Binos???

[Rob Allen]

I  bought  what I thought was a reasonably decent pair of Binoculars.  Vortex Diamondback 10x42..  Now  this is my  first year of hunting and I have no real frame of reference of  what is normal. However this is  what I  experienced..  On my second day of deer hunting I encountered  2 bedded bucks. I could see that they had  large racks but I could not  see how many points.
my spotting  scope  was back at  camp  so i had  to move in  without verifying that the bucks were legal (  3pt  area)  I  got  closer and closer but they were  watching me I'd  glass and  glass and glass  but  couldn't see more than branches.  I sat  down in a field  just under 200 yards  away and watched them for  a couple minutes but i could not get  enough detail.. if  only he  would turn his head  i could see  easily, he didn't. He  stood  up and looked  away  but it was too quick . he  stood broadside  but looking  right  at me for 30  seconds  then turned his head  and bolted
 as he  turned i saw  that he had  at least 4 points one one  side  but half a second later he  was  gone.


Now  i realize  the  first mistake  was leaving the spotting  scope at  camp.. with it  i could have identified the buck as legal before moving in and i would have had a buck easy..


However  would higher quality bino's  have picked up  significantly more detail?   or  is  this  type of scenario  pretty  common and just part of the  game?

  by the  way  this  was mid  day  with clear  skies and  good visibility..  others  in  my party  suggested  that i should have looked  through my  rifle  scope  but 1 i  didn't  think  of that and 2  that sounds a little off  to me.

[JDHasty]

I am skeptical that your issue would be satisfied w/a higher grade of optic, but I don't have any experience w/Diamondback binoculars. 

I am kind of concerned about the collimation of your binocular or possibly the right eye diopter setting.  Why don't you try this:  go online and download and print a USAF optic target and set it up and look through your binocular and some of your friends' binoculars and see if you can get as deep into the target w/yours as you can w/theirs. 

It doesn't take a large expense to purchase a binocular that should prove perfectly serviceable these days and being able to resolve antler points at a couple hundred yards isn't all that much to ask for a ten power binocular.

   

[Bean Counter]

I wouldn't second guess myself about not bringing the spotter. Ive never crawled around with one in my pack.

Best guess is that at 200 yards you weren't being sneaky enough or got winded.if we want to nitpick glass.... What did the general color and contrast of the backdrop of the deer look like? As I remember Diamondbacks have a greenish hue to the image do that could have affected your ability to distingush brown antlers from branches.  Alternatively, If you have a brighter background and you're trying to distinguish detail from a darker subject you'll run into chromatic abberation with lower end glass, which are the green and purple lateral color fringes.

I don't care for mid range Vortex myself. From what I've seen in the field Zen Ray and Nikon are much better for the money in that price range. At least to my eyes. I spend more than 8 hours a day just glassing when I'm hunting desert deer so for my hunting style I'd better to take a season off and save up money than hunt with $200 binoculars.

And for all that's good, please don't go pointing your rifle at things you want a better look at that you're unable to figure out with your binos 

[Curly]

I have a pair of 10x Diamondbacks and I think they work fine for checking antler points at 200 yards.

But I also wouldn't have a problem with using my 10X Leupold rifle scope to verify antler points before squeezing the trigger.

[7mmfan]

I have no experience with those binos, but I had a comparably priced set from another manufacturer and I could count points easily at 200 yards. However, if an animal is looking directly at you, it can be nearly impossible to detail those extra points without significantly higher magnification (spotter). The quality of the glass has little to do with it at that angle.

Also, I am not one to point my rifle at something willy nilly, but if you are looking at a large framed buck that has you made, and you aren't quite positive he's legal, but feel theres a good chance, I would have my scope dialed and rifle ready (safety on) for when he does turn his head, or decides to stand. You get a split second to look, verify, click, boom. There's nothing wrong with being ready.

[Mark251]

I have the Diamondback 10 x 42 binos as well.  Unless we're talking about very low light conditions, you should be able to count points at 200 yards...

[bobcat]

I have no experience with those binos, but I had a comparably priced set from another manufacturer and I could count points easily at 200 yards. However, if an animal is looking directly at you, it can be nearly impossible to detail those extra points without significantly higher magnification (spotter). The quality of the glass has little to do with it at that angle.

