New Binoculars, spotting scope, or both...

[TaperPin]

Totally agree. I throw my scope and window mount in the car everytime we leave just to stop and glass. We live in a big Mule Deer and Elk wintering range so there's always animals to look at. With a digiscoping setup the kids can sit in the front seat with me and see what I see on the phone screen. They love it.

I use this mount with a smallrig fluid head. I just got an Aziak Front Country ballhead to try with it too. I purchased both vortex window mounts and a vanguard window mount and sent them all back in favor of this combo, it just works, has better adjustment and has no slop unlike the other options.

Amazon.com

The digiscoping setup is a great idea.

 

[iflyskyhigh]

It’s cool you’re going about all this in a well thought out way and getting a setup that allows a lot easier use. As the others have said, once you get over the hump it’s fun - and the more fun someone has the more they’ll do it, and the better you get at picking up animals. That’s pretty cool.

I consider a window mount essential to fully use and enjoy a spotting scope - cheap or expensive, everyone should have one. It’s not ideal for a lot of things, but when the car is stopped nothing is easier for a quick peak at a small area. You’ll literally be glassing for fun in areas that otherwise would be passed up simply because it’s too much work to drag out the tripod. Friends and family can easily look at ducks, boats, coyotes, or whatever, and it’s using a scope in situations it otherwise wouldn’t be, and that’s pretty cool.

I’d also suggest a stable table top scope mount for the same reason - it allows a spotter to be used at times when it otherwise wouldn’t be. Sitting on a public picnic table and picking up a bear crossing a hillside miles away is fun for everyone that gets a look at it. Maybe it’s resting on the hood, roof of a car, or just on a bench at the range. Using optics more in any way possible, makes people better at it - kids growing up around optics may have hundreds of hours looking at weird things by the time they’re adults, and that’s pretty cool.

Thanks man, I really appreciate the words or encouragement! Everyone on here has so nice and helpful. Again, I appreciate all the thoughtful words and guidance.

I'm really excited to get back out there after be out of it for a few years. Not that we are planning our hunts we have that feeling back and realized how much we have missed it over the past several years.

Even though the biggest thing I've ever shot was a coyote (which I decided not eat) I feel like every time we go out we learn something new and get a little closer. My best friend has killed a couple deer with family from a tree stand in Minnesota, but he's never shot anything out west either. The meat he has given me has been amazing, and the thought of filling a freezer is still the thing that keeps me going after all these years of no success. We're smart, avid outdoorsmen and I know we'll get there.

I don't have a window mount, but I will for sure look into it. I do have a plethora of very nice tripods from my photography days and my more recent shooting hobbies. I'm still looking at one nice tripod to carry with me on the hunts, but that's an entirely different rabbit hole.

 

[iflyskyhigh]

Totally agree. I throw my scope and window mount in the car everytime we leave just to stop and glass. We live in a big Mule Deer and Elk wintering range so there's always animals to look at. With a digiscoping setup the kids can sit in the front seat with me and see what I see on the phone screen. They love it.

I use this mount with a smallrig fluid head. I just got an Aziak Front Country ballhead to try with it too. I purchased both vortex window mounts and a vanguard window mount and sent them all back in favor of this combo, it just works, has better adjustment and has no slop unlike the other options.

Amazon.com

I really like the manfrotto stuff. I have a couple tripods of theirs. top quality stuff.

 

[Jake Larsen]

Just looking around for the Sig 8K. Lots of OOS and No Longer Available. Wonder if something new is coming with Shot Show?

Probably a good time to just lurk and wait for all the latest and greatest to be released. I’m sure there will be lots of good late model stuff available over the next couple months as people upgrade.

You’re on the right track there. I’d wait until after SHOT. You’ll get a good deal on something. Unless you’re a super long range guy pushing the absolute limits, any of these models will do everything you need it to.


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[Needcoffee]

Agreed. After the shot show demo models are available. Hit up the online retailers at that point. See what they have. I have picked up quality optics that way.

