- Banned
- #1
Newtosavage
WKR
In my never-ending quest to find the "perfect" binocular for me, I've owned and sold probably close to 40 pairs over the past 4-5 years. I know, I know, it's an illness... LOL But at least I admit to being a binoholic.
After having the chance to finally get two pairs of binoculars that I consider the "holy grail" in their price point - the Ziess Conquest HD and the Swarovski SLC, along with several other fine pairs of hunting optics, a question came up in my head. When is a binocular "bright enough" for hunting purposes?
What I mean by that is this - at some point, you can't see the reticle in your hunting scope or the sights on your bow (or your arrow if like me you hunt with traditional gear) so what difference does it make if you can still see 200-300 yards with your binoculars? At that point, you're not taking a shot anyway and it may not even be legal to hunt.
My Zeiss Conquest HD's and several pairs I've owned before them, were at least as bright as my Leupold rifle scopes (which are plenty bright) and once I can no longer see what I'm after in those scopes, it's time to pack it in and head to camp.
Yesterday evening I was watching a group of does well after twilight. There were stars all over the sky and I could just make out the 3 deer at 200 yards and were pretty sure they were all does (but not 100%). Out of curiosity I put my rifle scope up and I could just barely make out the deer. No way I could determine antlers at that point. It was at least 30 min. after legal shooting hours.
So what I am wondering is when is "enough enough" with brightness? Is the ability to see antlers 30 minutes after legal shooting hours (or before) instead of 20 minutes, really worth it? How much are we willing to pay for those 10 minutes, 2 or 3 times a year (if that)?
I guess that's a personal question for each of us, but looking through my rifle scope in that dim light really made me wonder. Putting sharpness aside, just how much light do my binoculars really NEED to gather?
After having the chance to finally get two pairs of binoculars that I consider the "holy grail" in their price point - the Ziess Conquest HD and the Swarovski SLC, along with several other fine pairs of hunting optics, a question came up in my head. When is a binocular "bright enough" for hunting purposes?
What I mean by that is this - at some point, you can't see the reticle in your hunting scope or the sights on your bow (or your arrow if like me you hunt with traditional gear) so what difference does it make if you can still see 200-300 yards with your binoculars? At that point, you're not taking a shot anyway and it may not even be legal to hunt.
My Zeiss Conquest HD's and several pairs I've owned before them, were at least as bright as my Leupold rifle scopes (which are plenty bright) and once I can no longer see what I'm after in those scopes, it's time to pack it in and head to camp.
Yesterday evening I was watching a group of does well after twilight. There were stars all over the sky and I could just make out the 3 deer at 200 yards and were pretty sure they were all does (but not 100%). Out of curiosity I put my rifle scope up and I could just barely make out the deer. No way I could determine antlers at that point. It was at least 30 min. after legal shooting hours.
So what I am wondering is when is "enough enough" with brightness? Is the ability to see antlers 30 minutes after legal shooting hours (or before) instead of 20 minutes, really worth it? How much are we willing to pay for those 10 minutes, 2 or 3 times a year (if that)?
I guess that's a personal question for each of us, but looking through my rifle scope in that dim light really made me wonder. Putting sharpness aside, just how much light do my binoculars really NEED to gather?