Hunting & Fishing Spotting scope 15 45 65 or 15x56 binos??
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I have a barely used Zeiss T85 spotter with optional high power eye piece I'm listing for sale soon. if you happen to go that direction send me a message. I bought it when I lived in Alaska to photograph wildlife and it's been collecting dust ever since in the gun safe. I've also got a Zeiss camera adapter for it and a neoprene cover. It's a straight body silver color spotting scope. Very high quality.
I was a spotting scope guy...then I got a pair of 15x56 binos. I am 100% sold on the binos. Far less eyestrain and a much more pleasant viewing experience. A tripod is an absolute must, but I really like the bino route. I use mine primarily for hunting, but have no problem detecting hits on steel out to 1200 yards. I can discern everything I need to know about a critter from 2 miles away or more, so it certainly fits the bill for what I need. I could see the need for spotter if you were hunting mountain goats or maybe speed goats, but unless you are really wanting to get some minute details the binos work well.
Used to use a spotting scope but after I purchased my Zeiss Victory 10x56 binos I prefer using them for game. I can look through them for long periods of time with no eye strain. They are heavy but put them on a tripod and you pick up on the slightest movement. I would imagine x15 mag would be even better for distance on a tripod. I have trouble holding a higher mag then x10 without the support so I prefer to stick with x10 for offhand viewing.
YMMV
YMMV
I mostly hunt open country, spot and stalk type and made the switch from spotting scope to binos on the tripod. I've been using the Vortex 18x56 Kaibabs and am very happy with them so far.
I found that with the amount of glassing I was doing I was getting real bad eye fatigue with the spotting scope. And while I can't really zoom in to judge something waaaaaaaay off in the distance, I believe I have seen more game with the 18x56 binos.
1. I am spending more time behind the glass (no eye fatigue)
2. field of view is great ( I will lock the tripod head looking at a "bucky" area and just sit there waiting to catch any bit of movement)
3. they're easy for me to pack around in the daypack and not super heavy for the overnight backpacking trips.
I found that with the amount of glassing I was doing I was getting real bad eye fatigue with the spotting scope. And while I can't really zoom in to judge something waaaaaaaay off in the distance, I believe I have seen more game with the 18x56 binos.
1. I am spending more time behind the glass (no eye fatigue)
2. field of view is great ( I will lock the tripod head looking at a "bucky" area and just sit there waiting to catch any bit of movement)
3. they're easy for me to pack around in the daypack and not super heavy for the overnight backpacking trips.
If you're just looking for the presence of game, use binos every time. I use a pair of Swarovski EL 10x50 binos on a tripod and I couldn't use anything else at this point, love them so much.
For the price I think they are hard to beat. Here’s some phoneskope photos from this October.
Also note my phone camera isn’t the newest either. So actually image quality is better.
First one is aroun 600yds, I did zoom in a little with the phone camera too.
Second one is 150 yds
I uploaded these on my phone and after looking at them on my monitor they don't do the binos justice. The images are a bit grainy but the glass is very good for the $999 price tag.
Well if you can afford it I'd say always pay a little more when it comes to glass!
I see vortex offers the Razor line in 18x56, that'd be a step up but I have no personal experience with them.
Compared to my fathers Swaro 15x56's... well the Swaro's are obviously better.
I see vortex offers the Razor line in 18x56, that'd be a step up but I have no personal experience with them.
Compared to my fathers Swaro 15x56's... well the Swaro's are obviously better.
I depends what you are doing ~
I used to use various high end 80mm & 85mm spotters but no longer am willing to deal with their size and weight. I moved to a Swaro 20-60 65mm ATS and love the size, but I replaced it with a Vortex Razor 22-48 65mm as it was brighter and seemed to have a better field of view. That said, the Swaro 65mm ATX at $3,400 blows the ATS and Razor away.
For positional shooting matches I only bring my Swaro 15x56 SLCs now. for bow hunting (closer ranges), I use the 8x SLCs.
