kent Posted May 16, 2012 Report Share Posted May 16, 2012 +1 Minox have gone up in price lately. Heinnie still selling the old black 8X42s for a shade over 200 quid. I'll stick my neck out and say you don't need Swarovski or Zeiss to spot rabbits and foxes. Either of the above brands or similar will serve you very well. You do want the very best for stalking because you're not just locating deer, you need to identify details: sex, age condition, head quality as well as mark out individual animals, offten while they're moving. No bins are to good for stalking. Mmm, thats an opinion. Though to my mind rabbits are a lot smaller than deer and harder to tell from say hares with lower quality midrange glass or even molehills and grass tusocks with the poorest end (fess up i think there are more than the odd person who has stalked a lump of grass with thier .22 ). Why look at something we can already see? we must look for what we cannot like the Hare running amoung the tall white grass, the rabbit pushing its head out its burrow, the cub emerging from its earth on the distant fell etc. In stalking though we are rarely looking for full deer more a pair of ears sticking up in the grass or a head ocasionally lifting among the heather, this again is were quality scores. Also looking into and through the trees and undergrowth. is a hinds head harder to see than a Rabbit at 400yds? i dont think so personally. You can at times get some fair glass quite cheaply but the thing is it varies batch to batch even box to box. I know a few who have had litrally dozens of pairs over the years litrally thowing or giving many away. The totals soon add up to the cost of one good pair, my own cost me about £6-700 over ten years back yet i recon thats not far off thier current value secondhand (not that i might sell them). I use them Stalking, Fowling and yes rabbiting and foxing etc. but also for general nature watching or checking out whats going on in the fields were i live. If they have cost me 6-7pence a look over that period i would be suprised it was so much. I also knew when i ordered them they would be great and i should have them many years without lusting after something better, perhaps saving a small fortune? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted May 16, 2012 Report Share Posted May 16, 2012 I use Steiners and they do everything I require for pest shooting. I don't shoot rabbits at 400 yds. I might spot a group and plan my approach but painstaking target searching takes place at 200 or less. I have no difficulty spotting ear tips in the grass at this distance or identifying a little black eye among the wickerwork of nettle stems in a winter hedge. The Steiners keep pace with my Duralyt and my 56mm Meopta R1 for light gathering. I will buy some Swarovskis for stalking one day, when I can afford them. Most of my stalking is culling for a friend who does it for a living. He will often ask me to go to a ground and remove a particular individual. I have occasionally turned down shots because I'm not entirely sure I've got the right animal. But if I only shot vermin I would be happy to stick with what I've got. Its the old problem. You need binoculars and you should buy the best. But what do you do if you can't afford Swarovski or Zeiss, give up shooting? Like scopes, I think you should buy bins that you will always want to keep even if you go up in the world at a later date. High quality mid-range brands like Steiner and Minox are just such bins. If you've got £1800 to spend but you're too tight to spend it on binoculars then you're not using your mney wisely. If you only have £400 then you have to buy with care and buy the very best you can. In that price range Steiner and Minox are two of the best. And no, I've never stalked a tuft of grass, but I have broken cover and pulled out a burdock stump and slung it because I got fed up with it drawing my eye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vole Posted May 16, 2012 Report Share Posted May 16, 2012 Argos £10 ones . Not good optics but have survived all sorts so far . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salop Matt Posted May 16, 2012 Report Share Posted May 16, 2012 A pair I got from 7dayshop.com there was a thread on here bout them and they had lots of good reviews and cost £20 but were actually unbranded sets of a bigger brand that normally sold for £80-£90 ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moor man Posted May 17, 2012 Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 I bought a pair of hawke frontier 8x43 ED (£260, last years model) after a lot of research. Whilst out stalking with a mate, compared them with his 8x swaro el's. Couldnt see any discernable difference but will try a low light test comparison and post the result. Never owned a pair of ELs and couldnt ever see me buying any (£1200?) I would recommend the frontier ED 100%, cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grasshopper Posted May 17, 2012 Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 I bought a pair of hawke frontier 8x43 ED (£260, last years model) after a lot of research. Whilst out stalking with a mate, compared them with his 8x swaro el's. Couldnt see any discernable difference but will try a low light test comparison and post the result. Never owned a pair of ELs and couldnt ever see me buying any (£1200?) I would recommend the frontier ED 100%, cheers. Just bought some Hawke Nature Trek 8x42s,looked through some Swarovskis too(£1300)but couldn't see the £1200 difference during the day. Hawkes where ok at low light that nite,but the Swaro's would have come into their own. I'm only a recreational stalker,so couldn't justify spending so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted May 17, 2012 Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 Just bought some Hawke Nature Trek 8x42s,looked through some Swarovskis too(£1300)but couldn't see the £1200 difference during the day. Hawkes where ok at low light that nite,but the Swaro's would have come into their own. I'm only a recreational stalker,so couldn't justify spending so much. without being rude, you might consider an eye test or setting the swavoski up correctly. 12 times as good? certainly but as has already been quite correctly said if the budjet dont stretch.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grasshopper Posted May 17, 2012 Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 without being rude, you might consider an eye test or setting the swavoski up correctly. 12 times as good? certainly but as has already been quite correctly said if the budjet dont stretch.......... Budget does stretch,try reading the post again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatingisbest Posted May 17, 2012 Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 Nikon Monarch 8x42's...... love them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark@mbb Posted May 17, 2012 Report Share Posted May 17, 2012 (edited) Leica 8 x 42 hd ultravid and i cant complain they seem to be the mutts nutz and a clear as a bell the light gathering capability is unbelieveable Edited May 17, 2012 by mark@mbb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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