Hunting binoculars

Compare 52 hunting binoculars from our deer, elk, bow, western and budget hunting lists in one grid. Pick the magnification for how far you usually see game, then check exit pupil for first light and weather sealing before the season.

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Most cards show our score out of 10. Eye relief, field of view, weight and sealing appear only where we found them in the maker's published specifications, so some cards carry fewer facts than others. A size label never proves a feature: Bushnell lists the PowerView 2 in this grid as not waterproof, for one.

Best binoculars for hunting: our picks

Showing the top 12 of 52 binoculars with our picks first, then by our score.

Also in our guides: Bushnell Legend Ultra HDSwarovski EL binocularsSwarovski Optik 8×42 EL binoculars

Our hunting guides

The full lists these picks come from, with our notes on every pair.

Compare hunting binoculars

Scroll sideways to see every comparison field and Shopping action.

Compare hunting binoculars
ModelMagnificationObjective (mm)Eye reliefField of viewMaker’s modelShopping action
Vortex Viper HD 10x4210x4217.0mm341' @ 1000 yds (6.5º)Vortex Viper HD 10x42
Vortex DB-215 Optics Diamondback HD 10x4210x4215.0mm330' @ 1000 yds (6.3º)Vortex Diamondback HD 10x42
Swarovski EL 8.5x42 FieldPro Package8.5x42Swarovski EL 8.5x42
Vortex Optics Diamondback HD 8x42 Binoculars8x4217.0mm393' @ 1000 yds (7.5º)Vortex Diamondback HD 8x42
Nikon Aculon A211 10x42 Binoculars10x4211.6mm314 ft. at 1000 yds (6° real)Nikon ACULON A211 10x42
Swarovski NL Pure Binoculars10x4218 mm399 ft/1000 yds (7.6°)Swarovski NL Pure 10x42
Leica Ultravid HD Plus 8x428x4215.5 mm389 ft at 1,000 yds (130 m at 1,000 m)Leica Ultravid 8x42 HD-Plus
Celestron Nature DX8x4217.5mm (.69")388 ft (129 m) at 1,000 yds/m; 7.4°Celestron Nature DX 8x42
Compare 35 more models
Compare hunting binoculars, 35 more models
ModelMagnificationObjective (mm)Eye reliefField of viewMaker’s modelShopping action
Nikon PROSTAFF 7S10x4215.5mm325 ft. at 1000 yds (6.2° real)Nikon PROSTAFF 7S 10x42
Bushnell Legend Ultra HD 10x4210x4215.2 mm340 ft at 1,000 yd / 113 m at 1,000 mBushnell Legend Ultra HD 10x42
Celestron Outland X 8x42 Binoculars8x4217.8mm (.70")368.4 ft (122.8 m) at 1,000 yds/m; 7°Celestron Outland X 8x42
Maven B6 ED Binoculars12x5017.5mm289 ft/1000 ydsMaven B.6 12x50 ED
Vanguard Spirit XF Binoculars10x4216mm332ft/1000yds (111m/1000m)Vanguard Spirit XF 10x42
Vortex Optics Diamondback HD15x5615.6 mm230 ft/1000 yds (4.36 degrees)Vortex Diamondback HD 15x56
Barska Blackhawk Binoculars8x4221mm110m @ 1000mBarska Blackhawk 8x42
Bushnell PowerView 2 Binoculars10x50.63 inBushnell PowerView 2 10x50
Bushnell Prime 10x42 Binoculars10x4219 mm305 ft at 1,000 yd / 102 m at 1,000 mBushnell Prime 10x42
Vortex Diamondback HD 8x288x2818.0mm332' @ 1000 yds (6.2º)Vortex Diamondback HD 8x28
Vortex Optics Crossfire HD 10x42 Binoculars10x4215.0mm325' @ 1000 yds (6.2º)Vortex Crossfire HD 10x42
Vortex Optics Fury HD10x4216 mm321.6 feet/1000 yds (6.1 degrees)Vortex Fury HD 10x42
Zeiss Victory Rangefinder10x4216.0 mm (exit pupil distance)115 m (345 ft) at 1,000 m (yds)ZEISS Victory RF 10x42
PROSTAFF 3S 10x4210x4215.7mm367 ft. at 1000 yds (7° real; Wide FOV)Nikon PROSTAFF 3S 10x42
Vanguard Endeavor ED 10x4210x4216.5 mm340 ft./1000 yds. (6.5 degrees)Vanguard Endeavor ED 10x42
Upland Optics Perception HD 10x42mm10x4215.2mm330ft at 1000ydsUpland Optics Perception HD 10x42
Nikon Monarch 5 10x4210x4218.4mm288 ft. at 1000 yds (5.5° real)Nikon MONARCH 5 10x42
Steiner HX15x56Steiner HX 15x56
Bushnell Trophy Bone Collector10x4215.2 mm330 ft at 1,000 yd / 110 m at 1,000 mBushnell Trophy 10x42 Bone Collector
Bushnell H2O Binoculars10x4217 mm305 ft at 1,000 ydBushnell H2O 10x42 roof
Leupold BX-4 Pro Guide HD 10x4210x4216 mm326 ft @ 1000 ydLeupold BX-4 Pro Guide HD 10x42
Nikon Monarch M78x4217.1 mm145 m/435 ft at 1,000 m/yd (8.3° real)Nikon MONARCH M7 8x42
Carson 3D Series ED Glass8x4219.5 mm341 ft at 1,000 yd (114 m at 1,000 m; 6.5°)Carson 3D Series HD 8x42 ED
Leica Geovid HD 8x428x42128.7 yds (386.1 ft) / 128.7 m at 1,000 yds/1,000 mLeica Geovid 8x42 HD-R 2700
Nikon PROSTAFF 7S 10x3010x3015.4mm315 ft. at 1000 yds (6° real)Nikon PROSTAFF 7S 10x30
Nikon Monarch M5 8x428x4219.5 mm112 m/335 ft at 1,000 m/yd (6.4° real)Nikon MONARCH M5 8x42
Steiner HX 10x56 Binoculars10x5615.4 mm332 ft at 1000 ydsSteiner HX 10x56
Vortex Optics Fury HD Rangefinding10x4216 mm321.6 feet/1000 yds (6.1 degrees)Vortex Fury HD 5000 10x42
Bushnell 134212 H20 Binocular12x4215 mm267 ft at 1,000 yd / 89 m at 1,000 mBushnell H2O 12x42 Porro
Leica Geovid 10x42 HD10x42113.3 yds (339.9 ft) / 113.3 m at 1,000 yds/1,000 mLeica Geovid 10x42 HD-R 2700
Leupold BX-2 Alpine HD Binoculars10x4215 mm342 ft @ 1000 ydLeupold BX-2 Alpine HD 10x42
Nikon Monarch HG8x4217.8 mm145 m at 1,000 m (8.3° real)Nikon MONARCH HG 8x42
Vanguard Endeavor ED IV8x4219 mm377 ft./1000 yds. (7.2 degrees)Vanguard Endeavor ED IV 8x42
Vortex Viper HD 8x428x4220 mm347 feet/1000 yards (6.6 degrees)Vortex Viper HD 8x42
Zeiss Victory RF10x5414.0 mm (exit pupil distance)110 m (330 ft) at 1,000 m (yds)ZEISS Victory RF 10x54

