Stalking Binos

dev110

I'm on the market for a pair of binos for stalking.
I have €3-400 to spend. Can you get anything decent for that amount of money?
What would you recommend and are there any good places to buy online?

dodderangler

http://www.grahamsonline.co.uk/category/3

I was only thinking of getting myself a pair aswell. Just for when I'm out shooting foxes or even on walks.
Prices aren't bad but maybe someone could shine a light on the quality

juice1304

These are slightly more than your budget, But if you could wait and stretch the budget a bit these are a serious bit of glass for the money. I really meant that i have looked through some top quality glass and these aren't far off.
I have had mine for the last year and i can safely say they got me a deer last season, without them i would have gone home empty handed that day.
The quality is great, clear crisp image, light weight enough, nice and small, comfy in the hand, waterproof, and they come with ED glass which is fantastic. Even in low light you would be amazed at how well they do in the last few minutes of light i can see more with them in low light than i can with my naked eye.
:cool::cool::cool::pac:Thats a good price too they were E750 from nikon last year.
http://www.astroshop.eu/nikon-binoculars-monarch-7-10x42-dcf/p,25139

Cass

I love Steiner. Good Glass, great clarity, robust build and great name.

The ranger series are slightly above your budget but well worth a look. I had a look through a pair off Zeiss Conquest HD and while very impressive they have a price tag to match.

daithi55

what about these nikon aculon prostaff ones in argos for 300 euro http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/1395855/c_1/1|category_root|Photography|14419436/c_2/3|cat_15701386|Binoculars|14419493.htm

It wasn't me!

I've got a pair of Kaps 8x42 which were just a bit out of your budget there, but if you can stretch to them, they're very good indeed. Only things I've seen that genuinely beat them were a pair of Zeiss Victory binos. They seemed very comparable, to me, to the Zeiss Conquest ones I looked through, for half the price. Edi Graef ordered them in for me (many thanks again!) and I've been delighted with them. Very solid, great ergonomics and bright, bright glass.

badshot

i have a pair of steiners
think they're great

Deerspotter

I'd second the Steiner Bino's.
Looked through all the glass in a high-end shop and regardless of price chose the Steiner. You'd get a decent pair for €300.

MarkWolff

Minox 8x42 for just a tad over €200 and put the few quid over for a range finder.

landyman

Recommend Steiner great vvalue for money

ejg

When choosing binos, check & compare the specs. Weight, field of view and size is important as well as what one thinks when looking through. 8x42 is a great size, plenty on the market.
edi

rowa

The german and austrian bin's leave the jap/chinese stuff in the dust. I have a pair of leica's i bought during the boom and where they really stand out is the half light you get at dawn and dusk. Remember when you buy anything with lenses you get what you pay for.

underthetumb

Nearly sure there is a pair of zeiss8 by 42 in the for sale section for 400 snots, serious bino

dev110

Thanks for all the posts guys. Steiner seem to be coming out on top.
What do people think of Minox binos? I remember hearing good things about them. Has any body looked through them?

ruger1894c

dev110 wrote: »

Thanks for all the posts guys. Steiner seem to be coming out on top.
What do people think of Minox binos? I remember hearing good things about them. Has any body looked through them?

I havent seen there binos dev but i have just bought one of there scopes and the quality is awesome they use schoult glass from germany and are assembled in america..defo worth a look

thelurcher

It wasn't me! wrote: »

I've got a pair of Kaps 8x42 which were just a bit out of your budget there, but if you can stretch to them, they're very good indeed. Only things I've seen that genuinely beat them were a pair of Zeiss Victory binos. They seemed very comparable, to me, to the Zeiss Conquest ones I looked through, for half the price. Edi Graef ordered them in for me (many thanks again!) and I've been delighted with them. Very solid, great ergonomics and bright, bright glass.

Same here - can't fault them. Anyone that's looked through them has been impressed too.

The Aussie

These here in this thread are a good deal...




http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=84772291

varmintbill wrote: »

Steiner Nighthunter XP HD 12X56 Sports Auto Focus brilliant low light viewng,
in perfect condition. These binoculars are a serious price new look them up on the net just type in the above description and see .400e or nearest offer.Attachment not found.

Attachment not found.

