Optics During Archery Elk

[cuerro viejo]

op fwiw I have the razor 11-33. Its good to zoom in on something you found with bino’s, out side of that it has a really really narrow field of view.

 

[trophyhill]

I don’t think you need a spotter yet. A low power one isn’t going to be worth carrying. It’s not like you’re at the stage of the game where you won’t go after any legal bull and need to judge antler size. If you use a tripod with a good pair of 10x binos you should be able to see what you need to see.

I have to agree. I bought the 11x33 Razor because it was cheap and honestly? It’s a piece of crap. I think a good pair of binos is plenty in this situation. Personally I wouldn’t even bring a tripod unless you plan on many hours behind the glass. A trekking pole does just fine to steady the glass on short stints. I got a good deal on Sportsman’s Guide a year or 2 ago on the Razor HD 12x50’s that aren’t much bigger than the Razor HD 10x42’s I have that I use for open country mule deer hunting. I also have the Viper HD spotting scope. I believe it’s a 20-60-85 and it’s a monster and heavy. Too heavy for my liking but it’s great for long sits while hunting deer and works great on the window mount from the truck. I’d just upgrade the binos and call it good. But that’s just me. For me, traveling lighter is better. I only carry glass if I’m hunting open country.

 

[Clrems77]

I went right up the middle with a bino upgrade to Swaro 12’s and a tripod. It’s truly the best of both worlds. On the tripod the 12’s act like a lower power spotting scope but they carry like any other Binos. Best decision I’ve made.

 

[tkhuntsman]

Hi All - long time reader, first post. Heading on second Idaho elk trip in mid September this year and will be hunting a unit with a lot of rolling open terrain. I hunted mainly timber last year in a different unit and am fairly new to glassing.

Curious how many people carry a tripod and spotting scope while archery elk hunting. In most of the areas I've scouted, I'll have visibility up to 2-3 miles of mostly open sage country with smaller patches of timber. I currently have a base model 10x42 vortex diamondback binos and a low end tripod with bino adapter. Is it worth it to buy a small spotting scope (thinking 11-33x or 15-45x) or is it not worth the weight if I'm just trying to spot elk and don't care much about determining if it's a raghorn or a 300" 6x6? Or would I be better off spending the money on upgrading my binoculars to a higher end model?

Pic of my Idaho bull from last year. First elk hunt ever and got him on last day of a 7 day hunt. Followed him and his herd up the mountain for three hours before circling around and calling him in after he bedded his cows. My wife was a champ and packed out a rear quarter on each trip.

View attachment 504653

For most archery elk applications it's not necessary to carry a tripod and spotting scope. Shots are at close range and you don't need the extended optics to judge game. Most bulls are located by sound or fresh sign instead of by sight. plus it's usually steep and long hiking for elk the weight and space in your pack you will save is a huge bonus.

 

[Lkellogg]

Hi All - long time reader, first post. Heading on second Idaho elk trip in mid September this year and will be hunting a unit with a lot of rolling open terrain. I hunted mainly timber last year in a different unit and am fairly new to glassing.

Curious how many people carry a tripod and spotting scope while archery elk hunting. In most of the areas I've scouted, I'll have visibility up to 2-3 miles of mostly open sage country with smaller patches of timber. I currently have a base model 10x42 vortex diamondback binos and a low end tripod with bino adapter. Is it worth it to buy a small spotting scope (thinking 11-33x or 15-45x) or is it not worth the weight if I'm just trying to spot elk and don't care much about determining if it's a raghorn or a 300" 6x6? Or would I be better off spending the money on upgrading my binoculars to a higher end model?

Pic of my Idaho bull from last year. First elk hunt ever and got him on last day of a 7 day hunt. Followed him and his herd up the mountain for three hours before circling around and calling him in after he bedded his cows. My wife was a champ and packed out a rear quarter on each trip.

View attachment 504653

I’m similar in the fact that I have historically hunted archery elk in thick timbered areas and relied on calling more than glassing, but have moved to an area that is more open and has more glassing opportunity. I’ve always just carried 8x42’s when archery hunting but have been doing a lot of research and if you have a tripod setup already I would consider either selling your 10s and getting a pair of 12x50’s that will work either handheld or on a tripod for longer duration glassing…or you could keep your 10s on your chest for handheld and look at either a spotter or personally I like looking through binos better so 15x56 would be a good option to carry in your pack and use on a tripod.

 

[Beendare]

In over 3 decades of bowhunting elk, I’ve never felt like I needed a spotter.

Now if a few inches of antler matters to you, then yes.

I would highly recommend upgrading those binos…but don’t even look through top binos if you can’t afford them.

