Gift Guide - The best binoculars for hunters

Got a hunting fan in the family? Or perhaps one of your best friends feels most at home stalking deer in the woods? If you want to make then feel extra special this Christmas or birthday, why not treat them to some new hunting optics?

Our simple guide for presents for hunters will help you choose the best binoculars for your hunting friends and family. Riflescopes are very personal objects that have to be exactly suited to the rifle that they are mounted on, so despite thinking that a scope would make an awesome present, we’d advise you to leave the scope choosing to the rifle owner, and give them some fantastic binoculars to aid their hunting ventures instead.

Our quick and easy guide to buying hunting optics will help you give the perfect gift this festive period. We’ve highlighted all of the important features that you need to look out for when choosing the best hunting binoculars and recommended a few fantastic present options for you to choose from.

What makes the best Hunting binoculars

Magnification

Choose binoculars with a magnification of 8x or 10x.

8x and 10x magnifications are ideal for most hunting applications. They allow hunters to get a close and clear enough view of their target, whilst being easy to stabilise. They also offer a wide field of view, allowing as wide a view of the landscape around as possible and making it easier to spot a target.

Objective lens size / Size of binocular

Choose full sized binoculars with 42mm lenses, or opt for mid sized, 32mm binoculars if having light equipment is very important.

Most hunting takes place at dawn or dusk in rural locations away from home. Due to this, having equipment that works well in low light but doesn’t weight too much is important. Full sized binoculars offer the ideal compromise between size and low light performance, as their 42mm objective lenses have good light capturing abilities. If the person that you’re buying for is particularly conscious of the weight of their equipment, and often hunts in open landscapes where more light is available than in wooded locations, then mid sized binoculars with lenses around 32mm in diameter may be adequate.

Waterproof, fog proof and durable

Always choose waterproof and fog proof binoculars that are rugged with a rubber coating.

Hunting can be a hardcore sport where you’re exposed to the elements and surrounded by water and dirt. Make sure that the equipment you buy for your friends and loved one for their hunting expeditions is durable and can withstand all that the environment has to throw at them. Always choose waterproof binoculars that have been nitrogen purged and o-ring sealed to make sure that their optics don’t break if exposed to water, or fog in damp environments. We’d also recommend binoculars that have a rubber coating to protect them against bumps and scrapes.

Lens coating

Opt for binoculars with fully multicoated lenses to help with light transmission.

Most binoculars have lenses that have at least one layer of anti reflective coatings. These coatings help light pass through the lenses in the binocular and ultimately make the images that they produce clear, bright and crisp. The more coatings binocular lenses have, the better they transmit light. Generally, binoculars are classed as having ‘coated’, ‘multi-coated’ or ‘fully multi-coated’ lenses depending on how many layers of coating they have had applied to them. If possible always choose ‘fully multi-coated optics for hunting so that the images produced by them are as bright and clear as possible.

Range finding binoculars

If you want to give a really special gift this Christmas that will help your hunt loving family and friends to have their most successful hunt yet, then you might want to consider choosing some range finding binoculars. These binoculars are packed with the latest technology which allows hunters to accurately measure the distance from them to their target. Take a look at our range here. 

Choose the best hunting binoculars today!

It's time to find the perfect hunting binoculars that:

• Are 8x, or 10x magnification
• Are mid-size or full size
• Have a wide field of view
• Are waterproof and fog proof
• Have fully multicoated lenses
• Have rangefinding capabilities

Check out our product suggestions for hunters

FAQ's about Binoculars

Still have some burning questions?

Do hunters use binoculars

Ask virtually any hunter if they use binoculars on their hunting trips and the answer will be a resounding ‘Yes!’. Binoculars are portable and durable and most of all they allow you as a hunter to easily scan bush lines, hillsides and more for animals that you’re looking to hunt and take aim at. Easy to carry around your neck, binoculars can quickly be raised up to your eyes at a moments notice to check if the animal shape you see on the horizon is the illusive deer you’ve been stalking for a few hours or just a dead tree! Check out our range of hunting binoculars here. 

