G'day, I have a crap pair of binos. Just wondering if I actually need to carry any at all when bush stalking as that's mostly what I do. If you recommend them, please explain why. My eyesight is at 100%, surely that's good enough?
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G'day, I have a crap pair of binos. Just wondering if I actually need to carry any at all when bush stalking as that's mostly what I do. If you recommend them, please explain why. My eyesight is at 100%, surely that's good enough?
I've struggled with this too. Bush could be 5 metres visibility, could be 50 metres. Obviously, if it's the lower end of that range, binoculars are less useful. At the upper end, I think they are useful for scanning ahead. Combined with a quiet, slow walking technique, you will see the animal that you would either have walked past or spooked. I can only speak for goats.
They are good for scanning the bush but also keep you still. Definitely good for Sika Hunting.
I'll be watching this with interest, I've never used them bush stalking, although you raise a good point MB the other side of that, with deer anyway, would be if you're within 50m of a deer the chances are it may well be aware of you already and your peripheral vision might be more useful for spotting movement than being focused through binos. While binos are good for clarifying colour definition in dark bush, I've always found a quick gander through the scope will often be all that's needed.
I generally carry a small pair of 7x when bush hunting. Usefull for scanning ahead in the more open stuff. Even in tight bush you can often distinguish a part of an animal that would otherwise be missed. You tend to stop and look more and hear/sight more animals instead of floundering away through vegetation.
As a side note. Try wearing a pair of amplified ear muffs, you don't need them turned up too much, you'll hear how noisey you are to an animals sensitive hearing even though you think you're moving quietly.
Another good reason to use bino's is it stops you from being one of those muppets who use their rifle-scope for gazing around from time to time, which isn't a good look.
I carry a wee pair of 6x leupolds round my neck when Bush stalking. Have done for about 15 years now. This was on the recommendation of a colleague who was very successful, especially in the Blueys. In that 15 years I've never spotted a deer in the bush with them! Handy for clearings, slips etc though.
I'm not super pro-binos. I don't carry them most of the time in the bush (it's very thick up here), but they have found me an animal or two in other places.Quote:
Originally Posted by Steelo
no use to me-reasons unecessary weight,something else around your neck or in pocket annoying me,no periphery when using them which very often movement is spotted in periphery,if a closer look is required the scope is better as rifle is already shouldered if a quick shot required.
I'm just learning the dark arts of bush hunting, so take it with a grain of salt... but always carry a pair - only cos they sit on top of my PLB in my bino harness (next to my compass, poo tickets and car key). Figured chest rig was least likely to come off in a tumble, so a good place for PLB, therefore I'm wearing it anyway, binos add feck all weight (397gms), so why not keep binos in there. Have used them more than I expected, mostly to look into the thicker edges when the bush opens up a bit (is that bracken or Bambi?), or to scan the odd slip/scree face that you come across, or for some areas I go where there's a mix of bush and open stuff. But yeah, when you can't see more than 15-20m, ears and schnoz are much more helpful (my eyes aren't as good as yours...)
Yep, max 8 power
You can focus through the bush
If you are glassing you're not moving which is a good thing
You're not using your scope to check out movement or sound and pointing your rifle at a non identified target which is also a good thing.
Just my thoughts
I find them useful ish for scanning ahead but annoying to carry. In and out of a bino biv is loud and cumbersome and hanging around my neck is annoying when navigating deadfall etc. I've ditched using them in the Bush for that reason.
I have second pair of the small Leica's, carry them a lot when Im fishing or bush hunting. Amazing what you can pick out if you just see something that dont quite fit, like a hock, or leg, or an ear. Cos theyre small they fit in my pocket and easy to carry. Seen heaps that i would have never seen otherwise. And as indicated above, often the advantage is the quiet time you spend looking through them rather than trying to sneak through the bush and bump something.
Using the riflescope to have a look see is a big no for me. I also like having binos because there's always intending stuff in the bush, whether it's birds, weather, other hunters... And in a push, you can use them to light a fire. ;)
Yeah you don’t want to be ‘that guy’ that uses his rifle scope to check ‘something’ only to discover it’s another hunter - who can see what you’re doing!Quote:
Originally Posted by imaca
If there some open areas I use a 6x range finder as a monocular. Light weight and compact. Useless in low light tho.
I have used a pair of 8x32 binoculars for bush stalking for the past 6-7 years. I can think of a few times where I have shot deer as a result of seeing them 'through' the bush with the binoculars. These are deer that i have missed seeing in my initial scanning with the naked eye, as they were behind a couple of layers of vegetation and standing still. show up clear as day with the binoculars.
