Where to start?

[Ratbeetle]

I'm a recent midwest transplant to Colorado and as such, have just started my western hunting adventure. Until recently, my hunting consisted of whitetails in thick country where optics rarely even made it in the pack.

After chasing elk and bear last year with a mediocre pair of Vortex Diamondback 10x42s, I realize I need better glass.

If a guy is going to primarily backpack hunt mule deer, elk, and bear in the high country, what is the best route to go for optics? Better quality 10x42s? Step up to 12x50s and a tripod? Spotter?

I'm working with a budget of about $1k but might be willing to bump that up a bit if I needed to.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Davebuech]

Hi Ratbeetle, welcome to Rokslide and Colorado.

When do you plan to do most of your hunting, archery or rifle?

IMO, Alpha quality glass in the 10x42 will serve you well and is your best bang for the buck. If you want add a spotter of Alpha quality later you can and will have it covered.

 

[idahohikker]

10x42 and spotter. Alpha is great but really expensive. Id go mid range and you'll probably be happy unless you feel the urge to have the best out there. I find plenty of game with Vortex. Look at Maven and Athlon also.

 

[realunlucky]

You should check out the review on the HG Nikon's new and very impressive from all the reviews. The 10x42 is the most common choice by a wide margin. 8x is my personal choice after years of using 10s I found them much easier to hand hold

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[Ratbeetle]

Thanks, Davebuech. I'm primarily an archery hunter, but I expect to have the occasional rifle hunt here and there.

 

[Ratbeetle]

To be clear, when we're talking alpha, are we talking Swaro ELs? I'm all for buy once, cry once, but with a brand new baby at home, those are probably out of my reach right now.

What constitutes mid range?

 

[Davebuech]

Swaro, Zeiss, Lieca, that to me is Alpha glass. If that's not in the budget right now get the best you can afford. Vortex, Nikon, Maven make very good quality stuff that comes close.

To be clear, when we're talking alpha, are we talking Swaro ELs? I'm all for buy once, cry once, but with a brand new baby at home, those are probably out of my reach right now.

What constitutes mid range?

 

[HighVoltageHunter]

Buy the absolute best glass you can afford.
I would buy a quality pair of bino’s (10x42’s) and a tripod first, then get a spotter later when you can afford a nice one.
You can get a pair of Swaro 10x42 SLC HD’s for $1,300/$1,400 on here and I’m sure you will be more than happy. Great glass and not too much above your budget.

 

[idahohikker]

Mid range options include the Vortex Viper bino and spotter, Maven C1 bino, Athlon Ares spotter, Meopta Meopro bino. All good glass. I don't think it's a major disadvantage.

 

[homebru.trout]

Spotter not necessary right off the bat unless you are trophy hunting consistently. In either case, your best value and bang for the buck is going to be in the mid level glass.

IF IT WERE ME in your position I'd throw as much budget at a pair of hand held binos as possible. 8 or 10 x 42 are the obvious choices here. Consider Meopta Meostar, Nikon HG, Maven B1 or B2, Leica Trinovid, Cabelas Euro, etc. This will get you in well under your 1K budget unless you buy new...then you're tickling 1K. Many/most eyeballs will be completely delighted with these models and never know what they are missing relative to Alphas. Call Doug at Cameraland and I'm sure he can pair you some very good 10x42s with a tripod at your price point. Some here may disagree but I'd buy 8s over 10s. I hunted 10s for years, switched to a qualty pair of 8s last year and haven't looked back. If it were me, I'd drop the cash on a 1K pair of 8x42s or something close too it. In general lighter, more compact, and easier to one-hand steadily (you mentioned being primarily an archery hunter).

If you are thinking Binos + Spotter: If including a spotter, I would personally go 8x42 + a 65mm spotter of some sort. Keep in mind you'll need a tripod the make the spotter work for you. Quality of glass / duration of warranty may decline a bit but not much. If you're just getting into this game, you can still be quite happy for a few years while you hone your skills. Bino options might include but are not limited to Meopta MeoPro, Maven C1, a well used pair of Leica Trinovids, etc. and there are some smaller brands with serviceable glass as well...Hawke comes to mind. Spotter options will be limited but acceptable ones can be found: I just don't like this dual approach with your budget as I really feel that breaking above 1K in the spotter market dramatically increases what you can get for your money. The exception would be the new old stock Razor HDs that have been on CamoFire/Hunt of the Day lately.

My $0.02

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

First off a tripod regardless of what binos you pick will improve all of them so start there in my opinion. Since it sounds like you have a decent budget to start with getting a better glass of glass to go with the tripod is great too.

 

[Ratbeetle]

Thanks for all of the advice, it's much appreciated.

Looks like the option that makes the most sense is to throw my whole budget at a pair of 8 or 10x42s and wait on the spotter until I can afford a good quality one.

That Nikon Monarch HG looks promising.

As for a tripod, I forgot we bought my wife a nice whiz-bang, packable carbon one for backcountry trips with her dslr. She doesn't know it yet, but that will end up in my pack come hunting season.

 

[TheGrayRider]

Pick up Zeiss binos & Swaro spotter. You can’t go wrong & you will not regret spending the money. Cheap never lasts!

 

[rileybassman]

As said... I would start with alpha 10x42... I have the SLCs and Conquest HDs... both are nice - SLCs are top of the heap IMO.

I use those for 95% of what I need for hunting... but I'm not a huge horn hunter... but you can tell at 1.5 miles off a tripod if the buck/bull is worth going after or not... meaning "big" or "not big".

I would like an alpha spotter down the road... but just don't use one enough to justify at this time...

For the money, the vangaurd endeavor HD's are excellent spotters - highly recommend.

I spent the bulk of my optics budget on alpha binos (SLCs), and medium spotter (Endeavor HD) - I feel for the amount of use (at least for ME) this was the choice to go with at the time.

 

[bmanb940]

For your budget I think you will be hard pressed to find a pair of bino's that will beat Nikon's MONARCH HG 10x42's. Excellent glass from a company known for glass and the field flattener truly enhances the view from edge to edge. Nikon's No Fault Warranty is huge as well. They are definitely worth taking an extended look at.

Review: Nikon Monarch HG 10X42 - Rokslide