How to Choose the Right Binoculars for Game Hunting

Whether you are stepping out to harvest a big game animal or spot birds, you need hunting gear that makes your outdoor experience memorable. And with more people participating in wildlife-related activities, the hunting equipment and accessories market is expected to register a CAGR of 7.5% from 2022 to 2030.

Whether you are stepping out to harvest a big game animal or spot birds, you need hunting gear that makes your outdoor experience memorable. And with more people participating in wildlife-related activities, the hunting equipment and accessories market is expected to register a CAGR of 7.5% from 2022 to 2030.

However, it can be tricky to find the best optics for your hunting toolkit, especially for a novice. Besides, when it comes to binoculars, there’s a plethora of options to choose from. So, the question remains – how to pick the pair that’s right for you?

We have a few suggestions.

Tips for Choosing the Right Binoculars for Game Hunting

Price and brand are the most obvious factors. But look beyond these basics if you want high-performing, good-quality binoculars for your next wildlife outing. Furthermore, choosing the right binoculars allows you to use tools like a binocular phone adapter to enhance your hunting experience.

Here’s what you should keep in mind.

1. Consider the Magnification

Magnification is one of the most critical factors you need to consider when choosing your binoculars. It is also an important consideration for enhancements like a binocular phone adapter.

Make sure to remember a few things.

First, the highest-power binoculars may not always be the best choice. Higher-power binoculars are more sensitive to small movements. In other words, high-powered binoculars can be hard to use for hunters.

Second, a magnification of 8x to 10x is more than enough for hunting in normal conditions. It is also good to get pictures and shoot videos using a binocular phone adapter. And yes, don’t forget to get a suitable tripod.

2. Pay Attention to the Objective Diameter

The objective lenses are the large lenses on the front side. Usually, compact binoculars have a 25-28 mm objective diameter. It is about 30 mm for mid-sized units and 40 to 42 mm for full-sized binoculars. And long-range models have a 50 mm and higher objective diameter.

The purpose of these lenses is to gather as much light as possible. So, the larger the lens, the more light it will gather, making such binoculars more suitable for low-light conditions. This feature can come in handy if you are hunting in low-light conditions. It can also help you capture better photos and videos with a suitable binocular phone adapter.

3. The Coating Matters

The coating determines how clearly you can see faraway objects through your binoculars. Usually, there are four coating categories.

• Coated Binos: In these binoculars, at least one major optical element comes with a coating on at least one surface.
• Fully Coated Binos: All lenses and glass surfaces of the binocular come with a coating.
• Multi-Coated Binos: In these binoculars, at least one major optical element comes with multiple coatings of an anti-reflective compound, at least on one surface.
• Fully Multi-Coated Binos: As the name suggests, these binoculars come with multiple coatings on all glass surfaces, making them the best and an expensive option.

A typical binocular glass coating can result in around 70% light transmission. This provides you with a clear enough picture. However, the best quality binoculars have 90%-95% light transmission, which results in unparalleled picture quality. The multilayered coating can also be beneficial when using enhancements like a quick-connect binocular phone adapter.

4.Find the Right Size

Size is also an equally important consideration. Bigger size often means heavy binoculars. And no hunter wants to carry heavy binoculars all over the map unless necessary. But this is a tricky consideration to make.

If you go with compact binoculars, your hunting gear will be lightweight. However, you will have to sacrifice some image quality. That may be less than ideal, especially if you want to shoot videos using a cell phone binocular adapter.

On the other hand, going for the best image quality means adding more weight to your backpack. You may not want to carry such a heavy load, especially on a mountainous and steep terrain. So, weigh your options carefully.

5. What’s Your Field of View?

Be sure to consider your field of view. In simple words, the field of view is the area you can see through your binoculars without moving them. As you can imagine, magnification is partly responsible for determining the field of view of a binocular.

So, what’s the benefit of a larger field of view? You can spot and track an animal without moving your binoculars. But, with a narrow field of view, you can get a closer look at an animal. However, you can do this only after spotting the said animal.

In short, consider attaching your binocular phone adapter to the binos with a smaller field of view. It should provide you with clear image quality.

6. Know the Exit Pupil

Although you may not have heard about this, the exit pupil is an important consideration when buying binoculars. The exit pupil is calculated by dividing the objective lens size by the magnification. It is expressed in millimeters. For example, if you have a binocular of 10x40, its exit pupil size would be 4 mm.

In regular light, the average exit pupil of human eyes is around 3 mm. That means the objects will appear darker through binoculars with an exit pupil of less than 3 mm. In short, you should consider buying binoculars with an exit pupil of at least 4 mm or more.

Needless to say, a higher exit pupil will let you capture better-quality video with a binocular adapter for a smartphone. Take this benefit into account when buying binoculars.

7. Does It Provide Good Eye Relief?

Eye relief is the distance between the outer surface of the eyepiece lens and your eye point (the point where the exit pupil forms). At this distance, you can see the whole field of view without losing the outer edge of the picture or vignetting.

Buy binoculars that provide you with good eye relief. You can use binoculars for hours without feeling tired if they have better eye relief. Definitely consider higher eye relief if you wear sunglasses or eyeglasses when hunting.

8. It Should Have a Robust Harness

Of course, you can use a simple, padded strap to carry your binoculars around. But this may not always be the best way to bring your binoculars to the wilderness. First of all, no one likes binos bouncing off as they walk.

Secondly, you would want your binoculars handy, even when you are squirming under a fence. That's where chest carriers or binocular harnesses come in. Plus, they have pockets to store knickknacks like a lighter or a lens cloth.

9. Can It Make Video Captures?

You can also invest in digital camera/video binoculars if you have the budget. Consider these binoculars a perfect combination of your traditional bifocals and digital camera. However, you can always buy a binocular phone adapter if you don't want to spend too much.

But remember, avoid skimping on the quality if you want to use a cell phone binocular adapter. Invest in binoculars with excellent image quality to capture crystal-clear videos. Make sure to do your homework before setting your eyes on the prize.

10. Go for the Best

Well, this is a no-brainer! Everyone's got a budget - agreed. But you don't want to be pinching pennies when buying hunting binoculars. Consider this a long-term investment in your hunting hobby.

Besides, higher-quality binoculars will offer crisp pictures, which makes sense if you already have a binocular phone adapter. Moreover, low-end binoculars have less eye relief, which may lead to headaches. And you don't want that to ruin your hunting experience, do you?

Keep these things in mind before investing in binoculars.

The Bottom Line

Finding the best binoculars for your hunting hobby can be a daunting task. To begin with, you have virtually endless choices, ranging from $20-$30 to a few hundred bucks. But getting good-quality binoculars is at the heart of a memorable hunting experience. High-quality game-hunting optics provide a clear image quality, helping you create beautiful memories. Make sure to keep these factors in mind to buy the best binoculars.

At SnakeLook, we have a wide range of game-hunting optics, including binocular phone adapters. Call us at 801-228-0803 or visit our online store to buy our hunting products.