Small spotter or binos

[87predator]

I was fortunate enough to draw a high country mule deer tag in Colorado. Hunting entirely on the plains for deer I have used large spotters all the time, and use my big one for spotting elk from ridges or short walks from the truck. On this hunt, however we are planning on having to backpack in several miles and wondering what your guys expert advise, thoughts are on buying a new lightweight spotter for glassing or buying a high power set of binos. The set i carry with me is a 10 power ranging bino. My current spotter is a Vortex Razor Hd so it is pushing 60 oz. If you had both, which did you like better.
Thank you.

 

[gr8fuldoug]

Kowa, Hawke and Athlon make great compact spotters. As a long standing supporting vendor here on the forum it is our pleasure to assist in discussing different options and opportunities with you. Please give a call, 516-217-1000, when you have a few moments. Your timing is great as we are running our Father's Day Sale - Now through June 20th

 

[yobuck]

I was fortunate enough to draw a high country mule deer tag in Colorado. Hunting entirely on the plains for deer I have used large spotters all the time, and use my big one for spotting elk from ridges or short walks from the truck. On this hunt, however we are planning on having to backpack in several miles and wondering what your guys expert advise, thoughts are on buying a new lightweight spotter for glassing or buying a high power set of binos. The set i carry with me is a 10 power ranging bino. My current spotter is a Vortex Razor Hd so it is pushing 60 oz. If you had both, which did you like better.
Thank you.

Put a patch over one of your eyes and walk around for a few hours and you will have answered your own question.
I would be getting a good tripod for your current 10 power binoculars and using them for the glassing part.
For about $100 you can go on Ebay and find a nice clean vintage Bushnell spacemaster 60 mm spotting scope.
With that you will have one half of a set of the most popular long range hunting binoculars on the planet.
And if your not happy with it i will buy it from you.
If you want some ebay numbers on some good ones let me know.

 

[Flintlock shooter]

I would say Binos in a chest harness. I personally use Kuiu.

 

[Allen Kitts]

Spending hours behind a spotter can be incredibly tiring on the eyes. I f you have a good pair of Bino's I would suggest the tripod mount for those as well. Bino's are just easier on the eyes for extended sits, at least in my experience. I have owned more different spotting scopes that I can list from Bushnell to the Swarovski HD's and I always end up selling them and going back to bino's for hunting. If your dead set on a spotter, you might look at the Vortex Razon in the 11-33 x 50. It's pretty small, the view is not bad and it wont break the bank. My buddy carries one with him and he like it very much.

 

[chav0_12]

I currently carry 10s and a 65mm spotter for my needs. I like the idea of having 15x binos, especially having grown up in AZ, they're nice for spotting but having high quality 10s on a tripod in my opinion is plenty for the majority of hunts. I can still spot just as well as my buddies with 15s I just miss detail. That's why I bought my spotter. Glass with the 10s then confirm or get a better look with the spotter. This way I still have a set of glass sitting on my chest for when I go on stalks. Saying all of that, I'd love to get some 15x56 SLCs to accompany me when I go down to AZ, but they'd stay at the truck or wherever and I'm not carrying them around with me. Spotters coupled lower power binos are more versatile in my opinion.

 

[ofbandg]

If you need to count points to find legal, see horn tips on sheep, or estimate horn length on animals such as goats, I would carry a spotting scope. Beyond that, the old saying, "big deer look big" means a good pair binoculars work fine.

 

[yobuck]

In Pa. we need to count points on bucks.
In our area there needs to be at least 3 points on at least one side before its legal, regardless of the rack size.
That can be difficult at times, 1" brow points arent always easy to see, so thats where the power can come in handy.
Otherwise 10 to 15 power will be enough.

 

[87predator]

I always carry my binos. I was thinking of what to carry in additon. THe pair I carry is the Vortex fury the glass isn't bad. Not as good as my leicas a used to own, but the lazer range finder is superb. I am asking of what to carry in addtion to this. My 20-60-80 Razor HD, and newer light wt spotter, or a set of 15 or 18 power binos. We would use them to detrmine if the buck we see is worth moving the next ridge over to get shoot or not.

