Thread: Newbie: Suggestions for first binoculars?

Originally Posted by uk_exile

I'm real new to this so a bit uncertain about your comment. Tikka seems to be very popular and hence seemed like a good choice. At moment $800 seems a lot for binos, particualry as first pair. Maybe at later stage I could upgrade but reluctant to spend big now. Initially I thought $2k for basic gear to start (rifle, scope, binos) but now it's seems like at least double that as being told rangefinder, bipod, etc ..........

Tikka are pushed very hard here by the distributors / big green chain store, so it’s more marketing than the product. Bang for your buck you can do a lot better. T3s are a bargain basement rifle marketed as a high end rifle. Yes, they tend to shoot well, but almost all modern stuff does. I’ve seen some scary accurate Ruger plastic lumps of shit too; but budget is budget. A used, good quality rifle will get you a lot further. There’s some absolute bargains on here from time to time. You will here a lot of Tikka fan boys as the nice man at the shop told them it’s the besterest, and they’ve likely not owned much else. Steyr Prohunter are on sale at the moment for around $1500, again, their bargain model, but much nicer than a Tikka. If it’s your first rifle I suspect 7mm rem mag isn’t a great choice either...