lancetkenyon

Look at the Meopta 15x56 at Cabela's. I did a long comparison on the 10x42s. Borrowed, begged and cheated to get friends glass before my purchase. Plus sat down at Cabela's for hours with the staff and different glass. I am in the market for 15x56s too, and will be doing the same type of testing on the 15X glass as below. Here is what I found with the 10x42s. I have done a bit of research by browsing threads like these for people's preference. I have looked through various glass owned by friends. I have compared, side by side, 8 pair of glass on tripods at three different times of day/night at my local Cabela's. Great guys/gals to let me take them out of the store and look through them for a couple hours. I was looking to replace my 15 year old Cabela's Alaskan Guide 10x42 Roof Prism binoculars (cost 15 years ago was $500, my max back then). They have performed amazingly over the past 15 years. A truly great pair of $500 glass. They did not hold a candle to Swaros, Leicas and the other $1K+ glass from that same time period, but I can still easily see and size up potential game from over a mile and a half with them, and I would say I honestly spend thousands of hours behind them each year. This year I have over 8000 hours behind them already. My criteria was simply the best glass for around $1500+/-. Here are MY findings. Vortex Razor HD 10x42 @ $1199. I was very disappointed in these. Optically I could not tell a difference between these and my current $500 glass, and I am a huge Vortex fan in other cases. Clarity and crispness was way off the others listed below. The warranty is the best in the business though, No ask 100% warranty. Zeiss Conquest HD 10x42 @ $1000-1200. Noticeably better than my $500 glass. Good color, fairly crisp with just a bit of edge blur. Bright at dusk, but not as much as others. Zeiss Victory HT 10x42 @ $2299. Amazing glass. Very close to the Swaro ELs. I could barely tell any difference. Leica Trinovid 10x42 @ $1495. Great glass, color, crisp except for the very outer edge, clear, bright. My biggest pet peeve is the eye relief. My eyelashes kept brushing the lenses every time I blinked. That would drive my nuts for hours on end. I have also heard nightmares about Leica customer service if anything should go wrong. Leica Ultravid 10x42 @ $2299. Not quite as good as the Zeiss Victory HT, but still amazing, and noticeably better than the Trinovids. Again, my biggest pet peeve is the eye relief. Same as the Trinovids. Also the CS issue. Swaro SLC HD 10x42 @ $1799. Great glass. Crisp to the edges and very clear. Good color, very bright until full dark. An improvement even over the older SLCs, and that is a compliment. Barely beat out by the next level of glass at additional costs of $500-800. These were my #2 choice even though slightly above my price range. Swaro EL 10x42 @ $2579. The mother of all glass. Near perfection in a set of binos. Unparalleled clarity, crispness, color, and brightness. But almost twice my budget. And here is the surprise glass. Meopta Meostar HD 10x42 @ $1199. Cabela's in house glass or you can get them for the same price without the Cabela's logo from various places. Clarity is right there with the new Swaro SLC HDs, and better than a buddy's 2012 SLCs (non-HD version). Truly amazing for glass that is $500 cheaper than Swaros. Crisp right up to the edges. Brightness was only beaten by the ELs. Easily viewable in full dark like the SLC HDs. Color is amazing, only beaten by the Swaro ELs. Second least expensive (notice I didn't say cheap) glass that compares to higher dollar glass. I ordered mine on Monday from Sportoptics.com, as they have a no tax/free shipping deal right now, which saved me another 9.5%. Here is the kicker that sealed the deal. Sportoptics.com had a demo model like NIB for $949. Saving me an additional $250.

I recently picked up a used SWFA SS 5-20X50 and I was instantly amazed at how much better the glass is than my 6.5-20x50 Leupold VX-III LR. I have a few Vortex too, and the SWFA blows them away. Tracks perfectly, crystal clear, FFP, great reticle, but heavy. Close range focus leaves just a bit to be desired, but 35 yds. at 5X is clear as anything else I own. And you don't buy a 5-20 to shoot at 25 yds. anyway.

And non-hunters complain about the legal and ethical taking of game by hunters to feed their families.... Proper game management would have done a much better job of controlling the deer populations in these areas. Plus, at the first shot of season opener, half of those deer would head out of the area anyway. Your tax dollars and elected officials at work....

Glass for deer, you might find a lion. I was talking to a hunter up there 2 years ago when I got my mulie, and he saw a cat in the next canyon over from where I shot my deer. He saw it the same day I shot my deer. I shot my deer at about 10:30AM, and he said he saw the cat at about 2:00PM, which means I just started packing out my deer....

I have the RCBS 2-set of dies (FL & bullet seating) for my .250 Ackley Imp. and I like it. It is a really old set but still performs flawlessly. I also have the Redding 2-set for my .25-06 Ackley Imp. and it is even nicer than my RCBS. Better bullet seating die for sure.

My younger daughter got her hunter's ed class last year at the YOU camp. Great time and even better people.

Awesome! To read about it is one thing, to see it on video is another...but seeing it live would be a once in a lifetime experience. Thank you for sharing the video.