 

[Pro2A]

I was fortunate enough to draw a high country mule deer tag in Colorado. Hunting entirely on the plains for deer I have used large spotters all the time, and use my big one for spotting elk from ridges or short walks from the truck. On this hunt, however we are planning on having to backpack in several miles and wondering what your guys expert advise, thoughts are on buying a new lightweight spotter for glassing or buying a high power set of binos. The set i carry with me is a 10 power ranging bino. My current spotter is a Vortex Razor Hd so it is pushing 60 oz. If you had both, which did you like better.
Thank you.

Consider Digi-scope, Longshot Hawk, or other type pairing with your high resolution phone/tablet and spotting scope. Provides two eye viewing for reduced eye strain, easy to catch pics/video, and better surrounding situational awareness than binos or scope for toothed/clawed critters sneaking in on you.

 

[Glenn Tullius]

15x slc's, kuiu bino chest pouch, Sportsmans tripod bino adaptor, light weight tripod with a GOOD head, covers 75% of all hunting long range, to say, 650 yards. imho

 

[chav0_12]

I always carry my binos. I was thinking of what to carry in additon. THe pair I carry is the Vortex fury the glass isn't bad. Not as good as my leicas a used to own, but the lazer range finder is superb. I am asking of what to carry in addtion to this. My 20-60-80 Razor HD, and newer light wt spotter, or a set of 15 or 18 power binos. We would use them to detrmine if the buck we see is worth moving the next ridge over to get shoot or not.

So you're talking about carrying 3 pieces of glass? I don't think you need another spotter if you take the one you have. If you're trying to lose weight a smaller spotter would do that for you and give you more reach than 15x binos. If you plan on taking the 80mm spotter, your chest binos, and another piece 15x binos would be the extra piece I would buy. Carrying 3 optics with you is a lot.

 

[87predator]

So you're talking about carrying 3 pieces of glass? I don't think you need another spotter if you take the one you have. If you're trying to lose weight a smaller spotter would do that for you and give you more reach than 15x binos. If you plan on taking the 80mm spotter, your chest binos, and another piece 15x binos would be the extra piece I would buy. Carrying 3 optics with you is a lot.

No just carrying two. My rangefinding Binos will always Carry with was just wondering on something lighter than my 80mm spotting scope or do I just need to quit being a Pansy and just carry the big spotter.

 

[chav0_12]

No just carrying two. My rangefinding Binos will always Carry with was just wondering on something lighter than my 80mm spotting scope or do I just need to quit being a Pansy and just carry the big spotter.

Oh I see. Your use of 'and' here made it seem like you were wanting to carry two spotters or a spotter and big binos.

My 20-60-80 Razor HD, and newer light wt spotter, or a set of 15 or 18 power binos.

To me, so long as you can get your binos on a tripod, that's plenty for spotting in high country. I use my 10s on a tripod for spotting 100% of the time and I've never had an issue. I think the best bet is to supplement that with a spotter. You have a spotter, so it's up to you if you want to carry that or not.

Do you have a really good pack, really good boots, great optics in your rifle, good tent, sleeping bag, pad? All the other stuff you'll need to backcountry hunt? Do you need a kestrel?

In my opinion, if you don't have all of the other stuff that you need I'd start filling that stuff in before buying a redundant item. I went with a 65mm ATX for my spotter becasue I don't like carrying heavy stuff and I like that if I want to I can go bigger for half the cost of a new Swarovski spotter.

The spotting scope is going to do more for you as far as getting a better look at something than binos. If it's something you want to glass with more magnification with then the binos are your answer. If I got the binos I'd still want to be taking the spotter though. 15x isn't as much as 40x or more from the spotter, you'll get a better look with the spotter.