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I have read several blogs and watched videos on hunting where I have heard people use the term glass. I have no idea what it means and I have found very little on Google about what it could mean.
So, what does the term glass mean?
We are going to glass here tonight and see if there is a bull around.
Glass generally means using your binoculars or scope to look for game.
Some people refer to binoculars as spyglasses, or 'glass' for short.
The term is very old, and goes back to when people would carry simple telescopes - known colloquially as "spyglasses" - to their hunting areas to search for game. I've seen the term used by a British officer looking for the French Army formations on the Iberian Peninsula in the early 1800s, and I have no doubt it goes back farther than that.
A hunting rifle with a telescopic sight (called a 'scope') can also be used as a basic telescope to view distant objects (called 'glassing') but note this practice this is considered by hunters to be exceptionally poor field craft for a few reasons.
1) To use the telescopic sight mounted on a rifle as a basic telescope, the rifle must be pointed at the distant object. If the distant object turns out to be a small group of people, then you will be pointing a rifle at those people - DO NOT EVER point a rifle at a person for the obvious safety reason. Only a total n00b asking for trouble 'glasses' for game in the field. In some areas, pointing a rifle at another hunter in the field is considered a hostile act and they may react in a hostile manner.
2) The telescopic rife sight must first be sighted in by firing the rifle and carefully adjusting the scope for a specific range. That is, the field of view is maximized for that specific sighting range. Other ranges either nearer or farther will give a poor field of view for use as a general telescope. Field adjustments to the scope to try to improve the field of view may throw off the sights.
3) A good set of binoculars will give a much better field of view with a much wider zoom adjustment range. With binoculars, a better zoom and larger field of view allows seeing more detail both nearer and farther.
Competent hunters carry binoculars for scouting or searching for game and only use a rifle's telescopic sight for aiming their rifle, once game is found.
