Friday, December 27, 2013

Selecting Hunting Binoculars

If you are a hunter that has been in a deer stand, climbed the Rockies or searched for elk, then you know that the right binoculars can make these adventures even more successful and enjoyable.  They can expose you to different animals and environments that you might not have otherwise seen on your own.

Olympus-10X50-Zoom-DPS-I
A great pair of binoculars can last you a lifetime and give you many years of wonderful memories.  So when searching for a pair of binoculars for hunting, understand that you want something that performs well with low light.  As a hunter, it is expected that most viewing is done either when the sun is rising or setting.  This is why a majority of hunters want to use full sized binoculars that have objective lenses with 40 to 50 millimetres.

In terms of magnification, this will rely on the different types of terrain and game that you hunt.  A wide FOV that is provided with binoculars with 8x or 7x magnification is wonderful for skimming tree lines and fields for wildlife.  A wide angle binocular gives the ability to see wildlife that is lurking along the perimeter.

Vortex Diamondback 10X42 Binoculars
When hunting in open areas that have little greenery, you will need to have binoculars that can get wonderful distant views.  Magnification of 10x is great for such areas.  A lot of western hunters like to use  10 x 56.  But remember, that you won’t get steady images with anything over 10x unless a tripod is used.  The quality will not be as good unless it is used.

It is also important that your binoculars are rugged and durable, especially if you will be out in the wild with harsh weather conditions.  Roof prism binoculars will perform better in locations with a lot of moisture and higher degrees.  They do better than porro prism style binoculars, which tend to be standard.  A majority of the roof prism binoculars that are sold in this day and time are waterproofed and will not fog internally.  Binoculars that do not fog up internally have an inert gas like nitrogen or argon.