Also, I am not one to point my rifle at something willy nilly, but if you are looking at a large framed buck that has you made, and you aren't quite positive he's legal, but feel theres a good chance, I would have my scope dialed and rifle ready (safety on) for when he does turn his head, or decides to stand. You get a split second to look, verify, click, boom. There's nothing wrong with being ready.

 

[Rob Allen]

No  I  wasn't being  sneeky  at all.. here is the full story..

 We had  left our  early morning  spot, went to town and had breakfast then went driving  around..  As  we were  driving we  went  through a piece of  state land  so we  got out and looked...  On the hill behind us, across the highway were the  two  bucks  bedded  down in tall grass.   We  walked  towards  them  trying to determine if they were on state property  they  were 100% visible from the hwy  and they were  watching the traffic..  We determined that they were  on private property.  Thank you  ON X..   we googled the  owners  name and  eventually got the owners  address.. We  visited him and  he  told us  to go ahead "just  don't shoot my  cows"..

 So  we headed back  down the hill and started  attempting to get  close..  This  property  was  split by a   narrow  draw  and the bucks  were on the  far  side and about  20 feet higher than we were   still bedded  down in the  tall grass just casually  watching us...  I  sat  down in a wheat  field  about 150 yards  from them  while  my  wife  tried  to get into position below them and on the back side of the hill they were on  so she  could get a shot if i spooked  them.    I  was  sitting there  watching them  trying to put the points on him..  The larger of the two bucks  stood,  and  was broadside to me staring at me..    The buck  glanced  in my wife's direction briefly  then back at me  and  as he  turned to run away  i saw  that on one  side he had  at least 4 points  in two bounds  he  was over the hill and  gone  for  good.     We  checked   that property  every day  but they never to our  knowledge  returned to the  spot and  that was  the only legal buck we  saw  during hunting hours..

 as an aside  i'd like to put out a big thank you to the landowners  who allowed us to hunt their land.  I had  nothing  but  good  experiences  with the  people of Columbia and Garfield counties..

[Bean Counter]

There are bigger fish to fry in the H-W Ethics Police urinating matches.

If the hunter is in a minimum 3 point buck unit and he sees a buck crusing amongst some dead tree branches, I don't think its responsible for him to use his rifle to confirm antler points. a basic rule of firearms safety is to not point ones firearm at something you're not willing to destroy. I know its a lot different than a hunter who doesn't bother to carry binoculars and sits atop his hill all day long exploring the world around him with his riflescope, but the principle is the same.

[Turner89]

I have no experience with those binos, but I had a comparably priced set from another manufacturer and I could count points easily at 200 yards. However, if an animal is looking directly at you, it can be nearly impossible to detail those extra points without significantly higher magnification (spotter). The quality of the glass has little to do with it at that angle.

Also, I am not one to point my rifle at something willy nilly, but if you are looking at a large framed buck that has you made, and you aren't quite positive he's legal, but feel theres a good chance, I would have my scope dialed and rifle ready (safety on) for when he does turn his head, or decides to stand. You get a split second to look, verify, click, boom. There's nothing wrong with being ready.

:yeah:x2

 

[Romulus1297]

I counted points with a little 8x20 at 279 yds no problem then follow him with the scope to see if he is a shooter and he was. I always thought that is what a scope is for.

[300rum]

Your binoculars are just fine, I use a pair just like yours for the kids and as a back up, I like them.  Personally, I use my spotter way more then my binoculars.  In fact, I carry my spotter in one hand and bow/rifle in the other.  If I could only carry one thing, a spotter or binocs, I would go for the spotter every time.

Sounds to me that with a little more experience you will be on that buck next time.   

[JDHasty]

I was in Bass Pro tonight and took a look through a 10x42 Diamondback binocular. Yours must have a collimation error or some other defect.   

There isn't any doubt in my mind that that binocular is capable of resolving even small antler points at two-hundred yards.  Something is wrong with your particular binocular.

If I were you I would just send them to Vortex and have them check them out.  Don't worry that you will be bothering them or any such thing, they want you to be happy with your binocular and the last thing they would want is for you to live with a pair that is not functioning up to their standards.