Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting New England trackers and still-hunters.....do you recommend binoculars?

Never owned a pair of binoculars. I see some whitetail deer trackers use and recommend binos, while others don't seem to use them. Even guys that use iron sights.

Just wondering if any of you still-hunters or trackers use and recommend them?

essential gear imo for use in stillhunting imo, at least for me.

What size and pair do you use and recommend?

I carry a tiny monocular.

I carry a pair of 8x32 Meopta's in my pocket or on the plain old neck strap tucked inside my coat when I am on foot. I have also checked out the Maven 6x32's as well, thinking those might be real nice.

I always carry some type of bino regardless of how I'm hunting. If I'm tracking/still hunting in the ADK I will have a compact pair of 8X Leupold Yosemite under my jacket. They weigh nothing and don't interfere with shooting. I may not use them much but when you need them you'll be glad you have them.

I keep "borrowing" the 6X Leupolds I bought my boys. I have found them WAY more useful in tight cover than I expected to. So much so I am thinking I need a pair of my own. Gonna take a hard look at the Kowa version.

Mule Deer, and maybe some others, have pointed out that higher-powers tend to make stuff “pop” by virtue of the shallower depth of field. Comes at the price of size, weight, and brightness. I carried a Leupy cheapo 6x for a long time, but now have a Sightron 8x32, and use it or the Vortex 10x42 was a Christmas gift some years back. I usually just stuff them inside my outer layer on a harness.

I can’t imagine deer hunting without binoculars no matter what terrain I expected to encounter.

I'm a tracker. I track desert mule deer. I own two 6X, one 6.5X IF, three 8X, one 9X, and one 12X. If I want to see deer before they see me, I need to use binoculars. They allow me to see through cover. I prefer the cheap Leupold, 6X30 Yosemite. For still hunting, a more powerful 8X works better.
The other advantage to me is the ability to see small branches and twigs that can deflect a bullet.
The bucks I hunt are at least 4yrs. old. That means they know how to survive hunters. Trying to hit one as they duck and dodge through cover is really tough. I've got far more stories about the ones that got away than those that I got. Binoculars give me an edge that I really need. E

Still-hunt? Sure. Whatever fits you well.

Tracking? Nope. The lighter my gear the better off I am.

Like the saying goes “don’t leave home without it”

I stillhunt with iron sights and always have a pair of Kowa Genny 8X33s on my chest.
If I was looking for a pair of binos specifically for this use in my thick NE woods, I'd be looking hard at Maven B.3 6x30s. I'm thinking about getting a pair also, because they'll slip easily in and out of vertical chest coat pocket, allowing me to leave the harness at camp, and travel lighter. K.I.S.S.

Rick Young bino harnesss is the way to go.


https://rickyoungoutdoors.com/basic-ultra-light-bino-harness/

This

X3

I take them with me on every hunt. Archery treestand sitting, or rifle season sneaking.

In Maine I use a small pair of compact Leica's, think they're 10x25s. Small, light and I hardly know they are there. Sometimes you come to openings or cuts that it's good to look over before you go trudging through there. Or see something in heavy stuff that could be an antler or could be a branch, nice to know which. In PA usually use a full size pair unless I'm covering ground, then the Leica's.

I would rather forget my gun, than my binoculars when going hunting.

I mostly still hunt with a scope and I always have my Leupold BX-3 8x32 Mojaves with me. I don't like the idea of identifying something by pointing my rifle at it.

I still hunt Pacific Northwest tree farms for blacktails, elk, and bear. I always use binos. My favorite pair were Leica 7x42s but I sold them to raise money during a divorce. I have a pair of 8x32 Leicas now but prefer the 7x42.


Okie John

I have an old and well worn set of Pentex 8x24 compacts that aren't great light transmitters, but they work well enough from dawn to dusk, allowing me to pick a buck out of the background. Like everyone has said, the binos allow you to see through the woods in much greater detail.

Another vote for the Leupold 6x Yosemites/Kowas. I like 6x because I can one-hand them and they're steady enough, gun in the other hand ready to rock. I use them for checking sign I don't want to walk over to and looking for deer in brush while still-hunting. Tracking, I use them if the buck leaves the thick stuff and crosses open hardwoods. Can't tell you how many times they cross open hardwoods then turn to watch their back track and catch me coming out of the spruces across a bowl. Also, if he looks like he's going to bed or starts feeding. I wouldn't be without them.

I always have a pair of Nikon 10x25 handy. Binos let you see into heavy brush in a way your eyes can't.

I don't hunt anywhere or anyway without my binos. 8.5x42 ELs. I heard the virtues of a smaller bino for woods hunting here on the Fire so I tried some Nikon monarch 7s 8x30. I couldn't warm up to them so I went back to the larger ELs. I primarily hunt in the eastern woods. I see many more deer when Im on the glass than not. More importantly I see them way sooner with binos.

I have had these Leupold 6x32 Katmai binoculars for a long time. I really should use them more, i have spotted so many deer with them that I normally would have not seen. The thing I like about them is how you “penetrate” the cover. As I get older, my focused vision gets more one dimensional, I only focus on one object at a time. Using the optic, I see deep into the cover, viewing everything, near and far. They are especially useful for me when I’m looking into a stand of spruce or cedar, to my naked eye it almost looks like a black curtain, but with the binoculars I see much deeper. The reason I don’t use them as much as I should, is they just feel awkward around my neck, I guess I never used them enough to be comfortable with them as part of my gear. I think I’ll seriously rethink that. Great topic!

IMHO there is a big difference between still hunting and tracking. Sneaking up on something that may or may not be there compared to knowing he is in front of you but where. By the time you finish dinking around with binoculars to see a buck you’ve tracked for 4 hours and is now 30 yards in front of you in green growth, the game is over.

I use binoculars when I’m still hunting or sitting. Never tracking

YMMV

I would agree with JDK. I've attempted but never successfully tracked one, binoculars are used way less, and often not at all. So many opt to not carry the extra weight/gear. If you see that buck your rifle is coming up not your binos. But for me when I hit the open hardwoods or a large cut I like to see if he's standing on the far side looking back at me or standing there and I can't spot him with my eye so for me the binos are worth it then. Some people don't worry too much about bumping him they'll just keep after him until.......

Unfortunately tracking snow during deer season is becoming rare even in places like northern Maine, so my forays turn more into a still hunt usually, with an early morning and end of the day hour sit.