Glassing bino's

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cbigbear
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Glassing bino's

Unread postby cbigbear » Tue Aug 05, 2014 5:53 am

I've never glassed before, because it hasn't been an option in the areas I've been hunting. I'm trying some new public that has opening & agri so I'm thinking about giving glassing a try the next couple of months. Here's the question - what's the difference between $1k hunting bino's & $50 astronomy bino's, other than the obvious size difference? These will be strictly for glassing long distances so I don't see size & using a tripod a problem.


moog5050
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Re: Glassing bino's

Unread postby moog5050 » Tue Aug 05, 2014 6:43 am

Generally it is the clarity, which makes a big difference. Very clear 8x glass is much better than not so clear 10 or 12x glass. I think its tough to beat vortex for the most cost efficient and yet quality glass. Buy the most expensive you can afford and you will never need another pair of binos. Keep in mind that most people can only hold 8-10x before the magnified shakes make the higher magnification all but useless. I have some 6x and 8x vortex razors and they are awesome, and great in low light too. I can easily see 300yds in a field at night. I returned my 10x for 8x because I wanted a greater FOV. The 6x I picked up used because they were a great deal and work perfect in wooded areas.

I also use my 8x at the range to check shots at 110yds, especially when shooting a low power scope.
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Re: Glassing bino's

Unread postby moog5050 » Tue Aug 05, 2014 6:47 am

BTW - when I say most expensive, I didn't mean spending $3k on some swaros or zeiss, the razors would get you 99% of the same quality for 500-600. Only bino fanatics could tell the difference.
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Re: Glassing bino's

Unread postby gatorbait42 » Tue Aug 05, 2014 6:52 am

Better glass (more expensive) is going to cause less eye fatigue. That being said I really don't think you need $1000 set of Binos for glassing whitetails east of the Mississippi. Now if you were going out west for a spot and stalk hunt or elk hunt or something like that where you spend a lot of time glassing then a good set of Binos would be beneficial.

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cbigbear
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Re: Glassing bino's

Unread postby cbigbear » Tue Aug 05, 2014 7:01 am

Does anyone know the difference between the lens in astronomy optics vs sport optics?
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Re: Glassing bino's

Unread postby Brad » Tue Aug 05, 2014 7:50 am

As stated Vortex is the best bang for the buck. There 300$ glass is better than most other companies 600-800 glass.

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dreaming bucks
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Re: Glassing bino's

Unread postby dreaming bucks » Tue Aug 05, 2014 8:07 am

I absolutely love my Vortex bino's...... can't beat the price per quality.
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Re: Glassing bino's

Unread postby cbigbear » Tue Aug 05, 2014 8:15 am

What kind of range are ya'll getting from the Vortex & what models? I need something for the 1500 + yds range.
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Re: Glassing bino's

Unread postby Edcyclopedia » Tue Aug 05, 2014 8:17 am

cbigbear wrote:What kind of range are ya'll getting from the Vortex & what models? I need something for the 1500 + yds range.


You'll need a spotting scope for that...
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Re: Glassing bino's

Unread postby Swampbuck » Tue Aug 05, 2014 8:29 am

Do any of you guys have any experience with the astronomy binos.

My brother uses them for glassing elk miles away in Utah and pays a fraction of of what the hunting scopes/binos cost. From my understanding the glass they use is just as clear as the expensive hunting binos, they just arent marketed to hunters. He can sit on his porch and see deer and elk in the mountains a couple mile away

Just curious if anyone has any experience with them for comparison
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Re: Glassing bino's

Unread postby lungpuncher1 » Tue Aug 05, 2014 8:33 am

You can see critters a long ways off with any glass most likely. It's the clarity and low light performance that make good binos worth it. I have a pair of swarovski 10x42 BUT I got a great deal. If I were to buy new ones today I'd get the vortex binos. The swarovski may be better but not 2000$ better.

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Re: Glassing bino's

Unread postby cbigbear » Tue Aug 05, 2014 8:37 am

Edcyclopedia wrote:
cbigbear wrote:What kind of range are ya'll getting from the Vortex & what models? I need something for the 1500 + yds range.


You'll need a spotting scope for that...


Problem is it's going to have to be tree stand glassing. I was thinking of using a mono pod off the tree stand for bino's or a camera arm.
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Re: Glassing bino's

Unread postby cbigbear » Tue Aug 05, 2014 8:39 am

lungpuncher1 wrote:You can see critters a long ways off with any glass most likely. It's the clarity and low light performance that make good binos worth it. I have a pair of swarovski 10x42 BUT I got a great deal. If I were to buy new ones today I'd get the vortex binos. The swarovski may be better but not 2000$ better.

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This seems to be the niche of astronomy bino's, long range with really good low light (really no light) performance.
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Re: Glassing bino's

Unread postby moog5050 » Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:05 am

The astronomy binos are usually porro prism (bulky but somewhat better light gathering) vs. roof prism on hunting binos. Astronomy usually has larger objective too - making them even more bulky. I think at 1500yds, you will need huge magnification binos or a spotting scope, both of which will require serious stabilization to be useful. Perhaps you could make out the quality of a rack at this distance with really good 10x or 15x binos, but I am not sure. the 15x would require stabilization in any event. I really don't think the quality of glass is better in astronomy vs. hunting binos. I could be wrong, but suspect you get what you pay for in either.
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Re: Glassing bino's

Unread postby moog5050 » Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:09 am

One more thought would be to try a good 10x bino with a doubler. It might get you what you need, but will require stabilization. At least the binos would be generally useful for hunting otherwise and a doubler can be bought used for $50-150 on ebay.


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