Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Big Eyes or a Spotter?

That's an idea!
I could do that with my 10X42 Swaros.
Thanks for the suggestion.

Enrique,

Can you recommend some tripods? What do you use? Size, brand, weight?


Travis

I'll take the Big Eyes.

Thing is, you KNOW eventually you'll own whichever one you don't buy now. The first step to recovery is admitting the disease.

A Big Eyes helps me find WAYYY more animals, and be really efficient during the middle of the day when everything is bedded down. I have standard glass, Big Eyes, and two spotters (Zeiss), plus a couple of tripods.

In your shoes, I'd buy the Big Eyes.

rb

Frank:

I compared a Zeiss 20-60x85 on a heavy, stable tripod to a set of Big Eyes.

You simply cannot use the spotter to "scour" country for prolonged periods like you do with Big Eyes. The brain is wired for binocular vision, as you know.

Once you plop down behind a comfortably positioned tripod and scour country for a few hours with a 15x60-class glass, you will NEVER discount the utility of Big Eyes.

Like Enrique said, it sounds nuts, and the weight seems illogical.

"Good glass costs nothing. Good glass weighs nothing"
Jack Atcheson

It really is a no-brainer, but, like lots of things, you can't appreciate it until you try it.

Big Eyes!

Rick,
Yeah, I am thinking you are dead on.
I see a Swaro 15X56 in my future...

Travis,
My tripod is a Velbon chaser EL. I don't know if they even still make them. Its big, fairly light comparative to others and I can stand behind it if I need to. Not sure of the weight, height about 60 inches fully extended, closed about 20 inches or so.
I have been looking at different tripods right now as a replacement. And it seem they are all basically the same. Some wiehg more some use more plastic(which I hate), some use stabilizer bars.
For me a good tripod is light, legs are able to lock at different angles which means no bars going from the middle to the legs, is small enough to fit in my pack but big enough for me to stand behind.
Funny enough, I seen a couple decent tripods at Best buy and I think they were velbon. But they didn't lock in different angles, but they were way light and sturdy. They were running close to $200 bucks.
Sportsmans warehouse had a few that offered everything I mentioned, but a little heavier than the ones at best buy for about $100.
I use a jim white tripod head.

Thanks. Seems tripods always get skipped over in these discussions. That or I just miss it.

Appreciate your thoughts on them.



Travis

Does anyone have any experience to compare the 13x56 minox to the Vortex Kiabab 15x56? Is it worth the extra 300-400$?

That's what I am trying to find out. I love my 13x Minox. I have talked with the guys at Vortex and I still can't get a piar to Demo.
Dennisinaz has looked thru the Kaibab 15x56's and he said they were really nice. I don't know how he compares them, but he liked them a lot.

Hopefully soon I can get a set and compare them with the other big eyes I have at my disposal and see where they fit.

Kique

Bluedreaux, I think you're questions been answered, but just in case you're wondering...I just made the jump to bigeyes this year, opting for the Minox 15's. Where we hunt, we spend hours behind glass and hand held 8x's do the majority of the work. However, the spotting scope was always there and the more I glassed and wanted to pick apart a hillside, no matter how far away it was, I turned to the scope. The greater maginfication really helps as well as the steadiness from the tripod. But I can't look through one of those things for more than 5 minutes without going walleyed. Over the course of a few days glassing, I'd have a headache that wouldn't quit, so had to content myself with the lower powered bins.

Not anymore!!! I got the Minox, picked up a Velbon SF tripod and put a Manfrotto 700RC (I think that's the model #) head on it. I've been giving them a workout the last few weeks and I couldn't be happier. I think I've got just under $800 in it for everything and it's probably the best money I've spent in years for hunting gear. There is no comparison for me for the BE or spotter question...the quality of the Minox is superb and the ease of glassing comfortably is now mine. And that's the name of the game when glassing...putting in the time, cause you never know when something pops into view. I'll for sure be spotting more game than before if this summer's glassing is any indication. Anyways, that's my take on things.

Rick,

Thank you for taking a crack at my questions. It is appreciated.

