1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:05,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:08,520 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals better dear Hunting. Present it by First Light, 3 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. 4 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:17,120 Speaker 1: First Light, Go farther, Stay Longer, and now your host 5 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:18,239 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 2: Hey, everyone, welcome to the Wire to Hunt Foundation's podcast, 7 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 2: which is brought to you by First Light. This week's 8 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 2: show is all about taking a closer look at all 9 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 2: critters while using the right optics for the situation. It's 10 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 2: kind of I don't know, it's been in my experience 11 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:49,000 Speaker 2: anyway that Western hunters understand the importance of optics a 12 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:51,200 Speaker 2: hell of a lot more than the average white tail hunter. 13 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:54,120 Speaker 2: And this makes sense, like, at least to some extent, 14 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 2: when you consider, you know, the big country that Western 15 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 2: critters live in. Letting your eyes with the right optics 16 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 2: do a lot of the walking saves you, while a 17 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:06,080 Speaker 2: lot of walking white tails and they're tighter confines, they 18 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:10,039 Speaker 2: just don't require the same long distance effort. Typically. The 19 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:13,360 Speaker 2: truth is glassing is a skill that will benefit all 20 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:16,880 Speaker 2: big game hunters and it's something worth understanding, which is 21 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:29,679 Speaker 2: what this episode is all about. I'm currently reading one 22 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:33,840 Speaker 2: of Neil deGrasse Tyson's books on Well You Guessed It Space? 23 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:37,399 Speaker 2: For those who don't know, Tyson is an astrophysicist who 24 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 2: has a knack for explaining big, complicated concepts in a 25 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 2: way that even a knuckle dragger like me can understand. 26 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 2: In one of the chapters of this book, Tyson explains 27 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 2: a concept that made me instantly think about hunting. In it, 28 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 2: he breaks down how when you're interested in learning about space, 29 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:58,720 Speaker 2: you either need to take a really close look via 30 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 2: a high powered saddle later a probe, or you need 31 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 2: to back way way out and look at certain things 32 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,359 Speaker 2: in a zoomed out type of style. Is that confusing? 33 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:11,920 Speaker 2: Let me paraphrase a little more so I can contextualize 34 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 2: it better. The two examples he uses are, what if 35 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 2: you had a guy walking in front of you on 36 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,639 Speaker 2: a sidewalk, and for whatever reason, you needed to see 37 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:24,880 Speaker 2: the inscription on his class ring. Even at like twenty 38 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:28,200 Speaker 2: feet You'd see a guy walking and could maybe catch 39 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 2: a glimpse of the ring on his finger, but you 40 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 2: sure as hell couldn't read it unless you were crossbred 41 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 2: with a red tailed hawk or maybe an eagle. You'd 42 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:39,079 Speaker 2: need to zoom in or get closer. The closer you get, 43 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,519 Speaker 2: the more details you can see. Eventually, you could even 44 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:44,959 Speaker 2: pull out a magnifying glass and study the ring to 45 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 2: see the inscription in true detail. That level of magnification 46 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:51,280 Speaker 2: and distance would allow you to resolve all of that 47 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 2: detail into something that makes sense. In contrast, he pointed 48 00:02:55,440 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 2: out this wouldn't work with a Renaissance era painting. If 49 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:02,080 Speaker 2: you started at six inches from the painting with a 50 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 2: magnifying glass, you'd be able to see individual brushstrokes and 51 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 2: clumps of different colors of paint, but it wouldn't make 52 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:13,400 Speaker 2: much sense to you as a scene. You'd need to 53 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:15,400 Speaker 2: back up to a reasonable distance to see what the 54 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 2: painting actually depicts. In space, if you want to understand 55 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:22,399 Speaker 2: these examples, you could pick any random exoplanet out there 56 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:25,800 Speaker 2: circling its respective star and zoom in with something like 57 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 2: the James Webb telescope. Yet, if you wanted to see 58 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 2: the shape of our galaxy the Milky Way, for example, 59 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 2: you'd actually need to get quite a ways away from 60 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 2: it to look back and see that it isn't just 61 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:40,240 Speaker 2: a blob of stars and space dust. Instead is actually 62 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:44,160 Speaker 2: a spiral armed galaxy rotating around sagittarius a a big 63 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 2: old black hole that is holding the whole thing in place. 