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Binocular Question

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Binocular Question

Postby Swede » 03 24, 2017 •  [Post 1]

Have any of you tree stand hunters ever found binoculars to be worth the weight to carry into a stand? Do you just use them to watch squirrels, or coyotes in the distance?

To be honest, I rarely find them useful in my stand. There are a few stands where I occasionally found them handy for elk or deer. I have seen what I thought was movement off in the distance, or wondered what it was I was seeing, so once in a while the binoculars were worth hanging on my tree. Seeing an elk early, I could try an call if it was moving away. I often go without my binoculars because in most stands my effective range is very limited. What has your experience been?

I get a lot more use out of my Bible and book of Sudoku puzzles.
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Re: Binocular Question

Postby stringunner » 03 24, 2017 •  [Post 2]

I concur, I have only 2 stands where they are useful and that is probably more because I can park 1/4 mile away. The rest, I don't bother, don't need the weight or extra gear. I too prefer my bible and soduku on my phone.
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Re: Binocular Question

Postby Brendan » 03 25, 2017 •  [Post 3]

I bring them every time I'm in my tree stand - but some of the areas I hunt give me an extended view of some very thick, brushy terrain, with lots of thick stuff that only extends up 8'-10' or so - think swampy bottoms hunting whitetail, and I'm 25'-30' up. Binoculars are great for searching through that if you catch just a bit of movement to ID what you're looking at. And, they're 10x32's that are pretty light, so doesn't bother me to carry extra weight. I don't use them often, but have in the past used them to pick out a buck in the thick stuff 15 minutes after sunset - that I proceeded to call in and kill...

Caveat - all my treestand hunting is out east, and I've never really had to go further than a mile - and that's very rare. Sometimes it's 200 yards from the truck.
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Re: Binocular Question

Postby Swede » 03 25, 2017 •  [Post 4]

Brendan, that is what I was wanting to hear about. You are hunting different terrain and vegetation than what Stringunner and I hunt. Sometimes I hunt a stand where binoculars could be handy, but it is not often that they are really useful. I hunted deer on the ground last Fall and they were very helpful. I just wish they had made me a better shooter.
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Re: Binocular Question

Postby Brendan » 03 26, 2017 •  [Post 5]

I actually do think it's rare when I need them - but often times I'll use them to "grid search" my area while I'm sitting in the stand. Helps me stay attentive and actively looking for deer.

There are also areas where I rifle hunt - where there are point restrictions (e.g. - must have 3 legal points on one side). If you're trying to ID whether that 3rd or 4th point is "legal" before pulling the trigger - they can be very critical.

Most of the time - I catch movement by eye, and then may pull up the binoculars if I want to get a closer look. Some terrain I hunt to give you an idea:

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Same as the second photo with the leaves down:
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Non-legal buck in these last two pics. In this case - rifle hunting where I needed 3 legal points per side.

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Re: Binocular Question

Postby Swede » 03 26, 2017 •  [Post 6]

Wow Brendan, I like the looks of your hunting country. I completely see why you say what you do about binocular use. I too would like to see what is out there in the brush and if I had a rifle it is easy to see where checking for points would be a good idea in that forest type. You just gave me an idea for another thread.
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