Attachment not found.

323

Well within your budget. Nikon Action Extreme 8x40-ATB, Have tried but can not tell any difference between same size Nikon Monarch's, but porro prism configuration is much cheaper.

Myself and others have compared these to a friends Swarovski EL's of same size many dark wet mornings and very little difference in performance, considering not much more than a tenth of the price of the Swarovski. Personally rather spend the extra money on my scopes. Three friends have tried them and then bought the same.

wirehairmax

Swarovski, Leica, zeiss . Nothing else compares. Well worth the money

rowa

wirehairmax wrote: »

Swarovski, Leica, zeiss . Nothing else compares. Well worth the money

I am surprised schmidt and bender never started making binoculars, they'd be good.

German pointer

I have a pair of leica cost a grand and a friend has a pair of Bushnell ledgend hd both 8*42 while the leica are better there is not much in them when the price difference is considered. Maybe 10 or 15 minutes at dusk

I had a pair of Steiner binoculars and could not rate them maybe a bad pair. But they are loved by most other people. I am not knocking Steiner I just could not see through them. I also just paid €1600 for a Steiner scope and think it is the best piece of glass I ever looked through.
The Steiner were 10*42 night hawk

wirehairmax

Those 10-15 minutes at dawn or dusk are the difference between getting a shot or not. Using good quality glass is vital. My Leica 10x50's were able to pick out deer last Sunday night at 8:45pm against the background of a wood. Couldnt be sure of the sex so the shot wasnt on but there is no way a cheap pair would have even picked them out. I've used cheap glass in the past and there is just no comparison to my Leicas.
These could be worth a look and if they are in good working order, I would have them over a Bushnell or anything else similar.
http://www.donedeal.ie/othersports-for-sale/zeiss-10x40b/5694046

clivej

German pointer wrote: »

I have a pair of leica cost a grand and a friend has a pair of Bushnell ledgend hd both 8*42 while the leica are better there is not much in them when the price difference is considered. Maybe 10 or 15 minutes at dusk

I had a pair of Steiner binoculars and could not rate them maybe a bad pair. But they are loved by most other people. I am not knocking Steiner I just could not see through them. I also just paid €1600 for a Steiner scope and think it is the best piece of glass I ever looked through.
The Steiner were 10*42 night hawk

I'd find it hard to pay big money for that little extra.
The difference between my Bushnell Legends and a pair of Zeiss range finding bins is not worth the extra €2000 +, again both 8x42.

Lotharmike

clivej wrote: »

I'd find it hard to pay big money for that little extra.
The difference between my Bushnell Legends and a pair of Zeiss range finding bins is not worth the extra €2000 +, again both 8x42.

I recently sold a leica rf binos and splashed out on the swarovski rf 10x42 binos once in a lifetime purchase but worth every penny. Warranty and aftercare is exceptional quality of glass is second to none and the rangefinder is spot on also option ranges in metres or yards by menu settings it also gives two readings for angle compensation.these are as I said very expensive but there is nothing that can touch them for light gathering/optics/ranging/colour definition.op you are welcome to try them if you like drop me a pm

rowa

All binoculars are good in good light, the whole point of paying a substantial amount more for a pair is they work when the light has basically not arrived yet or gone,eg. dawn and dusk when most deer are about.
When i was looking to buy a good pair of bin's but hadn't much money , opticron were suggested by a lot of people for good budget glass, they are supposed to be the best of the japanese/far eastern makers. In the end i bought leicas out of a bonus i got from work and never regretted it.
some zeiss bin's at good prices in the linky below.

http://www.connscameras.ie/binoculars--scopes-!10-cat.html

http://www.connscameras.ie/search_results.html?mbcatid=7bef5004-b032-4600-b1c9-a1825cfee47a&mbcatid_incsub=true&mbfilcatid=d30ba19e-0b85-4f01-8fc3-bbb54f0f8ca9

De_Tomaso

I will not go into detail about the binoculars out of this price range 300 - 400 EUR (first post) and will just pointer 3 binos worth a look at this price range.

Kaps 8x42

Steiner Cobra 8x42

Sightron SIII 8x42 RM


Steiner is best made, Sightron are the smallest and lightest and Kaps binos probably offer the bst compromise of all features in this price range.

