jjwillie, First off welcome to the board. I live & hunt in Montana. I hunt antelope, black bear, mule deer, whitetail deer & elk every year. I hunted for several years with either no binos or cheap ones. Last year I bought a pair of Swarovski SLC 10x42mm binos. They are worth every penny to me. I bought the 10x42 because I hunt more open country than dense heavy cover. The 8x42mm are a good choice if your field of view is limited.
You might want to look at ebay for a used pair of Swarovski, Leica or Zeiss binos?

Good luck,

Wolf Killer