 

[iflyskyhigh]

It’s cool you’re going about all this in a well thought out way and getting a setup that allows a lot easier use. As the others have said, once you get over the hump it’s fun - and the more fun someone has the more they’ll do it, and the better you get at picking up animals. That’s pretty cool.

I consider a window mount essential to fully use and enjoy a spotting scope - cheap or expensive, everyone should have one. It’s not ideal for a lot of things, but when the car is stopped nothing is easier for a quick peak at a small area. You’ll literally be glassing for fun in areas that otherwise would be passed up simply because it’s too much work to drag out the tripod. Friends and family can easily look at ducks, boats, coyotes, or whatever, and it’s using a scope in situations it otherwise wouldn’t be, and that’s pretty cool.

I’d also suggest a stable table top scope mount for the same reason - it allows a spotter to be used at times when it otherwise wouldn’t be. Sitting on a public picnic table and picking up a bear crossing a hillside miles away is fun for everyone that gets a look at it. Maybe it’s resting on the hood, roof of a car, or just on a bench at the range. Using optics more in any way possible, makes people better at it - kids growing up around optics may have hundreds of hours looking at weird things by the time they’re adults, and that’s pretty cool.

Just circling back to this.

So you're using the window mount just for fun or in actual hunting situations? Do you using with the binos and spotting scope or just the spotting scope?

My table top tripod is an an old SLIK and it's seen better days. Any recommendations on that front?

 

[Alpine4x4]

Just circling back to this.

So you're using the window mount just for fun or in actual hunting situations? Do you using with the binos and spotting scope or just the spotting scope?

My table top tripod is an an old SLIK and it's seen better days. Any recommendations on that front?

All of the above. If I can glass from a good vantage point in the truck then why not stay in where it's warm and comfy? It's a good piece of kit to have in case you find some ground you wanna glass up while out and about.

 

[iflyskyhigh]

All of the above. If I can glass from a good vantage point in the truck then why not stay in where it's warm and comfy? It's a good piece of kit to have in case you find some ground you wanna glass up while out and about.

Sounds good to me.

Table top tripod?


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[TaperPin]

Just circling back to this.

So you're using the window mount just for fun or in actual hunting situations? Do you using with the binos and spotting scope or just the spotting scope?

My table top tripod is an an old SLIK and it's seen better days. Any recommendations on that front?

Binoculars are usually used with a scope - a scope by itself is very limiting, but if everything you’re glassing is way out there the binoculars may not come out.

In many antelope, sagebrush elk and mule deer areas where there are a lot of two tracks and animals are primarily spotted from the vehicle then sneaked up on, a window mount can be the primary way a scope is held.

I’ve been headed across the state to a very good hunting area, pulled over to take a 5 minute look at an small, but interesting ridge more than a mile away and saw a glimpse of antler, that turned out to be a big buck - bang bang.

Another section of a ridge on the way to a hunting area looked extra good from the blacktop, but was too far away to see animals. The next year I hiked up to that spot and ran into the second biggest mulie I’ve seen in the wild.

As important as finding good spots, is eliminating bad areas. There’s always a large number of potential areas along roads in the back of my mind and if they can be excluded by a quick look from a vehicle, it just helped your hunting efficiency. One secluded flat mountain top had a fairly steep slope on all sides and I’ve always wondered if animals still made it up there. Every time a light snow fell I’d glass from the hiway for animal tracks and over a number of years doing that never saw a single set of tracks coming or going.

I think of tripods, window mounts and table tops as two separate parts - the base and the ball head. Almost any base will interchange with any ball head, so use a ball head you like. All my table tops have been cut down old full size tripods that would otherwise just sit on the shelf or get thrown away - it helps if they have legs that can splay out at different angles, otherwise they would have too narrow of a base. I don’t have any idea what new tabletops would be good.

 

[iflyskyhigh]

Awesome. Good info. Thank you!

 

[Linehand11]

If for some reason you don’t find what you’re looking for through a retailer after shot show is done, you might try reaching out to Jeff and Dave at Kent’s Optics in Tremonton Utah. They have killer prices on all of their optics. They don’t advertise their prices anywhere but if you give them a call, they’ll definitely take care of you. I know they’ve been mentioned before on the rokcast podcast. I live close enough that I’ve bought a few scopes/rings, couple binos, a spotter and a rifle through them. Awsome guys to work with. It’s kind of a hidden gem. Just a thought.

