Swaro STC “BIG EYES”

ChrisAU

WKR
Joined
Jan 12, 2018
Messages
6,096
Location
SE Alabama
I can’t even use pretty much any 12x50 binos because of my 2.2” IPD. Glad I’m not tempted by such sorcery as this lol.
 

TrackerG

FNG
Joined
Jan 2, 2024
Messages
77
Very very cool. This would be perfect for hunting almost anything in AZ. I’m curious as to what the FOV would be on 17 power? At 5. Something pounds it’s still packable for a strong guy.

Mid day coues deer would be in trouble!
 
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
2,295
Location
Pennsylvania
Adam builds a great adapter for double spotters. I owned a kowa 664 twin with 30x wa eyepieces. I recently sold it to build a twin kowa 774 with 25-60x eyepieces. The 664 is an amazing tool for finding game, but the 30x sometimes left me wanting more at extreme distances.

The one thing I feel will hurt the swaro stc double is this very thing. More magnification would be great but you are only working with a 56mm objective. Swarovski already makes the slc 15x56 hd. If higher magnification on the 56mm platform made sense I'm sure they would make a 20x 30x or beyond. Swaro makes the 2x adapter for the slc but reviews suck and overall brightness and image quality suffer.

The IPD discussion is interesting but not one comment has mentioned viewing comfort. On the kowa twin spotters everyone removes the rubber eyecups to create more space for your nose. It really helps viewing comfort on long glassing sessions. When looking at the stc doubles removing the eyecups only create minimally better space for your nose. Once you get past the wow factor you are going to need comfortable viewing position to glass effectively.
 
OP
Travis Hobbs
Joined
Mar 29, 2019
Messages
686
Adam builds a great adapter for double spotters. I owned a kowa 664 twin with 30x wa eyepieces. I recently sold it to build a twin kowa 774 with 25-60x eyepieces. The 664 is an amazing tool for finding game, but the 30x sometimes left me wanting more at extreme distances.

The one thing I feel will hurt the swaro stc double is this very thing. More magnification would be great but you are only working with a 56mm objective. Swarovski already makes the slc 15x56 hd. If higher magnification on the 56mm platform made sense I'm sure they would make a 20x 30x or beyond. Swaro makes the 2x adapter for the slc but reviews suck and overall brightness and image quality suffer.

The IPD discussion is interesting but not one comment has mentioned viewing comfort. On the kowa twin spotters everyone removes the rubber eyecups to create more space for your nose. It really helps viewing comfort on long glassing sessions. When looking at the stc doubles removing the eyecups only create minimally better space for your nose. Once you get past the wow factor you are going to need comfortable viewing position to glass effectively.
I removed the eyecups and it definitely makes a big difference, nothing really “touching” my nose or eyes once removed.

I only did two hours and was very comfortable, glassing mule deer from 3-400 yards to well past a mile….

It’s a great point though, and if I had to leave eyecups on it wouldn’t work for me past 20 minutes or so.
 
OP
Travis Hobbs
Joined
Mar 29, 2019
Messages
686
Very very cool. This would be perfect for hunting almost anything in AZ. I’m curious as to what the FOV would be on 17 power? At 5. Something pounds it’s still packable for a strong guy.

Mid day coues deer would be in trouble!
I believe the Swaro 15 SLC still wins at field of view, but it’s not by much.

For an additional 2X magnification on the STC it’s really surprising.

I would guess around 75 feet difference at 1k yards. This was just a quick comparison while first playing with them as it was a big question of mine.
 

TrackerG

FNG
Joined
Jan 2, 2024
Messages
77
I believe the Swaro 15 SLC still wins at field of view, but it’s not by much.

For an additional 2X magnification on the STC it’s really surprising.

I would guess around 75 feet difference at 1k yards. This was just a quick comparison while first playing with them as it was a big question of mine.
If that’s the case then really the only advantage is being able to zoom way in if needed. Ya?
 
Joined
May 28, 2013
Messages
1,395
Location
Littleton, CO
I want a set of these but I have no idea what my ipd is.

Nightforce just came out with their 6-36×50mm spotting scope with a reticle that is no bigger than a normal riflescope at 33oz. I had always wonder why no one had done this before. The nightforce has a lot of zoom range that is not really useful for a big eye setup. A 15-45×56mm with no reticle would be sweet.
 
OP
Travis Hobbs
Joined
Mar 29, 2019
Messages
686
If that’s the case then really the only advantage is being able to zoom way in if needed. Ya?
I think the real advantage will be using this set up varying from 17x, 25x and 30x as different conditions are encountered, and, if you see something at distance, that needs a closer look the ability to go to 40x almost instantly without switching optics and taking an eye off the prize (this has hosed me so many times)


The other big one for me 🤞🏻and hopefully it works as sweet as I think it will-

Let’s say I’m glassing a hillside or a basin, in this basin is a place I have known deer to both feed and bed… open easy to glass country with broken cover for deer to bed….. typically I would cover it with binos, then I would use a spotter in bedding areas and thick stuff, looking very thoroughly and at higher magnification, say 30x, looking for bits and pieces of deer, and any movement.

