Tell my why I should carry binos.

[maxwell]

I bought a pair of Savorskies around twenty years ago and they have been used maybe three times.  Once in awhile I find them in my closet and verify that they are still present.  Hate carrying extra stuff. If I was going on a western hunt probably would use them.

[Joe2Crow]

wouldn't leave home without them. a quality pair of binoculars just makes the whole experience more enjoyable. the few times that I have forgotten them, I always missed them.

[Red Beastmaster]

Before I started wearing glasses I never went into the woods without my compact binos. Now I rarely carry them except on my annual hog hunt to SC.

Just yesterday I went groundhog hunting and took my binoculars. What a pain in the butt to prop my bow on the ground and hold under my arm, take off my glasses, and look at something with the binos. I was sorry I took them.

You are supposedly able to roll the rubber eyepiece back and use with eyeglasses on but it never worked for me. What you get is a view like you are looking through a pipe and smudged glasses.

[MCNSC]

I use binos while scouting and occasionally while hunting. While I like having them, and sometimes wish I had them when I dont just don't feel they are worth the trouble in the type cover and terraine I hunt in. I did buy a set of Vortex monaculars last year for hunting. I like the fact that they are lighter and can be used and focused with one hand. But I still didn't Cary them very often. I can see in a different area or style of hunting that they would go to the top of the list in stuff to take.

[Killdeer]

I don't leave camp without them. With my advancing years and hips and knees begging for replacement (thanks, ol' dog rib!) I can scope out the difference between a rub and a dead stick without walking up to it, or spreading my wonderful human scent in an area of suspected deer activity. Without them, I have spent hours waiting for a bedded stump to arise.

I can use the focus wheel to "travel" through gaps in the foliage, to tell the difference between one shadow and the next, between bark and hair. My glassing is done as slowly as molassas in January, and serves as a passtime while waiting in ambush. I love watching all kinds of wildlife, and use them year-around.

I recently bought a pair of Swarovskis, set me back a thousand dollars. I wish I had done it twenty years ago, when my eyes were better than perfect. Now that I wear glasses, binocs are not quite as fun, but the Swaros have eyecups that twist in, and make them quite compatible with eyewear. For long sessions, I can take my glasses off.

I feel crippled in the field without binoculars.
Killdeer

[Steve Kendrot]

I can't ever remember thinking, "Darn... I wish I didn't have these binos." But can recall many case thinking "Damn! I wish I had my binos!" I use the harness style (I call it the bono bra) strap. The keep the glass from bouncing on your chest, dangling as you draw, and help contain loose clothing around you chest.  They are critical for picking deer out of heavy cover. And.... There's lots of other cool things besides deer out there to look at!

[old_goat2]

Here is my answer to need versus portability, they do take some getting used too, but they have the eye cup you can adjust to make compatible with my glasses.

[KyRidgeRunner]

I love them turkey hunting.  Like many others I use a harness to tote them around.  I only take them deer hunting when I take my backpack.  Most of my hunting is private owned farms so I'm never more than a mile from the truck, so I don't have to pack a bunch of extras there fore I don't always take a pack. When I'm "trad hunting" I like a bow, quiver full of arrows, tp, knife, and a stylus light.

[threeunder]

I hunt eastern whitetails and hogs 99% of the time.  But I never go without binos.

Point in case for anyone that read my posts about hunting with Faith last year...a buddy and I were hunting and walked to a field edge (far edge was only 200 yards away).  Deer were everywhere on the far side, but we couldn't make out any in the pine grove that fed that end of the field.
My buddy attempted the stalk through the pine grove.  There were still more deer there that we hadn't been able to see with the naked eye.  They picked him off at over 100 yards.  My point is I was watching the whole thing through my binocs.  He didn't have any and couldn't pick a route to make the stalk effectively.
I also feel that being able to monitor a deer that never makes it in range, helps me to more effectively hunt that deer later.
I can see not having binocs in a stand or blind, but on the ground, moving, tailoring my stand choice to what I find....I feel like they are imperative and well worth their weight.
Ken

[hvyhitter]

I mostly used mine to watch squirrels so when I downsized from a daypack to fannypack they were left out...........only use them now for gun hunting..........