Hopefully you can see not one does everything
I just returned from an Elk hunt where most spotting was 1300 to 3000 yards. Most where on binos, the 15 SLCs on a window mount and the tripod really ended up being the glass everyone came when they were not sure it they where looking at an animal. But spotter often came out to see if a bull was legal, or if the distance thing was even an animal and not an illusion.
If could only use one thing it would be the Swaro 15x56slc.. but I gave away my razor (to my son) mid trip on his return to Wyoming, we all greatly missed the spotter. Next season I might add the ATX 65 but the dang Razor 65 is no slouch.
We all filled our tags on BLM
PS- the 15x SLC is about as strong as your going to get and hand hold even with a strong position. Once hand held, they are not better than really good 12x handheld. But put them on a tripod and they are amazing. I think anything stronger like 18x limits you to a tripod and thus creates even more of a single use item like a spotter.
edited to add: I am not bashing big glass, I make a compromise in order to carry. Big great glass like the ATX 85/95 especially with the bino BTX eye piece has a place for Western hunters who are hunting of ATVs or spoting near a 4x4.. it just to big for me pack.. I already am carrying a bigger dual purpose tripod.. Shoot/spotting. Just my thoughts
I used to use various high end 80mm & 85mm spotters but no longer am willing to deal with their size and weight. I moved to a Swaro 20-60 65mm ATS and love the size, but I replaced it with a Vortex Razor 22-48 65mm as it was brighter and seemed to have a better field of view. That said, the Swaro 65mm ATX at $3,400 blows the ATS and Razor away.
For positional shooting matches I only bring my Swaro 15x56 SLCs now. for bow hunting (closer ranges), I use the 8x SLCs.
Hopefully you can see not one does everything
I just returned from an Elk hunt where most spotting was 1300 to 3000 yards. Most where on binos, the 15 SLCs on a window mount and the tripod really ended up being the glass everyone came when they were not sure it they where looking at an animal. But spotter often came out to see if a bull was legal, or if the distance thing was even an animal and not an illusion.
If could only use one thing it would be the Swaro 15x56slc.. but I gave away my razor (to my son) mid trip on his return to Wyoming, we all greatly missed the spotter. Next season I might add the ATX 65 but the dang Razor 65 is no slouch.
We all filled our tags on BLM
PS- the 15x SLC is about as strong as your going to get and hand hold even with a strong position. Once hand held, they are not better than really good 12x handheld. But put them on a tripod and they are amazing. I think anything stronger like 18x limits you to a tripod and thus creates even more of a single use item like a spotter.
edited to add: I am not bashing big glass, I make a compromise in order to carry. Big great glass like the ATX 85/95 especially with the bino BTX eye piece has a place for Western hunters who are hunting of ATVs or spoting near a 4x4.. it just to big for me pack.. I already am carrying a bigger dual purpose tripod.. Shoot/spotting. Just my thoughts
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Mine were made in China, I've heard rumors that some are also made in Japan. I can't confirm or deny this though.
Alaska hunter here.
10x binos for glassing for animals, used 90% of the time. Started with 7x 45 years ago and that power did just fine. Top shelf quality needs to help with eye strain but still happens glassing for up to 10 hours.
Once game is spotted, use spotting scope to see if game is legal or worth the effort to get within shooting range. Last thing is to spend a whole day to get within range to find out the animal is not legal. And times this still happens. Good quality must be able to distinguish antlers / horns.
I will throw this in for those who want to read it. I was in the gun shop retail for 17 years and we did optics demo and at times did our best to cover up the optics so it was hard to distinguish the brand, while not 100% effective it did work most times and was very revealing. A quick survey of use, experience, brand, opinion on top shelf, etc. their review of and ranking.
Zeiss was the clear #1, Swaro #2, Leupold #3, Leica, Bushnell then Vortex. It was not scientific and means very little but was quite revealing to us and customers for off the cuff demo days.