9 models without a maker’s figure record are listed in the picks above.

Hunting binocular questions

Should I get 8x or 10x binoculars for hunting?

Get 8x if you hunt timber or brush where game shows up close, and 10x if you glass mixed or open country. Vortex says an 8x42 suits hunters in thick timber who rarely see deer past 200 yards, because the view is wider, brighter and steadier in the hand, and calls 10x42 a good middle ground.

The width difference is real: Vortex lists 393 feet at 1,000 yards for the Diamondback HD 8x42 and 330 feet for the 10x42.

Is 10x42 or 12x50 better for hunting?

A 10x42 is better if you carry and glass by hand all day; a 12x50 is better for picking apart open country from a rest. Both give an exit pupil of about 4.2 mm (42 divided by 10, 50 divided by 12), so the 12x50 buys extra detail at the cost of weight and shake.

Vortex lists the Diamondback HD 10x42 in this grid at 21.3 oz and the Diamondback HD 12x50 at 28.9 oz. Our 12x50 binoculars guide covers that size in depth.

Which binoculars work best at dawn and dusk?

Choose a pair with an exit pupil of at least 4 mm, and larger if your eyes are young. ZEISS advises no less than 4 mm for dawn hunting and notes that pupils seldom open past 4 mm in old age, while children's can pass 8 mm.

Exit pupil is the objective divided by the magnification: 5.25 mm for 8x42, 5 mm for 10x50 and 7 mm for 8x56. See our low light binoculars guide for picks.

