Sheep Hunting Optics

[freu1chr]

What size spotter do most of you guys run when sheep hunting? Do you like the 20-60x60 or 20-60x80? I personally bought a 20-60x60 Swaro but some people were telling me that i really should have got an 80. Just wondering what your opinions are.

 

[Rackmastr]

I have the 60 Swaro and prefer it over the 80 (having hunted with both). Personally I prefer having the smaller size in the pack and havent found myself wishing I had the 80 objective in the field for my purposes.

 

[EYJONAS!]

I have the 80 you can really tell the difference in low light situations.

Another option to consider is don't look past having larger binoculars. A good pair of 15x56 binoculars is not a bad idea at all. You spend a lot of time behind the glass on any sheep hunt especially this one. Chances are if you encounter a ram and he's worth a second look you aren't gonna need your spotter, you'll just know. Are pair of binos on a tripod vs.a scope will be a saving grace when it comes to eye fatigue.

A good buddy of mine uses this approach and it works out pretty well. Whether he's hunting coues deer or sheep or goats.

 

[geetar]

I’m considering the larger binos idea myself. Has anyone tried the 18x56 Vortex Kaibab binos?

 

[Carnage2011]

I’m considering the larger binos idea myself. Has anyone tried the 18x56 Vortex Kaibab binos?

I was considering a pair of these and borrowed them for a day last year and felt like they were junk. The swaro 15's are definitely 10x better.

 

[geetar]

I was considering a pair of these and borrowed them for a day last year and felt like they were junk. The swaro 15's are definitely 10x better.

Thanks for the reply. I’ll stick to the Swaros.

 

[Schaaf]

I’m considering the larger binos idea myself. Has anyone tried the 18x56 Vortex Kaibab binos?

Yeah, like looking through the bottom of a coke bottle.

 

[MTGomer]

Anybody know how the 15 or 18x Mavens compare to Vortex?

 

[Carnage2011]

Anybody know how the 15 or 18x Mavens compare to Vortex?

Gomer, check with @bigsky2 I believe he picked up one of them this year.

 

[Oak]

Depends on how much you want to carry, and whether you're hunting in an area where you need to determine if a ram is legal. I pack an 85mm scope for everything but have started to feel it more lately when I hoist my pack. Still worth it to me.

 

[EYJONAS!]

Anybody know how the 15 or 18x Mavens compare to Vortex?

Maven seems pretty solid. Just get a pair to demo and send em back if you don't like em.

 

[geetar]

Anybody know how the 15 or 18x Mavens compare to Vortex?

Cody Rich seems to have a good working relationship with the Maven guys and likes them a lot. He might be a good one to ask. I know you’ve been on his podcast so I figured you could get up with him.

 

[geetar]

Yeah, like looking through the bottom of a coke bottle.

Thanks for steering me away from them. I don’t think I can go wrong by buying the swaros 15x. It’s gonna hurt when I pay for them but I’ll not have to do it again.

 

[Schaaf]

Check with Schmalts for 15x Meostars. The Meostars are almost identical to Swaro SLC, for about half.

 

[Bambistew]

I've hunted (attempted to hunt) sheep with cheap, "compact" glass and was disappointed both times. The weight savings is not worth it. If you can't see them you can't kill them. For me, seeing well and seeing a really long way is probably the most important aspect to being successful. I've killed many rams that were spotted from multiple miles away. I think the longest was almost 5 miles. I could tell it was a ram, and a mature one, and had to get closer to verify, but with junk optics I would have struggled to make out more than a white dot at that range.

My hunting buddy has a 60x80mm swaro. I have a 56x65mm Zeiss. To my eyes I can't see much if any difference until it gets near dark. Also they weight in pretty close, 6-7oz if I recall. Negligible. Another buddy runs an older 62mm Leica, and its dead last in clarity and light gathering, IMO. Its much lighter than the other two though.

If you're worried about weight, there is 100 different places to cut it. A spotting scope is not one of them.

 

[Khunter]

I've hunted (attempted to hunt) sheep with cheap, "compact" glass and was disappointed both times. The weight savings is not worth it. If you can't see them you can't kill them. For me, seeing well and seeing a really long way is probably the most important aspect to being successful. I've killed many rams that were spotted from multiple miles away. I think the longest was almost 5 miles. I could tell it was a ram, and a mature one, and had to get closer to verify, but with junk optics I would have struggled to make out more than a white dot at that range.

My hunting buddy has a 60x80mm swaro. I have a 56x65mm Zeiss. To my eyes I can't see much if any difference until it gets near dark. Also they weight in pretty close, 6-7oz if I recall. Negligible. Another buddy runs an older 62mm Leica, and its dead last in clarity and light gathering, IMO. Its much lighter than the other two though.

If you're worried about weight, there is 100 different places to cut it. A spotting scope is not one of them.

gonna guess at 5 miles or perhaps 3, no matter how good your glass, a bighorn, rather than a white sheep, is gonna be near possible to see at all if not skylined?

that said my brothers 20x60-85 swaro spotter killed my 20x60-65 in performance side by side.

 

[ClearCreek]

Don't overlook the 25-50 wide angle eyepiece coupled with either the 65 or 80 Swarovski spotting scopes.

ClearCreek

 

[Carnage2011]

If you are going to get serious about it just buy the 88mm Kowa. Ran it side by side with a swaro and a Leica and it was noticeably better.

 

[Bambistew]

gonna guess at 5 miles or perhaps 3, no matter how good your glass, a bighorn, rather than a white sheep, is gonna be near possible to see at all if not skylined?

that said my brothers 20x60-85 swaro spotter killed my 20x60-65 in performance side by side.

You need better eyes if you cant spot bighorns at that range. Every thing has to be perfect to see a long ways, but with shit glass, it doesn't matter. If you want to make this a white sheep vs brown sheep debate, we can wait until you get your next tag and debate it. we can start with sucess stats. What are they for those tame brown road sheep again 80ish%? Those super easy to spot white rams are significantly less. YMMV.

 

[bigjohn]

I like swaros for spotting scopes and binoculars. I have 15x56 binos and an 80x20-60 scope. My son replaced his 65mm with a 95mm swaro 4 years ago. He added the BTX eye piece and multiplier about a year and a half ago. That combination is amazing for sheep glassing. He also carries the spotting scope eye piece for taking photos. For the past five years, he has scouted and hunted desert sheep in Arizona for 3-5 weeks a year. In optics it seems that bigger really is better. It all boils down to the words of Roy D Mercer, "Just how big a boy are you?". For me the answer is not that big, most days that I scout with him, my scope stays in the truck.