Optics

[Tigger]

Most of us carry some type of optics. Some carry binocs, some carry spotting scopes, some may even carry monoculars. Swede carries a cardboard paper towel tube. Tell us about what you carry and why. Why do you not carry something is maybe just as important as why you do.

I always carry Vortex Viper 10X42 binos in an Alaskan Guide Creations bino pack. I use them for open stuff and even in timber. They really pick apart timber. I love the bino pack as I have my rangefinder, license, chapstick, and wind powder in there. Everything easily accessible. This year I will be strapping bear spray on it as well.

I have in my truck a Leupold SX-4 spotting scope. I do not carry that heavy thing around. But in certain spots I can drive to, it is nice to have.

This year I bought a Vortex Razor 11-33 spotting scope. It is really small and light. Where we are going this year, glassing for elk is easily doable so I am debating bringing that. I really like it so far.

It would be nice to have a really light tripod that I don't have to sell off one of my children to afford though. Man, are they expensive.

Side note: a bucket list item for me is to own a really nice pair of binocs. Alpha glass they call it. Might have to resort to thievery to get though!

Tell us about your optics.

[Swede]

Besides my Brawny paper towel tube, I have a pair of Leopold binoculars 8X42, and a Leupold Veri X3 rifle scope on my Sako 308 rifle. For tree stand hunting my Brawny paper towel tube is all I need to see anything I can shoot. If I suspect there may be something out there in the brush that needs a quick check, I look for it throught my Vortex reange finder.

[Elkhunttoo]

How much for the paper towel tube Swede? And does it come with a range finder attachment?


When I’m sitting in my tree stand my 4x range finder is all I pack…I have a vortex spotting scope and just a cheap pair of hd 10x42’s I got off of amazon for like $30 or so…they are actually pretty decent and probably made in the same factory that some name brands are. Just no warranty but for $30 they are easy to replace

[7mmfan]

It depends on the hunt. If I'm going into big country where I'll be looking over a lot of ground, I bring my 12x Leupold BX5s on a tripod, and sometimes will bring a spotter with me as well. If I'm hunting blacktail locally in managed timberland, I bring my 10x Leupold BX5's. I have really come to love glassing with a tripod, especially for blacktail where it's brushy and often deer are spotted by seeing a part of a deer or a color. I can set my binos on a likely spot and just stare through them watching for movement where as holding them in my hands would get tiring very fast. My deer sightings have gone up dramatically since I started doing this.

My rangefinder, a Leupold RXsomething... is always there as well.

I bought my soon to be 7 year old son a pair of Vortex Diamondback HD 8x32 for Christmas last year and put them in a small FHF Gear harness in blaze orange. He loves wearing that thing whenever we're out in the woods, and puffing on the wind check I put in the side pocket of it.

[Dorobuta]

I second the 10x42 Vortex and Alaska Guide Creations bino pack.
I keep my range finder, wind checker and EPRB on the pack.

The 10 x 42's have been perfect for just about any practical use in the field. My spotting scope is too heavy and if you add a tripod...

[>>>---WW---->]

I have had my 10x42 Vortex Vipers for years. Love em! And for some unknown reason, my wife decided I needed the Vortex Viper HD 10x42. I can't tell the difference between them . So the HDs are still new in the box and will probably remain there. Also have some Burris 8x42 that I found at a yard sale for $5 bucks, believe it or not! Absolutely nothing wrong with them. At one time, I thought about sending them to Swede because I felt sorry for him having to use that old cardboard tube. But then I came to my senses and figured that old coot don't need anything that nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the way I was wondering if Swede uses the paper towel roll tube or the new compact version TP roll tube!

[Tigger]

Swede used the TP version doubled up to form binocs. He uses a paper towel tube for a light spotting scope. And if he needs to see things really, REALLY far away, he uses a Christmas paper tube!

[Swede]

Swede is old and a minimalist. He does not care for the new high-tech garbage they put out today. He says that stuff is for the kids. At least manufacturers of paper rolls use good old-fashioned paper to put their wipe and wrapper stuff on. Swede does not like the modern plastics.

[Indian Summer]

I used to have an Alaska guide creations bino pack. It was the original model. I replaced it with a Badlands pouch because I wanted a second pocket for my rangefinder.

Many moons ago I carried Steiner binoculars. They are great German glass at a much more affordable price than top end stuff like Swarovski, Zeiss, or Leica.

I am not the biggest fan of Leupold spotting scopes or binoculars. To me Leupold is a rifle scope company. For the money, Steiner binos perform better in my opinion. However, every rifle I own is topped with some model of Leupold scope. That includes muzzleloaders and shotguns. They are solid with unconditional lifetime warranties from a great company. Just like all companies they have low models and high-end models. You get what you pay for.

Vortex is a marketing company selling entry level products. You can find any Vortex product you want for sale in classified ads.

I would never own the optics I own if it weren’t for some lucky breaks. When I got my guide license and my outfitters license I received 50% off of all their products. To really do my job I had to have the best binoculars I could possibly afford. Even if I couldn’t afford them! My Swarovski 10x42 EL binos are a dream. I’ve carried the same pair for 24 years. I can glass in the dark. If there is snow on the ground and a fair sized moon, I can see elk all night. They really do what they are supposed to do.

