When the majority of my time afield was spent carrying long guns I never really appreciated a good set of binoculars. I was guilty of just lifting the rifle and glassing game through the scope. This is fine and dandy when game is positively identified and you are just trying to determine if the critter in question is legal or not. By legal I am referring to looking for antlers or such as many states have minimum point restrictions. But when trying to identify an unknown object such as a possible tail flicker or shapes in the brush, the gun-mounted optics should never be utilized. You could possibly be pointing that gun at another human being. In this case I would wait patiently for the object to reveal itself or would simply vanish because I did not carry binoculars.

When scoped handguns began to become my preferred sidearm I was still identifying "questionable" objects by waiting. But when it came to scope game to look for points frustration was setting in. I could hold a scoped Contender at arms length long enough to take a shot but looking for antler points was difficult. A shaky hand and low magnification scopes did not help the matter either. For those who hunt with open sights a good pair of binoculars is even more important.

There are plenty of choices when it comes to choosing handheld optics. Nearly every optic manufacturer has something in their line to suit varying uses and pocketbook sizes. In a perfect world we could all afford Leica or Swarovski binoculars but last time I looked in my gun safe all I had were Bushnell's and a pair of Minolta bino's that I snatched on sale.

When choosing optics to best suit your needs its important to consider your hunting conditions. I spend a lot of time on stand where a pair of full-size 10x50's will create no burden. For those who cover a lot of ground in less than perfect conditions, a compact offering in a quality seven to ten power magnification would do much better. If you spend your time on high ridge tops glassing for game over a several mile area then you needs fall into the line of tripod mounted spotting scopes.

Most companies now are offering laser rangefinders with a fairly reliable magnification. Though you will spend more money going this route it is very handy to have this feature built in when glassing game. It also saves from buying and carrying separate units. My old Bushnell laser unit has only a four power magnification and 400 yard ranging capability. For most of my purposes the ranging distances is more than adequate but is greatly lacking when trying to counts antler points in large open woods or fields. At the time I purchased them they were top of the line and fairly costly. Now the same unit can be had with additional features for about one third of the price.

While only you can decide what route to go when purchasing optics I can offer that it is best to get what you can afford and that when hunting with a handgun, or any firearm for that matter, a good pair of handheld optics to glass for game can be priceless. To provide a complete run down of manufacturers and options would take way more time than I care to spend. But a review of any sportsman's catalog or website will provide an adequate listing of what can be had for the amount of cash you can lay out.

Good shooting,
Dan B.