David,
Don't know why you inferred I was glassing "offhand" with 10-powers all the time. I don't, any more than the rest of the hunters who've suggested at least 10x. Though I don't find them a handicap at shorter ranges when glassing without a rest, either.
Right now, however, I am guessing from various comments that some of the people who are strong proponents of 8x do a lot of their glassing unsupported, and at relatively close distances. (I may be wrong, but that's my guess.) One reason is the comments on the greater depth of field of 8x binoculars. This is true, but only to a limited extent. At any distance where you really need to sit down and glass the landscape, the depth of field of either 8x or 10x binoculars is infinite.
In addition, many years ago the late John Wootters said he actually preferred higher-magnification binoculars for hunting in the thick brush of his native Texas. The reason? Their shallower depth of field. He found he could "fuzz out" intervening brush, and often find bucks he couldn't have seen in lower-X binoculars because too much brush both in front and behind the deer remained in focus. I tried it, and as with most things having to do with deer hunting, John was absolutely right.
