Leupold spotter recommendation

[WAcoueshunter]

I think what got missed in the banter about brands was what I took as JDHasty's main point, i.e., that 15's are more useful than a spotter.  I couldn't agree more.  Unfortunately for the OP, I don't think Leupold makes a high end pair of larger binos that you'd put on a tripod.  But for others that are not limited to a certain brand because of the discount, the 15's will help you see a lot more animals at normal glassing distances.

Everybody that has used ours says they are a game changer.   I could not agree more, I thought about it for north of a decade before finally getting them and sure wish I had done it earlier.

Me too, I watched my cousin in AZ spot coues after coues, but I was reluctant to spend the extra cash when I was already toting around 10's and a spotter (Leupold gold ring 15-30, BTW).  But then I got the 15's and hardly ever used the spotter. I have since upgraded the spotter, but it still doesn't leave the truck very often. 

[Bob33]

 

...but while we're off in the weeds, Coues deer hunters have exploited the use of "dual eye" optics for longer than anyone I know. It is difficult to effectively learn to use a single eyepiece (i.e. spotting scope) for long periods of time spent glassing.

[JDHasty]

I think what got missed in the banter about brands was what I took as JDHasty's main point, i.e., that 15's are more useful than a spotter.  I couldn't agree more.  Unfortunately for the OP, I don't think Leupold makes a high end pair of larger binos that you'd put on a tripod.  But for others that are not limited to a certain brand because of the discount, the 15's will help you see a lot more animals at normal glassing distances.

Everybody that has used ours says they are a game changer.   I could not agree more, I thought about it for north of a decade before finally getting them and sure wish I had done it earlier.

Me too, I watched my cousin in AZ spot coues after coues, but I was reluctant to spend the extra cash when I was already toting around 10's and a spotter (Leupold gold ring 15-30, BTW).  But then I got the 15's and hardly ever used the spotter. I have since upgraded the spotter, but it still doesn't leave the truck very often.

For rock chuck or prairie dog shooting I have my binocular on a Manfrotto 55XPROB w/the center column set horizontal and use a Manfrotto 553 right angle bracket.  The tripod sits off to the left of my bench and I am able to rest my elbows on my shooting bench while glassing and it is really a comfortable setup.  Then if I see a target I just lean to the right to get behind my rifle.   We will usually also have a couple, or three (I like to keep a spotter set up next to the cooler), spotting scopes set up so that we can call shots for each other.  I have my spotting scope set up on another similar tripod (a Benbo) to the left of my binocular and just have to lean left a bit to get behind it.  It is a pretty efficient setup. 

Like I said above, a binocular is used for finding game, a spotting scope is for looking at it once it has been found.  Depending on the range I will sometimes just call the shot from behind the big binocular, but since I have a 30 WA eyepiece w/MOA reticle on our Razor 85, I will usually spot shots for my partner using it. 

One of my shooting buddies bought a 15x56 Kaibab and it is pretty nice too.  The big Swaro is somewhat better, but it is also north of $2k.  He is setting his tripod up exactly like mine for next season.   

For big game hunting our spotting scopes don't come out all that often any more.  When we need them they are there and they are invaluable when you need them, but that is not all that often.