64 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 2: Sometimes you need to get close. Sometimes you need to 65 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 2: be far away to understand what you're looking at. You 66 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 2: know where. This probably matters more to you personally than 67 00:03:55,200 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 2: in astronomy. That's right, golf, Just kidding, Hunting now, I'm 68 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:03,120 Speaker 2: bending this idea a little to fit what I want 69 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 2: to talk about, because really, if you're using a spotting 70 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:08,840 Speaker 2: scope or binoculars, you're getting a closer look. But there 71 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,440 Speaker 2: is a difference in glassing styles, and there is a 72 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 2: difference in the benefit to watching the world with say, 73 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 2: like I don't know, eight by forty binoculars versus eighty 74 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 2: five millimeters spotting scope something with maybe like a sixty 75 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:24,279 Speaker 2: power zoom. So acknowledge that, and we will just forget 76 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 2: that I didn't start this with a imperfect analogy. Glassing 77 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 2: is important if you hunt out west for mule deer 78 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,359 Speaker 2: or something. It might be the most important part of 79 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:38,359 Speaker 2: the hunt outside of planning a really good route for 80 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 2: a stalk, and even that only happens after you find 81 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:44,120 Speaker 2: a deer to stalk. So really it's kind of the lynchpin, 82 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:48,200 Speaker 2: and that holds the whole thing together. White tails rarely 83 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 2: die solely because a hunter got eyes on them with binoculars, 84 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:53,960 Speaker 2: but the benefits are many, and I'm going to get 85 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 2: into them, but first I want to talk about how 86 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:59,640 Speaker 2: most hunters glass sort of I don't know, half ass like, 87 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 2: and I'm including myself in this assessment, so don't take 88 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 2: it personally. Now. I did think I was pretty good 89 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 2: on the binos until I started hunting with a buddy 90 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:11,359 Speaker 2: of mine who lives in Colorado. The first time we 91 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:13,360 Speaker 2: really got together in a place where we could glass. 92 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:15,600 Speaker 2: We met up in North Dakota to hunt white tails 93 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:18,640 Speaker 2: and meal deer in the badlands, and during one particularly 94 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 2: windy midday, we decided to go see if we could 95 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:26,160 Speaker 2: scan the countryside to pick up a buck. I knew wrongly, 96 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:28,320 Speaker 2: I might add, that this was going to be a 97 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 2: lost cause, or at least I thought it was mostly 98 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 2: going to be a lost cause. The bucks out there 99 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:35,719 Speaker 2: get pressured pretty hard, and they aren't prone to bedding 100 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:38,720 Speaker 2: in the wide open where they're easy to see. They 101 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:41,280 Speaker 2: tuck into the wooded draws and the cedars, and they 102 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 2: don't give themselves up too often. So when we started glassing, 103 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:47,599 Speaker 2: Tyler and I set up a spotting scope on a 104 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:50,360 Speaker 2: good tripod just below the lip of a cliff to 105 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:52,560 Speaker 2: keep us out of the wind. I sat next to 106 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 2: him while he was on that spotting scope and I 107 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:57,040 Speaker 2: put my binos to my eyes and I did a 108 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 2: quick perimeter sweep so announced that I didn't see anything 109 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:06,160 Speaker 2: and he probably wouldn't either. And anyway, it took him 110 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:08,720 Speaker 2: about twenty seven seconds to find two meal their doze 111 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 2: that I had completely missed, and they were on their 112 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 2: feet and not all that far away. So it was 113 00:06:12,839 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 2: kind of embarrassing for me, and in a couple of 114 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:18,679 Speaker 2: hours we scoured the distant hills for deer. He kicked 115 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 2: my ass all over the countryside. It was actually pretty embarrassing, 116 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 2: and it reminded me of two things. I was not 117 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:28,119 Speaker 2: a patient and thorough glasser, and I had the wrong 118 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:31,839 Speaker 2: tool for that job. I was looking big picture with 119 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:34,839 Speaker 2: the binos while he was zooming in and digging deep 120 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 2: with a spotter. Ever since then, I've tried to be 121 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:40,400 Speaker 2: more disciplined in my glassing and keep the right tools 122 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:44,599 Speaker 2: for the job handy. Here's the thing, I think every hunter, 123 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:47,839 Speaker 2: no matter what type of big game here she targets, 124 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 2: should have a spotter with a decent tripod and a 125 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:55,800 Speaker 2: decent pair of binos, most whitetail hunters will probably disagree. 