Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics $500 and a Binocular Purchase

Which binocular, and specifically why would you choose it?

Bumped up to $1000, same question?

I've played with Zeiss, Kowa, and Steiner.

Best 2 binoculars I ever used were both entry level Leupolds

Doug liked the Kowa Genesis when I was shopping. You might too.

$500 = Leupold Bx4 Pro Guide Mojave. If they’re an improvement over the Bx3, they’ll offer crazy performance for the $, and be extremely light & compact.

$1,000 = used alphas. Zeiss FL (or whatever they make now), in my preference. Ultimate performance, for a fraction of the new price, and keep the lifetime warranty.

FC

Jonny,
Very vague question. 8x's, 10x's, 12x' 15x56's? There are so many variables. Is FOV a priority? ER? Tripod mountable?

The Kowa BD II's, in the under $500.00 have the widest. Other great under $500 options are offered by Leupold, Burris (Who is ALWAYS overlooked), GPO, Athlon (Their Midas series is excellent).

In the sub $1,000 there's the GPO Passion HD's, Kowa Genesis, Burris has a 15x56 that's Made in Japan for only $799.99

IMHO it would be hard to beat the Tract offerings in the < $1000 price. Having used alphas the last 40 years, I haven't bothered with anything in the sub $500 range. I'm sure the less expensive units have their place but I haven't had the need.

Thanks for the feedback. To be specific, I have several good sets of 10x's, so this one will be the 8x variety.

I have tried them all. I think the 8x40 Zeiss sfls are the best all rounders there for performance size and weight.

Find a used or demo set. Get with Doug and ask him.

I have GPO 10x50 RG. If I were looking for 8x that is where I would start, then decide if I wanted just bino's only or with RF.

walmart

Bushnell

16x50 or 10x50

$80 bucks tops.

That dead deer will never care what you used to see it.

Now spend that $420 left over on bullets.

Cabela's is still selling the last version Vortex Viper 10x42's for $299. (Looks like you can get an addl 15% off right now) That is a hell of a nice bino for a bit over $250. I have one that I keep in the truck and every time I use it I think I should sell my SLC.

You could buy 4 of them for your $1K budget and outfit the whole family.

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/vortex-viper-hd-binoculars

Killer deal at that price, no doubt.

I would definitely consider the BD II’s, excellent eye relief too.

All Kowas are part of our Mother’s Day Sale

Try the Zeiss SFL 8x30.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...vski-slc-8x30-wb-binoculars#Post19404992
Shrapnel has these Swarovski 8x for sale at $499. I can’t believe nobody bought them. Great deal there.

Those are nice for sure, but there are two updates after that model. That's an old, but great glass though.

I'd buy a pair of Redfield Rebels and put the remainder of the money back in my gun trading fund.

This brings up a great point: if I was only hunting eastern woodlands or Midwest corn fields, I’d probably not spend > $200 regardless. My experience has been that the pricier glass can’t really show its worth ‘til the distances really stretch out.

FC