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Binoculars Can Save the Day |
By: Tracy Breen
9/10/2008 |
0.00 out of 5 with 0 votes |
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There are a few items that make hunting big game easier. Optics is one of them. Whether you prefer small binoculars that fit into a shirt pocket or large ones that are more at home in a backpack, having a good pair of binoculars can make the difference between going home with a filled tag and going home empty-handed. Not everybody believes it, but it’s true. Here are a few examples that prove optics are worth their weight in gold.
Elk hunters use binoculars more often than most whitetail hunters. Looking over mountainsides and wide open spaces for elk can be an all-day job. A high quality pair of binoculars can make all of the difference. Most hardcore elk guides will tell you that one of the first things they do each day is climb to the highest peak they can find and glass for elk in the meadows heading for their mid-day bedding areas. If you hunt hard and glass for hours like many elk guides do, make sure you choose a pair of optics that have long eye relief. If you are glassing for long periods of time, you need long eye relief to prevent headaches.
Having quality binoculars can make a big difference when hunting big game.
When choosing binoculars, choose a pair with extreme clarity. I have looked through binoculars that were so blurry that if a bull was 100 yards away, I couldn’t determine if he was a bull or a cow. Fully, multi-coated lenses found on high-quality binoculars are worth the extra money. I use Alpen binoculars because they are high-quality and offer several high-dollar features for a reasonable price. Most elk hunters use a 10X power binocular because they can see a long distance with them. Some hunters who want to reach out and see what they are looking at use a spotting scope. Jared Lile from Trophy Taker Sights & Rest is one of them. “I am a trophy hunter and although a spotting scope is heavy, I like bringing it on my hunts because I can check out bulls and decide whether they are big enough to go after. With binoculars, you can’t always tell the difference between a 325 bull and a 350 bull. With a spotting scope, you can. When elk hunting, a pair of binoculars and a spotting scope can put the odds in your favor. It is difficult to decide if the dots are elk or rocks. Good binoculars will give you the answer,” Lile explained.
I recently hunted caribou in Quebec with a friend, John Engelken from Luco Caribou Adventures (see my other journal entry). The hunting was hard. The weather was warm and at the beginning of the hunt, we didn’t see a single caribou. Engelken is a seasoned veteran guide with eighteen years of experience guiding caribou hunters. When the hunting got tough, he pulled out his lightweight binoculars and stared through them for hours each day.
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Engelken relies on his binoculars to find caribou. On the last day of our hunt, he spotted a herd through his binoculars. At this point, I had almost given up. Engelken, on the other hand knew that sooner or later if he was persistent, a caribou would wander into view. Without his constant glassing, we wouldn’t have seen a caribou. In the end, his glassing filled a few caribou tags.
Turkey hunters don’t use binoculars as much as western hunters but they do come in handy. A few years ago, I used a lightweight pair of binoculars to scan a field for turkeys. It was late in the season and the grass was very high. I let out a yelp and then glassed. I eventually noticed a single tom slowly making his way through the grass to our setup. He never made a noise. Without the binoculars, he would have appeared right in front of my brother-in-law and he wouldn’t have seen him until it was too late. He would have been busted.
Some hunters utilize a spotting scope when hunting. That way they can get an up
close view of the critter they are hunting.
That brings me to my last point. You can’t use your spotting scope or binoculars if you don’t have them with you. When choosing optics, purchase a pair that is lightweight, compact, and easy to carry. They don’t work very well when they are in the bottom of your closet or sitting in the bed of your truck. |
Community Feedback
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Grum577
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Re: Binoculars Can Save the Day
"Great article. Yes you MUST have them, and get the best you can find. Ignore price because you will have them to the grave. My Leica 8x32 binoculars are my most treasured and important tool. For 12 years these have bounced around the Australian outback, often in a 4wd on very rough roads, yet they are still perfect. Have seen most brands in the field, and very glad I chose high quality, because cheapies just dont work as the light fades, or at long distance. Which is when you need em..!!"
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