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Post by 12ptdroptine on Jan 18, 2009 18:21:06 GMT -5
Who is using what for spotting scope's and why? I am looking and wondering who has good luck a with which one and what they think of, And why they bought them. I will be using this for about 95% range use out to 250 or 300 yd's. How much am I going to have spend to get a good one?... Anyone want a really good deal on a BSA Deer Hunter spotting scope? Only been used once. Not a mark on it anywhere... Drop
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Post by dave d. on Jan 18, 2009 18:41:02 GMT -5
:)drop that is a very good question and something i would really be interested in being i love to shoot.i have a bushy 20 to 50 but it doesn't cut the mustard.a good spotting scope should be my next purchase.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2009 18:51:04 GMT -5
I bet Richard knows a good deal about spotting scopes, my friend has a leica but one would have to sell the firstborn to buy one, have used Pentax and it seemed to be a good dollar value....Bill
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Post by bigmoose on Jan 18, 2009 19:31:47 GMT -5
I have and use a Leupold, Ive used it for 25 or 30 years, I considerate a good luck piece.
There is a difference between it and a high end scope like a Swarovski, but the difference is not big enough to give up an old friend. ;D
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Post by tar12 on Jan 18, 2009 19:41:39 GMT -5
I currently have a Burris High Country-15x45x50-I paid around $125 on e-Bay.The sight picture is bright and clear and up to the task for 200 yd range work and viewing deer to 400 plus.In this realm it works.But I would not recommend it for 300 yd plus range work.
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Post by smokeeter on Jan 18, 2009 19:49:03 GMT -5
I have a Zeiss Diascope 85 mm, it was invaluable hunting out west in the Rockies, it determines whether you are going to make a 3-5 mile stalk on an animal or not, you let your eyes do the walking for you (and you want the best glass you can afford) and use your feet when you have too. I thought that I would use it at the range , but when shooting my .50 cal Savage, it was more practical to walk up to my targets which allowed the precious cooling time between shots. But now that I'm shooting sabotless cooling is not an issue so I might save my feet for stalking.  |
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Post by bigmoose on Jan 18, 2009 20:41:26 GMT -5
Paul,
Excellent picture, Would you consider loaning it me in sept. I could give you my house for collateral, but your scope costs more. {smile]
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Post by Chris Champion on Jan 18, 2009 20:44:01 GMT -5
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Post by craigf on Jan 18, 2009 21:14:00 GMT -5
Smokeeater, that is some nice glass. I think I am drooling!
I would put Nikon fieldscope and Kowa up there too.
I would include Swarovski but their warrenty is crazy, lifetime on the optic portion and 10 years on everything else.
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Post by 12ptdroptine on Jan 18, 2009 21:52:36 GMT -5
It seem's like these thing's have 3 price range's $100--$500-- and then up well over a thousand dollar's...  |
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Post by raf on Jan 18, 2009 21:53:37 GMT -5
My spotting scope has Winchesters name on it and I have no idea who made it. It's 20 - 60 X and saves me a lot of steps to look at targets on the range. It came with a window mount but have never used that, yet.
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Post by smokeeter on Jan 18, 2009 22:03:36 GMT -5
I would include Swarovski but their warrenty is crazy, lifetime on the optic portion and 10 years on everything else. Yeah Craig the zeiss is lifetime transferable everything included,a nice bit of insurance. |
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Post by artjr338wm on Jan 18, 2009 22:22:44 GMT -5
When I finally deisded to take the plung and invest in a spotting scope some 15 years ago, there were no where near as meny fine choices for a buyer to pick from as there are now. As I would be using it for both a hunting and range optic I felt that I needed to find a compromise between power, and weight. And considering I limited myself to a maximum of $500, I chose a
Nikon XL in 16-47x60mm. It was the best spotter I could aford that met all my prerequisits of:
<>ALL opticle surfaces are FULLY MULTI-COATED
<>Have BaK-4 prisms
<>Phase corrected
<>100% water and fog proof beyond question
<>Extreamly rugged construction
<>Reasonably light weight for use in back pack hunting.
As fate would have it NSS was running the Nikon XL spotting scope as a kit compleat with a Slik tripod and soft sided carry case for $411.99. This spotter has spent two entire hunting seasons with a friend of mine in Alaska as he worked as a asistent guide, two elk hunts in NM, a Caribou hunt in AK, two elk hunts in WY, countless hours used glassing for turkeys and deer and countless hours at the range.
I have one and only one complaint about my Nikon after all these years of trouble free use, its leaves a little to be desierd as far as eye releif is conserned. Other than that minor complaint it has served me flawlessly through rough and tumble use in sub zero temps, snow, feezing rain, to monsoon like down poors all with zero problems.
