Upgrade current setup or get a spotter?

[wanderingyeti]

I'm looking for some input on a potential upgrade to my current setup for an Archery Elk hunt I'll be doing this fall in North Eastern Oregon. I got a drop camp setup for this year in an area with decent terrain and some open spaces to glass. Currently running a set of Maven C3 10x50's with the expectation of getting a tripod to pair with them so I can glass more effectively, but I'm debating the idea of upgrading the C3's to either the B2's 9x45/ 11x45 or taking a look at the Tract Toric's 10x50s. Would it be worth the upgrade to focus on just the binos or would the budget be better spent on getting myself a spotting scope to go with the C3's and get that upgrade at another time? I'm currently archery only but might get into rifle hunting down the line as well. I've primarily gone after Elk, but I do anticipate getting more into other species (bear, deer, ect). Any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[Xlr8n]

If you are thinking of going to the B2's, then check out the wholesale price of the Sig Zulu 9's in the same sizes at Midway USA right now. They are reported to equal the B2's optically. For under $600 that would leave some money in the bank to save for a good spotter if you decide to go that route.

 

[Wapack]

Good deal on Razor spotting scopes at sportsman's if you decide to go spotting scope route.

Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope - Angled

Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope - Angled - Simply one of the finest spotting scopes you can buy, the top-tier Razor HD spotting scope competes at the highest level of performance. The sophisticated triplet apochromatic lens system delivers high-definition views across the entire field of...

www.sportsmans.com

 

[Wapack]

But honestly if your unhappy with your current bino's i would be upgrading them before looking at spotting scopes. Good quality 10's off of a tripod is a deadly combination.

 

[Xlr8n]

yep^^^ what he said. Quality Bino's > Spotter

 

[wanderingyeti]

If you are thinking of going to the B2's, then check out the wholesale price of the Sig Zulu 9's in the same sizes at Midway USA right now. They are reported to equal the B2's optically. For under $600 that would leave some money in the bank to save for a good spotter if you decide to go that route.

Just took a look at them, wow that is an awesome deal for some nice glass. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[nobody]

Good deal on Razor spotting scopes at sportsman's if you decide to go spotting scope route.

Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope - Angled

Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85 Spotting Scope - Angled - Simply one of the finest spotting scopes you can buy, the top-tier Razor HD spotting scope competes at the highest level of performance. The sophisticated triplet apochromatic lens system delivers high-definition views across the entire field of...

www.sportsmans.com

Yeah go pick one of these up while they're still available. If you walk into the store, the shelf price is $999.99, but show them the online price for them and they will match it. My brother and I have sold like 5 of them in the past 3 days.

 

[wanderingyeti]

But honestly if your unhappy with your current bino's i would be upgrading them before looking at spotting scopes. Good quality 10's off of a tripod is a deadly combination.

With both of these deals might be able to swing the two of them. Think the 9's if I'll have the spotter or the 11s?

 

[SteveW1473]

I had a similar situation last year. I made the choice to save, save, and save and as a result i was able to upgrade my stuff for the last time to a 12x50 vortex razor UHD and a razor UHD 27x65x85 scope. best choice ever. If I were to give advise it would be dont "half ass" and regret later. the Mavens are a great chioce for any situation. maybe a tripod for now and save for later.

 

[TexaninSconny]

I had a similar situation last year. I made the choice to save, save, and save and as a result i was able to upgrade my stuff for the last time to a 12x50 vortex razor UHD and a razor UHD 27x65x85 scope. best choice ever. If I were to give advise it would be dont "half ass" and regret later. the Mavens are a great chioce for any situation. maybe a tripod for now and save for later.

“Upgrade for the last time”...famous last words. LOL!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Wapack]

With both of these deals might be able to swing the two of them. Think the 9's if I'll have the spotter or the 11s?

Here is where you get into personal preference so I’m a little hesitant...But for me especially if I’m carrying a spotting scope I would go with the 9’s and get the better FOV & Less shake when handholding. I think that magnification is super versatile. Again personally I would prefer the 9’s in most circumstances over the 11’s Spotting scope or not. But if your in big open country and plan on glassing from your tripod 95% of the time the 11’s might be your jam.

 

[Firehawk]

9x vs 11x is a fair question for sure. That said, it will vary depending on circumstances you are hunting in, or even with your ability to hold a bino steady. In my case, I struggle holding a 10x let alone an 11x steady. I went the Maven B2 9x and they have worked perfectly. I love them on a tripod, and I can mostly hold them steady when hand holding. Or at least I don't notice my shaking as badly as I did with the 10s.

My buddies on the other hand, are perfectly fine with the 11x binos. They both prefer them on a tripod though. Paired with a decent spotter, like the Razor that is mentioned above or even the Athlon Ares HD or Maven CS.1 you will have a great combination that will allow you to work over the hillside well.

Best of luck in your decisions.

FH

 

[wanderingyeti]

Thank you so much for the feedback and thoughts! I agree the buy once cry once mentality is ideal but got a ways to go before I can realistically afford alpha glass levels. Took a deeper look at the Sigs and really liked what I was seeing and couldn't beat that price. I'm already looking at a tripod setup so figure that paired with the 11's was the way to go, just put the order in and should be here in a few weeks! Now it's time to flip those C3s and recoup some of the expenses. Really appreciate the comments and discussion everyone.

