Elk Hunt Binos

[one-shotJ]

I am headed to Colorado for a late season elk hunt. As I continue to spend a fortune getting prepared, I would like some direction on a quality set of Binos. I am a Burris fan when it comes to scopes and have always felt they deliver an excellent balance of value and quality. I can spend $750 but would like to be under $500 if I can. Primarily, I would like feedback on the Burris binos if someone has experience with them but am also open to additional suggestions.

[d2huffman]

After many months of research, I upgraded my elk hunting binos this year. I went with the Nikon Monarch ATB 10x36 as the best value relative to quality. They are under your $500 also. My second choice was the 10x42, but liked the compactness and weight of 10x36 so went that way.

[Kellyelk]

After many months of research, I upgraded my elk hunting binos this year. I went with the Nikon Monarch ATB 10x36 as the best value relative to quality. They are under your $500 also. My second choice was the 10x42, but liked the compactness and weight of 10x36 so went that way.Just to add to D2, I bought my wife the 10x42's in the Monarchs, and all I can say is wow. I tried them out during our MZ hunt and was really impressed.
I personally use the Nikon Pro Staff ATB's in 10x25. They are extremely compact and very handy in the thick woods elk inhabit. The one downside is keeping them steady, but a guy can use many techniques to get a wobble free picture.

[gimphunter]

I looked for a long time and found a set of Brunton Eternas 10x42 had all the quality of your $1200.00 and higher binos for under $500.00 , if being a litte hevier is ok you will not be sorry.

Good luck

[BigBoreDan]

I just bought a pair of the Steiner Predator Pro 10x26 binos from Cabela's and got a bino harness and Lenspen as well. Last weekend was the first time out with them but was imressed with clarity and they are certainly light. I think they are an extremely impressed so far especially considering the 180 dollar price tag.

[chiefjefe]

After many months of research, I upgraded my elk hunting binos this year. I went with the Nikon Monarch ATB 10x36 as the best value relative to quality. They are under your $500 also. My second choice was the 10x42, but liked the compactness and weight of 10x36 so went that way.

+1 on the monarch atb's I have the 10x42s, very nice

[Cabela's Moderator]

Of all we sell in the price range you mention, and having tested a large number of them personally, these are the ones I bought for myself in the 12x50. I couldn't be happier.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0006545710937a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&sort=all&QueryText=alaskan+guide+binoculars&Ntk=Products&_D%3AhasJS=+&Go.y=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&%2Fcabelas%2Fcommerce%2FCabelasCatalogNumberFinder .giftCertificateURL=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Ftemplates%2F giftcertificate%2Fgiftcertificate.jsp%3Fid%3D00055 86990011a%26podId%3D0005586%26catalogCode%3DIB%26n avAction%3Djump%26indexId%3D&_D%3A%2Fcabelas%2Fcommerce%2FCabelasCatalogNumberF inder.giftCertificateURL=+&N=0&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&Go.x=0&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form23

Dan
Forum Moderator

[rooster52]

10x42 Nikons- Best that I have used.

[ssghelmick]

I have a pair of Zeiss conquests and they are in your price range. Great binos. If I had to do it again I think I would go with Kahles for around the same money Very , very nice.

Good luck

[tddeangelo]

+1 for Zeiss Conquests. Check prices on the Cabela's Euro, too. They were a hair over $750 last I looked, and they are NICE.

For $600-ish, you'd get a nice setup with Zeiss, though.

[wsm]

I've been really happy with my leupold Acadia binos in 10x42. I think they run around the 200.00 range.

[njmarek]

10x42 Nikons ATB's......you'll have enough left over to buy a set of 8x42 Nikons ATB's for regular deer hunting. I have both, plus a set of the 12X42's. Fine, reliable optics for the price.

[winchesterwon]

I might be in the minority here but I would recomend a good quality 8x over a 10x. They are smaller ,lighter and offer all the power you need. You also get a wider sight picture, and less movement allowing a better sight picture offering better detail. There also cheaper. I glass alot using Leicas in an 8x. I couldnt be happier.

[tddeangelo]

The whole reason I DIDN'T get the Cabela's Euro was because they were only offered in 10x. My Zeiss in 8x are exactly what I wanted.

Leica makes some GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD glass.... =)

[one-shotJ]

Thanks for all the input. I was suprised not to see anything about the Burris binos. I was at a local hunting shop today and had the chance to view several brands. I really liked the Nikon but I'm holding out for my last Cabela's run to purchase.

[Sponxx]

Check out the tope of the line bushnell too.
I bought a set of 8.5x44mm Bushnell Infinity around 300$ and even got a 100$ rebate, I think the glass is really good, better than the burris ones that I have seen in the past and up there with the Nikon Monarchs... Then I handled a pair of the new Green Ring Mojave Leupolds, 8x42mm this time, kind of the same quality glass but lighter... I think the price on the Leups was +400$. have not been dissaointed with the Bushnell's, maybe if they were 1-2oz lighter
Of course Leica, Ziess, Swaro's will be awesome, but I think that if you put 300-500 in a set of binos you'll get almost as good quality on either one of them. Above 600$ you have to pay much more for each noticeable difference in quality.

[Vaultman]

Just to add to D2, I bought my wife the 10x42's in the Monarchs, and all I can say is wow. I tried them out during our MZ hunt and was really impressed.
I personally use the Nikon Pro Staff ATB's in 10x25. They are extremely compact and very handy in the thick woods elk inhabit. The one downside is keeping them steady, but a guy can use many techniques to get a wobble free picture.

I have these in 8x42 and I love them. I went with the 8x to get away from the wobble, and not have to worry about it. I am fairly wobbly after holding bino's for a while.