To be effective and not miss deer, I am also keeping a close eye on the rest of the easier to glass country at lower magnification to cover it the most amount of times possible.

To do it all justice and maximize coverage, id be switching back and forth, between 15’s and spotting scope, an easy 40-50 times a glassing session. Wasting time every time I switch.

With this set up, one twist of the wrists and I’m going back and forth on magnification, eyes never leaving glass, looking close where I need to and getting maximum field of view where I don’t.

I think this set up will make you more effective, especially in the golden hours of deer moving. I’ll know soon as I get more time behind it.
 

TrackerG

FNG
Joined
Jan 2, 2024
Messages
77
I think the real advantage will be using this set up varying from 17x, 25x and 30x as different conditions are encountered, and, if you see something at distance, that needs a closer look the ability to go to 40x almost instantly without switching optics and taking an eye off the prize (this has hosed me so many times)


The other big one for me 🤞🏻and hopefully it works as sweet as I think it will-

Let’s say I’m glassing a hillside or a basin, in this basin is a place I have known deer to both feed and bed… open easy to glass country with broken cover for deer to bed….. typically I would cover it with binos, then I would use a spotter in bedding areas and thick stuff, looking very thoroughly and at higher magnification, say 30x, looking for bits and pieces of deer, and any movement.

To be effective and not miss deer, I am also keeping a close eye on the rest of the easier to glass country at lower magnification to cover it the most amount of times possible.

To do it all justice and maximize coverage, id be switching back and forth, between 15’s and spotting scope, an easy 40-50 times a glassing session. Wasting time every time I switch.

With this set up, one twist of the wrists and I’m going back and forth on magnification, eyes never leaving glass, looking close where I need to and getting maximum field of view where I don’t.

I think this set up will make you more effective, especially in the golden hours of deer moving. I’ll know soon as I get more time behind it.
Ahhhhh I see. Good answer. I have been looking pretty hard at a big eyes set up. But specifically the STS with 25-50 wide angle eye piece. However I think this needs to be a consideration for me for sure. Thanks for sharing
 

TravKatQ

WKR
Joined
Oct 1, 2017
Messages
553
Location
Coalinga, CA
If anyone is looking into building an STC bigeye setup I have 2 STC’s for sale in classifieds! Brand new and great deal! I wish the setup would have worked for me. -Travis


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

BBob

WKR
Joined
Jun 29, 2020
Messages
3,658
Location
Southern AZ
I think the real advantage will be using this set up varying from 17x, 25x and 30x as different conditions are encountered, and, if you see something at distance, that needs a closer look the ability to go to 40x almost instantly without switching optics and taking an eye off the prize (this has hosed me so many times)
With this set up, one twist of the wrists and I’m going back and forth on magnification, eyes never leaving glass, looking close where I need to and getting maximum field of view where I don’t.

I think this set up will make you more effective, especially in the golden hours of deer moving.
I think you'll find this all to be true. That's pretty much how I use the STS's. The instant zoom is the biggest advantage over the BTX and your buddies w/12's and 15's. People worry and talk about losing field of view. I've proven to myself (against hunting with buddy's w/15's) that the smaller field of view doesn't inhibit my glassing at all even at typical 15x ranges. I kick their butts near 100% of the time with twins even at the closer ranges. The deal is the higher magnification helps you to more quickly see what you are looking at and you can move on from that spot way quicker than if you were looking through your 15's. Pretty much why my 15's stay in the safe and why my Nl 12's never go on the tripod. FWIW this experience is coming mostly from a Coues hunting perspective so use that as you will.
 
Joined
Sep 22, 2016
Messages
412
Location
Tucson, Az
I have an ipd of 2.55 and I’m having to remove the eyecups to make them work for me (bridge of nose hits). Night and day difference if you do that. If anyone is in the 2.5-2.55” ipd range you should be fine with the cups removed.
 

itsgobe

FNG
Joined
Dec 7, 2018
Messages
18
Location
Arizona
I have an ipd of 2.55 and I’m having to remove the eyecups to make them work for me (bridge of nose hits). Night and day difference if you do that. If anyone is in the 2.5-2.55” ipd range you should be fine with the cups removed.
I wasn’t able to get them collimated perfectly and I’m around 2.52. I think you need an IP dist of 2.56” at least, and that’s also what Adam told me. They might seem fine but you won’t be able to collimate them dead on, which could impact your long glassing sessions.
 
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