Best Binoculars for Hunting

No matter what sort of hunting you’re doing, binoculars are an essential piece of equipment. You need them to survey surrounding terrain and to get a better view of targets from afar, for assessing trophies and identifying the sex of the animal you’re looking at.

When shopping for the best binoculars for hunting, there are a handful of qualities to keep in mind. These are: objective lens size, field of view, magnification, and durability.

Objective lens size determines the light-gathering ability of the binoculars. This is especially important for hunters, who often need to use the binoculars in early morning or evening hours. Most full size binoculars have an objective lens diameter of 42mm. If you need something more compact, don’t go below 30.

Field of view and magnification go hand in hand. The more magnified an image, the narrower the field of view. Typically, hunters don’t need tremendous magnification. When hunting in the woods in particular, choose something with low magnification and a wide field of view.

Other features to look for include waterproof and fog-proof specifications, and strength of materials.

Now let’s move on to our pick for the best hunting binoculars.

Zeiss Terra 8X42 ED Black

Zeiss specializes in high performance optics, and that is the extent of their business. As innovators in binoculars, riflescopes, and spotting scopes, they’re a clear choice for consideration as the best binocular manufacturer.


The Zeiss Terra 8x42’s 8x zoom gives it the ideal field of view, while the 42mm objective lens makes it perfect for early morning or evening hunting. Zeiss’s patented Zeiss MC lens coating provides excellent contrast, subduing colors of foliage while brightening the color spectrum of typical game coats and feathers.

While this binocular is a full-size set, it’s still lightweight and compact to allow you full range of motion and mobility in the field. We consider these the best binoculars for deer hunting, but are also great for pheasants, elk, duck, and numerous other types of game.