[rooster52]

My first pair of Nikons I had were stolen out of my truck while hunting in Colorado ,they were 8X42,when I got home I went to Cabela's and looked at several pairs of binoculars and thought for a couple of hours and after looking at several in all price ranges,I bought the Nikon Monarch 10x42.The 8 powers I had did me well,but I antelope hunt and thought the extra power would be handy.They are a great pair of binoculars, very clear and gather plenty of light.

[Scottish stalker]

Never quite understood why a lot (most?) people seem to think that when it comes to optic power more is better.

Personally I find that 8x is OK but 7x is better. You can hold this binocular steady enough to see clearly - and do this all day.

I would say at least 95% of the professional deer managers I have met this side of the pond use 7x42's and I do likewise (Opticron - Czech but not easy to find). If you look at the specialist European hunting ranges from Ziess, Swarovski, etc (sometimes not advertised and difficult to find) you will find that the most popular models are 7x42. If you need to glass at ranges more than 7x is suitable for then you should be looking at a spotting scoope.

I have used 8x Bushnell and Canon binos in the past but they are nowhere near the optical quality of the above glasses - it really shows in poor light.

There's a lot of high-powered, flashy stuff advertised - I'm sure a lot of this is just there to part people with their hard-earned buck.

[tddeangelo]

Sat. evening I was leaving my treestand about 25 min after sunset on a cloudy day (we can hunt till 30 min after, but it was too dark at that point to use my bow's sights effectively). I had to walk through about 400 yards of alfalfa to get back to the truck, and it was possible deer would be out feeding.

I peeked out into the field, put my 8x30 Zeiss Conquest glasses to the field, and I saw very clearly that there were no deer feeding. I walked back, taking some time, thus it was even more dim. I looked around a corner in the field with those glasses, and could make out clearly the detail in the brush and field. No deer, but the glasses were beautifully clear under the poor light.

I tried some Monarchs when I was buying, and in the bright daylight, they're close to the Zeiss. I almost bought them. The reason I didn't was that they couldn't hang with the Zeiss I have during the low light situations.

Even with the 30mm objective on my glasses, I can see well past when I normally need to.

[C. Schutte]

Never quite understood why a lot (most?) people seem to think that when it comes to optic power more is better.

Personally I find that 8x is OK but 7x is better. You can hold this binocular steady enough to see clearly - and do this all day.

I would say at least 95% of the professional deer managers I have met this side of the pond use 7x42's and I do likewise (Opticron - Czech but not easy to find). If you look at the specialist European hunting ranges from Ziess, Swarovski, etc (sometimes not advertised and difficult to find) you will find that the most popular models are 7x42. If you need to glass at ranges more than 7x is suitable for then you should be looking at a spotting scoope.

I have used 8x Bushnell and Canon binos in the past but they are nowhere near the optical quality of the above glasses - it really shows in poor light.

There's a lot of high-powered, flashy stuff advertised - I'm sure a lot of this is just there to part people with their hard-earned buck.






This is good advice. The deal is quality of optics over power and high power robs you of light gathering ability. Binos are to spot game. Spotting scopes are to judge them. When you go with the higher power you are giving up brightness in very low light conditions. The point I really want to drive home here is that average glass will look good on a bright day with not too much haze. What sets the good glass apart from average is in low light or hazy conditions.

If you are planning on hunting elk in the Rockies I would suggest a high end glass so that you can spot elk before grey light. When the sun hits the bulls they head for the dark timber. You have to be able to spot them well before daylight and manage to get into position. The better your light gathering ability the more time you have to do this.

Glass is not equal and coatings are not either. Do yourself a favor and get yourself the best that you can afford and stick to the 7 or 8 x 42. You'll be able to see them well before sunrise with just starlight or a tiny sliver of moon.

I get teased all the time with a group that I hunt whitetail with in Oklahoma. They tell me that I get out there way too early in the mornings because you can't see for another hour. Not true! I see them all the time. Those Nikon 8x42 Monarch ATB are good for $300.00 They don't however hold a candle to the Zeiss or Swarovski 8x42 when viewed before daylight. For a great deal on optics go look through the Meopta 8x42. They are less than 1/2 the price of the big boys and so close to their level that you or I can't tell the difference.

[tddeangelo]

+1 on the Meopta's. If you can handle 10x and want to save $100, get the Cabela's Euro, which is the same Meopta bino, just rebranded. To my knowledge, they are only available in 10x42, though, which is something that should be changed in my humble opinion (hint, hint). I'd buy a pair of Euro's tomorrow if they were available in 8x42.

Can you pass that one along for me, Dan? =)

[one-shotJ]

C. Schutte,

I always find your posts well thought out and informative. I appreciate your candid feedback. Thanks for your help.

[300rumer]

I am going to purchase a pair of Bruton 11/45s i compraired them to all the top brands and for 329 you can't beat them and i have built optics for machine vision for years.

[njmarek]

Several years ago, I bought the last pair of brand-new Swarovski SLC 7X30 binos at Cabela's in WI for the ridiculous clearance price of only about $500. They have all the hi-tech features of the newer models, but Swarovski was discontinuing the 7X30 model in favor of the 8X30 model. They are crystal clear, bright, small, lightweight, and practically indestructible. It's amazing how long you can hold them and look through them before needing to rest. Whenever I have a hunt where serious binocular glassing is required, this is the pair I go for. They may not be as powerful as other glasses, but they cover a lot of ground quickly and I'll still be looking for game through them when others are rubbing their eyes from using their higher-powered binos. If I need more magnification, I can always pull out the old faithful Leupold Gold Ring 12X-40X spotting scope on it's mini-tripod.

Norm