Mt elk hunt binocular choice 8x or 10x

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Ironhayden

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Im going on my first elk hunt this fall in the bob Marshall wilderness area and im trying to decide if i should upgrade to 10x42. I currently have a set of 8x30 slc in the east they are fine my ranges are mostly close. So do you think ill be at a great disadvantage with lower power binoculars or should i be fine. I also thought with the 8x30 being smaller and lighter they might not be as steady as 10x42 would be.
 
Unless you're just really wanting to buy another pair of binos, the 8's should be fine. I'm a fan of 8x binos but it's all I've ever owned. I haven't spent enough time behind the 10's to see which ones I like better.
 
I used to use 10x42 and over the years my eyes 'got tired' when I glasses a lot, could be old eyes. I switched to 8x42 and they are easier on my eyes. Both were Zeiss same model. Yes I can not see detail as far but I can glass longer.
 
I was running 10's for a long time but switched to 12's this year and love them. Personally I'd get 10x42's if I was in your position and put them on a tripod for chits and giggles. It's crazy how much more you pick out with binos on tripods
 
I love my 8.5x42 EL's but most of my experience has been with 8X.
 
Will there be many long range glassing opportunities in the Bob? I'd probably stick with the 8's, especially if you're going guided.
 
Both will work fine. Some of your choice will be made by how much you have or are willing to spend. I use 10x42's because I like having the extra power. I'll be hunting the Bob this year as well and my 10's will work just fine along with my spotting scope. But good glass is worth its weight in whatever you find valuable to a hunter. I personally have never seen better glass than Leica. That being said I have Vortex Viper HD 10x42 ($500), Leupold Mojave HD pro guide 10x42 ($600) and Nikon Pro Staff 7S 10x42 ($250). My wife uses a 10x50 Vortex Viper. I like them in the order I wrote them. The Vortex HD being the ones I like the best. I just cant bring myself to pay $2200-$3000 for Leica's or I would own them. Clearest, easiest on the eyes glass I've ever looked through.
 
If you got 8's get some 15's.. my daughter and I hunt, she runs the 15's and I run the 10's, we cover a lot of ground near and far.
 
Ya its a guided horseback hunt shots should be within 400yrds. I believe its more Valley and woods.
 
I also could borrow my dads 10x42 that a option just trying to think what would serve me the best.
 
Your 8X30 SLC's are great binoculars for most elk hunting. They are light and comfortable to use all day and have excellent resolution.
 
I'd use your 8x. The guide will probably be deciding which elk to chase if you find some. You'll appreciate the light weight.
 
NoWiser said:
I'd use your 8x. The guide will probably be deciding which elk to chase if you find some. You'll appreciate the light weight.
Click to expand...

8's are easier to hold steady. If you're on the go glassing looking for pretty much any decent bull the 8's are perfect.
 
I had a set of 8x30 slc's and sold them to upgrade to a set of 10x42 slc's. I love them but if your going to be covering a lot of ground the 8's carry much nicer. I wished I would have bit the bullet and kept the 8x30's and saved a little more money and got the 10x42's. That way my wife would let me use my 10x42's ;)
 
I learned that I can't hold a 10x steady. 8x is what I carried for several years after I learned that issue and loved the wide field of view and lack of shake. I now have Maven B2 9x45 binos. They are terrific, but I still see a little shake that wasn't noticable in the 8x.

Fh
 
I have both a pair of 8X / 42 and 10X / 42. Neither is very high-endy; the 8X are Nikon and the 10X are REI. I generally carry the 10X when I'm covering a lot of ground, or in bow season, because they are compact. But if my hunting plan is to perch on the high ground and spend a lot of time behind glass, I take both. It's hard to explain the difference, but I seem to notice things when I switche them out every 15 minutes or so, things out there on the opposite mountainside I didn't notice before. I don't own a spotting scope. I just use those binos.
 
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