All posts tagged Astronomy

Should you drop the cash for a spotting scope? And do you really think its worth it?

I’ve cSpotting Scopesheck out spotting scopes for years and to this day, haven’t felt the need for a separate optic just for spotting, but I know plenty of people that got their money’s worth.   “The Mission Drives the gear” they say and you don’t need to spend money on things that add weight to your payload that you might not need.  In the military, optics are on most rifles these days and having 3x-4x can help you get plenty of range, but that’s not going to help you see pinpoint accuracy like whether or not you got a hit at 500yds or if  you missed the paper.   Some of these issues can easily be over come by using Shoot N C targets but depending on the caliber  you are using, it can still be difficult.   Another thing to be careful about is in hot weather, the mirage you get from grass and dirt will wreck  your ability to see at any range and magnification will just exacerbate the problem.   Two man sniper teams usually have a spotter that picks the targets and gives ranges but you can do much of that a good mil-dot rifle scope.

One thing to think about if you are thinking about getting a Leupold or a Bushnell, but if you can afford it, Leupold Optics tend to be some of the best optics out there and if you are an outdoorsmen, you can do a lot with these if you have a good tripod.    I’ve often found that the Tri-pod means just as much for Spotting Scopes as does clarity because even some cheap optics will work as long as it’s not low light, low light situations is where you find out how cheap your optic is because an optic that allows more light to go through it will cost you more.   Just like rifle bipods, you gotta be careful you get a mount that works with what you need because if it’s too tall or too short, it’s going to be very uncomfortable to get into good viewing positions.

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Target identification and scanner terrain

There are many reasons to have a good pair of binoculars around whether you are boating, camping, stargazing or hunting, being able to identify things in the water can help you in many ways.   Bushnell Binoculars come in compact or large objective lenses and the Leupold binoculars have the same quality as the Leupold rifle scopes. Zeiss binoculars and Konus binoculars give you a different style and it’s up to you on what you think you need.  There are differences in clarity and light gathering abilities, but it will depend on how much you need and what your budget is.  The real differences are noticed on cloudy days or low light.   There are many smaller compact optics that are very good and have a wide field of view.

I do think it is a good idea for anyone that is serious about hunting to bring a small pair of binoculars.  Many binoculars like Zeiss binoculars may seem expensive at first but peering through binoculars to identify a target is easy and safer to do than using your rifle scope.   Yes, you will be bringing slightly more weight with you but being able to constantly scan your territory might mean more opportunity for taking game.   If you use a good pair of binoculars you may see things in the sky that were just out of  your naked eyes visibility and you may see passing satellites or shooting stars.

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Binoculars in your range bag

I have a pretty good range bag that I keep all of  my sight in tools and magazine conversion kits in it.  All of my hearing protection and sometimes a few loaded magazines.   The one thing I have always kept in there were my binoculars.   I have taught so many people to shoot firearms and there have been times that I totally forgot to bring a rifle with magnification on it when I was teaching new shooters to shoot with a 22LR and iron sights.  It’s good to start people out on iron sights whether it’s with a 22 bolt action or an AR15 A2 style rifle.   If the shooter is old enough and can handle the nose and the recoil the AR15 is a good starting point.

When you try to see those groups at 100yds, sure you can hit a once inch square at those distances and accurately group them, but if your sights are off or you are trying to determine where your novice shooter is hitting, you don’t want to have to call cease fires and check paper.  There are many differences in the light gathering abilities of optics but Bushnell binoculars are reasonable priced and for most practical purposes, they get the job done and won’t cost you hundreds of dollars.  It’s always a good idea to keep your lense clean and this can have a big impact on your light gathering and clarity.

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Are there still reasons to carry binoculars?

I’ve questioned whether or not it was worth packing up my binoculars for range trips from time to time, and now that most of my rifles have some level of magnification, I really don’t have to guess if I’m hitting my target anymore.   Shoot N C targets help, but sometimes even magnification doesn’t help you in those regards.   I learned my lesson the hard way when I took a 6.5x50mm Zeiss Conquest scope to a 500yd rifle range and thought that I was going to have a fun day shooting because I wouldn’t need to do as many target changes since I had high magnification on my rifle.   Does anyone know what a mirage is?   When that hot sun starts beating down, you might as well have zero magnification because you won’t see you’re holes on paper beyond 200yds even with high magnification.

The real reason to still pack a pair of binoculars in your hunting or shooting bag is for target identification and field of view.   If you are using a rifle to identify targets you may be violating some of the basic firearms safety rules of not pointing a firearm at anything you don’t want to destroy.  I have had very good experience with Nikon binoculars and their rifle scopes are top notch.   The 7×35 Nikon Action are still my favorite because they don’t cost very much, aren’t very big and still give a good field of view.   There are better binoculars, but I have always had a hard time spending more on a scope than the actual rifle costs, some people don’t have that issue, but I do.

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