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Switching to binos for PRS

mr_fullmetal

mr_fullmetal

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Minuteman
Apr 22, 2017
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Seems like I am one of the last few guys lugging around a spotter at matches. Looking to make the switch to binos. I dont need build in ranging. Still using my Terrapin for that. Seems like the Swaros SLC 15x56 is the gold standard. Just curious if there is something else I should consider. Leica? Meopta? Also just to add, none of my local stores seem to carry any "high end" binos for me to try out. So opinions? Thoughts? Comments?
 
www.snipershide.com

Observation Optics for PRS

I am looking at observation optics for PRS competitions. I have an 8x monocular at the moment however I would like something with a bit more juice for dedicated tripod use. From what I gather, binos are the way to go so I am leaning heavily in that direction. The range I go to goes to about 1100...
www.snipershide.com www.snipershide.com

This has some good info in it
 
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The SLC's are the gold standard that all others are compared to.

Meopta Meostar's are similar in quality, but at a bit of a price savings. Zeiss Conquest HD 15x56 should be another contender. There's also Mavic. I don't believe Leica has anything comparable in 15x56.
 
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I like my 18x razors, but the meoptas and swaros have better glass quality
 
357Max said:
I went with Kowa Genesis 44 10.5x44. No regrets. Can watch trace and spot hits at 1k no problem.
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I use these as well. Don't shoot much PRS anymore these days, but took them out to a PRS match in January and they performed admirably. Incredibly easy to spot trace. Impacts are easy to spot as well.

The Kowa Genesis is a great set of bino's, and an incredible value if you can snag an open box special from CameraLandNY. I'm incredibly happy with mine.

The 10's definitely work, but I would say if you have the money to spend, I think a pair of alpha 15's would be even more optimal. They would provide more detail and information for targets at longer distances (800+).
 
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I have the razor uhd 12x. They're pretty nice but the glass is noticeably better on the meoptas plus they come in 15x. Id buy the meos over swaro just due to cost. I dont think the swaros look much if any better at least to my eyes. Now for scopes its zco or youre wrong lol.
 
Not sure why most manufacturers don't offer their binos with a reticle, that is what I miss most about switching over to binos. Bushnell is coming out with a 15X that has a mil reticle but have not announced the release date.
 
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ballisticdaddy said:
Not sure why most manufacturers don't offer their binos with a reticle, that is what I miss most about switching over to binos. Bushnell is coming out with a 15X that has a mil reticle but have not announced the release date.
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I bought a nice pair of Bino's and liked the experience over the spotter but I decided to trade them. I have to know how wide the target is, and how much wind the target can take.. I would go back to bino's if I could get a good set with a reticle.
 
ballisticdaddy said:
Not sure why most manufacturers don't offer their binos with a reticle, that is what I miss most about switching over to binos. Bushnell is coming out with a 15X that has a mil reticle but have not announced the release date.
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Yeah unfortunately those that want reticles in their bino's are a very, very small portion of their customers. Especially for bino companies where shooters/.gov make up a tiny fraction of their sales.

I can see a company like Sig doing this with enough demand. Not so much for a company like Swaro, Meopta, Zeiss, Leica, etc.
 
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ballisticdaddy said:
Not sure why most manufacturers don't offer their binos with a reticle, that is what I miss most about switching over to binos. Bushnell is coming out with a 15X that has a mil reticle but have not announced the release date.
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Maybe the off axis reticle would drive a lot of users to complain. They’d have to develop a reticle that’s either on an internal gimbal or come up with an adjustment system that doesn’t use the simple center pivot to bring the eye pieces closer/farther apart. Otherwise that reticle will always be angled to the left or right for most users.
 
Binos for sure. I have 12x meoptas, 15x meoptas and have compared my 15s to SLC 15s and the razor uhd 18s. My take aways were the vortex weren't great for my eyes. Lots of CA to me. The meopta 15s are amazing for the money. The only noticable difference I could see was the SLCs had a slightly better "sweet spot" where everything was in focus and no edge effects. The meopta 12s are also amazing. I thought they were slightly brighter than the 15s and the FOV was obviously better. I liked that the 12s seemed to be easier for me to move my focus around on the FOV without getting any shadows or vignetting.
 
