Shooting and hunting binocular suggestions?

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TheSmartShooter

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I am looking for binoculars that I will use at the range to check my shooting at 100m as well as to hunt in Alberta. Suggestions please.

Price range: $100 - 150
Size: No real preference, preferably not gigantic.

Thanks in advance.
 
I'd try best as possible to add a bit more to that budget. Low end binos will be terrible for spotting holes at the range, better off just looking through your scope. Stay away from Pursuit, Tasco, Simmons, the usual low-priced junk. Get a brand name with a lifetime warranty as you may need it with $150 binos. 8x42 or 10x50 are good all-around sizes. Maybe check out Nikon Prostaff 3s.
 
I'd suggest you check the EE-Optics, some good deals there. I have cheap Tasco 10x50 and Bushnell 12x50 and they're ok for the range (barely enuf mag for 100yds) and casual bird-watching but if you're looking for hunting rig I'd get something better. Try to go $2-300 on EE, some are 'nearly-new'.
 
I forgot to ask, what sort of scope on your rifle(s)? If you have a good 14x or better you should be able to see hits at 100, even of a 22LR. I have Covenant 6-24x50 FFP on 2 LR rifles and can see hits at 100 and a Bushnell 4-12x40 on a .223 and can see hits at 180yds.
Just sayin' you may not need binocs if you have a good scope, unless your scopes are under 12x.
 
Unless you score something on a really good sale $100 binoculars are going to be pretty ####ty. With optics you REALLY get what you pay for, especially with the first few hundred bucks. I have two sets of Leupold Binos, 10x30 and 8x42, bought for $99 on sale 50% off at Wholesale Sports, and $190ish at Cabelas (regular price was like $300, they were an open box item). Compared to my friends' $60 Bushnells ($120 regular price but they're on half-off at Cabelas all the time) you can really tell the difference. Clarity is better for sure, but what really stands out to me is the brightness - once the sun starts going down my Leupolds are like night vision goggles compared to the Bushnells. Even compared to my other friends' ~$220 Celestron Nature DXs (which are definitely a step up from the bushnells mentioned before), both pairs of my Leupolds are notably brighter and clearer.

That said, 8x or 10x binoculars aren't going to be great for seeing holes at 100. You probably want 12x, or even 15x, but those are very hard to hold steady in the field - you pretty much NEED a tripod to make effective use of them. I use a $40 Crappy Tire spotting scope (again, on sale, was like $99 regular price) for the range. It allows me to see holes at 100yds easily, and out to 200 most days.
 
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I got spoiled in the army with 10x50 ELCANs, and one year some really old RELs. My eyeballs just like the field of view and magnification. I think I have a pair of Cabella's Redheads, and sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't upgrade, but for the length of time I have them around my neck, its not worth the sunk investment.
 
As suggested above, with glass, you get what you pay for.
Binos for the range and checking your targets at 100 yards are not the best option; get a spotting scope, if your scope does not have adequate magnification.

Look hard at your budget for better binos, especially for hunting. 8 to 10 power is best for hunting; less will not give you the magnification needed for judging game, and more gives a shaky image and will cause eye strain , headaches and/or nausea. Objective lense sizes from 30 to 50mm will provide best options for exit pupil, light transmission, field of view, and overall size/weight considerations. When you break down $1000 or $2000 over 20 years of quality service, $50 to $100/year is not an expensive investment in relation to the use you will get out of them! $500-$800 equals $25-$40/year.

The two most used items in your hunting equipment, requiring the best budget for the best return on investment are: 1) your hunting boots, as a comfortable feet keep you in the field longer, and happier overall, and 2) your binoculars. You will appreciate them more over time as you hunt and receive better performance with less physical issues, and more certainty in what you are seeing/able to to find and identify properly.

In my experience the best, less expensive glass that I have seen/used or bought for my wife and daughter over the years has been the lower end Minox binos. There are a couple of pairs for sale on EE at this time. These would be a good starting point, until such time as you can afford a higher budget for higher end glass. Leupold and Nikon also make some nicer models, but most will be higher than your indicated price range.
 
TheSmartShooter said:
I am looking for binoculars that I will use at the range to check my shooting at 100m as well as to hunt in Alberta. Suggestions please.

Price range: $100 - 150
Size: No real preference, preferably not gigantic.

Thanks in advance.
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At $100-$150 you might as well walk into a store, any store, and say "give me $100 binoculars". Brand doesn't matter, power doesn't matter, they're junk. You'd be better off putting the money in your sock drawer and adding to it for another year of two. They're simply not worth having at that price. Save your money and try something like the Leupold BX1 McKenzie that sells for $299.
 
BigUglyMan said:
At $100-$150 you might as well walk into a store, any store, and say "give me $100 binoculars". Brand doesn't matter, power doesn't matter, they're junk. You'd be better off putting the money in your sock drawer and adding to it for another year of two. They're simply not worth having at that price. Save your money and try something like the Leupold BX1 McKenzie that sells for $299.
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Those are what I have. Very nice glass for the money I spent.

That said, I'd say $60 Bushnells are far FAR superior to nothing for hunting. If the OP has never hunted with binos, he doesn't know what hes missing, and even cheap ones beat nothing. Conveniently, the $60 Bushnells are on sale for $60 at Cabelas again until August 17th.
 
If you can, up your budget a bit. There are some decent deals to be had on Minox Binos made in Germany on eBay from a Canadian seller (make an offer) around 300$.

If you're on a very fixed budget, I'd check out some Nikon prostaff 7s from amazon. You can often find them 'used' from amazon warehouse deals for about 150$ (currently there is a pair at 170). You can select 'search in - amazon warehouse deals' in the dropdown on the left of the search bar to show only used items. So far, I've almost always been impressed with used items (about 2 dozen so far). They are almost always new, sometimes with no box or slight damage to the box.

I bought a set of used Nikon prostaff 7s for my cousin who was just getting into bird watching and for 150$ they are pretty decent.
 
You can probably get yourself a decent set of Nikon binoculars for around 200 bucks at London Drugs. Then at least you'll have something worth having.

Go at least 10X if you're looking to checking shooting at 100 yds.
 
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