German pointer

clivej wrote: »

I'd find it hard to pay big money for that little extra.
The difference between my Bushnell Legends and a pair of Zeiss range finding bins is not worth the extra €2000 +, again both 8x42.

Not sure what price the legend is but I think about 300 or there abouts??? My leicas cost me 995 + 5 postage over double or even 3 times the price but worth every penny in my opinion. A lot of my stalking is at first and last light lying in ambush and the leicas were the best I could afford at the time. They also allow me to see in the shadow under overhanging branches in the forests at ranges greater than 600 yards I also know that I have a pair for life and will never have to buy again barring an accident or I lose them.

the scudd

meself and a mate were out one morning after a stag, it was just breaking light when I saw 2 deer in a field of wheat about 250 yards away, I was using 8.5x42 el Swarovski bins and he was using minox not sure what model but I know they were near £400. I said to him go for the spiker to the left of the big lad, I can only see one ha says, then he looked through mine and could not believe the difference. he has now bought Swarovski,s

Vegeta

the scudd wrote: »

meself and a mate were out one morning after a stag, it was just breaking light when I saw 2 deer in a field of wheat about 250 yards away, I was using 8.5x42 el Swarovski bins and he was using minox not sure what model but I know they were near £400. I said to him go for the spiker to the left of the big lad, I can only see one ha says, then he looked through mine and could not believe the difference. he has now bought Swarovski,s

At 4 times the price there'd want to be some benefits

the scudd

not quite 4 times the price less than twice. you know what they say you can,t shoot what you cant see

Vegeta

the scudd wrote: »

not quite 4 times the price less than twice. you know what they say you can,t shoot what you cant see

Are those binoculars not between £1600 and £1900

Amazon Link

Fankonia Link

rowa

Not a bad price for zeiss ,

http://www.connscameras.ie/zeiss-conquest-45-t/p-524512pd.html

gearoidol

these are the new hd version not bad value either

http://patrickcarleyfirearms.com/patrick-carley-firearms-limited-rifles-for-sale/

the scudd

Vegeta wrote: »

Are those binoculars not between £1600 and £1900

Amazon Link

Fankonia Link

I got them on the bay for £750:p

dev110

After a little longer than I would have liked I have a pair of Steiner Ranger Pro binos on the way.
You only realise how important the last bit of light is until you start stalking. On my two stalks I was going to pack up and head on home but when I checked the time I still had 20 mins left and that's when the deer seem to appear.

Looking forward to trying them out when they arrive

dev110

Was out for a stalk this evening, saw nothing but was home about 30 mins enjoying a chinese when the door bell rings and a woman who works in the local shop hands me a package and says this was left in for you. Being slightly puzzled at what it could be especially with Saturday delivery I tore it open to find:









Was going to try go for an early stalk in the morning but I think I'll wait till tomorrow evening to really try them out. Xmas is coming early this year

the scudd

my mate has the same binos very good glass, if you don't mind me asking what sort of money were they

dev110

Got them off Sportsman Gun Centre in the UK

http://www.sportsmanguncentre.co.uk/product/124b8fec9b52827452549657/STEINER+Ranger+Pro+8x42/

223Shooter

You won't be sorry you went with them. I'm into my second season with the same binos and the glass is excellent. Spotted a nice stag and pricket rutting playfully on the hill the other evening with them at 980m resting on my sticks. Best of luck!

50cal

I have a pair of Ranger Pro 10x42's for just over two years now.I bought them from Donal McCloy / Guns Unlimited if my memory serves me right.I feel they are about the best you can get in that price bracket (430euro).
One of the lens caps has fallen off due to the rubber hinge perishing.
I lost the head with neoprene cover for the eye pieces and removed it one day , its way too fiddly and it seemed to be causing the lenses to fog over on a damp day.
Disappointingly the coating that's on the optical lenses has worn away and in fairness this happened within the first year.I never used any lens cleaning solutions just a blue Zeiss lens cloth?!
Overall I'm happy with their performance just a little let down with quality. But you get what you pay for!

dev110

I'm just back from a stalk and I'm very happy with the binos. Only seen does so going to leave the stalking until November when I have the first week booked off work