With all due respect though the Zeiss 85 with a zoom (despite it being a very good one) is arguably different than what I am suggesting. The Pentax eyepiece/scope combination I mentioned produces 19.5x magnification with a 65 mm objective (better than a 3 mm exit pupil). The image is flat, exceptionally wide (arguably the widest "20x" eyepiece on the market...short of spending $650-$750 on a Televue unit). Eye placement is exceptionally easy due to the size of the ocular and the level of eye relief.

I guess what I am trying to say is that it is the most comfortable spotter setup I have ever had the good fortune of trying.

I understand the benefit of using two eyes for extended viewing and certainly would not dispute the comfort level of bins over most scope setups. I would be genuinely curious though in comparing a decent quality level "Big Eyes" with the Pentax combo I mentioned. Maybe the only way is to buy one of those Minox Doug has on sale and make a comparison. From what I have read they offer close to the same performance level of the Swaros and the other Minox model.

Thoughts?

There's a lot of country where I would use and carry my 15's and a lot of country that I never even consider taking them but do take my lil 20x spotter.

An experienced and effective guy on a spotter will get his clocked cleaned every time when it comes to spotting game (in most country, and in country where one can use one or the other) by a fella using big bins on a tripod! No doubt about it, there is absolutely no contest!

I've had my 15 Swaro's for about 10 years or so and it's been one of the investments that I'll never regret. But like I said, some country I'll carry them in and some I won't.

In particular Blue if you can gain some elevation and be able to set up and glass they're great, especially if the country is fairly open and not a big old forest on a steep mountain side.

So, I'd say you know the country that you intend to hunt and if you know that you can find places to set up and glass for periods of time then I'd say consider the big bins. If not, then I'd just find a good 20x spotter and go from there.

It is to me a slam dunk that for most country the big bins are better at finding game and way more user friendly. It isnt' a slam dunk for me that I'd be inclined to always use the big bins as I know better than that.

It's also a slam dunk to me that for micro mgt of heads the bin bins will most always get their clocks cleaned by a good spotter!

Making any sense?

Dober

Yep, sure is. Thanks Mark. I've got a pistol to sell before I can buy either one, so I guess I better get to that.

I'm not terribly worried about finding BIG bucks at this point, just finding A buck will be nice.

I'm leaning toward the Minox at this point, but I'll have to see how money goes in the couple of months.

FrankD, I have the bushnell elite 80mm ED with the wide angle 30x fixed eyepiece. It is so much easier to look through than the 20-60 variable that it came with that the 20-60 hasnt been out of the gun safe for 6 years now.
I have hunted high country mule deer only 4 seasons. My hunting partner has the 15x56 swar. He also has the same setup [30x fixed on the 80mm ED] that I have and he doesnt take his swar 15x56 anymore. We agree that the 15x56 are the best for finding game but we feel that we cant get buy without a spotter and cant[are not willing] carry both. A lot of the places we hunt are so big that there is no way to get closer and going over to get a closer look may screw up the whole basin of high country deer. So for us the 8x42 and the fixed spotter seem to be the way to go. Dean

Has anyone worked with the Vortex big eyes yet? I'd like to get my paws on a set to try out.

Oh and for a tipod I use a Slick 444 lightweight, it's about 10 years old but I imagine they make something about like it.

Dober

Dang, Dober!
I knew that when I read this post, I was gonna be doomed.
Better start saving up for those Swaros, I guess!

Mark,
Dennisinaz has looked thru the Vortex Kaibab bins. I think he might have even posted something on them a few months ago.
I'm trying to get my hands on a demo pair myself to do a comparison.
I gotta tell you. Owning big eyes gets expensive, but they sure are a God sent.

Big Coues is getting chased on the 21st!

I've been using my Minox 15x58's for several months now- for sheep scouting, where you may sit for hours glassing before spotting game, they simply can't be beat.

Ask Doug whether or not he thinks the Kaibabs are worth the extra dough, over the Minox.

Somebody just listed the Vortex 15x in the classifieds.

Sure wish hed take a trade for a 1911 and make this easy. If I trade I don't have to hold the cash and think about spending it on something else.

That quick?