Best bino power for PRS and western open country hunting?

[LJT88]

Looking to make a purchase on some new Binos.

Use case - Western hunting (deer & elk) and also precision rifle matches.

I’m not sure if I should go 12x or 15x.

At this point in life my budget is $500ish. Possible a little wiggle room with that but not a ton.

Open to brand and model suggestions as well. Thank you.

 

[03machstock]

I can’t speak to what would be best as far as hunting and PRS usage, but I have a set of Athalon Cronus g2 15x binos, which when I bought them they were right in your price range. They impress me every time I use them for their price. They are heavy and I mostly use them on a tripod, but might be worth looking into.

 

[kthomas]

If on a budget, I would go for glass quality over magnification.

If you can go up to just under $1k, an open box Kowa Genesis 10.5x44 would put you into alpha glass territory. CameraLandNY sells these commonly at this price point.

Otherwise, I would look for the best pair of 10x's you can find used. Hard to recommend a quality pair of 12-15xs that are close to your price point.

Vortex, GPO and Maven have budget friendly options, though I'm not sure what the quality will be.

 

[kthomas]

Steiner HX 10x42s are on sale at CNY for $750, and an open box Steiner HX 15x56 for $850.

https://cameralandny.com/shop/brands/steiner/steiner-hx-15x56-open-box/ef162040-27ab-013b-835e-00163ecd2826?variation=3267215

Zeiss Conquest HD 10x42s for $700.

https://cameralandny.com/shop/brands/zeiss/zeiss-conquest-hd-10x42-binoculars/1a2291a0-2bf7-0130-884f-20cf30bab63e?variation=1091749

This GPO Passion HD 10x50 for $850 is worth considering too.

https://cameralandny.com/shop/brands/german-precision-optics/german-precision-optics-passion-hd-10x50-binoculars-open-box-demo/8dcdb7c0-eb7c-013c-6612-00163e90e196?variation=3724279

 

[Makinchips208]

For hunting in the mountains and prairies I only use 10x.

 

[Niles Coyote]

I have hunted eastern Montana's rolling hills for years and always used an 8x. I really liked the wide field that offered. With that said the guys I have been with all use 10x and love them. 12x are fine and probably as powerful as you would want to go if you will be hand holding the optics occasionally. If you are using a tripod, 12x would be excellent and if you have 15x a tripod would be mandatory.

I have used Swaro's 12x and Bushnell fusion 15x in PRS now for several years. If you want to go 12x you will want high quality optics and I would highly recommend Swaro's. Depending on the seeing conditions, such as haze and Mirage present and light angle, you will have a hard time detecting impacts on beat up steel and even with the swaro's it can be damn hard at times when you are looking at targets 800 and beyond. The lower quality 15's like the fusions don't give up much but they also start to crap out when detecting splash in the same area as the 12x swaro's... Also, the swaro's have significantly more FOV than any of the 15's out there.

 

[Secant]

10x are the jack of all trades. If I went with 12’s for a “do all”, I’d want NL pures for the FoV. IMO, 15’s are a niche bino, and I wouldn’t want a set of $500 15x’s and probably not $500 12x’s.

You might look at some of the birder forums for used binos. Zeiss conquest 10x42 are a little over your $500 budget, but I think they’d be worth the extra cost.

 

[NiteQwill]

Swaro BTX 115...

Jk

For PRS, 12x is fine.

 

[LJT88]

Thanks crew. Looks like I’ll write off the 15x for now. I appreciate the recommendations.

 

[b6graham]

if you can do NL Pure then 12x because the FOV matches any 10x. but in this case not even close budget wise

a $500 budget it's tough and 10x is the easy choice versus giving up something for a 12x

 

[mrmarklin]

PRS and hunting are so far apart as to application I don’t think a serious user would have one bin for both. In the hunting world, color, contrast, resolution etc. etc. are kings. I’ve hunted Wyoming for almost 40 years and never had to use more than 8x bins. Of course, these are Alpha bins such as Zeiss, Swarovski .
For PRS I have no opinion on power, but you can probably get by with $500 glass.

 

[camocorvette]

For prs a pair of vortex viper 12x50 works just fine. And when the wind blows your tripod over and scratches the glass you can send it in.

They are probably heavier then the more expensive ones. But they aren't bad. I run them off a bag on a tripod and they work great for spotting trace and impact. Used them to spot to 1300 effectively. I'll say at 1300 a 2/3 ipsc it becomes tough to precisely spot impacts but you can see them.

Used go for about 350-400 in the px

 

[Rangemaster]

^^^^THIS^^^^
I got a pair of 15x50 vortex hd and they can easy get out to pass 1000 yards at our club.

 

[kthomas]

PRS and hunting are so far apart as to application I don’t think a serious user would have one bin for both. In the hunting world, color, contrast, resolution etc. etc. are kings. I’ve hunted Wyoming for almost 40 years and never had to use more than 8x bins. Of course, these are Alpha bins such as Zeiss, Swarovski .
For PRS I have no opinion on power, but you can probably get by with $500 glass.

Best to buy for the most demanding/strenuous objective than the alternative.

A pair of Alpha binos that you have for hunting will work perfectly for PRS. A cheap pair of binos you bought for PRS won't be great for hunting.

And for hunting, the application really depends. Take your 8x binos to the Sonoran Desert and see how well they work Coues hunting.

 

[Birddog6424]

PRS and hunting are so far apart as to application I don’t think a serious user would have one bin for both. In the hunting world, color, contrast, resolution etc. etc. are kings. I’ve hunted Wyoming for almost 40 years and never had to use more than 8x bins. Of course, these are Alpha bins such as Zeiss, Swarovski .
For PRS I have no opinion on power, but you can probably get by with $500 glass.

I kinda agree with this. You don't need great binos for PRS, but I don't think you need two pair either. I have 15x binos, but use my 10x56 Steiners for both PRS and big game hunting out here in Idaho. I agree that good quality glass negates the need for higher magnification. I've used them for 3 years now and can't think of a time where I was unable to determine an impact or miss.

I've spent some time tromping western Wyoming for Mulies. Great country. I do believe 10x to be the sweet spot for hunting. The right combination of magnification and field of view. I've also used 8x for some years and also agree they work great. If you're a trophy hunter, 12x, 15x, or an additional small spotter is the way to go. I went the small spotter route for years when I was horn hunting. But I get it that some folks may not want to carry two optics.