126 00:06:56,279 --> 00:06:59,040 Speaker 2: That's fine, it's my podcast. I'm gonna make the case 127 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:02,080 Speaker 2: for it anyway. When it comes to a decent spotter 128 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:05,559 Speaker 2: with a decent tripod, the buy in is a little rough, 129 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:09,240 Speaker 2: but good optics are usually backed by great warranties and 130 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 2: they last a long long time if you take care 131 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 2: of them. It's a buy one's cry once situation, and 132 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 2: it's worth it in my opinion. The same goes for binos. 133 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 2: Cheap binos are almost a liability, while mid to high 134 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:27,720 Speaker 2: price binoculars are an asset. Again, listen, I realized this 135 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 2: is up to an individual's personal finances, but an investment 136 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:34,160 Speaker 2: in optics will pay off much better than nickel and 137 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 2: diming yourself every season buying bottles of dope and sent 138 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 2: wix and shit like that. This is true if you 139 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:45,280 Speaker 2: plan to never leave the White Toe Woods, and unquestionably 140 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:48,000 Speaker 2: true and super important if you do plan to leave 141 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:49,960 Speaker 2: the White Toe Woods to travel to the mountains or 142 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:54,680 Speaker 2: the plains. Since most hunters are probably way more open 143 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:57,240 Speaker 2: to buying binoculars than a spotter. I'm gonna start there 144 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 2: for me, I don't want to thing less than ten power. Now, 145 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 2: that might seem like overkill if you're a big woods 146 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 2: white tail hunter, I don't think it is. The difference 147 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:10,240 Speaker 2: in weight from these little six or eight power binos 148 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:13,320 Speaker 2: to a ten power is, in my opinion, kind of negligible. 149 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:16,040 Speaker 2: Doesn't really matter, but the ability to scan the woods 150 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:20,160 Speaker 2: in the fields effectively is noticeable. A common size is 151 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:22,880 Speaker 2: a ten by forty, which is ten x zoom and 152 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 2: a forty milimeter objective lens. This also equates to a 153 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:30,040 Speaker 2: four milimeter exit pupil, which is the part that allows 154 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:33,960 Speaker 2: light to your eyes. Now, a ten by fifty would 155 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:37,960 Speaker 2: have the same magnification, but a five millimeter exit pupil, 156 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:40,920 Speaker 2: or put it in another way just to allow more 157 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:44,600 Speaker 2: light to reach your eyes. At noon on an analope hunt, 158 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:47,360 Speaker 2: it's not going to matter fifteen minutes before dark on 159 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:50,440 Speaker 2: a white tail hunt, it will. Now, either of these 160 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:52,600 Speaker 2: specs will give you a decent field of view. Now, 161 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:54,959 Speaker 2: if you try to go beyond ten X and magnification, 162 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:58,640 Speaker 2: you'll be able to zoom in on details far far out. 163 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:01,560 Speaker 2: But you'll also find that holding them by hand leaves 164 00:09:01,559 --> 00:09:03,600 Speaker 2: you a little shaky, and you might be kind of 165 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:07,439 Speaker 2: wishing for a tripod. You'll also experience a smaller field 166 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:12,800 Speaker 2: of view. You'll notice that binoculars, or you know, binocular manufacturers, 167 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:16,000 Speaker 2: they advertise all kinds of prisms and codings that might 168 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:18,720 Speaker 2: not make much sense to you. They'll tut something like 169 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,840 Speaker 2: twilight factor, which is found by taking the ebjective lens 170 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:26,000 Speaker 2: and then multiplying that by the magnification, then looking for 171 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 2: the square root of that number. I'll save you the 172 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:30,080 Speaker 2: time in the math and say that ten by fifties 173 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:32,080 Speaker 2: are better in low light than eight by thirty twos. 174 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:35,880 Speaker 2: The truth is binoculars tend to perform commensurate to their 175 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:38,800 Speaker 2: price tag, and that kind of sucks. A two hundred 176 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 