Doubly useful when there is the odd slip or clearing that you can glass between being a bush hobbit.
Not a gamechanger for bush hunting, but a great tool to have in the toolkit when hunting if you can spare the cash for a second pair of binos.
I deliberately bought binos for bush stalking that are more powerful than my scope to reduce the temptation to check something out through my scope. However i stunt use them much because the caddy is hot, bulky and sometimes lets the binos fall out. I need to start using them again. The point about them slowing you down is on point
Identify your target beyond all doubt because you never miss (right?) and I'll be missed.
I always carry a small pair of 10x compact weavers - very handy for glassing clearings slips - dont use much under canopy - have spotted deer bedded down which I would not have seen with just eyesight ( well not until damn close )Quote:
Originally Posted by cally woo
I carry a monoclonal 10x25 faster than bins smaller and with my rifle slung on my right shoulder I can scan with one hand.
Certainly helps identify the those deer sticks:)
Nope they’re not as good as my bins but for bush stalking they’re good enough. On a string around the neck and stuffed down the front of my shirt or in top pocket.
Usually my bush stalking is nearby streams and rivers, so a set of binos to have a nosey ahead if there's an opening is pretty useful.
It's also just part of my kit now, I have a harness that has a plb on the strap, binos inside, fire kit on the left pocket, first aid kit in the front and gps in the right hand pocket. So if I ever get separated from my backpack, from falling in a river or something, I have the essentials on me.
Ive got good pair of 10x bushnells that will fit in tit pocket of my butcher coat..... they come with me and SOMETIMES are useful in the bush... one huge advantage of binos it being able to focus them so you can see THROUGH light screen of vege at something behind it by focusing the screen out you get better look at whats behind it... the not using scope thing is good too..and if youve seen the light and gone back to smaller fixed power,its not an option anyway. that brownish blob on far clearing can be checked out without leg work too. and then there is always the chance of hilltop encounter with nubile lasses who do some rather strange rituals...as @RUMPY will attest to...I couldnt possibly comment as "wasnt looking".
If young ladies want to get topless in nature then I'm not going to spoil their day. Honestly though Micky, they were way too far off to see anything, even with binos.Quote:
Originally Posted by Micky Duck
yeah yeah..thats your story and your sticking to it..fair enough
hunting guys hunting thats the forum not some daydreamsQuote:
Originally Posted by Micky Duck
I came across two French girls doing that one evening at mangatutu hot springs, I didn’t need binos though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Micky Duck
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A lot of comments about slowing down. Hey how fast do you fellas usually travel 1km if bush stalking? Obv changes on sign etc but if you're in your "good" hunting spot, how far should a guy be going per hour?
It can be as slow as 200m an hour depending on vegetation, how close I come to some active @animals and if I bow hunt and want to make a shot with out being seen or if I rifle hunt , where an animal on alert that look at me can still fall under a bullet ( something I do not want with an arrow).
Regarding the use of binoculars, 1000’s of animals have been killed by experienced bush hunters who Nevers used them.
But I got taught to use binoculars during all my roe deer stalking years in Europe, and even in tight stuff they can be useful to pick up just part of a deer ( a leg, an ear or an antler…). When bowhunting they are a precious aid.
years ago I got lent a GPS for the first time..I had been hard out bush stalking for 3 hours just mooching along carefully looking etc etc,got out GPS 750 mtrs from car!!!!! for sure I had traveled possibly 2kms around in around but still... today I will head out and intend to be back at car some 3-4-5 hours later..at no time will I be further than 2kms from carQuote:
Originally Posted by cally woo
As to how fast you move….my ball park is when on sign, if I’m sweeting then I’m going to fast.
Never tried noise amplification ear muffs, do you rate them for bush stalking?Quote:
Originally Posted by woods223
I use 8x32 Swaros which I can carry in the top pocket of my jacket or around my neck. No weight in them and super crystal clear. Excellent in the bush for checking a possible animal. The shadow is removed to an extent also making it easier to identify things.
@ cally woo. Amplifying Earmuffs.
