What's your opinion on bino vs scope

[gixer1]

So obviously in a perfect world both would be top notch but in reality one is usually of higher mag or better quality , I have used Barska binos for years but usually with a better scope - what are your opinions on how your binocs should measure up to the scope you are using? Should they be of better quality in a perfect word or do you use binos for the general spotting and then have a good close look with the scope prior to taking a shot?

regards
Gixer

 

[ferretmanabu]

I'd prefer to spend on better binos so at least you can find the deer. I think budget and mid range scopes are of a good quality these days and up to 200 yards, most are up to the job.

 

[caorach]

There is some mechanism on our brain which means that an image presented to both eyes will appear brighter than a "same brightness" image only presented at one eye. So i guess you could say that less good binos may be able to give as bright an image as a better scope.

On the other hand if you don't spot the deer then you will never start to stalk in to them. So with excellent binos you might spot deer that you couldn't see clearly in the scope and then stalk in until you were able to take a shot.

I think the other problem with scopes is that there seems to be an attitude that you "need" lots of the bells and whistles the marketing men try to punt to sell more scopes. You can buy best quality 2nd hand, fixed mag scopes ideally suited to stalking in the £200 - £400 range and you'll never need anything else.

Also marketing is a big thing in the bino market as well and the biggest magazine ads, no matter what their claims, do not always mean the best glass. You'll get a set of Minox HGs second hand for less than £400 and you'll not need better last light performance, nor will you get it unless you go for top end Zeiss and the difference will be marginal.

Given all this you can have top notch stalking performance in both binos and scopes for £400 - £800. Many of the magazine adverts would have you spending 4 or 6 times this amount. If you are sensible, ignore the marketing hype, and buy what you actually need rather than stuff you might fancy then for a fraction of the money you see in the adverts you can go stalking without compromising on either binos or scopes. A win-win solution.

 

[paul o']

2P Worth
this is hard one feller die hards will be set on long glass, i would go for and do use good bino's now 10x42's as easy putaway and to spot with.the long glass can fog inside due to slide action, new types like swos'y are heavy but brill when lieing down ! think its a case of no one can push you which way or other ! down to you, go to a game fair /show and have a good look what suits your needs.

 

[sir-lamp-alot]

i always had better scopes over binos i apreciate that if you cant find it you cant shot it but if you can find it but then not see it through your scope you still cant shoot it, what you also have to remeber is that many of us us are rifles for lamping as well as stalking and if youve got a fantastic set of binos sat at home and a fox you cant identify under the lamp at 150yards whats the point so for me its scope over binos

 

[Heym SR20]

If I could only have one optic it would be my binoculars. The help you find a beast, and then help you stalk in and avoid that rabbit that would bolt, or that doe across th field that might spot you and give the game away. As for placing the shot - open sights are good enough if you get close! I would rather have top notch bins, and a good fixed power Meopta / leupold level scope than the other way around. The £1,500 German variable / illuminated scope should be the last on the list of purchases.

 

[willie_gunn]

It's been mentioned before, but you spend more time looking though your binos than you do your scope, and more time looking through your scope than you do pulling the trigger on your rifle.

​Spend your money in the same ratio.

​willie_gunn

 

[Klenchblaize]

Glassing a beautiful Spring morning with a pair of Leica 10 - 15X50's (tree creeper at 10 yards is an awesome sight) and then zapping a rabbit at 120 with a vintage Burris atop my Hornet set at 18 power has convinced me I need to look harder for that sub £400 1" Swarovski equivalent!

 

[stalker.308]

If I stop-watched time spent looking through binoculars and through the scope it would be a percentage of 99% binoculars to 1% scope! That said the scope needs to be quality especially if you are shooting something like fallow, at mainly first and last light, as you need to be able to see them to shoot them! As you said a combination quality bins and scope is the best! I have a fixed power S+B 8x56 and it is superb at first and last light, to pair with a set of Swarovski 10x42el's. I do like the binoculars to be slightly higher magnification and the quality is fantastic.

Quality binoculars mean I can get out staking before legal first light enabling me to identify where the deer are and get in a position ready for legal stalking time, and a quality scope means I can take the shot as soon as that magical time is upon us!

 

[bewsher500]

i always had better scopes over binos i apreciate that if you cant find it you cant shot it but if you can find it but then not see it through your scope you still cant shoot it, what you also have to remeber is that many of us us are rifles for lamping as well as stalking and if youve got a fantastic set of binos sat at home and a fox you cant identify under the lamp at 150yards whats the point so for me its scope over binos

I have had this
stalked a buck in last light with my brother.
his binos failed as the light went
I had some Leica 8x42's and I could still see it clear as day

got within range and neither one of us could see the bloody thing through our scopes despite me being able to still (just) see it with the binos!

 

[Cyres]

Well thats getting a bit late. Invariably if you have very good bins, you will sometimes fail to see the quarry through the scope, in particular when foxing. but thats life. Thats when the lamp/NV comes in handy.

D

 

[Mr. Gain]

I have had this
stalked a buck in last light with my brother.
his binos failed as the light went
I had some Leica 8x42's and I could still see it clear as day

got within range and neither one of us could see the bloody thing through our scopes despite me being able to still (just) see it with the binos!

Absolutely, but as Caorach points out, unless you're using very poor binos, when the light is going they will usually give a viable image longer than even a good scope will. By that stage, though, it's generally wiser to call it a day, or night, as the difficulties presented by making a good shot, observing the quarry's reaction to it, and tracking it if it doesn't go down on the spot, not to mention gralloching and checking organs in the dark, amount to a good reason to leave it for another day.

For the rest of the time, I thing good binos are a priority -if optical quality is the benchmark for good- whereas the most important quality in a scope is reliability: the best image quality in the world is worthless if it won't hold zero.