After reading all the articles on glassing deer in the hunting mags I decided it was time to get on the band wagon. My first dilemma was what to buy. After several days research my son came up with Vixen Apex Pro 8 x 42. All the reviews he found claimed Vixen Apex pro were a very high quality binocular at an incredibly good price.

The first thing I noticed when hunting with the Vixens is their ability to look right through the bush and pick up vivid detail. This is so important when hunting sambar in thick bush and poor light. Also hunting with binos slows down your pace - a big advantage in remaining undetected and seeing the sambar first.

On a recent trip I arrived early in the afternoon and headed up the gully. This gully had good feed down on the flats and thick bush up high in the hills. With the wind in my face I slowly worked my way up the gully contouring the flats about 100m up the side of the face to give me a better glassing advantage. As I glassed up the valley I locked onto a line of six brown shapes heading straight towards me. They were about 300m away and were working their way down the gully. The last deer stood out. His big sweeping white tipped antlers looked awesome through the Vixens.

I quickly dropped behind a small tree which I could use for a rifle rest and watched as the deer came into range. The mob of deer consisted of a large hind out front, then a collection of spikers and yearlings with the big stag hanging back, letting the other deer warn him of any danger ahead. I waited as the other deer passed below me then as the stag came up I swapped my Vixens for my 300WSM, placed the cross hairs on his shoulder at about 80m and squeezed the trigger. Instantly I rechambered a round and got ready for a follow up shot. It wasn’t necessary. The 180gm Accubound had done the job perfectly. At 27 inches he’s my biggest stag to date and will look great on my wall.

Michael Hamilton, Mt Evelyn Victoria