Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Do you use 10x binos for Big Game Hunting?

That's a great suggestion RD. While you are at it fellas, ask him about all the Swaros he's seen fog over the years. As opposed to the numbers of Leicas, Nikon LX's, and even the Leupold Yosemites.
If you guys want to spend that kind of money on binoculars that are that flimsy in construction as the EL's and have a track record of fogging like the Swaros do, be my guest. I'm still waiting for somebody to give me one so I can sell it.....
I've never owned a Swaro. That's because I listen to those I trust with more expereince than I do as to what to buy and why. That has worked out very well BTW. E

They don't make tools hard enough for E's hard head!!

I hunt with Leica 8x32's.

That said, since making trips to Eastern Washington where the open country makes it unlikely to get within 200 yds of deer, I am in the hunt for a pair of 10x bino's. I borrowed a pair of 10x's last year, and for the life of me, I cannot figure out how experts can disparage them with a straight face. Like a lot of things in life, you have to get what works for you. You don't have to please anyone besides yourself, especially when you're spending your own money.

If 10x's get it done for you, go for it!

If you like 12x's don't feel guilty by the criticism from a guy who gets it done with 6x's.

I've asked Phil what he owns these days and as far as Swarovski's are concerned, he owns EL's and SLC HD's. I trust what he says. Personally, I don't care what happened years and years ago. I do the same thing when purchasing a car or truck. Take Porsche for instance. World dominance in endurance racing, yet I'm sure if I searched hard enough I could find an isolated incident of a blown transmission. It's irrelevant in the big picture.

I do think Swaro's are a touch "softer" than Leica's, but after Leica, Swaro is what I'd own... and have in fact owned a couple of SLC's that always served me well.

I think most of the Swaro criticism is BS...

CNBC did a story on the Remington 700 and their triggers........I wouldn't own one now..

Back to the original question, no.

I carry 8x42's, if I need more power than that I have a pair of big eyes and a spotter depending on the country and what I'm hunting.

I prefer the wider FOV, more relaxed image, and the less shake off hand of 8's.

I have nothing against 10x and one of my best hunting buddys carries 10x42 Swaro's because he prefers 10's, I just like slightly lower power bins better.

I hunt alot of country where you measure the distance you can see and spot game in miles instead of yards and I would still take 8x or even 7x for my around-the-neck bins over 10x any day.

YMMV

Bill

Can I get your permission to repeat this story 500 times ?

Sure can!

My oldest Swaro is a 20-year-old 10x42 SLC. It has been back to Swarovski twice: first for a diopter adjustment at about five years of age and last year for a new prism (after being run over by a Jeep). The first trip was no charge and the bino came back looking like new. The trip last year was $250 for repairs and (once again) the bino came back looking like new. For the first 12 years, I carried this glass every day, either on the seat of my truck or in a bino harness.

The second oldest is an 8x30 SLC that I bought for my wife about six months after I bought the 10x42s. It has never had a problem despite having been ripped off of her shoulder by a limb and then run over by a Polaris 500 ATV that was following her. She carries it in her truck everywhere she goes and refuses to put it in a case of any kind.

Third is a nine-year old 10x42 EL that has accompanied me on trips to Namibia, Alaska and most of the western states. It spent two weeks with me on Kodiak with rain and/or fog every day and the temperature hovering in the 30s and 40s. No problems so far...

Right now, the outside temperature is declining from a high of 99 today with relative humidity which bottomed out at 5%. If any of these binos were going to fog or leak due to a failure of the seals, it would have happened long before now. Our climate is hot and dusty, not ideal for optics. You could argue that a sample of three is pretty small, but the dealer that I bought mine from has sold almost 100 different Swaros over the last twenty years and only two have been returned for warranty service (mine and one other).

Pretty good stuff right there mudhen. Hard to argue with that.

Don't hold your breath, no one is going to give you a set.

Good to see you get all of your information from listening to one guy and living in a vacuum - keep being ignorant, odviously (that's how you spell it) it's worked for you thus far.

Nikon Premier SE 10x42, have served me well over the years.Yes, I know that they are not 'waterproof'. I have never had a problem

Leica's 10x42 Ultravids is what I always grab!

First year I went to Zimbabwe I used 10x42 Swarovski SLC's for the next 7 trips I went up to 10x50 Swarovski SLC's for better early morn late evening use. While they are heavy I have worn them for everystep I have taken on safari and that's a lot of steps. Most reliable Binoculars i've ever had. Used a fine old pair of Bausch & Lomb 9x35's till someone wanted them more than me and relieved me of them. Replaced them with a pair of 8x30 Swarovski SLC's but missed the higher power glasses.

I use Nikon Premier LXL 8x32 for bird hunting and I Pentax 10x42 dcf wp II for other.

My eyes seem to like Zeiss. I have 10X42 FL Victory binocs and I like them. I could have gone with Swaros but I have stayed with Zeiss stuff. Both my spotters are Zeiss as well.

There are no flies on Swaros, Leica or even the upper levels of Nikons. Different people have different eyes. I think that you get what you pay for with top notch glass.

Sincerely,
Thomas