For longtime Northwest Colorado bow hunter Cedar Beauregard, optics are the cornerstone of any hunting outing.
They take up a fair amount of room in his pack and add weight but are well worth the extra effort. Here, he breaks down what’s in his pack:
“My workhorse of optics is the 15×60 Porro prism binocular by Zeiss. It’s an older style, but has exceptional optics. These binoculars alone have spotted almost 90% of the animals I’ve harvested in the last 20 years. I mount them on a tripod with a smooth video head. I sometimes also use a ball-head for a lights set-up on a carbon tripod.”
“Next, I have my 8×42 Leica Giovid range finding binocular. I’ve been through a few pairs of these they get so much use. This latest model has a horizontal equivalent range calculator to adjust for any inclination in the shot. I rarely shoot at an animal without knowing the range, even if it’s close.”
“Finally comes my Swarovski 80mm spotting scope with a 20×40 eyepiece. This scope has had very little use throughout the years I’ve owned it until recently with the development of the phone scope camera adapter. It’s exciting to be able to video the animals that you spot out there.”