 

[WBrim]

op fwiw I have the razor 11-33. Its good to zoom in on something you found with bino’s, out side of that it has a really really narrow field of view.

I was looking at getting the same spotter, but not decided yet. Maybe better just upgrade my viper binos instead. Thanks

 

[ElkArcher918]

At your stage of the elk game I would suggest just upgrading to higher quality binos. Oh BTW, really nice bull!

 

[cuerro viejo]

I was looking at getting the same spotter, but not decided yet. Maybe better just upgrade my viper binos instead. Thanks

I don't or atleast haven’t archery hunted elk any where a spotter gives me any advantage over bino’s. Im normally in the thick stuff

 

[kitandace77]

Debating between maven b1.2/b2 and leica trinovid on the Bino upgrade. Will be pulling the trigger on one soon.

There are parts of my unit that are a lot more open so I will be playing it by ear on packing tripod or not. Also have a buddy’s spotting scope that I will likely be borrowing but that will stay in the truck.

Now just need to keep investing time scouting. Have a decent game plan on areas to glass early/late and heavier cover likely bedding areas to hit midday.

 

[GotDraw?]

Thanks folks. Looking like I’ll be upgrading binos this year and potentially bringing a buddy’s spotter that I’d only use out of the truck or on shorter glassing hikes due to weight. Definitely found myself dumping any unnecessary items out of my pack at camp last year as fatigue settled in over the week so focusing on keeping a lightweight setup this year.

Will buy my own spotters when I go on my first mulie hunt or elk rifle hunt.

@kitandace77

Whenever I leave a spotter in the truck, I put it in a cooler so it doesn't overheat and blow seals while sitting in extreme heat during some archery season days.

JL

 

[GotDraw?]

I was looking at getting the same spotter, but not decided yet. Maybe better just upgrade my viper binos instead. Thanks

@kitandace77

I bought an 11-33x50 Razor about 6yrs ago and I had higher hopes. This compact spotter is only useful up to about 15x unless is very bright out at midday, if you dial up the zoom more than that in lower light then the exit pupil gets so small that light transmission sucks and it becomes very marginal with any zoom above baseline 11x at dusk/dawn.

Therefore, a decent set of 10x or 12x binos will be more useful and you can see elk at 1.5mi pretty well and 2mi max in open scrub or meadows with those. They will be tiny, but you can see them.

Last year I picked up an 88 Kowa at a killer price and there is no comparison. Easily zoom to 20x-30x in low light, or higher in bright light. You can see elk at 2.5 mi or farther. I bring this whenever I know I'll have long distance spotting opportunities, otherwise it stays in the truck in a cooler.

Spotter usage while hunting archery starts to get helpful if you're in an area that affords more than a 1-1.5mi of open, clear view to another ridge or valley and you should have a larger spotter than the compact Vortex. Less than 1-1.5mi and I'd recommend binos. YMMV. I have found a large spotter very useful when in open terrain with long views, where we can quickly pivot and drive by truck to an Area Of Interest "AOI" where we've spotted elk. When you spot elk 2.5mi away in crappy terrain/deadfall it may take you all day to get to the area you saw them. Lots of factors to consider.

THAT SAID---- once you've GOT EYES ON your BOAL by RUNNING your ALPHA GLASS, you can RUN your RIG there, go full OPERATOR in the KIT you are RUNNING, MAKE A PLAY so impressive that the animal FLOPS DRT in a clean, peaceful HARVEST, then snap an IG photo with you standing over your HARVEST in a contemplative and solemn pose, or looking up at the sky, or gratefully looking down at the BOAL. (forgive this paragraph, I could not resist the opportunity to deploy backcountry-hunter approved vocabulary)

Good luck w/your choice of optics. If you find yourself anywhere around MD, I'd meet you if you want to try my Vortex or Kowa.

Best,
JL

 

[WBrim]

@kitandace77

I bought an 11-33x50 Razor about 6yrs ago and I had higher hopes. This compact spotter is only useful up to about 15x unless is very bright out at midday, if you dial up the zoom more than that in lower light then the exit pupil gets so small that light transmission sucks and it becomes very marginal with any zoom above baseline 11x at dusk/dawn.

Therefore, a decent set of 10x or 12x binos will be more useful and you can see elk at 1.5mi pretty well and 2mi max in open scrub or meadows with those. They will be tiny, but you can see them.

Last year I picked up an 88 Kowa at a killer price and there is no comparison. Easily zoom to 20x-30x in low light, or higher in bright light. You can see elk at 2.5 mi or farther. I bring this whenever I know I'll have long distance spotting opportunities, otherwise it stays in the truck in a cooler.