I would love to invest in a spotter in the less than $800 range to get me to a spotter on par in all respects to my Nikon XL except with a 80mm front objective to aid in using 30x in low light, but the fact Im now married and the economy (for me at least) has been so bad the last six years I simply can not justify the expense. These days $800 will get you one heck of a spotter with better glass and a larger front objective than my Nikon, as well as moving up to 60x for spotting targets at the range at 300yrds and beyond now that I wish to start shooting at longer ranges.
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Post by ozark on Jan 18, 2009 22:24:30 GMT -5
In marksmanship units each shooter had their issued scopes. I believe it was about 20 power and had the objective end about 90MM. (guessing on that). I t was clear and great for seeing the bullet holes at 300 yards and the spotters at three or 600 yards. It was great for puting the focus slightly out and reading the mirage for wind corections. I wish I could buy one of these or something like it. It had a tripod that adjusted to about the height of a mans eye in the prone position. I bought something about two years ago that was junk from somewhere. Made a fearful purchaser of me. Ben
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Post by Harley on Jan 18, 2009 23:03:19 GMT -5
I bought my spotting scope, a Televue Ranger, about 10 years ago. I wanted a scope that would show .30 caliber holes at 600 yards. The sales people told me they didn't think that was possible in a portable scope, but the Ranger would accept astronomical lenses if I wanted to try such a high magnification. I paid around $1000, a lot of money then (and now). The sales people were right, even with the best lens I can't see holes at that distance. With the standard lens it's capable at 200-300 yards or somewhere near to that. Of course, at those distances I can manage fine with my 20X rifle scope.
I now use the spotting scope to identify birds in the lake behind my house. LOL
Harley
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Post by craigf on Jan 18, 2009 23:38:21 GMT -5
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Post by KerryB on Jan 18, 2009 23:40:52 GMT -5
For extreme long distances at the range, i use a Celestron 102mm spotting scope (pictured below). The unusually large front objective on this scope provides high resolution and a very bright image. It has a MSRP of somewhere around $400, but is usually available for closer to $250 or even less if you look around. I have used Celestron astronomical scopes for years and the high quality led me to look for a spotting scope from them as well. I am well satisfied with the quality of the image this scope provides although the scope is too large to lug around the mountains hunting. I bought a Swarovski variable power eyepiece to go with this scope which added another $300 or so, but it is a quality eyepiece that i can also use with my Celestron 5" Schmidt Cassegrain astronomy scope, so it is a dual purpose eyepiece for me. I have an older 60mm Herters scope with 15-60 power that i use when hunting and it isn't nearly as large or heavy as the Celestron, but it doesn't give the image quality of the Celestron either. There are an awfully lot of good scopes out there any more for less than $500, but it is usually best to actually look through them before buying as the quality in some of the lower priced models isn't the best. Here is what the Celestron 102mm spotting scope looks like. KerryB  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2009 9:37:13 GMT -5
Earlier in the year I read an article in one of the magazines comparing spotting scopes, I dont remember all the models but I do remember all models tested had ed glass, on the lower end ( around 1000.00 or a little less pentax, brunton, and celestron ranked up there close to the big boys( zeiss,leica,swaro) pretty pricey.....Bill
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Post by KerryB on Jan 19, 2009 11:16:06 GMT -5
Earlier in the year I read an article in one of the magazines comparing spotting scopes, I dont remember all the models but I do remember all models tested had ed glass, on the lower end ( around 1000.00 or a little less pentax, brunton, and celestron ranked up there close to the big boys( zeiss,leica,swaro) pretty pricey.....Bill Once you start getting into scopes or binoculars with ED (Extra Low Dispersion) glass, you are talking a lot more money for not a lot more performance. The ED glass will indeed give you slightly better color rendition when observing birds or other wildlife where color is critical in identification. However in our application of observing a black and white target, the color isn't critical and the ED glass generally adds several hundred dollars to the price. Now i admit to having several pairs of high end bird watching binoculars with ED glass and i wouldn't trade those for anything, but i sure don't pay the extra money for looking at a target. JMHO for what it's worth..............................KerryB |
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Post by craigf on Jan 19, 2009 13:29:04 GMT -5
Earlier in the year I read an article in one of the magazines comparing spotting scopes, I dont remember all the models but I do remember all models tested had ed glass, on the lower end ( around 1000.00 or a little less pentax, brunton, and celestron ranked up there close to the big boys( zeiss,leica,swaro) pretty pricey.....Bill Here is a Celestron ED 20-60 80mm for $429. www.opticsplanet.net/celestron-ultima-80ed-spotting-scope.html This is why I want to look through one, this is a very low price for ED glass. KerryB is right about ED glass. If all that you are going to do is look at targets, don't get it. If you are going to look at, and enjoy, nature, then it can be worth it. I used to work on fire alarms and went to a forest service building in the middle of the Mark Twain. They had a 82mm Nikon fieldscope set up to look at the forrest. They let me use it for a while and I was blown away. For an person who feels more at home in the woods than out of it, it was like being there, the colors were perfect. After a while I forgot that I was looking through a scope. Your guys should listen to KerryB, he is smarter than he looks. ;D |
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Post by tar12 on Jan 19, 2009 14:50:25 GMT -5
"You guys should listen to KerryB, he is smarter than he looks. ;D"
Ouch! Craig, I do not think you fully realize the ramifications of your words! LOL!
