15s won't work in thick stuff close or far. I don't use them archery elk hunting where I hunt.
Thanks for the info and pics Kent. And I appreciate the comment on 15x binos in thick stuff.
I've had good success scanning with 7x binos on shooting sticks, but when its time to get serious I've used a 50mm spotter set at 25x. Earlier this year I upgraded the binos to 10x, but haven't settled on 15x or another spotter for longer distances.
Problem with many places that I hunt here in the PNWet is that close ground doesn't exist. On the coast, the vegetation is so thick that you "see" more game at distance than up close (i.e. across a drainage). In really steep arid canyon country there literally is no ground up close to glass as its near vertical all around
And then, you're looking into dark ribbons of thick timber.
I've thought about 15x binos numerous times but nobody that I know uses them for the above as distances can be pretty far as noted. These are hardcore hunters that do a ton of glassing. And every time I've run my spotter its set on 25x while dissecting shadows. I used a 16x wide angle for a bit but never felt it had the reach for areas like the breaks of the Snake River or coast range.
What I see in your pics is more rolling terrain which is relatively open. And no thick ribbons of timber like the arid canyons here. No knock on you, I just think that we all tend to focus on optics that work in our home turf. I find that magnification from a spotter really helps to look "into" those dark shadows and see those vague outlines of deer and elk... in the thick ribbons. Numerous times I've turned my spotter down to 13-16x after spotting game in that timber but never felt confident that I'd have found them at those low magnifications.
Still, I'm open minded to 15x binos as I get fatigued using a spotter and maybe I would have good results with 15x even at those longer distances with both eyes open. But I always come away wanting more magnification, not less.
Anyway, thanks again for the posts.
Jason
