Desert Dan
Lil-Rokslider
Okay folks,
I've spent quite a bit of time reading as much as I can and I've narrowed the next addition to my optics down to either the Vortex Razor 65 or the 85mm spotter. This is my first post on here aside from the intro and I made sure to read up as much as I can to try to answer the question myself before posting and while I've got most of the way on my own through the forums I have a few specifics I'd love some input on from anyone who has anything positive to offer, both regarding these two spotters as well as on my optics setup in general. I will try to provide the important information regarding my current setup and goals so you get the feel what I'm working with and what I'm trying to do.
So here's the situation - I hunt almost exclusively in southern Arizona (units 33 and 34A to be specific). Mountain brush with a lot of manzanitas and scrub brush. I hunted a lot of coues deer but have decided to focus most of my efforts on mature mule deer from now on, even though I will likely still find myself hunting coues if I pin down an exceptional buck in the areas where they live near each other. Regardless of whether I'm hunting mulies or coues I will be spending a significant amount of time and effort meticulously glassing the cover where mature deer will be. For that reason I am picking up a spotting scope and I have narrowed it down to either the 65mm or 85mm option to go along with my current glass setup - Razor 10x42s and Kaibab 15x56. Up to this point the Kaibabs have been my go-to tripod-mounted glass and I have no complaints at all. Very happy with them. But I've noticed that farther than about 600 yards I have trouble picking up the detail necessary to ID a bedded deer in cover or to accurately judge its size. This is where the spotter comes in. I want to be able to look into thicker cover to find a buck and I also want to have something that can reach a little farther than my 15s.
Ultimately your thoughts on which option you think will be better as well as any thoughts on what I'm using now are very welcome. I have decided on Vortex because of the combination of my budget and their quality. I know there are other brands out there but I will be going with a Razor model. I am okay with carrying the weight of either of these scopes on hunts I need it on. The biggest question is given what I've described above will the 27-60x85 be too much power/will the 22-48x65 leave me wishing I had gone bigger? And given my current inventory is either of the scopes a better compliment than the other? Or any other thoughts I haven't considered are welcome too.
Thanks in advance! I value the knowledge you all have to offer.
dan
I've spent quite a bit of time reading as much as I can and I've narrowed the next addition to my optics down to either the Vortex Razor 65 or the 85mm spotter. This is my first post on here aside from the intro and I made sure to read up as much as I can to try to answer the question myself before posting and while I've got most of the way on my own through the forums I have a few specifics I'd love some input on from anyone who has anything positive to offer, both regarding these two spotters as well as on my optics setup in general. I will try to provide the important information regarding my current setup and goals so you get the feel what I'm working with and what I'm trying to do.
So here's the situation - I hunt almost exclusively in southern Arizona (units 33 and 34A to be specific). Mountain brush with a lot of manzanitas and scrub brush. I hunted a lot of coues deer but have decided to focus most of my efforts on mature mule deer from now on, even though I will likely still find myself hunting coues if I pin down an exceptional buck in the areas where they live near each other. Regardless of whether I'm hunting mulies or coues I will be spending a significant amount of time and effort meticulously glassing the cover where mature deer will be. For that reason I am picking up a spotting scope and I have narrowed it down to either the 65mm or 85mm option to go along with my current glass setup - Razor 10x42s and Kaibab 15x56. Up to this point the Kaibabs have been my go-to tripod-mounted glass and I have no complaints at all. Very happy with them. But I've noticed that farther than about 600 yards I have trouble picking up the detail necessary to ID a bedded deer in cover or to accurately judge its size. This is where the spotter comes in. I want to be able to look into thicker cover to find a buck and I also want to have something that can reach a little farther than my 15s.
Ultimately your thoughts on which option you think will be better as well as any thoughts on what I'm using now are very welcome. I have decided on Vortex because of the combination of my budget and their quality. I know there are other brands out there but I will be going with a Razor model. I am okay with carrying the weight of either of these scopes on hunts I need it on. The biggest question is given what I've described above will the 27-60x85 be too much power/will the 22-48x65 leave me wishing I had gone bigger? And given my current inventory is either of the scopes a better compliment than the other? Or any other thoughts I haven't considered are welcome too.
Thanks in advance! I value the knowledge you all have to offer.
dan