2: dollars pair with the same specs as a one thousand 177 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:44,240 Speaker 2: dollars pair is going to be built differently. It's going 178 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:48,120 Speaker 2: to be less quality, almost guaranteed. A thousand dollars pair 179 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:52,360 Speaker 2: compared to another thousand dollars pair. The different story. Playing 180 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:54,120 Speaker 2: with a few models in your price range will let 181 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:57,520 Speaker 2: you see which ones you like better. But I've gone 182 00:09:57,520 --> 00:09:59,400 Speaker 2: off track here a little bit. This isn't a binocular 183 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:03,240 Speaker 2: buying guide, it's about how you use them. Well, scratch 184 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:05,000 Speaker 2: that for a second, because I see a hell of 185 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:07,080 Speaker 2: a lot of white tail hunters who don't use them. 186 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 2: You don't see that out west, but in the whitetail 187 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:13,000 Speaker 2: woods it's pretty common. If you don't use them, you're 188 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:16,880 Speaker 2: missing out. Literally. Think about it this way. What if 189 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:19,000 Speaker 2: you're on the edge of a soybean field in late 190 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:21,680 Speaker 2: September and the sun tucks below the horizon and the 191 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:25,320 Speaker 2: clock is ticking, it's ten minutes before last light, and 192 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:27,880 Speaker 2: you see in the far corner of the field the 193 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:30,800 Speaker 2: shape of a deer that's out there feeding. It's just 194 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:33,280 Speaker 2: a gray blob at that point to your naked eye. 195 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:36,480 Speaker 2: You wonder, I don't know is it a buck or 196 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:38,600 Speaker 2: a dough. If it's a buck, is it a big one? 197 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 2: You could know all those details and probably make a 198 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:43,520 Speaker 2: pretty good guess on where the deer came out from 199 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:47,480 Speaker 2: the woods from just with a quick glassing session. Without it, 200 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:51,280 Speaker 2: you're just getting less information to work off of. With it, 201 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:53,800 Speaker 2: you might be able to kill him the very next 202 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:56,840 Speaker 2: night because you'll know what he is and probably where 203 00:10:56,880 --> 00:11:00,640 Speaker 2: he came from. Simple, right, So what if you're sitting 204 00:11:00,679 --> 00:11:03,320 Speaker 2: in the woods, the big woods, let's say, and you 205 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:06,559 Speaker 2: catch some movement in the distance. It's a deer, you're 206 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:08,920 Speaker 2: sure of that, but you can't see any details because 207 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 2: it's too thick. Again, you don't know what kind of deer, 208 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 2: you don't know what it's doing, and you're basically running 209 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 2: on low info. But you throw Bino's up to your 210 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:19,760 Speaker 2: eyes and you see that it's a buck and he's 211 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:21,960 Speaker 2: nibbling away on some kind of plant, back and forth, 212 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:25,440 Speaker 2: nom nom in his heart out. How actionable is that 213 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:29,240 Speaker 2: for you? The thing is good. Binos help you become 214 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:32,840 Speaker 2: a better decision maker out there. They aren't solely for 215 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:36,640 Speaker 2: seeing animals, and that's it. You can see animals, and 216 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:38,840 Speaker 2: then you can watch what they do, which is the 217 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:41,800 Speaker 2: important part. You can glass up the trails they take, 218 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:45,440 Speaker 2: the brush they browse on. You can use binos after 219 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:47,600 Speaker 2: you shoot and you're on the blood trail. You can 220 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:49,320 Speaker 2: use them to look for the arrow in the grass 221 00:11:49,320 --> 00:11:51,240 Speaker 2: from your stands, see if it's covered in blood at all, 222 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:52,960 Speaker 2: decide if you should get down or you should wait. 223 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:56,120 Speaker 2: You can take them out west and scan the sagebrush 224 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:58,440 Speaker 2: for a group analope, or a meadow in the high 225 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:00,880 Speaker 2: country while you try to see if there's a wallow 226 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:04,000 Speaker 2: in there somewhere that an elk might visit. It's a 227 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:07,280 Speaker 2: shortcut to walking and a shortcut to guessing on what 228 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:11,080 Speaker 2: you're actually seeing. The key is getting used to them. 229 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:14,680 Speaker 2: So I'm going to offer a shameless plug here. Whatever 230 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:18,880 Speaker 2: binos you have or plan to buy, buy a good 231 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:22,120 Speaker 2: bino harness to go with them. We've been using the 232 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:25,920 Speaker 2: FHF gear fob the last year. And this isn't just 233 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:28,560 Speaker 2: because Mediator owns the company. I'm being honest. It's the 234 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:31,800 Speaker 2: best bino harness I've used. I freaking love that thing 235 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:34,600 Speaker 2: and it goes with me just about anytime in the woods, 236 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:36,800 Speaker 2: from shed hunting season all the way through the last 237 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:39,240 Speaker 2: days of the deer season. I keep it in my 238 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:41,800 Speaker 2: truck when I'm pheasant hunting and when I'm scouting turkeys. 