10x binos for glassing for animals, used 90% of the time. Started with 7x 45 years ago and that power did just fine. Top shelf quality needs to help with eye strain but still happens glassing for up to 10 hours.
Once game is spotted, use spotting scope to see if game is legal or worth the effort to get within shooting range. Last thing is to spend a whole day to get within range to find out the animal is not legal. And times this still happens. Good quality must be able to distinguish antlers / horns.
I will throw this in for those who want to read it. I was in the gun shop retail for 17 years and we did optics demo and at times did our best to cover up the optics so it was hard to distinguish the brand, while not 100% effective it did work most times and was very revealing. A quick survey of use, experience, brand, opinion on top shelf, etc. their review of and ranking.
Zeiss was the clear #1, Swaro #2, Leupold #3, Leica, Bushnell then Vortex. It was not scientific and means very little but was quite revealing to us and customers for off the cuff demo days.
The binocular and spotting scope combo is hard to beat. Binoculars are far superior for scanning for game, and are always at the ready and easy to carry with a good harness. I prefer a set of Swaro 10x42s from a size/weight perspective but I know others who like 15x56's which can reach out a bit farther if you have a good set. There is a big difference between top end glass like Swaro, Leica, Leupold and the rest in terms of what you can spot.
When you transition to the spotting scope to verify a target, you need to consider the power range of the spotting scope. For example, scanning targets with a 20-60x scope is like looking through a soda straw. Walking your partner onto a target "under a tree" in a forest of trees can be nearly impossible in this case, and he may not see the animal on the binoculars. And again glass quality matters.
My preference for a field scope is a Leupold Mark IV 12-40x60mm with the TMR reticle. At 12x it has a very wide field of view for scanning, but at 40x I can easily identify objects over 1000 yards away. Its used by most military spotters for a reason. Its also tough, compact and the glass is excellent, and its easy to read wind using mirage. Finally, it has a mil reticle which means you can measure objects or misses and make adjustments quickly if shooting long range with a friend/spotter.
For tripod, if you can split the weight with your hunting partner I would recommend a carbon fiber Manfrotto or Benro tripod and a manfrotto Jr geared head which gives you find adjustments. They are not light or cheap, but will pay off if you spend more than a few minutes glassing. I'm a videographer, and have a wide variety of high end fluid, ball and other heads and tripods and the geared head is superior for precision spotting. I also carry a fairly stout tripod for the extra stability it provides.
If you are hunting alone or traveling light, you could consider using your rifle scope for detailed spotting instead of a separate spotter, especially if you have a good quality scope with a milling reticle and know how to use it.
When you transition to the spotting scope to verify a target, you need to consider the power range of the spotting scope. For example, scanning targets with a 20-60x scope is like looking through a soda straw. Walking your partner onto a target "under a tree" in a forest of trees can be nearly impossible in this case, and he may not see the animal on the binoculars. And again glass quality matters.
My preference for a field scope is a Leupold Mark IV 12-40x60mm with the TMR reticle. At 12x it has a very wide field of view for scanning, but at 40x I can easily identify objects over 1000 yards away. Its used by most military spotters for a reason. Its also tough, compact and the glass is excellent, and its easy to read wind using mirage. Finally, it has a mil reticle which means you can measure objects or misses and make adjustments quickly if shooting long range with a friend/spotter.
For tripod, if you can split the weight with your hunting partner I would recommend a carbon fiber Manfrotto or Benro tripod and a manfrotto Jr geared head which gives you find adjustments. They are not light or cheap, but will pay off if you spend more than a few minutes glassing. I'm a videographer, and have a wide variety of high end fluid, ball and other heads and tripods and the geared head is superior for precision spotting. I also carry a fairly stout tripod for the extra stability it provides.
If you are hunting alone or traveling light, you could consider using your rifle scope for detailed spotting instead of a separate spotter, especially if you have a good quality scope with a milling reticle and know how to use it.
