Whats your binocular for hunting?

[Laphroaig]

Recently, I've been using a set of Brunton Lite-Techs 10 x 32. Right side.



The story behind them started while Christmas shopping about 20 years ago. I was going to give a nice set of binoculars to my kids as their present. I was shopping at Gander Mtn. and looking through their Leupolds and Bushnells when I spotted the Japanese 8 x 32 Bruntons (left) on closeout. I am familiar with the Brunton "Pocket Transit" Compass and associate the name with quality. I liked what I saw and told the clerk "if you have another pair, I'll take them both." He did and the kids got a nice set of binos. I think that I paid about $275 each back then.

Fast forward to a moose hunt I went on a couple of years ago where I borrowed a set. My guide had a pair of Steiners that he was very proud of, and one day we spotted 3 moose at at least 1000 yds. Probably more. We watched them for some time, as they fed, and after awhile my guide said "one of them is a bull." I couldn't see horns, and my guide said "you aren't with your binoculars." A little bit later, the bull turned his head and caught some sun on the antler. It was a one horn of about a foot long. No wonder I couldn't see it! I asked him if I could look through his Steiners, and we exchanged glass. The first words out of his mouth were "Wow, these are better than mine." He later dialed it down to they were about the same but I decided then to get a pair of my own.

I couldn't find the 8 x 32's, and finally took a chance on this set of 10 x 32's on Ebay. I like them. The glass is comparable to the other and I like the armor and attached lens caps. Its built like a tank!

Caution: while shopping for the binos, I ran across a lot of more recently produced Brunton branded optics, rifle scopes and binoculars, that are probably Chicom made and probably of lower quality. I'm not vouching for them.

 

[DM~]

IF I'm walking, Swarovski 8x30's, I've had them for many years, they have been on many moose, caribou, brown bear and other hunts.

These days, IF I'm sitting in a blind, some very good old Bushnell 10x50's. They have some very good glass in them, for their age.

DM

 

[41 Mag]

Quite a few years back I had put aside around $1200 to go buy a real nice pair of binos. They had opened up a new Gander Mountain and were having all sorts of grand opening discounts and actually had the three pair I was interested in.

I asked the clerk if we could walk to the front of the store and compare while looking out across the open lot and such in actual sunlight. He grabbed them up and away we went. After looking and adjusting and focusing on just about all of the detailed things I could pick out, he said now try these and handed me a pair of Nikon Prostaff 8x42's.

I was pretty much impressed by the clarity and brightness of them compared to the much higher dollar brands I had already looked through. The other detail that was very important was they are waterproof vs resistant. That means a lot when your hunting in all sorts of weather.

So for the price of one of the higher priced pair I purchased 2 pair of the Nikons, one in 8x and the other in 10x. That was more than a decade ago and I've never had an issue. They have been used and abused, with respect to hunting hard, riding on the handle bars of 4 wheelers, dropped from 20ft ladder stands, hung out in the pouring rain all night in my stand and such. Just a quick wash and dry to get the mud or heavy dust off, or just drying them off after a pouring rain and back in business. I have to say they have been WELL worth what I paid.