Cabela's just got a huge shipment of ladies and kids camo. I have been looking for months for my 11 year old daughter and her upcoming elk hunt in November. She has some basic lightweight camo, but needed some good wind/waterproof/warm stuff. Cabela's has a line for ladies, the "OutfitHER" series. Cut is for the ladies with the shapes. Good quality stuff too. But pricey. I just dropped about $400 last Saturday on a set of kids waterproof insulated over pants, waterproof insulated parka, and a set of wind shear pants. I got a wind shear jacket to match about 2 months ago for another $140. Plus she has sweats, gloves, beanies, good boots, etc. already. I would much rather spend some money and have my daughter be able enjoy her hunt in the cold/snow than be miserable (or even uncomfortable) and learn to hate hunting because of it. If the temps are milder, she can wear one or the other depending on conditions. I have always been thrifty on my hunting clothing, but have learned over the past few years I would rather have 2 sets of GOOD outerwear than 5 cheap sets. But, on warm weather hunts, I can go for 3 weeks and never wear the same outfit twice!

Sharing the hunting tradition would have been a trophy in itself. The taking of a great bull just adds to the experience and family time together in the field. I can only hope my daughter gets a chance at a decent bull this November. But the time we have already spent in the field and preparing has meant a lot to me.

I have 3 loads for my .300 RUM. All Remington cases. All Remington 9 1/2 primers 175 SMK 88.2gr RL22 3.710 COAL 3298 FPS .344" MOA @ 100 yds. 5 shots 175 Barnes LRX 88.0gr. RL22 3.844 COAL 3361 FPS .417" MOA @ 100 yds. 5 shots 210 SMK (still tinkering with this load) 87.0gr. RL22 3.800 COAL 3170 FPS .692" MOA @ 100 yds. 5 shots

Love seeing parents teaching the next generation the hunting tradition. Too many kids all over this country will never get to experience the great outdoors, let alone helping to put food on the table the old ways.

I would not have passed that bull either. Good call on the shot and congratulations on the harvest. How did he taste?

Just drew a 12AE early rifle tag. Second one in 3 years. I guess that helps make up for 16 years for elk, and 22 years for antelope with no tags.

Wow. Shocker! I drew a 12AE early rifle hunt in 2012. Just drew another one!

You sucka.

I am a big quarter bore fan. Great javi/antelope/deer caliber. Not a bad 1000K steel round either. I have a .25-06 Ackley Improved that is simply amazing to shoot. Light recoil, laser fast and surgical accurate. I have 3 loads worked up, and all POI are the same at 200 yds. 100 Barnes TTSX @ 3598fps. 100 SMK @ 3658fps. 115 Berger VLD @ 3486fps. My 11 year old daughter made a 1st round kit at 865 yds. on my 12" steel. I also have a .250 Ackley Improved. Similar to the above round, but a bit slower. Kind of weird, but recoil seems similar to the .25-06 AI. 100 SMK @ 3200fps. 115 Berger VLD at 3100fps. I took a 1328 yd. coyote with this gun this spring.

So is there a new RMEF? "Ricky Martin Elk Foundation"?

I just left there. Might be higher in price, but if you order online for $26/lb., delivered price to your door is the same as Bruno's, and takes a couple days to get here. Not that I like paying higher prices, but better than doing without in my opinion. And if you build a relationship with them, they will even let you know when a certain powder you have been searching for for two years finally comes in stock. They have a ton in stock right now. IMR, Hodgdon, VV, Alliant, Accurate.

Triceratops....the OTHER, other white meat.

And folks say you don't need camo in the woods.....looks like they blend in pretty well with the surrounding vegetation. Gone are the days of jeans and flannel shirts.

My 11 year old daughter and I had a good time. I did not drop any $$ on the raffles or the auctions, but wish I would have. Saw an old friend that I haven't seen in 10+ years working the AES booth. Thanks for the heads up on this. My daughter learned quite a bit, and I learned a few things too. Met some great people, saw a lot of future generation hunters having a good time, and got to fellowship with other Christian hunters. A true win/win.

Beautiful cinematography. Love the pristine outdoors as much as hunting.

My daughter and I were supposed to go up for a long weekend, but got called back Thursday afternoon about 3:30pm when my wife got rear ended and totaled her Mustang. We left Thursday morning about 2:45AM, and before sunrise @ 5:45AM, had seen 68 elk (one stud bull, 2-3 mature 6x6, a few raghorns/spikes, and a bunch of cows w. calves. Also saw antelope with a decent buck in the herd, 10 deer with 3 small bucks, 2 turkeys, a lone coyote, a prairie dog town (which now has two less than before we got there), and a bunch of rabbits and various birds. Only a few photos, as most of the elk were seen when it was too dark to photograph them. a raghorn bull Antelope buck Jake turkey Jackrabbit Lucky coyote

Straight from the Barnes #4 manual: COAL: Min 2.530 Max 2.800 No IMR4350 load data for the 140 TSX/MRX. Try www.reloadersnest.com for load data. But remember, this is private party load data, so load with care.

Thanks for the info. I think my 11 year old and I might attend this. Close to our house and just in time for my daughter's first elk hunt.