binos

simon1979

Well-Known Member
hi, im sure this has been asked many times, but im looking for a good pair of binos for stalking, cant afford top end prices.
anyone know of of a cheap but good make, if there is such a thing lol
thanks
simon
 
Minox are very good for the price. Were on offer from sportsman gun centre at about 200 before Christmas.
 
I've got a pair of Opticron, they're not bad for the money and I'll be using them for a few years yet.
 
First of all I have to say that I have a pair of Minox HGs which I bought quite a few years back from the USA for £400 and I am very pleased with them and would recommend them as Minox, all across their range, seem to be at a very nice spot on the price versus performance graph. I have compared them to other, more expensive, options and while some of the others might give an image that "feels" better my experience has been that for me they wouldn't give any big advantage. My view is that top end Zeiss consistently have the best glass but that having it isn't going to add much, or maybe anything, to my ability to shoot deer. I have compared my Minox to some of the other top end glass at last light and formed the view that the Minox was better.

The other side of this coin is that if you were to buy top end glass second hand at a reasonable price then you could probably keep it a few years and sell it for in and around what you paid for it. Let someone else take the big hit on buying new and your "total cost of ownership" of good glass can be next to nothing. That is certainly a very attractive option and would give you the satisfaction of owning one of the big brands. Macleods of Tain get a good reputation for 2nd hand glass and it might be worth a chat with them.

However, even second hand the top end glass might be out of your reach and given that I would certainly recommend looking at Minox as they have binos at most price points plus, as mentioned above, you see one or other of their models on offer at a good price quite often.
 
ebay have the minox 10x42 for 139 new, is that to good to be ture??
sports man have bushnell 7x50 pro at 109, that sound a good buy.
 
Last edited:
Minox 8x42 would be a great buy,
they were about £199 or there abouts when I bought a pair but they have dropped in price further recently, a good buy for the money.
 
minox are great glass and i wouldnt hesitate to have another pair the only reason i dont is i left mine on the roof of my car after a great stalk when i realised i returned to find them very beaten up but still usable ,just if you shut one eye:doh:. I got a set of zeiss for a steal so couldnt resist, but i will say as nice as the zeiss are i couldnt tell the difference at last light, good luck in your search atb wayne
 
cheap binos work fine in good light but you nee to spend the money in low light

Agree, Ive a pair of Bushnells I got of ebay for £90. Theyve only let me down once and that was at Sika at dusk but saying that even my eyes were struggling.


Nutty
 
+1 for the minox

I have the minox hg that i got for 325 second hand and there great glasses.

Not sure what your budget is but mr badge is selling a set of meopta meostar in the classifieds for £300. there the latest b1 model so they retail at about £800
 
Minox MIG. Lenses come out of the same factory as Zeiss lenses.

I was interested to see if some of the other big names might move to the same source for their glass. Although my Minox trail behind some of the other big names (not Zeiss I must add) in some aspects of their image after some playing I'm given to suspect that they are actually better at last light.

Devon Deer stalkier - have you tried your Minox HGs against some of the other big names at last light? If not give it a go. Maybe put up a bit of newspaper print or similar and see how they resolve detail or watch a group of stags and record when you can no longer see the antlers with various makes of binos.
 
Devon Deer stalkier - have you tried your Minox HGs against some of the other big names at last light? If not give it a go. Maybe put up a bit of newspaper print or similar and see how they resolve detail or watch a group of stags and record when you can no longer see the antlers with various makes of binos.
I have compared them, you have a pm.
Cheers
Richard
 
i have the leuopold tactical
they were 299 at sportsmans mine came from york guns
awesome kit just as good as any swaros or zeiss ive ever looked thru
just my opinon
cheers
scout
 
Have a look at the Nikon Sporter EX range. Fantastic quality for a very reasonable price.

I am very pleased with the 10x50 pair ordered from amazon.

Got mine for £119, but I see they have gone up a bit since. First tried the 8x42 s in Jessops, and they really stood out against other binos there. Although the 10x50 s are longer and heavier, they are still fine for stalking, an give an excellent image at low light levels. Come with matt green rubberized finish and are waterproof.

Chris
 
Back
Top