which binoculars for me

[BIGRED]

as title im trying to get the correct pair for me all my stalking is field to field no mountain ranges to search ive been looking a t zeiss saworski compact range with a price range of around £600 or would I be better with a cheaper brand in full size models .they will be used for searching along hedge rows and trees no further than say 400 yards

 

[miffy]

You'll use your binoculars a lot more than your rifle get yourself a pair of 8x32 swarovski ex demos, might be a bit more than you want to pay. But they should last a lifetime.

Bush wear £899.
Might be worth a call.'

 

[Cris]

Well distance is not the important point. Stalking is mostly done at either end of the day and in the UK even during the day light levels can be poor. So the magic figure of 6 comes in as this is the average size of a human pupil and hence dictates the max usable light that can be transferred into it. To work this out you need to divide the objective lens diameter by the magnification. So say a 7 x 42 pair of bins will have a factor of 6. Anything more and you won’t benefit from it in terms of light transmission. Smaller the objective lens diameter the less light will reach your eye and less use for stalking. Increase the magnification and you start to trade off light against seeing more detail.

Saying that in 20 plus years of stalking I have used 8 x 30, 8 x 40 and 10 x 20. The 8 x 40's are normally round my neck stalking and the 10 x 20 for recon / walking the dog.

 

[BIGRED]

have priced 8x42 zeiss for 665 im unsure were I would get ex demos here in N.I .but if I spend more than £700 her indoors will throw me out

 

[MGD]

I was really lucky with a pair of 8x50 swarovski from ebay £550
defiantly worth keeping an eye on there.
atb Matt

 

[the scudd]

get a pair of 7 x 42 slc for round the 600 mark

 

[devon deer stalker]

I hate to keep repeating myself but Minox HG 8 X 43, around the £500-£600 mark.
Cheers
Richard

 

[david1976]

I have a pair of swarovski 8x30 slc binoculars. They served me well as a stalker in the highlands on vast open glens and still serve me well on farmland and forestry land, they are light weight and I would recommend a pair of them to anyone. I also find them good enough to use at last light as if it is to dark for me to see deer through the binoculars, I don't really want to be shooting it anyway.

 

[caorach]

If you are stalking in NI it is likely you will end up after sika or fallow in populations that are hit by poaching and are pretty much nocturnal. Given that you need good last light performance.

As with devon deer stalker I think there is only one answer which is the Minox HGs. They are at a really good place on the price/performance graph and I think their last light performance is topped only by top end Zeiss. I believe they use Schott glass which is the same as Zeiss.