239 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:46,720 Speaker 2: A good bino harness is important because you won't maximize 240 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:50,000 Speaker 2: your bino usage if your optics aren't convenient to get 241 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 2: to trust me on this, it's important now. Of course, 242 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:57,120 Speaker 2: it's not all about just binoculars. I have sort of 243 00:12:57,160 --> 00:12:59,640 Speaker 2: a weird thing with spotting scopes and that I try 244 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:02,920 Speaker 2: to find all kinds of uses for them naturally. If 245 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:05,400 Speaker 2: I'm working on a mule deer tag or an antelope tag, 246 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:08,720 Speaker 2: I have a spotter with me for white tails all 247 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:12,400 Speaker 2: summer long. You guessed it. Sometimes during the season too, 248 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:14,480 Speaker 2: if I'm trying to figure out exactly where they are 249 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:16,640 Speaker 2: feeding or watering right now so I can try to 250 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:20,599 Speaker 2: kill them tonight or tomorrow. I even started using a 251 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:24,040 Speaker 2: spotter to scout turkeys, and while that might seem like overkill, 252 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:27,440 Speaker 2: it's amazing watching birds from long range as they navigate 253 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:30,080 Speaker 2: the terrain. It allows me to set blinds for my 254 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:32,640 Speaker 2: little girls right where they need to be, and it 255 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:35,160 Speaker 2: almost feels unfair to the longbard's kind of like running 256 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:39,600 Speaker 2: trail cameras. For them, a good spotter is worth it. 257 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:43,000 Speaker 2: And for me, I like to go big. I like 258 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:47,240 Speaker 2: magnification from like twenty to sixty x with a big 259 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:50,800 Speaker 2: old eighty five millimeter objective lens. I look at it 260 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:54,120 Speaker 2: like it's my own James Webb telescope. I want to 261 00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:58,319 Speaker 2: see things in great detail that are far away. Binoculars 262 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:01,800 Speaker 2: are great for scanning for close range work, but a 263 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:06,520 Speaker 2: spotter changes the game on long range work. If you're 264 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:09,439 Speaker 2: going out west, you really don't have much of a choice, 265 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:12,120 Speaker 2: except maybe for elk because you're not gonna want to 266 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:14,360 Speaker 2: carry a spot up a mountain in a lot of situations, 267 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:18,920 Speaker 2: but also for white tails. It's something to consider. While 268 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:22,760 Speaker 2: long range glassing has largely been replaced by trail camera usage, 269 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 2: it's not the same thing, and it never will be. 270 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:28,560 Speaker 2: Watching with your own eyes what a buck or a 271 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:30,680 Speaker 2: bachelor group of bucks does when they get into a 272 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 2: field is a vastly different beast than a series of 273 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:38,240 Speaker 2: trail camera images. Zooming in tight to a buck and 274 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:41,200 Speaker 2: watching how he browses along a row of soybeans or 275 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:44,840 Speaker 2: approaches a distant pond to drink. That's an education you're 276 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:47,240 Speaker 2: not going to get with a trail camera. It's a 277 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:49,960 Speaker 2: front row seat to deer behavior, and that is a 278 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:54,520 Speaker 2: show worth attending. It's also a lost cause without a 279 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:58,520 Speaker 2: decent tripod. You're not a pirate there glassing other ships. 280 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:05,440 Speaker 2: You're dealing with serious magnification. Steadiness is everything. If you're 281 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:08,840 Speaker 2: not steady, you're going to be frustrated and likely feel 282 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 2: like you're wasting your time. It would kind of be 283 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:14,200 Speaker 2: like buying an eighty five thousand dollars bass boat and 284 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:18,120 Speaker 2: filling it with snoopy poles. As it is with binoculars, 285 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:22,360 Speaker 2: Spotter usage gets better the more comfortable you are find 286 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:25,400 Speaker 2: reasons to use a spotting scope. That turkey hunting example 287 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:28,240 Speaker 2: I just gave you might seem dumb and like overkill, 288 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:30,760 Speaker 2: like I said, but learning to use your optics in 289 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:34,360 