Used them a reasonable amount. They can be a pain in the arse in tight stuff but when moving in stealth mode they can sure pick up minor sounds. If turned up too loud they can make a fantail flitting around sound like a wood pidgeon taking of next to you. I usually turn them on and stand/sit quietly, then adjust volume till I get a level I'm comfortable with. Then carry on hunting as normal. I don't always wear them but have been experimenting with them for about two years on and off, they have helped me get a few animals that I probably would have missed out on. Just another tool to help get animals.
my hearing is stuffed and have been looking down this path 2 questions how are they in windy conditions and cicadas loud to loudQuote:
Originally Posted by woods223
I had shot the occasional deer in the bush in the past, but I wouldn’t say that stalking had ever been particularly productive. Recently moving to using a pair of binoculars has changed how I feel about the prospects for this type of hunting. Previously I would mostly be making contact with deer at 15-20 metres, and at that distance the reds I hunt would almost always be onto me already. The ones that I did have an opportunity to shoot had seen me, but perhaps not also heard me, and maybe gave me a few extra seconds by wanting confirmation from that second sense. Binoculars have let me locate animals more routinely at the previously less likely distances out at 25-40 metres, and so far when I have done so, they haven’t in the main been immediately aware I'm there. With binoculars I’m averaging about 3 minutes from having spotted a deer in the bush to eventually taking the shot — completely different from my previous experiences.
For the OP: If this sounds like an approach you might like then binoculars could work for you. The stalking will be much the same as without the optics, pausing when new terrain comes into view or angles change, previously obscured corridors through the trees open up, so perhaps every 3-4 paces, but then using the binos to stretch out the search radius.
I spent about 18 months mulling over the likely requirements for such optics before purchasing and came up with the following preferences specific to bush stalking that have been borne out with use. I’ve given the reasoning behind each in the list below:
Light weight: < 500 grams. It isn’t just the effort needed to bring weightier binoculars from your chest up to your eyes and return them, a hundred times or so an hour; the moment of inertia of heavier glass can also fatigue the wrists. Such a weight limit restricts the objectives to 30mm. I’m not sure there are many if any 32mm candidates coming in at under half a kilogram, typically meaning a step up to 600-700grams.
Carry method: either a very short neck strap in an attempt to reduce the amount they can swing around, or a harness, in which case it may need to be customized to hold the smaller glass. The ideal might perhaps be a harness with a foam insert into which just the objective ends sit, more a cradle than bag. Pay to get this sorted given the likely number and frequency of removal / replacement cycles.
Wide field of view: reasonably well focused out to the edges at a given setting, since the vista being scanned will often be the full 180 degrees or more from each new position, rather than intently concentrating on a narrower field of observation. Ideally > 8°.
Magnification: secondary to field of view for this application in my opinion, so 7x or 8x, keeping the FOV large.
Focus: must be smooth and with little to no backlash, and robust too, as the focus mechanism is going to get a thrashing when regularly used in this application, and over a very limited portion of the adjustment range.
The quality of the optics is probably of secondary concern, in that I don’t think it will make the difference between seeing deer or not if they are present within the field of view. Nice glass is always nicer though.
A forgiving eye relief would be ideal given the frequency at which the binoculars are being brought back up for alignment with the eyes, but it is unlikely to ever be great with 30mm objectives, it is just that some smaller binos are particularly poor and so to be avoided I think for this reason. This can be worked around to some extent by familiarity with the particular binoculars — perhaps by developing the habit of knowing just where to align the cups with one’s eye sockets?
I’ll mention here a nice-to-have, and that might normally be considered an adverse outcome of the engineering tradeoffs made in the design of the optic; and that is a shallow depth of focus.
This was identified in one of the earlier posts. The unaided eye does not seem to be particularly good at focusing at more distant objects that are framed by closer surroundings. This is what you get when peering down through a corridor of visibility, and “peering” is the right word, as it requires a concerted effort to retain clarity at distance when there are closer distractions to the sides. All binoculars will blur out the near-field to an extent when used to look past foreground objects, but those with a particularly shallow depth of focus will do this better. It will be possible to set the focus up for 25-35 metres and then pan across the surroundings, pausing each time the image “snaps” into focus, indicating a gap in the vegetation and a view hopefully into new territory.
There are however aspects that may need to be added to this list or traded off if the binoculars are also going to share some tops or slip use along with the bush stalking, as it is unlikely that two pair of binoculars would be carried each for a specialized task, more probably just the one pair carried for the planned main activity that will then be pressed into service for the other. Two candidates worth considering are the Nikon M7 8x30, and the Swaro Companion 8x30. I use the older Monarch7 8x30 model that was replaced last year with what appear to be the same optical design with perhaps just upgraded coatings to justify the price increase. The poor light control these have (glare) has not been an issue for me in this application.