Binoculars for Field Archery

Tank

Member
What Bins do you use for field shooting. I only need to go to 55/60m? So I see no need for anything too powerful.

I have some Bressers currently but in friends words "they are toy binoculars".

Let me have your recommendations...prices and places to buy
 

wish.stevie

New member
hi i use hawk bins they cost just over ?100. they can pick out your nocks up to 80yards no problem. thats if your shooting a different colour from others. i got mine from sherwood optics. there a good company to deal with. think merlin stock them too.
 

Shirt

Well-known member
Nikon Monarch, very nice, comes up on eBay every now and again for about 180 quid.
Nikon Action are almost as good and a fair bit cheaper (80-100)
Bushnell H2O range are OK as well.

Key things are waterproof and preferably nitrogen-filled; and a decent objective lens.
(Most binoculars come categorised as AAxBB - AA is magnification, go between 8 and 12 as less is mostly pointless and more is hard to hols still; BB is objective lens, the bigger the more light hits it and the lighter the image so something like 42 or 50mm. Don't get anything like 10x25, as soon as you try and use them on a dark target you won't be able to see anything)

JMO, etc.
 

Shirt

Well-known member
They say "weatherproof" not "waterproof" - it's like having a "water resistant" watch.

Makes little to no difference until you have a very wet shoot and then suddenly your binoculars fog up and you can't see a damn thing! :D
 

unoskc

New member
Hi.....Just bought a pair of ZenRay ED3's ....what performance!!!! Mag 10x O lens 43mm.... great in low light with superb clarity. Waterproof and easy to use in the field. Not cheap at just over ?300 but watch out for the Customs tax and VAT ... that bites you on the **** just as you're hanging around waiting the postman to deliver!! Unoskc
 

Whitehart

Well-known member
Strange I have a pair of Bressers 10 x 50 I picked up a few years ago for ?9.99 - OK they are not the best made or waterproof but they are so bright which helps in the woods - those with more expensive even swarski commented on how clear they were - perhaps I was just lucky.

My favorites are a pair of Opticron 8 x 42 but I only get to borrow these occasionally when all the birds are elsewhere.
 

Mardalf

Supporter
Supporter
I prefer a monocular as I find it easier to grab & line up my eyeball.

Mine's a Tasco 16x40 and cost all of ?12.49 a couple of months ago. For that sort of price it was worth trying. I can check my arrows OK at 70m, but cannot easily distinguish someone else's on the same target at that distance (unless they are massively different). But it does for me.
 

piscafile

Member
I have a 10-90 zoom molecular telescope I got for ?15 on eBay. It's just over 1" diameter and about 4" long and is good enough to read the printers name on a target face at 50yards! Just prop it against a convenient tree to stabilise it. If you step to one side of your shooting position you get a better view of where the arrows have hit.
 

Corax67

Well-known member
I carry my spare birding bins for archery - Optocron BG.PC.AG 8x42 - light, fully waterproof, excellent colour rendition & I can pick out nock at 100yds (albeit fluoro) most times. 50yds and less, even indoor with odd lighting is no problem.

As they are around 20 years old I have no idea of relative cost now, around ?200 back in the day, but they are still as good as when they were new so I would recommend paying that bit extra.

Last weekend we had mist making life really tricky so I dragged out my 10x42 Leica Trinovids - massive overkill but man it was fun :)



Karl
 

Simon Banks

Active member
Just curious but how do you use them?, look at the target and then look around the target for clues of distance?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Flamez

Member
AIUK Saviour
Just curious but how do you use them?, look at the target and then look around the target for clues of distance?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I shoot longbow target shooting, at longer distances, look to see if I have hit the target if so where.... if not are the arrows falling short or too long...

hah
 

Corax67

Well-known member
Just curious but how do you use them?, look at the target and then look around the target for clues of distance?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The technique i find I find that works for me is to shoot 3 arrows (tend to shoot rounds of 6 per end) then stand off to one side of the target by a few feet to check where my arrows have struck. By standing off the centre line I am able to pick out my Nocks much easier & quicker plus I can se part of the shaft too which allows me to work out where they have impacted.

i need to use my scope if I want to be super accurate as line cutters can be tricky to determine at 8 or 10x magnification out at 100yds but for rough reckoning & scoring bins are fine.



Karl
 

Simon Banks

Active member
Sorry I thought since this thread was about binoculars for field archery my question would be about field archery not target ;-)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Corax67

Well-known member
Oops - I default to target !

Same applies for field/3D with regard to checking off the centre line to give the best view of your impact point - this is my experience from rifle shooting courses over the years - but as the field courses I have seen tend to be in forestry then I really recommend more expensive optics as these will give far better low light resolution. As with a riser go for the best you can afford.

As an example from my serious bird watching days I would go as part of a county group to wetlands reserves and amongst us we would have bins from ?50 to ?1000 a set. As dusk settled in with us in hides then it became simple to compare low light capability as people would declare when they lost the ability to pick out roosting waders - without exception it was the Leica & Swarovski that would still be going maybe half an hour or more longer than cheaper models of equivalent magnification & lens diameter.

In full summer in the depths of a woodland the light levels are low enough to make optic performance noticeable.



Karl
 

piscafile

Member
Oops - I default to target !

Same applies for field/3D with regard to checking off the centre line to give the best view of your impact point - this is my experience from rifle shooting courses over the years - but as the field courses I have seen tend to be in forestry then I really recommend more expensive optics as these will give far better low light resolution. As with a riser go for the best you can afford.

As an example from my serious bird watching days I would go as part of a county group to wetlands reserves and amongst us we would have bins from ?50 to ?1000 a set. As dusk settled in with us in hides then it became simple to compare low light capability as people would declare when they lost the ability to pick out roosting waders - without exception it was the Leica & Swarovski that would still be going maybe half an hour or more longer than cheaper models of equivalent magnification & lens diameter.

In full summer in the depths of a woodland the light levels are low enough to make optic performance noticeable.



Karl
Had similar problem with a 4X scope sight years ago. It was a 2D wild boar target in deep cover. I just could not see anything through the scope lens just black and had to take guess. Consequently I think I shot it in th ass! So for the second round I taped a small tourch to the stabilizer. There was much thumbing through rule books and a lot of head scratching but as nobody could find anything to say it couldn't be done, I was allowed my shot. I had to remove it straight afterwards....still shot it in the ads as I remember but at least I could see where I missed.
 

Corax67

Well-known member
Don't forget to choose a waterproof (nitrogen filled) model - as far as I'm concerned it's essential. Seeing a set of bins with water sloshing around inside them is horrid.


Karl
 

English Bowman

Well-known member
Just curious but how do you use them?, look at the target and then look around the target for clues of distance?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
In WA / AGB field archery you shoot 3 arrows from one peg. You can use them before the first shot to see if there is any pattern in the holes in the target face, if there is then people are getting fooled by the course lay out or terrain so you can hopefully avoid the same trap. You then check again after shooting the first arrow to check where it hits, and can adjust if needed.
 

Simon Banks

Active member
It's easy to fall into that trap.. Three archers shoot ahead of me they all shoot low on the first arrow.. I get up to the peg and go high,.. But then again it was a tiger the size of a large whippet over a lot of hidden ground so these things happen.

I've heard of people looking at the surroundings around the target for clues of distance as well?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Top