Spotter usage while hunting archery starts to get helpful if you're in an area that affords more than a 1-1.5mi of open, clear view to another ridge or valley and you should have a larger spotter than the compact Vortex. Less than 1-1.5mi and I'd recommend binos. YMMV. I have found a large spotter very useful when in open terrain with long views, where we can quickly pivot and drive by truck to an Area Of Interest "AOI" where we've spotted elk. When you spot elk 2.5mi away in crappy terrain/deadfall it may take you all day to get to the area you saw them. Lots of factors to consider.

THAT SAID---- once you've GOT EYES ON your BOAL by RUNNING your ALPHA GLASS, you can RUN your RIG there, go full OPERATOR in the KIT you are RUNNING, MAKE A PLAY so impressive that the animal FLOPS DRT in a clean, peaceful HARVEST, then snap an IG photo with you standing over your HARVEST in a contemplative and solemn pose, or looking up at the sky, or gratefully looking down at the BOAL. (forgive this paragraph, I could not resist the opportunity to deploy backcountry-hunter approved vocabulary)

Good luck w/your choice of optics. If you find yourself anywhere around MD, I'd meet you if you want to try my Vortex or Kowa.

Best,
JL

I really appreciate the info, I think you just saved me 500$!
Thank you

 

[OregonHunter13]

In my opinion a pair of maven b.6 12x50s would fit your needs perfectly they are compact enough to run in a chest rig comfortably but have the legs to reach out on a tripod. And as far as a spotter of all you care about is telling a bull from cows you can do that from a very long ways off of tripod mounted binos bulls are easy to spot even if you can’t define antlers by looking at size and color

 

[ridgefire]

If you are planning on doing a bunch of glassing then I would bring bino’s and a tripod. I would take a look at the Kowa Genesis 10.5x44 binoculars. Really nice glass and you can buy them for under $1k.

 

[innerdinosaur]

Congrats on the bull.

I’d just carry binos. Don’t think the extra weight and gear is worth it to me.

 

[Jim813]

I've been kicking this around for a while. Helping some friends on an AZ archery elk hunt the last few weekends has given me a bit more idea what I might need. I spent several days glassing on top of a mountain scanning for elk.

10x42 Vortex Viper HD allowed me to see up to 2000yds, offered a wide field of view for scanning for movement at low light, and were extremely lightweight compared to the other two options I had to look through.

15x56 high quality glass (Leica) on a tripod worked well for me scanning 300yds-2000yds, with ability to discern a quality bull from a small bull. I had a hard time discerning between a 300 class bull and 320 class bull with this setup, but was able to tell a 390 from a 300 fairly confidently. Overall lighter and easier to pack around.

I also was loaned a BTX setup with the 85mm objective. I was able to count points and assess the quality of a bull from 1500yds-3500yds. This was really helpful for one of my friends, who had a specific class of bull he was looking to harvest. I found that from about 800yds or less, the lack of zoom on the btx actually was a bit too much, as I found it tougher to scan with the power of those optics so high. Also, at very very low light, the 85mm objective seemed to lack the clarity of the 15x56 binos to see movement. Heavy setup that required a better, heavy tripod to maintain stability.

For example, I glassed up a bull at about 2500 yds away. With the 10x42s, I could tell it was an elk. With the 15x56, I could see it was a bigger, mature bull that was worth pursuing. With the BTX setup, I could see it was a very heavy, mature 6x7 in the 390" range, and was able to watch his mouth open when he bugled.

I hunt areas that favor the spotting scope, and also areas where 10x42 binos are more than sufficient. Having the option to choose is obviously nice, but budget doesn't always allow that option. For 85% of my needs, 15x56 on a tripod would be a great setup. But, its hard not to have a smile looking through $5000 glass watching a giant bull screaming over a mile away.

 

[Blockcaver]

I'd buy a high quality 10x42 bino...works well hand held or on a tripod, you can use them in the timber and open spaces. Not too bad to carry at around 2#s for Swaro.

My 11 year old Swarovision 10x42 ELs have worked great archery hunting caribou, moose, sheep, deer, elk, etc. That said, I do like my pair of old Leica Ultravid 8x32 pre-HD for tighter cover hunting as they only weigh 19 ounces, but they aren't as good in the open country as the 10x42s mentioned.

I rarely carried a tripod and spotter when archery hunting more open country elk in Colorado unless in a trophy unit. Nice to have around the truck, but weight the pack down when you are covering ground which elk hunting usually involves a lot of.

We have antler point restrictions in a lot of units here in BC for elk, mule deer, moose, caribou plus horn length/age on sheep so a good spotter and phone scope are almost a necessity in that case in open country.

Good luck!