Speaker 2: a low stress situation is not. If you spend March 290 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 2: and maybe the beginning of April glassing long beards in 291 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:39,720 Speaker 2: the cut cornfield, you'll be a hell of a lot 292 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:42,480 Speaker 2: better off when you have an expensive non resident meal 293 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:44,760 Speaker 2: der tag in your pocket and you're perched on some 294 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:48,760 Speaker 2: high country hogs back looking for something to stalk. If 295 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:52,120 Speaker 2: you do find something to stalk, having binoculars snugged up 296 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:54,320 Speaker 2: to your chest so you can glass for velvet tips 297 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:58,720 Speaker 2: as you close the distance is equally as important. This 298 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:01,760 Speaker 2: is maybe the best lesson of this podcast, which is 299 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:04,880 Speaker 2: to learn to use your optics in real time in 300 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:09,280 Speaker 2: high pressure and low pressure situations. Glassing up a shed 301 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:12,480 Speaker 2: antler in February out of a pit cornfield might not 302 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:14,760 Speaker 2: seem like it'll help you as a deer hunter a 303 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:19,400 Speaker 2: whole lot, but it will. Certain tools like optics need 304 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:22,520 Speaker 2: to be used and understood in a variety of situations. 305 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:25,480 Speaker 2: You want to know how to set up your ee cups, 306 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 2: how to dial in quickly to focus on a moving 307 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:30,920 Speaker 2: animal in the distance. You want to use optics to 308 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:33,360 Speaker 2: your advantage in a real way, and not just take 309 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:35,800 Speaker 2: them for granted that they might be a part of 310 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:39,400 Speaker 2: your hunt as a person who loves the outdoors. Put 311 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:41,720 Speaker 2: them to use in real situations in the off season, 312 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 2: and then rely on them to figure out the whole 313 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:48,760 Speaker 2: thing once the season opens. Don't assume that you don't 314 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:51,760 Speaker 2: need binoculars or a spotter or the skills to use 315 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:55,360 Speaker 2: them correctly just because your hunting situation isn't the same 316 00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:57,800 Speaker 2: as some Western dude trying to find a seventy five 317 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:01,440 Speaker 2: inch antelope out on the open prairie. Being a good 318 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:06,240 Speaker 2: successful hunter requires that you understand how and when to 319 00:17:06,320 --> 00:17:09,919 Speaker 2: take that really close look or when it's better to 320 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:12,159 Speaker 2: sit back and take a bigger picture look at the 321 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:15,360 Speaker 2: animals and the land they inhabit, so that you can 322 00:17:15,359 --> 00:17:17,960 Speaker 2: put together a plan for tomorrow or next month, or 323 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:21,800 Speaker 2: next season or whenever. At the very least, ask yourself 324 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:24,560 Speaker 2: what your optics game is like. Maybe you have a 325 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:27,760 Speaker 2: dialed or maybe you could level up if it's the 326 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:31,320 Speaker 2: latter work toward that goal. However you have to, however 327 00:17:31,359 --> 00:17:35,040 Speaker 2: you can. Glassing is a skill that transcends in season 328 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:38,119 Speaker 2: efforts and off season efforts. It's valuable in the thickest 329 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:40,840 Speaker 2: woods and the widest open scenarios in which you might hunt. 330 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:44,720 Speaker 2: It's necessary, even if it doesn't always feel like it. 331 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:47,280 Speaker 2: It's also something I'm going to talk about next week. 332 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:49,080 Speaker 2: I want to break down how to figure out how 333 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:51,879 Speaker 2: to glass more efficiently in a variety of different environments, 334 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:53,960 Speaker 2: and how even e scouting can put you in the 335 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:56,840 Speaker 2: right position to use your spotting scope or your binoculars. 336 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:01,360 Speaker 2: That's it for this we my friends, as always, thank 337 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:03,600 Speaker 2: you so much for listening. I'm Tony Peterson and this 338 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:06,639 Speaker 2: has been the Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast. If you 339 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:12,399 Speaker 2: want more hunting content, and I'm talking videos of hunts, 340 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:15,120 Speaker 2: how to videos on how to use gear. You want 341 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:19,440 Speaker 2: articles on all kinds of stuff, from obviously hunting, to fishing, 342 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:22,639 Speaker 2: to foraging to whatever. Thum meat eater dot com is 343 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:24,800 Speaker 2: your place. Head on over there and you'll have all 344 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:26,560 Speaker 2: the information you need and probably a lot more that 345 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 2: you don't need.