Swarovski STC Big Eyes vs BTX, By Willam Frye

[Untamed]

Excellent article and comparison!

 

[willfrye027]

@robby denning I should probably update some of this now that I’ve had about a year of solid use.

Best to update the thread here or should I send in something more formal?

Spoiler; I don’t miss the BTX

 

[RockAndSage]

@robby denning I should probably update some of this now that I’ve had about a year of solid use.

Best to update the thread here or should I send in something more formal?

Spoiler; I don’t miss the BTX

I'll look forward to that update, very interested in a set of these.

 

[dirtytough]

I was thinking about these the other day. Good write up.

 

[robby denning]

@robby denning I should probably update some of this now that I’ve had about a year of solid use.

Best to update the thread here or should I send in something more formal?

Spoiler; I don’t miss the BTX

Hey, just update on this thread, it's linked to the article so those who wanna know will end up on here.

I put a note in post #1 to see updates starting 3/11/25. If I need to change that date, I can.

thanks

 

[willfrye027]

Update 3/11/24:

Going to take a little while to get all of my thoughts down here so I may have to come back and update this post a few times.

I used the STC big eyes for about 25 hunting days fall of 2024 not including some scouting, winter range deer watching, and starting to use them a bit for shed season.

I ended up with a case from a guy on instagram..I also saw LS wild is making a case for them.

With all of the packing around I never had a screw come loose or the setup lose collimation. The adaptor is very robust and I have zero worries about it falling apart on a hunt.

My first big hunt with them was Idaho OTC, in a unit I had never been to before. My buddy had an elk tag as well so we spent 8 days before deer opener hunting for a bull and also scouting for deer. It was mostly mid elevation, steep mountains with lots and lots of ground to cover. Early October is a difficult time of year to scout and temps were warm. The big eyes helped me very efficiently cover large expanses of country looking for an above average deer.

Two days before opener and after the elk tag was filled I glassed up a good framed buck from about 2.5 miles away. I was looking into the rising sun into shade and could only tell that he had a good frame and was the biggest deer we had seen so far. He was living in a tight, steep little basin that was only visible from long distance or you had to be in the basin with him.

Opening morning it took me about 2 hours in the dark to make it into the basin which was only about a mile from a road but with very steep and thick terrain, it was a pretty safe place to live. At that point I left the STCs in the truck because I knew exactly where I would need to be and didn’t need the extra reach of the STCs. All I had for optics on the actual hunt for him were my 8x32 el range binos which did the trick.

I was able to find and kill the buck about 15 minutes into opening day and was very pleased with him!



The hunt went on and more deer were killed. My buddies buck the STCs came in clutch again. We had been glassing a burned hillside that was shaded and about 1000 yards away. I made several passes with the 12s, my two other buddies had been looking it over with 12s and 18s. Just before we decided to move on I pulled out the STCs and cranked them up to 25x to see through the shadows in more detail…and BAM there were 6 bedded bucks all hidden that we had overlooked. He was able to kill the better one the next morning.







The next big hunt was Arizona OTC in the winter. I ended up in a low desert unit where the big eyes really shined. The deer were mostly living in large flats and travel long distances. It felt like they could be anywhere.

For this hunt the STCs were critical. It’s hard to describe how effective you can cover country quickly changing the magnification. I turned this buck up day one which was very lucky, but it was not until day 7 that everything finally came together on a long stalk and a 23 yard shot.

This deer was also known to another group of hunters who turned out to be great guys. We had sort of a gentleman’s agreement that if the other group spotted him first on any given day, the other guys would not make an attempt or mess up the stalk. I spotted this buck first every morning (three) that he was visible, which I think was largely due to the STC big eyes advantage. I was alone and they had 2-3 guys with 15s and spotters but hard to compete with the efficiency of the big eyes when it came to covering big country.



Mediocre digiscope image from about 1.7 miles with a bit of mirage




Some bedded does at 2 miles under better lighting




On day 5 or 6 I did have a headache that may have been eye strain. This was after being behind the glass for probably 6-7 hours a day. Could also have been dehydration but thought it worth noting. With the big eyes there is potential to induce some eye strain if things are not set on the same exact power, or one eye is out of focus. You start to sense when things are not perfectly aligned after some practice, but overall the setup does have potential to induce some eye strain.

During that whole hunt, I packed my nl 14s once and left them in the truck after that. They just could not compete with the efficiency of the STCs, and I did not really need the extra FOV of the 14x for the longer distances involved.

Hunts where I knew what exact drainage I was planning to hunt, or where glassing distance was more limited, I am leaving the STCs at home. Hunts where I am going in “blind”, the STCs are changing how I approach things and truly are a game changer for my hunting style.

Happy to answer any additional questions. My buddy has a set of the mini kowa big eyes coming and I look forward to comparing those..on paper a great option for guys with more narrow eyes.