Does top of the line Optics = more deer found?

[tontotom]

I guess as I read this I get the feeling you were overspending on your optics and that bothered you in the field. I can't think of a situation I'd rather have a pair of Nikons instead of my Leicas. I've used both and for me it's not even a consideration. Not that the Nikons are bad, it's just that I feel better with the Leicas.

 

The biggest difference to me is the clarity you easily dismissed. For you not that important, for me way important. My eyes are old as well as my legs, my belly is a little oversized so I might be exhausted after a day of hunting but my eyes don't hurt. Some guys buy cheap sunglasses because they can't justify loosing $200 pair. Not me, Costa's all the way for these eyes.

 

This may not be what you were asking for but it's my opinion. I'll never part with my more expensive glass and won't ever discount those who use less expensive optics.

[OpticNerd]

Thanks for sharing your opinion. I'm not looking for any one particular answer just wanted to see what others experienced when switching over to the top of the line optics. I wouldn't say I was overspending with my optics because the cost was well within my budget. I just didn't think the extra money is worth it since I didn't think I was finding more animals. While clarity and sharpness are definitely important to me I'd say the most important thing to me is a big FOV. When comparing my Nikons to the ELs I could barely tell a difference in clarity with the ELs being a tad sharper but there was nothing I could see with the ELs that I couldn't with the Nikons. The biggest difference was in the FOV between the 2. The Nikons have an extra 40 ft at 1000yrds over the ELs. I'll take a bigger FOV with just a tiny bit less clarity. This feature seems to find me more game then any other. My Favorite is the Nikon spotter I get a bigger FOV when compared to Swaro 15s and it's just as clear to my eyes. Like I said earlier while one thing might work best for one guy it might not work best for another. Thanks again for all the input guys keep them coming. So far it looks like I'm the only one who haven't noticed and increase of game found when switching over to the good stuff.

[John O]

I hunted for my first 4 years with a pair of $70 Celestron 15X70's, because I couldn't afford anything more. Often when I went out with new friends with high-end optics they gave me a hard time, until we got on the hill and I found as many or more animals than them. I would say that once you have something with decent clarity, it comes down to about 90% skill and hard work, and 10 % quality of optics. So since then I have headed more towards becoming a "binocular snob", because like Jim said, the high end optics will allow you to pick out those little features especially during the middle of the day when they are bedded. So now I am going to use Leica 8X42 Trinovid BA's for early morning and freehand glassing, and either my 15X70 Celestron's or a pair of Pentax 20X60's for mid-day zooming into shadows at long distances. I also carry a 18-36X60 spotting scope. I designed a pretty cool custom mount, which I use to swap out the different pairs. I have attached a few photos.