Getting into hunting. In past have done multisport and adventure racing but with another *0 birthday ticking by I'm getting slower so thought it'll be a good way to keep fit. Will be mostly around Canterbury high country (have a bach at Lake Clearwater). Have decided on 7mm Rem Mag, likely T3X, once FAL is completed but what about binoculars? Have been suggested 10x42. Any suggestions on brand and model for high country? Limited budget as I'm needing to buy everything.
What's your budget? I've used Nikon and Bushnell. Both good mid level brands. You can spend from $100 up to $2000. Don't be afraid to go second hand either.
Keep the wind in your face and your freezer full.
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Re: Newbie: Suggestions for first binoculars? Reply #4 - Jan 11th, 2019 at 5:27am
If you can stretch to $900 the Swarovski 8x30 on trade me are awersome. I have the same and they are great. Quite heavy but optically fantastic and will last a lifetime
For cheaper look at the Minox BF 10x42 second hand for $260. Good value at that price.
Rod and Rifle did a review a few years ago and some of the cheaper Leupold models came out ok from memory
For me you have two size options 8x30/32 for general and 10x42 for Alpine
Look for phase correction as a difference in roof prison binos for jump into mid/high range binos.
Quality does make more difference in Binos than scopes in my opinion as you spend more time glassing than shooting
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Re: Newbie: Suggestions for first binoculars? Reply #5 - Jan 11th, 2019 at 11:12am
Good advice to look for better quality used. I bought a pair of Swarovski EL 8.5x42 ten years or more ago and they are superb. It was a stretch financially at the time, but I will never need to replace them and I’m glad I pushed it then. Personally I would rather have good binos and scope on an average rifle than the other way round.
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Re: Newbie: Suggestions for first binoculars? Reply #6 - Jan 12th, 2019 at 12:32am
$900 is too much. Initially I'd thought I could get starter setup (rifle, scope, binos, etc) for $2k but even used it semes like $k is more reasonable.
At moment $900 seems too much for binos. Reluctant to spend big now. Initially I thought $2k for basic gear to start (rifle, scope, binos) but now it's seems like at least double that as being told rangefinder, bipod, etc ..........
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Re: Newbie: Suggestions for first binoculars? Reply #7 - Jan 12th, 2019 at 9:48am
You can get a good rifle and scope combo second hand and should have change for binos. You don’t need a bipod etc to start. Don’t give up yet on your $$ challenge. You will be fit enough to climb hills so any reasonable caliber should get you started.
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Re: Newbie: Suggestions for first binoculars? Reply #8 - Jan 12th, 2019 at 10:02am
I have a pair of ex east German Army Hensoldt 8x30 binoculars, they don't look flash but their compact enough, glass is superb... I almost sold them on Trade Me a few years back... reserve was $150 and no one wanted them and in the end I had them for $80 and still no takers so I thought bugger it... I'll hold onto them and haven't regretted doing so.
Remember the old saying... buy once, cry once!
I have a pair of Kahles 10x42 and wouldn't recommend anything under that power for alpine hunting.
The Kahles are a bit heavy but do the job nicely, if i bought again i'd seriously look at a pair of Steiner 10x42's
A friend who is a guide has a pair of Nikon Monarch 10x42 and they have good glass, lightweight and have been through the battles!
When looking for stuff... look at importing from overseas aswell as it can often be cheaper.
The below are two good websites i've used in the past.
I've got a pair of Yosemite 8x. Good for close terrain, but for the longer stuff the 10x would be a better bet. Otherwise can't really fault them. Good quality for a reasonable price.
Never used binos until I had a good yarn with ICEMAN and tried his!
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Re: Newbie: Suggestions for first binoculars? Reply #11 - Jan 14th, 2019 at 8:41pm
Thinking I need 10x as will be high country. Not sure about $ now though. Will spend some time in a store trying $300 and $1000 so see for myself what some of the difference is. Then I'll be patient as I can looking out for second hand or clearance deals.
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Re: Newbie: Suggestions for first binoculars? Reply #12 - Jan 23rd, 2019 at 6:21am
I use thirty year old Nikon 6x pocket binos for close bush work, but not much good for fading light nor distance.
I did sit with a couple of blokes glassing distance and got to look through a 10 and 12x - and the 12x was better, but that could have been a factor of glass quality.
My brother in law has 10x something Khales, but way too big and heavy and too limited a view for our type hunting.
I do have 8x30 Nikon E's with a wide FOV and while I don't use them for bush hunting - they're a really comfortable binocular when chasing rabbits. Near enough the same as the East German Zeiss Jena binoculars.
Never looked through a Swarovski - but I think I'd like to.
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Re: Newbie: Suggestions for first binoculars? Reply #13 - Feb 8th, 2019 at 10:56am
I'm still using 12 year old Bushnell 10x42 H2O's. They're fine for your first pair out the box. Think I paid around $220 (landed from the US ebay), but they're about that here now. Shot hundreds of deer with em, Even been Tahr hunting a couple of times and have served me well. My eyes are still bloody sharp though so that helps. Have a look, they're not as bad as you might expect in the couple of hundy range.