To Spotting Scope or Not to Spotting Scope?

[Garet Jax]

I went from 12’s to 15’s on a tripod and my spotter never leaves the truck anymore. I am not an inch counter, if I was, a spotter would be a no brainer.

Hey - what do you mean by an "inch counter"? Thanks.

 

[AM_Hunter]

Hey - what do you mean by an "inch counter"? Thanks.

I think he means he doesn't use his spotter/binos to try to score the rack or count the inches of antler

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I think he means he doesn't use his spotter/binos to try to score the rack or count the inches of antler

This ^^. I am willing to shoot mature animals, not looking for specific trophies. I can tell a long ways away what the frame of an animal looks like and if it is mature with 15x binos. I just might not be able to determine tine length on elk, or how deep the forks are on a mulie.

 

[firefinder25]

Went on a mule deer/elk trip last year in CO and left my spotter at home. Sat on a knoll first light and my guide and hunting partner both had spotters while I was sitting there with my 12's. For the first hour we watched a deer that they couldn't quite tell if he was forked on one side and I was left sitting there like an idiot. When it got a little more light out, I asked to take a peak and ultimately decided to make a move on the deer. I ended up getting extremely lucky and shooting the deer (a nice 178" 4x4) after he made a mistake chasing some does. The whole time I kept telling myself that I will never leave my spotting scope again because I felt uninvolved in the hunt.

2 weeks later I took off for a sheep hunt in MX and brought it with me. Believe it or not, I actually spotted my own ram tucked in a little nook and ended up harvesting it. Would my guides have eventually seen it? Maybe. We will never know and it doesn't matter.. I sure am grateful I had it though.

I have a hard time thinking of a negative (other than weight) in bringing a spotter on a trip.

What size spotter did you take for the sheep hunt ? I have a 85, and am thinking about going down a size or two, to save a few pounds.