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View Full Version : My review "Big Eyes" 15 power binos for spotting



Brew
10-06-2016, 09:39 PM
Well, I have watched a lot of western hunting shows and read lots of magazines and it seems that glassing with high mag binos is pretty popular down south. I also tried mounting my 10power binos to a tripod wich I found very useful in the last few years and made my glassing that much better. I find that it takes all the shake out of the binos and my eyes don't get as tired allowing me to glass longer and see more detail.

This year I purchased a set of swarovski 15x56 slc to tag along and help with glassing.
These binos are big and definately add some weight to the pack but I am now a firm beleiver in this type of glassing and will never leave them in camp ever. The glass is so clear right to the edges and unbelievably bright. They are actually way brighter than my ziess spotter at 15x as well which I was surprised about. Another thing about this setup is both eyes are open at all times preventing fatigue. I was able to glass for huge amounts of time without getting twitchy eyes from closing one of them like I would with my spotter. I also found that I would get headaches glassing through my spotter for any length of time and this has completely helped that issue. Another thing with these binos is that I was able to spot sheep up to 2.5km away. Abviously you can't judge Rams from that distance but finding them in the first place is half the battle.

These binos do not replace a good spotter. For sheep you will still need a spotter to judge Rams and goats. This is just another tool in the arsenal to up your chances of finding game and after one week of using them I wish I bought them a few years ago. Blacktails won't be able to hide from these binos either. I'm excited to try them this November if I can get out.we are expecting are second child here real soon.

my first evening hunting with these binos I put 17 rams to bed three of which were big full curl bighorns. The next day I got withing 100 yards and spent 6.5 hours eyeing these guys from 120 yards away. I really thought I may have a chance at getting a mature ram on the first day of my first sheep hunt and solo to boot. Two Rams had mass all the way to the tips and were heavily broomed. Both past full curl and broomed about an inch short of mature. The third ram had his lamb tips and they tipped out nice on the ends. This ram gave me trouble all day not giving me very good views or angles at which to see. He always bedded with his longest horn away from me. Finally he got up and repositioned and I got the view I needed. He was less than a quarter inch from the bridge of his Roman nose. It was a great first day and I learned more about bighorns on that day than all the reading I have done about hunting them. I hunted the rest of the week but did not see any more Rams of the same calibre as the first day but I learned a lot about the area and will have lots more knowledge for next season.I'm looking forward to hunting bighorns again. Also looking forward to the sheep count in the spring with these handy new Binos.

albravo2
10-06-2016, 09:46 PM
Great review, thanks Brew.

Whonnock Boy
10-07-2016, 07:22 AM
Well, if you're going to buy glass, buying the best is a good idea. 15 power with a good rest can certainly do some damage. Must have been quite the experience watching those rams. Nice review.

Linksman313
10-07-2016, 07:28 AM
Thanks for the review, am on my way out to replace a "dropped but not forgotten" pair that got damaged this past weekend

Brew
10-07-2016, 08:39 AM
For a cheaper pair but still real hi end quality the vortex kaibabs looked real good and I almost bought them but decided to treat myself. I have also read good reviews on some of the 12 power options out there. A must for all of these binos over 10 power is a tripod to mount them.

sheep hunter
10-07-2016, 01:58 PM
I purchased the same Swarovski 15x56 a couple of years back. They are really easy on the eyes when glassing all day, most importantly is the amount of game you spot compared to the regular 10x42EL There is a huge difference.