What X power are you spotting the most animals with?

[180ls1]

When seated/tripod mounted. What mag are you picking up animals most of the time with?

Please exclude handheld use - I would like to focus on dedicated stationary glassing.

 

[hereinaz]

14-18x binos

 

[180ls1]

14-18x binos

Whats your split in terms of time spent with low power vs high power for a dedicated glassing session?

I imagine this poll may skew low power because everyone has them. Not everyone has low/high/spotter or even 2 pieces of glass.

 

[sndmn11]

8x...

 

[Hnthrdr]

Well 12x, but if I had 10x or 8x binos it would be that. Binos on tripod are how I find animals 90% of the time, spotter is for getting a closer look

 

[ProStaffSteve]

Been on 10x, picked up elk but couldn’t tell how many/gender at 2.26 miles on a clear day. Used a spotter to see antlers, count elk numbers.

Just bought a tripod & 18x maven b series binos. Will report back for mule deer within 2 miles.

 

[hereinaz]

Whats your split in terms of time spent with low power vs high power for a dedicated glassing session?

I imagine this poll may skew low power because everyone has them. Not everyone has low/high/spotter or even 2 pieces of glass.

I am glassing Coues, mule deer and elk. In AK, I used my 8 off a tripod cause it was easy to see if caribou were on the hill.

8/10 for handheld quick scan while hiking or sunrise to catch movement. Always pulling them out all day. I might be glassing with 14s, get bored and scan a larger field of view for anything moving.

14+ off the tripod for hours and hours. Could be all day off a point with near 360, or a few hours in the am and then move to glass evening for a few hours. Could be drive, set up and glass for 15 min, then drive more.

I am typically looking for bits of deer, points, nose, white, eye, etc. in the desert southwest.

 

[hereinaz]

It’s not easy finding deer and javelina in this stuff. You can glass an area for hours and then something appears out of thin air.

 

[Hnthrdr]

It’s not easy finding deer and javelina in this stuff. You can glass an area for hours and then something appears out of thin air.

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Az is another level of glassing…

 

[hereinaz]

Or elk in Colorado oak and brush where there are paths for them to sneak around or bed.

 

[The Guide]

When seated/tripod mounted. What mag are you picking up animals most of the time with?

Please exclude handheld use - I would like to focus on dedicated stationary glassing.

I chest carry a pair of 12x. I no longer carry a spotter as it stayed in the pack and didn't get used for 2 straight seasons. The spotter lives in the truck with the glassing tripod now. I found myself using the tripod and spotter to glass too far away when locked into an area. This wasted time when I would find elk and then match it on the map to an area 5 miles away. For the areas I hunt and for my style of hunting, a spotter and tripod was not beneficial in the field. When I'm sitting at an overlook, I place my binos on a trekking pole if seated or on my BOGPOD tripod if standing. I use 12x for both stationary and handheld.

Jay

 

[hereinaz]

Az is another level of glassing…

Seems that way…

Coues deer are like optical illusions, you blink after just saw it and know they are standing there, but you can’t see them. Then, with the flick an ear— all of a sudden you see it standing broadside and it hasn’t moved an inch. It’s amazing how often that happens.

Mule deer not so much with the larger size and contrasting colors. Still hard to see bedded.

 

[hereinaz]

I chest carry a pair of 12x. I no longer carry a spotter as it stayed in the pack and didn't get used for 2 straight seasons. The spotter lives in the truck with the glassing tripod now. I found myself using the tripod and spotter to glass too far away when locked into an area. This wasted time when I would find elk and then match it on the map to an area 5 miles away. For the areas I hunt and for my style of hunting, a spotter and tripod was not beneficial in the field. When I'm sitting at an overlook, I place my binos on a trekking pole if seated or on my BOGPOD tripod if standing. I use 12x for both stationary and handheld.

Jay

This, there is game inside the billable zone, which is why I stick with 14+ on a tripod. The miles of terrain is a temptation that draws away from where we can actually see game. If I want to see stuff a mile away, I walk to a glassing point and look with my binos. Mirage makes spotters terrible unless the game is out in the open.

The 12 el and the 12 NL are so clear they can replace the 14+ if you want one bino to handload and off a tripod.

 

[nm.otter]

Coues deer are like optical illusions, you blink after just saw it and know they are standing there, but you can’t see them. Then, with the flick an ear— all of a sudden you see it standing broadside and it hasn’t moved an inch. It’s amazing how often that happens.

Happens even <50 yards IME. They're crafty.

 

[RockAndSage]

When seated/tripod mounted. What mag are you picking up animals most of the time with?

Please exclude handheld use - I would like to focus on dedicated stationary glassing.

Terrain and game do change things up a bit, but broadly speaking, in NV for mule deer, it's 15/18s off a tripod. That's where the vast majority of my time is spent, and where most of the deer turn up. For muleys, 8s are mostly used for hand-held, on the move, and initial glassing of an area right before moving into it. In some areas I'm mostly pulling the spotter out to double check something, or hit a spot just too far out for the binos to catch. But the type of hunt and the unit play a role too - on foot, a lighter spotter, but if I'm doing a lot of truck scouting, or I just have some spectacular, clear distances I can hit with the longer-range glass, a bigger spotter can be super helpful. For antelope, sometimes it'll be almost entirely a more powerful spotting scope, as they don't tend to hide the way mule deer do, and are just a lot easier to spot at distance.

 

[180ls1]

Az is another level of glassing…

Yeah, I think were seeing a bit of a division here.

8/10X - catch bigger movements or bodies by viewing more country.

15X - pick apart and find smaller details.

 

[hereinaz]

Yeah, I think were seeing a bit of a division here.

8/10X - catch bigger movements or bodies by viewing more country.

15X - pick apart and find smaller details.

That is how I use my 8/10 and 15, I just spend more time in the 15s to pick apart. I think AZ is sorta unique for that, although NM, Colorado, and Nevada have similar areas.

When game are moving, it’s definitely more of a mix. Out past 500 yards, the FOV difference goes away and the higher power calls to me.

Glass choice is dictated by terrain and game for sure.