I've read more articles lately about how much easier it is glassing with 16x binos and leaving the spotter behind. On the other hand, there are times I like to crank up the power to zoom in with a spotter when I have an animal spotted.
I'm curious to hear from people who use the 15x, 16x, even 20x binos for glassing and don't carry a spotting scope.
I like everything about my Minox 15x56, price, performance, except for the weight. They are my second set of big eye bino's, bought my first pair in the late 90's. The 15x56's are relatively compact, very easy on the eyes, and using two eyes aids in actually seeing & recognizing what you are looking at, in my experience. They perform well above their power level when compared to a spotting scope, in my view, because you are using two eyes. Last years MT deer hunt, the spotter never got used. 15x bino's got used a bunch, along with standard bino's, up to a max of a mile-ish, maybe a bit less, but did not measure, so could have been over a mile.
If I am walking far, big eyes may stay behind and if optics besides bino's go along, it is often a 15-45x60 ish sized spotting scope with lightweight tripod/head. Where I have found the 15x bino's to excel is in finding animals that are not moving, maybe it is just me and I have weird eyes, but two seem better than one when looking in shadows, through light brush etc. I can resolve and recognize more, but not at ultra long range. So for me they are a superior game spotting tool. At ultra LR, a hi power spotter, 40-60x, will win vs 15x bino's, assuming equivalent optical quality in my experience.
Where big eye bino's are king, and spotters have trouble competing, the bino's are usually much more than 15x, at least in the cases I know of. Again, assuming similar optical quality. The Kowa's 32x bino used by coues hunters, usually close to their rig or utv, are an example. Some sheep hunters use them more now I hear too, where weight is not a huge issue, rigs, horses, etc. I use 15x to locate game more and more, spotting scope less and less, when choosing between the two. I believe I find more game with the 15x bino's vs a spotter, at moderate to long range, where I am using 20-30x on the spotter. Wish my bino's were 20x... Vortex came out with a set of 20x, right after I bought my Minox.
So I use both, but generally would only carry one of the hi powered optics. Hunting out of a truck, or doing short hikes to known glassing points, I may carry 3 optics, 8.5 -10x, my big eyes and a spotter. The coues whitetail forum used to be a good source on big eye bino's, have not looked in a few years. But I love mine and am glad I have them. I am thinking when I decide to burn my max WY antelope points, they will become my best friend, but a hi power spotter will go along just in case I need more detail on something a very long ways away. Hope that helps you.