[jcar315]

Have to admit to not carrying them while deer hunting close to home. Will also have to admit to carrying them 100% of the time hog hunting.

Smaller "profile" of a hog allows them to look a lot like a stump / downed tree. Been fooled a time or two and won't make that mistake again. They've proved handy to even tell which way a hog was laying in the palmettos when close.

Tend to favor a long "shoulder" strap type arrangement that allows them to hand by my side out of the way. Still hunting/ stalking up on hogs is fun of the highest order and chances don't come often.

As with most things....YMMV

[Birdbow]

One of the joys of our sport is to enjoy all of the rest of natural activities going on while we wait. My binos get a workout checking out birds, small animals, whether or not those beech trees are carrying nuts, etc. And occasionally identifying movement in the trees that turns out to be what I'm hunting for.....

[awbowman]

Same as birdbow

[Fattony77]

When I saw the title of your post, I was planning on paraphrasing the Asbell book and explaining how that helped me to slow down and see more (when I remember to use them). Then I read your post (and noticed who it was posting). So, all I can say is this: They're only helpful if you use 'em. You don't appear to have any problem filling the freezer without them, so I reckon they're just extra weight for ya, until you find yourself saying, "I wish I had my bino's."

[GreyGoose]

Practically speaking, I never NEED binocs for hunting in the East, especially from a blind or stand.  But I've had a lot of fun looking at critters and birds at some distance on a slow day.

[ChuckC]

I like them because even at 25 yards, in the closing minutes I can see MUCH better PLUS, I can see if it is a doe or a smaller racked buck, which is important if you don't want to bust your buck tag early.   I take mine nearly every trip, but I don't always use them, then again, when I do, I am TOTALLY glad I had them.

Plus. . .  hear weird noise near the truck, get high and use the bino's.  I can see what is going on and they can't see me.

If I take a shot, I can check out the place that the deer was standing and even the arrow (heavy arrow stuck in ground !) without moving from my stand.
CHuckC

[Roadkill]

Your logic for your situation, works.  I hunted swamps in NC and used binos because I was nosey or curious.  They just helped pass the time, looking at squirrels or woodpeckers

[Hud]

You admit carrying them for a few weeks and not using them, so how many deer do you think saw you first? You did not mention the size, but in similar cover, I would opt for a 6x or 7x power with a wide field of view. I think if you walk little and look more, you will see deer color, movement, and antlers  easier. I see more body parts, and movement than without binocs.

[oldbohntr]

My first answer was that the man seemed to have made the choice that satisfied his logic.

Not for me! I have top performing optics around my neck almost 100% of my hunting time, even when sitting over a bear bait. There's are a plethora of tiny movements happening in the woods, whether you are looking 15 or 1500 yards!  This May I sat over a bear bait for a week, passing up everything that came in.  But, the big one that was visible THIS YEAR because of last summer's forest fire came to 80-150 yards almost every night and gave me lots to look at through my binocs!  That sucker kept all the little bait bandits away, but watching him grunt, huff, and bluff charge through my glasses was a real treat! Yes, he got to gorge himself later, after dark!  But, I also got some great views of many Western Tanagers(one of Mother Nature' most beautiful birds)and some Stellar Jays while they were on the bait just a few yards away. I watched every one of them through the binocs, just like the birders do. If you study the birding websites, you will learn they look for enough clarity to define the structure of a feather at 15 yards or less.  But, some bow hunters seem to feel they don't need optics until they can barely see the outline of a several hundred pound animal at whatever distance?   Sorry, I'll leave the camera and a lot of other things I normally carry at home before I will leave out the binocs!

[joe skipp]

Depends where I'm hunting. Out west, never leave home without them. Hunting close to home, I leave them home.

In New Jersey and CT...I prefer having them. They come in handy for scanning the surrounding area I want to still hunt through, great for watching bears as they walk by you (Jersey) and when tracking a wounded animal, always checking ahead just in case the animal is bedded and checking his back trail.

At my age...an extra set of more powerful eyes are great. I use the Steiner 8x30 Predator Night Hunter binos.