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kthomas said:
The SLC's are the gold standard that all others are compared to.

Meopta Meostar's are similar in quality, but at a bit of a price savings. Zeiss Conquest HD 15x56 should be another contender. There's also Mavic. I don't believe Leica has anything comparable in 15x56.
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Leica has the Geovid 15x56
 
I use swaro SLC 15. 15x Binos on a tripod are the way to go. Better fov than a spotter and you don’t get eye fatigue.
 
I didn’t know Leica made a 15x56 bino. Had I know I may have considered them before I bought the Swaro SLC. I used some Leica stuff in the sandbox and have a big appreciation for their stuff.
 
mr_fullmetal said:
I didn’t know Leica made a 15x56 bino. Had I know I may have considered them before I bought the Swaro SLC. I used some Leica stuff in the sandbox and have a big appreciation for their stuff.
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They make them in the Geovid R line. I've never used the 15's but I have the 10's and they're not really comparable to the SLC's for spotting. They've got no way to mount a stud and it doesn't work great with the barrel strap type mounts, and the FOV and glass just isn't there. The FOV on my 10's is tight for a 10x binocular and I'd say the glass is about comperable to BX4/5's and the rest of the better mid tier glass like japanese razors and vipers, meopta, etc which is very good glass, but it's not top tier. It's a great LRF bino at it's price point, but you made the right choice going with the SLC's.
 
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mr_fullmetal said:
I didn’t know Leica made a 15x56 bino. Had I know I may have considered them before I bought the Swaro SLC. I used some Leica stuff in the sandbox and have a big appreciation for their stuff.
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I don't believe Leica makes anything comparable to the 15x56 Swaro SLC.

Their 15x56's are range finding binos. People really like them, but you can't expect $2k laser range finding binos to have the same optical quality as straight up $2600 binos.

Leica's premium bino's are their Noctovids, but they max out at 10x42.
 
The competitors to the SLC in 15x would be Meopta Meostar's or Zeiss Conquest HD's, but the general consensus is that the SLC is the top dog in the 15x56 class.
 
kthomas said:
The competitors to the SLC in 15x would be Meopta Meostar's or Zeiss Conquest HD's, but the general consensus is that the SLC is the top dog in the 15x56 class.
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Maven B5s might be worth considering as well. I have the 10 x 50 B6 and am impressed with them.
 
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Something else to think about - I believe that the LRF binos all have different coatings regarding the lasers on the optics (or at least my Steiners do), that can (and likely will) have some impact on pure optical viewing. For example some of the anti-laser coatings in the optics could make the colors warmer for example. If the manufacturer only has to worry about just the optical quality and not anything having to do with lasers, it seems to make sense that they may do better for just pure observation.
 
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Fred @ Bison Tactical said:
Something else to think about - I believe that the LRF binos all have different coatings regarding the lasers on the optics (or at least my Steiners do), that can (and likely will) have some impact on pure optical viewing. For example some of the anti-laser coatings in the optics could make the colors warmer for example. If the manufacturer only has to worry about just the optical quality and not anything having to do with lasers, it seems to make sense that they may do better for just pure observation.
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This 100%.

I have two pair of Leica's here (2022 Geovid R and the previous gen Geovid R) and they both have the slightest red/orangish tint to the left barrel compared to the right. Looking through them for a few minutes is a non issue and you have to close one eye and look into the sky to notice it, but I put them on the tripod for the first time the other day and looked through them for a while and after about 30 minutes it fatigued the shit out of my eyes. There's no way I could glass for long periods of time with them.
 
All the above being said, I still use only 1 pair of binos for both LRF and observation. I don't own a spotting scope (if I did it would likely be the Hensoldt - which I have considered). For me the utility of having 1 device outweighs the benefit of the best of class observation device with different magnification for shooting a match. I have never felt like my eyes were fatigued spotting during a match.

However the reason I considered the spotter was when I am a RO for an entire match. In that case, I would rather have something dedicated to spotting.
 
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if i had to RO with a spotter all day...swaro btx would be about all i'd want to use
 
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