 

[mtodd]

Last year I left the spotting scope at home and brought a pair of Vortex Razor UHD 18X56 binoculars. I put them on a tripod. I found myself glassing much longer than I do with a spotter. I was surprised how much I could see with the 18 power.

 

[wanderingyeti]

Last year I left the spotting scope at home and brought a pair of Vortex Razor UHD 18X56 binoculars. I put them on a tripod. I found myself glassing much longer than I do with a spotter. I was surprised how much I could see with the 18 power.

Easier to work both eyes rather than just one?

 

[CaliforniaMuley209]

Quality binos then get a spotter IMO.

 

[TheGDog]

Before you go for a spotter... seriously... try looking thru a hi quality 15x or 18x set of Binos on a Tripod. THEN... decide if you still want/need a spotter. And... before you go to a 15x or above... FIRST get you a 10x or thereabouts high-end bino first.

The big thing I noticed with higher end binos was depth-of field!!! Pointing them somewhere and seeing a good ways in front of and behind the point of focus you initially adjusted the focus knob for. The mid-tier 15x's I have... the clarity is nice-ish too.. but the depth of field is WAY more shallow in comparison!

With that stellar depth-of-field you can potentially see and scan thru a lot more terrain with each scrolling left or right that you do, equating to faster gridding times overall, and, better confirmation too.

Also... in the terrain you will be in... ask yourself.. even if you had that higher magnification optic... would you still actually be able to traverse the space in-between here and there (in the amount of time you have) to even TRY to go after that animal you may be spotting some crazy distance over yonder? After careful consideration of the terrain you're presented with... you may decide that scanning out past a certain threshold of distance may not be of as much benefit as you initially thought. And if that's the case, this may sway your opinion even more in the favor of some 15x's Binos or something along those lines. I'm just bothering to mention this I've noticed the potential benefit of certain optics is very dependent on the type of terrain encountered. Because here in some of the places I go, just to go over to that next ridge over could possibly literally take you the whole entire day, due to all the chaparral in-between and so forth. And how much descent and then ascent it would be.

 

[kevin11mee]

Before you go for a spotter... seriously... try looking thru a hi quality 15x or 18x set of Binos on a Tripod. THEN... decide if you still want/need a spotter. And... before you go to a 15x or above... FIRST get you a 10x or thereabouts high-end bino first.

The big thing I noticed with higher end binos was depth-of field!!! Pointing them somewhere and seeing a good ways in front of and behind the point of focus you initially adjusted the focus knob for. The mid-tier 15x's I have... the clarity is nice-ish too.. but the depth of field is WAY more shallow in comparison!

With that stellar depth-of-field you can potentially see and scan thru a lot more terrain with each scrolling left or right that you do, equating to faster gridding times overall, and, better confirmation too.

Also... in the terrain you will be in... ask yourself.. even if you had that higher magnification optic... would you still actually be able to traverse the space in-between here and there (in the amount of time you have) to even TRY to go after that animal you may be spotting some crazy distance over yonder? After careful consideration of the terrain you're presented with... you may decide that scanning out past a certain threshold of distance may not be of as much benefit as you initially thought. And if that's the case, this may sway your opinion even more in the favor of some 15x's Binos or something along those lines. I'm just bothering to mention this I've noticed the potential benefit of certain optics is very dependent on the type of terrain encountered. Because here in some of the places I go, just to go over to that next ridge over could possibly literally take you the whole entire day, due to all the chaparral in-between and so forth. And how much descent and then ascent it would be.

So, do you typically run two pairs of binoculars on hunts rather than a binocular and spotter?

 

[TheGDog]

So, do you typically run two pairs of binoculars on hunts rather than a binocular and spotter?

If I'm going to an OpenCountry location... before... yes... I'd bring the 15x for use on the tripod. However... when I got my ZEISS 10x42's... I like it better than the Vortex Vulture 15x56's. So for the moment, I just take the ZEISS.

I have a Razor 11-33x50mm spotter. But I'm not impressed with it because at high magnification I have to press my eyeglasses right onto it's glass to be able to see at hi magnification. (And that's just because I don't want to risk dropping my eyeglasses while out in the field because I'm that damn blind now, and they're also expensive prescriptions) Also... something about gridding with binos and stereo vision, my brain just likes it better. And also it's right off the bat twice as much FOV that you see at once.

 

[kevin11mee]

If I'm going to an OpenCountry location... before... yes... I'd bring the 15x for use on the tripod. However... when I got my ZEISS 10x42's... I like it better than the Vortex Vulture 15x56's. So for the moment, I just take the ZEISS.

I have a Razor 11-33x50mm spotter. But I'm not impressed with it because at high magnification I have to press my eyeglasses right onto it's glass to be able to see at hi magnification. Also... something about gridding with binos and stereo vision, my brain just likes it better. And also it's right off the bat twice as much FOV that you see at once.

Thanks. I'm actually looking at that compact 11-33x50 Razor. Do you think you would prefer the spotter without eye glasses? Or would you still go with the 15x?