What of my optics to takes on Cous / Muley Hunt

[hflier]

I am leaving for an AZ Coues / Mule Deer hunt next week in Unit 24B. Could be in desert, but most likely around 3,500-4,000 ft elevation with scrub brush and lots of valleys and glassing points. I have the following Optics:

Vortex Razor HD 65mm Spotting Scope
Vortex Kaibab 15x56 Binoculars
Vortex 8x42 Talon HD's

What would you take?

Ron

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

All of them!

Id wear the Talons and then use the 15's and spotter for all your tripod glassing. You can also use the 8's at first and last light on a tripod for quick scanning and good FOV.

I just got back from an AZ Couse hunt and I brought my 10X50's 15X56's and 80mm spotter.

lots of weight to haul around but optics are the ticket out there and those deer are tough to spot!

 

[neverquit]

Just the 15s.

I've been bow hunting coues and mule deer almost my entire life in Arizona. It's easy to get weight down with too much gear. If you can't cover ground your done before you ever get started.

When people talk about how hard coues deer are to find they are mostly talking about during the warmer rifle hunts. This time of year if there's deer in the area they won't be hard to find.

 

[MattB]

Take them all for sure. You will figure out quickly which of the 3 is most useful and you might find that you are leaving the spotter in the truck, but you will want the 15's for spotting and the 8's for when you get in close.

 

[Poser]

IMHO (that is limited to hunting Coues deer for the first time only 2 weeks ago), if you're smallest optics are 15/56, you may very well have a difficult time knowing where it is that you are looking. I feel like having the ability to "back off" in perspective is important. Perhaps someone more experienced with long range glassing in that country won't have that problem, but, I'd either take all 3 or go with the 8x42s and the spotter. Or, maybe your partner could take the 8x42s and you take the bigger optics or some combination thereof. Since these deer are rutting, chasing etc, you might need to transition from the Binos to the rifle quickly and know exactly where to aim.

 

[hflier]

I should have mention I will be on a Solo bowhunt. No guys my age (53) ever want to pack hunt lol.

 

[Blackcow]

All of em.

 

[hflier]

I was leaning that way due wanting to having all the options. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't nuts for packing like 8 pounds of optics.

 

[Bubblehide]

I've hunted Cows deer (the proper pronunciation) in Mexico, there stage 4 rut just starts at the end of December, beginning of January. I imagine in Az, they are in stage 4 rut now. As such, given your selection, I would go for the 8x42s and the spotter on the hunt with me for both species. You just can't carry everything you want on a backpack hunt. I'm also 53, and still pack in on many of my hunts. This season I had the pleasure of carrying a 100 plus pound ( the scale topped out at 100#) backpack several miles to camp, and then several more to the awaiting ice chest. So I say, plan for success. This time of year, you need to be prepared for possible weather, let alone the cold we all know will be present, so your already looking at a pretty full pack for a hunt lasting more than a few days. I prefer my 82mm spotter, but your Razor you have will get the job done, and between the binoculars and spotter, you have everything covered. If your at all picky about the buck you take, you will want the glass to confirm the maturity of the bucks rack given the opportunity at distance.

Best of luck!

 

[HuntHarder]

All of them. Pretty easy decision for me. I would much rather use my 10x on a tripod over 15x. The 15's are more important during mid day when you are picking apart bushes looking for bedded deer. The scope will be used the least, but when it is used it is the most important piece you have. It can save you miles of hiking. I only use my scope to determine how big the deer is I am looking at and is he worth the hike.

You will get many different opinions on this subject but I rank your optics in this order of importance:
1- 8x (chest carry and tripod optic)
2- Spotting scope- determines if the animal you have spotted is worth the hike to him.
3- 15's great for picking bushes apart during mid day.

Good luck

 

[Travis Bertrand]

All for sure

 

[Cub10]

For me I always take my 10s in harness and 15s in my pack with tripod. I always keep the 10s on for those quick checks. 15s w/tripod come out when I get to a good vantage point to do some more detailed sweeps on the hillsides. That is my set up almost 100% of the time for both archery and rifle. I used to carry a 20-60x60mm spotter but spotters would always give me headaches after a looking through it for a little while. So 15s for me now!