Post by: Rob Allen on November 03, 2015, 06:54:10 AM
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.
Post by: JDHasty on November 03, 2015, 01:28:15 PM
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.
Post by: Bean Counter on November 03, 2015, 01:51:16 PM
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 :bdid:
Post by: Curly on November 03, 2015, 01:55:59 PM
But I also wouldn't have a problem with using my 10X Leupold rifle scope to verify antler points before squeezing the trigger. :twocents:
Post by: 7mmfan on November 03, 2015, 02:10:23 PM
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.
Post by: Mark251 on November 03, 2015, 04:46:02 PM
Post by: bobcat on November 03, 2015, 04:59:33 PM
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:
Post by: Rob Allen on November 03, 2015, 07:13:30 PM
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..
Post by: Bean Counter on November 03, 2015, 07:46:00 PM
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.
Post by: Turner89 on November 03, 2015, 07:46:59 PM
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.:yeah:x2
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:
Post by: Romulus1297 on November 03, 2015, 08:09:31 PM
Post by: 300rum on November 03, 2015, 08:23:53 PM
Sounds to me that with a little more experience you will be on that buck next time. :tup:
Post by: JDHasty on November 03, 2015, 09:41:27 PM
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.