Secondary Glass for WY Mule Deer

[UCFJed]

I'm planning a WY Mule Deer hunt this year and have a buddy who is going to be tagging along for the adventure. I'll be using Vortex Razors 10x50, my question is what should my friend have for optics? He's a hunter but not really experienced in western hunting. I'm not chasing giant scores, so any solid 4x4 deer is the goal here.

Probably will be renting glass for him.

 

[Taudisio]

Either strength Binos will work, I like 10x for everything. The non-shooter should be responsible for a spotting scope. So my answer is all of the above. Not knowing what kind of terrain you plan on hunting, everyone in the group needs a pair of binos and you will most likely need the spotter since you have an age class you want to try to harvest.

 

[TaperPin]

I’d say it depends on how steady he can hold them - it takes good technique to comfortably hold 10x or 12x steady and some just don’t have the desire to put that much effort into it and are much happier with 8x. If much of your glassing is done while standing, 8x is also much easier for newbies. However, if the type of glassing you’ll be doing is sitting, or even from the cab of a pickup, 10x can even be used by by fidgety kids.

 

[Steve O]

If you are just deer hunting to sho a decent buck there really is no need for a spotter. A good 10x is hard to beat. More important would be a tripod to mount said bino on.

 

[UCFJed]

Will be somewhat deep in the mountains, but will be probably using a tripod for either. Obviously critical for spotting scopes but stable optics are a must either way.

 

[Bergy-Bowsmith]

Will be somewhat deep in the mountains, but will be probably using a tripod for either. Obviously critical for spotting scopes but stable optics are a must either way.

are you bringing a spotter ? personally I dont Mulie Hunt without a spotter.

 

[UCFJed]

are you bringing a spotter ? personally I dont Mulie Hunt without a spotter.

Currently no, just the 10x for me. The debate is if my buddy has either binos or a spotter, likely isn't down for both.

 

[nobody]

Currently no, just the 10x for me. The debate is if my buddy has either binos or a spotter, likely isn't down for both.

you’ve just answered your own question then. If he doesn’t have either one, then he needs binos before any more discussion of optics. Period, full stop, end of story. There’s a TON of hunts where I don’t even take my spotting scope, and just mount my binos on a tripod. Spotter as your only optic is a great way to end up with eye fatigue and headaches from squinting one eye.

Really, just get him a solid mid-tier bino and a comfortable chest rig (nothing worse than the factory neck straps pulling on your neck all day and fatiguing you) and teach him glassing basics. Something like a Maven C series or Leupold BX2/4 will serve him well for many years to come.

EDIT: Don’t know how it didn’t compute that you were asking specifically about mule deer and not just western hunting in general. I do leave my spotter at home often for elk. In the case of mule deer though, you will want some type of small-ish spotter, but not at the expense of a solid pair of binos for your friend.

 

[robby denning]

Good advice above and I would just add IMO you’re gonna handicap yourself without a spotter in most mule deer country (in addition to his chest bino).

I would at least consider the new Vortex 56 mm compact. Even if you bought it and sold it after the hunt.

Almost every time I don’t take a spotter, I regret it. And not just for classifying size. You’ll likely spot “things” that you just can’t decide if it’s even a deer.

Have a great hunt!

 

[CorbLand]

What nobody said above but I will add that the small 56MM spotters dont add much weight and I would highly consider taking one along. Like robby said when I leave the spotter at home, I generally regret it.

 

[UCFJed]

Good advice above and I would just add IMO you’re gonna handicap yourself without a spotter in most mule deer country (in addition to his chest bino).

I would at least consider the new Vortex 56 mm compact. Even if you bought it and sold it after the hunt.

Almost every time I don’t take a spotter, I regret it. And not just for classifying size. You’ll likely spot “things” that you just can’t decide if it’s even a deer.

Have a great hunt!

Just finished your book last week! Good advice (in all of it), thanks!

 

[Bergy-Bowsmith]

Currently no, just the 10x for me. The debate is if my buddy has either binos or a spotter, likely isn't down for both.

i would lean towards spotter, in that case , me personally on a solo trip i always pack a 10x42 on my chest and a nice spotter in the pack.

 

[link]

A good pair of 10x42's will be fine. Also, make him pack a spotting scope and tripod.

 

[Hunt30]

IMO, if he is only bringing one or the other, a spotter is a no brainer. Having a spotter will save you a lot of miles on your legs. If I could only take one or the other into the mountains, I would probably pick the spotter. Then again, I’m one of the weird ones who thinks it’s ridiculous to use a tripod for my 10x binoculars, so what do I know. My elbows and knees seem to work perfectly. In a perfect world, you would each have binoculars and a spotting scope.

 

[wytx]

If only 1 option for him 10x42 binos would be my recc. He can easily get them up in time to pick out animals, spotters is not so easy to use like that.
Open country I would opt for both, spotter may save some boot time getting close to bucks that you don't want to take.

No tripod here either for my 10x binos, knees and elbows like you stated. Tripod is a must for a spotter though, a good steady one.

 

[TaperPin]

Personally, about every ten years the biggest buck of the year couldn’t have been identified with binoculars alone, and that’s reason enough for me to always pack a spotting scope, even if the tripod is left at home and it has to be rested on a pack to better identify something found with binocs.

We learn many important life skills in kindergarten - glassing is like finding 1 unique Lego in a huge pile. Your biggest bang for the buck time wise is scanning the whole surface hoping it catches your eye. If that doesn’t work, then go over the whole surface again looking closer at a section, then moving a little and picking that section apart with your eyes - maybe repeat this a time or two from different viewing angles. If that doesn’t work, only as a last resort do you spend the huge amount of time physically picking through every every single piece of the pile. Lol

 

[robby denning]

Just finished your book last week! Good advice (in all of it), thanks!

hey man, thanks for reading the book!

 

[robby denning]

... always pack a spotting scope, even if the tripod is left at home and it has to be rested on a pack to better identify something found with binocs.

this is a great trade off right here and would allow him to bring a bino and a spotter with no weight penalty. Swaro' makes a "Tree fixing screw"

Video Review: Swaroviski Tree Fixing Screw

If you want the lightest tripod available, here you go.... http://youtu.be/yjvN86ia73c I have some more products from Swaro' on the Rok Blog if interested... A Big Bag of Swaro' - Rok Blog

rokslide.com

 

[CorbLand]

Another thing to consider, is mule deer hunting generally consists of a lot of glassing. If all he has a is a spotting scope and he gets tired of looking through it, dude is probably going to be bored AF by day two or three. If you can only take one, a set of 12s and a tripod would be my vote.

 

[UCFJed]

Another thing to consider, is mule deer hunting generally consists of a lot of glassing. If all he has a is a spotting scope and he gets tired of looking through it, dude is probably going to be bored AF by day two or three. If you can only take one, a set of 12s and a tripod would be my vote.

Yeah that's a great point, I'd love for him to get hooked on this style of hunting. Thinking it may be worth it to figure out how to bring both binos and a shared spotting scope for him.