led me 5 miles on day 4 to fill my cow tag.

But my opinion would be that the best thing that you could of would be to look through some of the high end binos and then decide which ones fit you best and put most of your money there and then plug the gap with a decent spotter.
 
Option #2 for sure if you use binos most of the time. I don't see why not go for the razor with the cost you will be getting it at. It's high quality and will do everything you want.
 
Why not just keep the Conquests and find a used Swaro/Leica/Zeiss/Vortex spotter? The glass you already have is already pretty good, so just picking up a used spotter would save lots of cash and be responsible. There's usually some nice 65's & 85's available in the forum at great prices. I'd look for an ATS or ATM since most guys are looking to upgrade to the ATX. Since you won't use it that much this would be a good option too.


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Thanks for the input fella's. I think some of the responses validated what I was thinking about and I even got a few ideas.
 
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