My spotting scope is also a Swarovski. 20-60x80. When it comes to spotting scopes my philosophy is go big or go home. If my spotting scope isn’t adequate, I would end up leaving it in the truck. If I actually have a use for one there is no such thing as too big or too much magnification. I will pack that sucker all the way to the top of the mountain because once I get there it is going to help me find elk and let me know whether or not they are ones I want to go after. I have used other brands, but this one with its 80 mm objective does a great job at the crack of dawn and to the last glimmer of light.

But who can afford that stuff right! I knew a young guide who would buy a Swarovski spotting scope every year and then sell it over the winter. One year he called me up and said I know you want a Swarovski spotting scope. I’ll make you a great deal. I told him at the time I was not in the market. I was putting an addition on my home and didn’t have that kind of money laying around. A couple weeks later he called and asked me if I was going to be home. He said he was coming over from Ohio with the scope. I knew he was desperate for money and was going to sell it to me no matter what. When he got there, he not only had the scope, but also a tripod and a nice soft sided case with shoulder strap for both. I told him the same thing I told him on the phone. Not in the market for a large ticket item. Long story short, I paid about $450 for it. Thank you Lord!!! I’m f I didn’t stumble into that who knows what brand of spotter I’d own. Probably Leupold.

To me optics are one of the most important pieces of gear. You cannot shoot what you can’t see. And you can’t get a shot at something until you’ve located it. I use my 10 x 42 binoculars in timber too. I am perfectly accustomed to looking way down the lanes between trees and timber or in burns with them. I use them back in Pennsylvania tree stands for deer as well. We have point restrictions in Pennsylvania so you have to be sure of what you are shooting at. I’m a big fan of Leica optics. I have a Leica rangefinder that I love. I actually like it more than a Swarovski rangefinder. It Prior to that I had a Leupold rangefinder that I hated. I might consider Leica binoculars if I was in the market for a pair. But if I didn’t want to spend that kind of money I’d go right back to Steiner binos.

[Lefty]

I still have some time before I need to be asleep tonight
As a punk 13, 14-year-old I bought 2 Redfield scopes with copper scrap and paper route money, mounted on my Remington Carbine .308 and Ruger 10/22
Had a bushnell spotting scope and binos ( real junk)
In 92 my wife bought me a pair of Leoplold glass,, ,,,,sent them in to be refurbished and Leopold mailed back a new pair
20 years ago I turned in the Redfield for a Redfield Illuminator placed on my A-bolt.
Replaced that scope with Leopold hunting turret 4-14

Again about 20 years back I bought the Leopold Pack Spotting scope, Served me well ,,, untill I looked through Swarovskis,,, . Ill suffer the rest of my life without buying those Swarovskis,

[Indian Summer]

Lefty that reminds me…. my first deer rifle was a Revelation Model .30-.30 (Sears and Robuck) bolt action with iron sights. I had the local gun shop put a side mount on it and topped it off with a 4 power Weaver scope. I still have that gun. It was handed down to me from my mother. Not for sale! This thread inspires me to take it out for deer sometime.

Everyone owned a pair of Bushnell power binoculars didn’t they? They were great at the time.

[Lefty]

Everyone owned a pair of Bushnell power binoculars didn’t they? They were great at the time.

IO believe you are correct,,, the only thing available to the general sportsman, And shortly before my times only Weaver scopes

[juglow]

I run leupold 10X50 binos almost all the time...in the west and PA. Windriver type because I feel the clarity is better than the gold ring when I compared them.
I have been debating a Kowa spotter...88MM. The reviews I have read makes them standup against the Swarovski...But waiting for a deal to pop up like Joes...lol.
Just finished my rifle build and topped it with a March scope...its amazing...definitely see the difference in quality glass.

[Indian Summer]

I run leupold 10X50 binos almost all the time...in the west and PA. Windriver type because I feel the clarity is better than the gold ring when I compared them.
I have been debating a Kowa spotter...88MM. The reviews I have read makes them standup against the Swarovski...But waiting for a deal to pop up like Joes...lol.
Just finished my rifle build and topped it with a March scope...its amazing...definitely see the difference in quality glass.

That is an excellent choice for sure! The biggest difference between brands like Leupold and the really expensive stuff like Zeiss or Swarovski is how well they work in low low light. But you can take a quality binocular like Leupold and go with a 50 MM objective lens and get much better light gathering making them a very good option for people looking for great binoculars that don’t want to re-mortgage their house. I have suggested those Wind Rivers to lots of my clients as well as some guides over the years.

[saddlesore]

9 x 35 Leopold binos, I have had since a sheep hunt the 80's. I also carry a cheap range finder

Speaking of old scopes, my first one on a Model 88 Win., .308 was an $18 Bushnell Banner which did not have self centering reticles. It killed elk just as good as my Leupold 2.5-8 I have now .

I thought I was really high tech when I bought a Weaver V-7 2.5 -7X