Realistic Range Vortex 50 vs. 65

[harge57]

I will be alpine mule deer hunting this year.

Anyone have thoughts on what is the realistic range for deciphering a big mule deer from a small mule deer with the Vortex razor spotters? The 50mm vs. the 65mm.

The 50mm is nearly half the weight and is where I am leaning.

 

[StopMakingSense]

Bigger the better if you're trying to figure out if that deer has a kicker or not. I'd go 65mm minimum if it's not alpha. I bring a 95mm for mule deer and a 65mm for elk.

Especially if you're looking at 1000+ yards, that 50mm won't give you what you want IME. Doug at Cameraland gave me a good rule of thumb that the last 25% of zoom is not that useable. I've only found that to not be true on the X series from Swarovski.