Binoculars for hunting?

[Martinjmpr]

Years ago I read somewhere that an "experienced" hunting guide will spend more $$ on his binos than on his rifle. Not sure if that is true or just hyperbole, but I finally drew a tag for Antelope in Wyoming (first time since 2014) and I'm really not liking the cheap roof-prism binos I currently have been using (bought at Sportsman's Warehouse probably around 2007 or so.)

I do recall reading that while roof-prism binos are more compact, they have less clarity and more distortion due to the light having to go through twice as many prisms as in porro-prism binos. So I'm thinking a nice set of porro-prism binos would be good to have.

So who can recommend a decent set and realistically, for a guy who only usually hunts once a year, how much should I spend on binos? Obviously in addition to something that offers good visibility, I'd also want something that can be knocked around and exposed to the elements without getting damaged or knocked out of alignment.

I think I'd feel comfortable spending up to maybe $250 on a good pair of binos. Does that sound reasonable? Any more and I'd seriously start to question the cost/benefit ratio.

Thanks in advance!

[Martinjmpr]

Forgot to add: Range finder would be nice but not neccessary.

These are 7 x 50 and advertised as waterproof with a military reticle feature for calculating range.

https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Fl...inoculars&th=1

[travisty4]

I would avoid the Chinese kaleidoscopes. Just try reading the amazon description and it becomes obvious that these probably aren’t very good quality. If you are really on a budget like that i would look into vortex. They have several different models with a wide variety in cost


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[encorehunter]

I look through my binos a lot more than my riflescope. I think they are more valuable than the gun scope combo. I'll spend hours a dat looking through them, so if they give me a headache, I probably won't use them as much. As to the range finder, I prefer a seperate one. Do you want the rangfinder to fail and then you have to replace the combo unit, or just replace the range finder.
Bushnell actually makes a great rangefinder. I much prefer it to my Leupold that I spent three times as much on. It is more accurate than my Leupold and ranges further as well.
As for binos, spend as much as you are comfortable with. I have had Bushnell, Brunton, Leupold, Minox and several others. I have a couple pair of Swarovski now, and I wish I hadn't wasted the money on all the others. I easily spent as much on cheap binoculars as I did on the Swaros. I figure I will have these for a lifetime. I will be getting another pair of Swaros, as mine are both 10x. Im looking for a set of 7x, but if I have to 8x. The 42mm lenses are much clearer and allow more FOV than the 32mm. I feel they are worth the extra weight for the amount of FOV they allow.

[CS1983]

Check pawn shops. I got my dad a set of Swarovski binos at an insanely discounted price.

[encorehunter]

Check pawn shops. I got my dad a set of Swarovski binos at an insanely discounted price.

I need to find better pawns shops. Lol

[henpecked]

Pentax 12x50 pcf binos on amazon

[TRnCO]

I have a Vortex and a Swarovski and I almost always carry my Vortex. For the money I think Vortex is hard to beat.

[def90]

Years ago I read somewhere that an "experienced" hunting guide will spend more $$ on his binos than on his rifle. Not sure if that is true or just hyperbole,

I think I'd feel comfortable spending up to maybe $250 on a good pair of binos.

Yes it's true.. Spend $$ on your binos before your rifle, a $400 Remington will put the same hole in an Elk as a $1500 whatever... but you can't shoot an Elk that you can't find/see..

$250 is not a good pair of binos, I would almost go without and save the money.

10x42 is the general norm that you should be able to get by on for western hunting (some people go bigger) if you have quality glass, once again that will be dictated by the money that you put in to them. Vortex is quality stuff and I think you get every dollar you pay for with them. If you are on a budget look at the Vortex Vipers.

Vortex has a model of binos with the range finder built in to them. Should work fine for a rifle hunt. I would prefer to have a separate range finder for archery though.

[Martinjmpr]

I look through my binos a lot more than my riflescope. I think they are more valuable than the gun scope combo. I'll spend hours a dat looking through them, so if they give me a headache, I probably won't use them as much. As to the range finder, I prefer a seperate one. Do you want the rangfinder to fail and then you have to replace the combo unit, or just replace the range finder.
Bushnell actually makes a great rangefinder. I much prefer it to my Leupold that I spent three times as much on. It is more accurate than my Leupold and ranges further as well.
As for binos, spend as much as you are comfortable with. I have had Bushnell, Brunton, Leupold, Minox and several others. I have a couple pair of Swarovski now, and I wish I hadn't wasted the money on all the others. I easily spent as much on cheap binoculars as I did on the Swaros. I figure I will have these for a lifetime. I will be getting another pair of Swaros, as mine are both 10x. Im looking for a set of 7x, but if I have to 8x. The 42mm lenses are much clearer and allow more FOV than the 32mm. I feel they are worth the extra weight for the amount of FOV they allow.

WRT the "range finder" it seems the lower end binos that are advertised as having a "range finder" actually just have a reticle with a scale that is graduated in mils that you can then use to calculate range. Which I'm fine with, I used binos like that in the military so I'm comfortable with how they work.

As far as power goes, I think 10x is the most I need. The more power you get, the more shaky the image. Objective lens size I know is what determines how much light gets in so I'm pretty set on 50mm.