pgidley
Active member
I've gone through this cycle with spotting scopes where I start shopping at the low end, decide its more worthwhile to look at higher-end optics, get confused with so much choice, and eventually decide not to spend the money - resulting in a lack of a good spotter. Currently my only optics consists of 10x42 Diamondbacks, which are kind of my beaters for whitetail hunting, leaving in the truck etc. When I got them I was saving for our first home, and western hunting was not on the horizon.
Now, with the intent of some serious backcountry DIY hunts in the next few years, I'm back to looking at some good glass. Since this new style of hunting requires a bit of an investment in new gear, I'm wondering where my dollars are best spent. I guess my uses are a major factor, so here they are:
- I live in the sticks with a really cool view off the back deck, so recreational viewing up to 3-4 miles, scouting locally, mostly from truck or ATV etc
- Digiscoping - lots of wildlife to take photos of in the off-season and on our upland trips
- Range shooting up to 500 yards
- WY pronghorn, CO Elk, Montana and Idaho mule deer over the next 5 years, the usual range of DIY western hunts
- I wear glasses, so a good exit pupil makes a big difference to me. The Diamondbacks are frustrating in this regard, and I usually take off the glasses if I can.
I started off looking the Diamondback 20-60x60, but seeing the shortcomings in my binos in that range, decided the 11-33x50 Razor would be more wise, in a similar price bracket but with much nicer glass. Then I got into the whole 50mm vs 65mm debate and questioning if 33x magnification is enough - now I'm up around $750-$900 for a gen 1 Razor, which is starting to push the budget, given the horrid CAD-USD exchange rate.
Then got to thinking maybe it makes more sense to upgrade my binos and invest in a good tripod and save the spotting scope for later. Although it would be fun to dink around with in the off-season, the spotting scope would eat up my budget for new binos for at least two years, so its one or the other for now, and for glassing and local hunting, the binos are probably going to see more use.
All that brings me back to square 1. Do I just stick with what I have for now?
Can anyone lend me some sanity in these choices? If you were starting from scratch with a modest budget, where would you put your bucks first?
Now, with the intent of some serious backcountry DIY hunts in the next few years, I'm back to looking at some good glass. Since this new style of hunting requires a bit of an investment in new gear, I'm wondering where my dollars are best spent. I guess my uses are a major factor, so here they are:
- I live in the sticks with a really cool view off the back deck, so recreational viewing up to 3-4 miles, scouting locally, mostly from truck or ATV etc
- Digiscoping - lots of wildlife to take photos of in the off-season and on our upland trips
- Range shooting up to 500 yards
- WY pronghorn, CO Elk, Montana and Idaho mule deer over the next 5 years, the usual range of DIY western hunts
- I wear glasses, so a good exit pupil makes a big difference to me. The Diamondbacks are frustrating in this regard, and I usually take off the glasses if I can.
I started off looking the Diamondback 20-60x60, but seeing the shortcomings in my binos in that range, decided the 11-33x50 Razor would be more wise, in a similar price bracket but with much nicer glass. Then I got into the whole 50mm vs 65mm debate and questioning if 33x magnification is enough - now I'm up around $750-$900 for a gen 1 Razor, which is starting to push the budget, given the horrid CAD-USD exchange rate.
Then got to thinking maybe it makes more sense to upgrade my binos and invest in a good tripod and save the spotting scope for later. Although it would be fun to dink around with in the off-season, the spotting scope would eat up my budget for new binos for at least two years, so its one or the other for now, and for glassing and local hunting, the binos are probably going to see more use.
All that brings me back to square 1. Do I just stick with what I have for now?
Can anyone lend me some sanity in these choices? If you were starting from scratch with a modest budget, where would you put your bucks first?