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Post by KerryB on Jan 19, 2009 18:41:07 GMT -5
Your guys should listen to KerryB, he is smarter than he looks. ;D I wish you could convince my wife of that! She is convinced i am as stupid as i look! ;D |
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Post by craigf on Jan 19, 2009 19:10:43 GMT -5
I wish you could convince my wife of that! She is convinced i am as stupid as i look! ;D Yours too?  |
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Post by mshm99 on Jan 19, 2009 19:15:14 GMT -5
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Post by 12ptdroptine on Jan 19, 2009 22:33:48 GMT -5
Well I bought the Leupold Sequoia 20X60X80 angle eye piece.. I bought it on the Leupold reputation... And am hoping for the best .. I read the reviews from Cabelas website . there were 20 of them there.. It only rated a 3.7 out of 5.. Maybe I should have read it first.. But when I go th the range I will make a judgment there. If I don't like anything about it I can take it back for a refund..or exchange. And if that is so. I wont be bashful about it. I just checked at Optiksplanet and it got a 4.2 rating there out of 5 review's... Drop
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Post by craigf on Jan 19, 2009 22:42:49 GMT -5
Well I bought the Leupold Sequoia 20X60X80 angle eye piece.. I bought it on the Leupold reputation... And am hoping for the best .. I read the reviews from Cabelas website . there were 20 of them there.. It only rated a 3.7 out of 5.. Maybe I should have read it first.. But when I go th the range I will make a judgment there. If I don't like anything about it I can take it back for a refund..or exchange. And if that is so. I wont be bashful about it. I just checked at Optiksplanet and it got a 4.2 rating there out of 5 review's... Drop A couple of months ago I was at a Cabelas and tested this scope and the 20-60 80mm Burriss. I, and one of the store guys, it was a slow day, looked at the mounted fish on the other wall. It was about 150 yards I would say. We both agreed that the Burris showed more detail and was more accurate on the colors. The Lupy was to brown. |
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Post by mshm99 on Jan 20, 2009 17:08:52 GMT -5
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Post by 12ptdroptine on Jan 21, 2009 21:36:46 GMT -5
ttt
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Post by rossman40 on Jan 22, 2009 13:40:44 GMT -5
It still depends on what you want to use it for. If your only looking at targets out to 200-300yds you can get by with less then long range guys, even then they do not have to see the bullet hole but the spotting disc. If it is only for bench use you do not need the ruggedness and waterproofing that you would need in the field.
Then again it is just like riflescopes. The cheaper brands come off the same assembly lines in Japan and China. Supposedly the big name is Kenko in Japan which is a sister company of Kowa and is somehow tied to Hoya. They supposedly make Kowa, Minox, Pentax, the higher end Nikons and even components and maybe even complete scopes for Leupold, Zeiss and Leica. Then there is Light Optical Works that is in the mix also with Bushnell, Vortex, Nikon, Burris, Sightron and supposedly the green ring Leupolds. Not to mention the cheaper lines of some of the brands already mentioned plus Tasco, BSA, Barska, Simmons coming off lines in China and even the Phillipines.
The best of the lower end ($350-500) scopes I have played with recently has been the Vortex models and the Bushnell Elite and Excursion. The green ring Leupolds I have used fall way short of these.
As Kerry said you do not always need the ED glass but another factor may be if you wear glasses or your shooting style. Some scopes have an eye relief of less then 3/4" and you can get long eye relief eyepieces for some models. Having to get off your rifle to get up close to your spotter while in the prone sucks.
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Post by 12ptdroptine on Jan 22, 2009 18:14:29 GMT -5
I took out the Green ring the other night and set it up on my tailgate... I am not overly impressed with it so far... The tripod would dump it on its face if you dont pay attention.. And looking at the end of my street about 200 yds at the neighbor's door knob..it looked better at 40 power than at 60 power it got fuzzy and ..not very distinguished looking.... I will know more this weekend when I can get it out to the range and hang a target at 200 yds. Drop
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