Shay at the Silvies Ranch checking out my new Vortex spotting scope last summer.

You can visualize how much more comfortable it’d be to have an angled eyepiece than a straight one.

There are a plethora of tripod options to choose from. Do you want carbon fiber lightweight tripods? A pistol grip handle to aid in rotating the head?

Shay at the Silvies Ranch checking out my new Vortex spotting scope last summer.

You can visualize how much more comfortable it’d be to have an angled eyepiece than a straight one.

There are a plethora of tripod options to choose from. Do you want carbon fiber lightweight tripods? A pistol grip handle to aid in rotating the head?

If you learn to properly glass it will open up a whole new world for you. I’ve written numerous articles on glassing. I’ve taught numerous glassing seminars from the local store level on up to the biggest Outdoor Shows in Las Vegas. I’ve been on Prostaff and sponsored by numerous optics companies. You’d think I had glassing down pat and yet every time I go hunting and glass I say “Wow! This glassing really works”! I need to practice what I preach.

To be an effective hunter out west you need to learn how to glass. In 1988 I was bow hunting with Dennis Buhlke and we topped a hill. He said, “let’s glass a minute, a lot of times I’ll see one.” In less than five minutes we spotted a deer. And then another one. I don’t want to exaggerate but nearly every hill we crested, if we glassed long enough, we’d see deer. I became a believer after that.

Another time I’d been up hunting for the week. While driving down I stopped to use the restroom. The far mountain side was wide open other than for the scattered 2- to 3-foot-tall brush. Something told me I ought to glass the mountainside. I kept arguing with myself not to. Why? It’s only 400 to 500 yards away and wide open. Finally I threw up my binoculars and in minutes I’d spotted five or six deer grazing right in the wide open.

One more story. One time I took a kid hunting. We got caught in a blizzard and pounded by a wet heavy snow. Tough duty. We finally made it back to the truck. In less than an hour it blew over. Since we were soaked, I told him we’d go spotting/stalking. He asked what is glassing? I told him we’d find a spot and glass. The very first spot I hadn’t glassed one or two minutes and said there’s a deer, another one until there were three. He said, wow, you’re pretty good. I said yea, I didn’t tell him I was surprised too. We snuck up and got a buck.

So, let’s say we’ve piqued your interest. How do you glass? What gear do you need? First let’s dispel this myth. No, you can’t properly glass using your scope. You’ll need two optics. A set of binoculars and a spotting scope. Let’s first cover binoculars.

For years I advised everyone to use 8x binocs. My reasoning was that as you’re scrambling up and down mountains, huffing and puffing, and stop to throw up your binocs to take a look at something, if you have anything larger than an 8x you’re be wobbling too much to be able to focus. But about five years ago I changed my stance and now advise using a 10x. I decided I was missing to much game using an 8x.

If you’re hunting in a blind, you may want a 12x50 set of binoculars. But for carrying in the mountains all day they’re too heavy. When you buy a pair of binoculars, you’ll want the aperture to be four times the power or they won’t let in enough light in low light conditions (i.e., sunrise/sunset when game is most active).

Buy an elastic harness to carry your binocs. They’re a life saver. Thirty or 40 years ago all that we had were leather neck straps. After hiking up mountains or bouncing on your four-wheeler all day your neck would be pulled out of whack. Neck straps were a killer. Buy a binocular harness. They pull the binoculars close to your body. I’ve never had trouble with them while bowhunting.

For out west I recommend using a 15-30x spotting scope but if you’re hunting sheep in Alaska, you’ll want a 60x. Of course, the more power the better but if you have a big heavy one you just won’t carry it regularly. That’s why I recommend a 15-30x since it is lighter and more compact. If you’re packing in on horses, though, sure, use a 60x. With this said, down in the Owyhees I regularly need a 60x spotting scope since it is wide open country and you can see for so far.

Due to the high magnification of your spotting scope you’ll need a tripod. With the adjustable legs you can make it level in steep terrain. I like an angled eyepiece. Straight works fine on flat terrain but in the mountains, I’d recommend an angled eyepiece.

One benefit of using a spotting scope. You know how you’ll see game and tell your buddy there’s a deer. Where? Right there! This dialogue goes on for five minutes until it spooks and he sees it running away. When glassing you can just back away and let him look through the lenses and see it.

So how do you glass? I teach what I call zone glassing. Don’t give in to the urge to just glass the open spots. Start at the bottom and move left to right. When you get to the end, go up 50 yards and scan to the left. Repeat up to the top.

Game moves and feeds in and out of cover, right? So wait a few minutes and repeat. Learn to look for something out of the norm. The reddish/brown color that indicates an elk. A reddish/brown leg in the forest. A flickering ear. The tan rump of an elk. Anything black is either a bear, moose or a burned stump.

You will be glassing for hours on rocky ground. At the least take a pad or better yet, I discovered a low profile chair named the Dash that is manufactured by Alps Mountaineering.

Everyone is on some kind of a budget, but buy the best optics you afford. Don’t leave any pennies in your pocket. Every time you use them, you’ll thank me. Don’t make the mistake of going in a store and comparing optics and come to the erroneous conclusion that the $35 pair of compact binoculars are as clear as the $500 pair. In a brightly lit store you may come to that conclusion but look across the floor and find something in a shadowed area and compare notes. Read a finely printed sign across the floor. Better yet see if they’ll let you take them outside to look around. Test some of your buddy’s optics.

Another handy option to consider are binoculars with a built-in range finder. I used a pair of Vortex Fury 5000 HD binoculars this year bowhunting that had this option.

So you’ve been glassing and spotted your elk/deer/bear/moose. Now what? You can’t run to it or you’ll spook it. And what if you only have 30 minutes of daylight left and it will take you 45 minutes to hike over to it? Now you have to plot out your stalk. We are out of room so we’ll have to wait and cover spotting/talking in the next column. See you then.

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