Hope you find what your looking for!

 

[Jake Larsen]

Decent deal on a pair of 12x42 NL pure in the classifieds right now


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[iflyskyhigh]

If for some reason you don’t find what you’re looking for through a retailer after shot show is done, you might try reaching out to Jeff and Dave at Kent’s Optics in Tremonton Utah. They have killer prices on all of their optics. They don’t advertise their prices anywhere but if you give them a call, they’ll definitely take care of you. I know they’ve been mentioned before on the rokcast podcast. I live close enough that I’ve bought a few scopes/rings, couple binos, a spotter and a rifle through them. Awsome guys to work with. It’s kind of a hidden gem. Just a thought.

Hope you find what your looking for!

Thank you! Good info.

I actually have a tab open on their website.

I can’t remember where I saw them mentioned, but I it was maybe in a YouTube video????

I’ll definitely circle back to them.

Didn’t look like they carry Kowa though?


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[iflyskyhigh]

Decent deal on a pair of 12x42 NL pure in the classifieds right now


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They’re on my watch list.

I’m just not sure if I want a 10x or 12x????

I’m still kicking around the 10x ranger finder binos and the 12x option.

Even though I can get my money back out of them I’d like to look through some of this stuff and see the practical difference


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[Jake Larsen]

Thank you! Good info.

I actually have a tab open on their website.

I can’t remember where I saw them mentioned, but I it was maybe in a YouTube video????

I’ll definitely circle back to them.

Didn’t look like they carry Kowa though?


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If you want Kowa, S&S will give Roksliders 10% off. Solid savings on a spotter


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[Jake Larsen]

They’re on my watch list.

I’m just not sure if I want a 10x or 12x????

I’m still kicking around the 10x ranger finder binos and the 12x option.

Even though I can get my money back out of them I’d like to look through some of this stuff and see the practical difference


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It’s a tough decision. I’m in the same boat. Currently running 12s. I think I’m going to end up with 10x52s on the chest. In my experience, glass clarity trumps extra magnification. I’m thinking the extra light of the 52mm objectives will outperform the extra 2x of magnification in low light conditions, with the added benefit of more FOV.


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[iflyskyhigh]

It’s a tough decision. I’m in the same boat. Currently running 12s. I think I’m going to end up with 10x52s on the chest. In my experience, glass clarity trumps extra magnification. I’m thinking the extra light of the 52mm objectives will outperform the extra 2x of magnification in low light conditions, with the added benefit of more FOV.


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I saw the 10x52’s and those did look interesting. Some guy on YouTube did a review with a bunch of camera equipment and figured in they let in a whole extra fstop of light. That’s pretty substantial.

I got a notice that Optics planet has the 10x52 NL’s in stock. I think that’s what they were right?


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[Linehand11]

Yes, Kent’s Optics started selling Kowa last fall. They have a lady in the store do all of the social media and take care of the website, so it might not reflect what the newest products are that they carry. A phone call to them would probably answer most of your questions, at least on the pricing side of things.

 

[iflyskyhigh]

Yes, Kent’s Optics started selling Kowa last fall. They have a lady in the store do all of the social media and take care of the website, so it might not reflect what the newest products are that they carry. A phone call to them would probably answer most of your questions, at least on the pricing side of things.

Okay. Thanks. I kinda guess based on whatever it was I read or heard. The website looked pretty basic so I figured if the time came a phone call was in order.


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[Jake Larsen]

I saw the 10x52’s and those did look interesting. Some guy on YouTube did a review with a bunch of camera equipment and figured in they let in a whole extra fstop of light. That’s pretty substantial.

I got a notice that Optics planet has the 10x52 NL’s in stock. I think that’s what they were right?


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Yes the 10x52 NLs. I would LOVE to do a side by side with my 12x42s in low light. Some give and take there. Little bigger/heavier for the 10x52s.


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