Are rangefinder binoculars worth it for hunting?

They are worth it if you would otherwise carry a separate rangefinder and can live with the extra weight and a battery. Vortex says its Fury HD 5000 10x42 ranges deer up to 1,600 yards and can show a slope-compensated distance, and it ships with a CR2 battery.

That model weighs 32.3 oz against 24.9 oz for the Vortex Viper HD 10x42 without a rangefinder, by Vortex's own figures.

Do I need a binocular harness for hunting?

You do not need one, but a chest harness helps if you glass on the move. Vortex describes its GlassPak harness as keeping binoculars and the tools you need to glass on the move close at hand and secure, and ships one with the Fury HD 5000.

How to choose hunting binoculars

Choose magnification by how far you see game

Start from your usual sight line, because the right magnification for a creek-bottom whitetail is wrong for a mule deer across a canyon. Higher power shows more detail but narrows the view and magnifies hand shake, and Vortex expects hunters glassing far-off open country with a 12x50 or 18x56 to use a tripod for long sessions.

Hunting magnification at a glance
SizeSuitsTrade-off
8x42Timber, brush, bow hunting, fast follow-upsLess detail on distant animals
10x42Mixed country, the all-round middle groundNarrower view, a little more shake
12x50Open country glassed from a restHeavier; best braced or on a tripod
15x56Long sessions on a tripodHeavy, and a 3.7 mm exit pupil at dusk

Bow hunting calls for a lighter, wider pair

For bow hunting, 8x is enough and 10x is the most to aim for, by our bow hunting guide, which also advises objectives of 42 mm or smaller so the pair stays light enough for one-handed looks.

Read twilight factor with care

Twilight factor, the square root of magnification times objective size, tells you less than exit pupil does. ZEISS says the figure alone does not permit any real statement and that a large exit pupil is what decides twilight use, so compare exit pupils first and treat twilight factor as a tiebreak.

Sizes of the listed hunting binoculars

The table counts the listed models by size and gives each size's exit pupil, so you can see at a glance which ones stay at 4 mm or more for low light.

Sizes of the models listed here, from each maker’s record. Exit pupil is calculated (objective ÷ magnification); where a maker lists its own figure, use the maker’s.
SizeModelsExit pupil, calculated
10x42214.2 mm
8x42125.3 mm
15x5623.7 mm
8x2813.5 mm
8.5x4214.9 mm
10x3013.0 mm
10x5015.0 mm
10x5415.4 mm
10x5615.6 mm
12x4213.5 mm
12x5014.2 mm

Check how the maker states weather sealing

Look for both waterproof and fogproof on the maker's page, since each maker states its rating differently. Nikon rates the Monarch M5 to 1 m for 10 minutes, Maven pressure-tests the B6 to 1 m for 30 minutes (IPX7), and Leica states 5 m for the Ultravid 8x42 HD-Plus.

Vortex credits argon gas purging and O-ring seals for the fogproof and waterproof rating of the Diamondback HD, and describes fogproof as built to withstand a wide range of temperatures. In this list, Bushnell lists the PowerView 2 10x50 as not waterproof.

Make sure the pair works with your glasses

If you hunt in glasses, pick a pair with long eye relief and eyecups that twist fully down. Our budget hunting guide treats 16 mm and above as generous, and the makers' figures in this list run from 11.6 mm on the Nikon Aculon A211 10x42 to 21 mm on the BARSKA Blackhawk 8x42.

Our binoculars for glasses wearers guide goes further.

Which of our hunting lists to read first

Read the list that matches your hunt, since each one ranks its own picks. Start with deer hunting for whitetail and mule deer or elk hunting for rugged pairs picked for elk.

Our western hunting list says most of its picks have laser rangefinders and ballistic features, and the budget hunting list says most of its lower-cost picks are waterproof and fogproof.

Our hunting lists
ListRead it for
Deer huntingWhitetail and mule deer
Elk huntingRugged pairs picked for elk
Bow huntingLight pairs, 42 mm or smaller
Western huntingRangefinding and ballistic models
Budget huntingLower-cost pairs, most waterproof and fogproof

Shop by use

Hunting binoculars: Our lists, scores and model sizes. Drawing of a binocular with its parts named.
Drawing made for this page: a binocular with its parts named. It is a schematic and does not show a particular model. Compare the models and source guides in hunting binoculars.