How do I choose the best binoculars for hunting

The best way to choose binoculars for hunting is to read our buying guides which detail all of the features you should look for to get the most suitable hunting binoculars, and also by checking out our product selection where we've picked out the very best hunting binoculars that we have in our range. When it comes to choosing hunting binoculars you should always take magnification, objective lens size, field of view, waterproofing, weight and durability in to account when weighing up the very best hunting binoculars to suit your needs.

How do you use binoculars step by step

Binoculars are on of the easiest optics to use which makes them great for people of all ages. Simply remove them from their carry case, take off the front and rear eye caps and hold them up to your eyes. Usually, the eyepieces that go to your eyes will be smaller in diameter than the front lenses. You may want to twist out the eye cups to get a bit more eye relief. Then point the binoculars at something of interest and use the focus wheel to bring the view in to focus. Most good binoculars have a diopter adjustment that allows you to focus your two eyes separately. This is a great feature as most people have one eye that is more dominant and stronger than the other. Have a look on the eyepieces for a small dial or wheel that moves around. This is the diopter. Next, close the eye with the diopter and look only through the other eye. Use the focus wheel to make the view through this eye perfect. Next, close that eye and open the eye with the diopter on it. Use the diopter wheel to focus that eye. At this point the binoculars should be offering crisp and clear views for your enjoyment. Now you know how they work, it's time to choose your new binoculars! 

What are the best binoculars for bird watching

If you've decided that bird watching is more your thing, or you want to buy some binoculars for a bird loving friend, then you'll likely be wondering what features to look for in birding binoculars. Well to be honest binoculars for bird watching and hunting actually have many of the same features. The best binoculars for bird watching will have 42mm lenses and an 8x or 10x magnification. This will offer the perfect balance between bright and clear images, enough magnification and not too much weight. They should also have as good quality glass as you can afford and be waterproof. You can check out our buying guide for bird watching binoculars here, browse our top picks for bird watching binoculars here or look through our whole range of birding binos here. 

What can I use instead of binoculars

If you want to get a more magnified view of the world around you but you want an optic that will fit in the palm of your hands and weighs virtually nothing then instead of a binocular you could consider a monocular. Monoculars have just one eyepiece and one barrel and are much more compact than binoculars whilst still offering the same magnification. This makes them a great option for travel, golf, tramping and more. If you’re wanting to get incredibly magnified views of the world around you, be it for up close bird watching, enjoying views or hunting, and weight isn’t such an issue then a spotting scope is a great alternative to binoculars. In general spotting scopes have a larger lens than binoculars with diameters ranging from 50mm through to 100mm. They also have much higher magnifications that are often up to as high as 60x. This means that they get you up much closer to things of interest. Spotting scopes require a tripod and are much larger than binoculars so should only be considered if size isn’t too much of an issue and for situations where you need a lot of magnification.

What magnification binoculars for elk hunting

For big game hunting situations where you may be in closer quarters than usual, in dense bush, it’s important that you don’t go overboard on binocular magnification. You need to be able to see the game between the trees, bringing it closer to your eyes but not too close. With this in mind, we’d suggest that an 8x magnification will offer the best balance between magnification and field of view.

Which binocular magnification is better for hunting

When it comes to hunting binoculars, less is often more. An 8x magnification is more than enough for most hunting situations where you’re scanning the landscape for game. Some situations will warrant a 10x magnification and whether you opt for 8x or 10x is often down to personal preference and knowing what conditions you’re most likely to be hunting in. If you’re in thick bush then we’d suggest an 8x, but if you’re in more open landscape then a 10x will be fine too. We wouldn’t suggest any higher than this as the slight movements of your hands may make the images shaky and your field of view will start to be constrained. You can check out our buying guide for hunting binoculars here, or browse our entire range of hunting binoculars here.