Spotting scope

[newdr]

Which spotting scope do you use?
I am looking for my first scope.
To be used for shooting,astronomy, and bird watching.
$300-700 range

[12ptdroptine]

I have one of thos thousand dollar Leupold spotting scope's... It is really a primo scope... But not needed for what you have posted...Or what I do with it either.. Like tooooo many things the most expensive isnt always what I need... However IF I would have listened I would have bought the Leupold 15x30x50 compact spotting scope. This is a KILLER scope for $400 in cabelas optic's book. It will enable you to clearly see bullet holes at 200 yds. Anything I have looked through really isnt good when you get up there to 40 plus power..I have the 12x40 and wish I would have saved a couple hundred and bought the smaller one.Mine was $800 when I bought it. I bought a Seqouia...and it went right back.. Trust me you cant beat that little Leupold for $400 buck's... Go look at one You will see for yourself
Drop

[newdr]

Thinking of Nikon or Celestron.

[deadon]

Just got an email from cameraland, they have spoting scopes on sale, Rusty

[artjr338wm]

Before I can offer any advice or before IMHO you should buy, I feel you must deside and or list what you plan on using the scope most for.
The requierments of a scope that will see range use 70-80%+ of the time has again IMHO requierments far different than a S-scope that will be used for hunting out west and judging game a long ranges.

I bought my spotter about 12-14yrs ago and I bought it as a hunting aid first and fore most. So My requierments were:

#1-Must be 100% absolutely water and fog proof
#2-100% all lens surfaces internal and external be fully multi-coated
#3-Have a phase corrected prisum
#4-Be as light and easly packable as practicle and still give me the magnification I need
#5-Be extreamly well made/durrable as could be found in my price range.

I ended up with a jap made B&L Elite 16-47x60mm spotter. About two years lator B&L came out with the scope I wish I could have bough because I would have a B&L Elite in 20-60x77mm.

it has served me and my friend on hunts in AK(2), NM(2), WY(2), three months on lone to a friend while guiding in AK, and countless dozens of deer and turkey trips and 100s of days at the range. It has performed flawlessly and far better than I had a rite to expect considering the price of $411 W/S&H that I paid for it.

12-14yrs ago my selection in my price range of less than $500 was quite limited considering my set of requierments. Now there are so many good spotters to choose from I honestly cannot offer you good informed advice.

My best advice is google birding websites and reviews of the spotters you are intersted in, as thiese two places are good starting points. Try to get reviews and opinions from sources who are being brutaly honest, not trying to convince themselves they bought a good spotter.

But the qualities I listed i still as strongly as possible feel they are the minimum you should want in any spotter you are considering buying, at least in regaurd to the quality of optics I listed.

wish i could be of more help, hopefully the resedent optic guru's here will help you out with their "Yoda" like knowledge of optics.

Good luck, and do not be in a hurry.
artur.

[stubblejumper]

Just bought one last summer. Be sure to try it out before you buy if at all possible, and not just looking across the store. I spent a few minutes looking in the store with a 300$ and an $800 scope and couldnt see a lot of difference. Then the clerk let me go outside and at high power over long distances they were not even close.

With some begging I ended up with Cabelas Euro scope made by meopta. It was on sale for $999 which I know is over your range but it is a once in a lifetime investment. At least thats what I told my wife. The same scope under Meoptas own name sells for a lot more.

You need to look through a Nikon before you buy. The models we looked at had very average eye relief to say the least. I personally did not like them but you may not have a problem with them. I also wear eye glasses.

Good luck and enjoy the process.

[newdr]

Celestron Regal 100f-ed

[thelefthand]

A little late, but I use an 80mm Konus that my wife gave about $200 for several years ago. I had asked for it for Christmas. At the time I was still shooting service rifle. I had spoken with several people who owned 80mm KOWA scopes, and had used these as well. Although KOWA arguably makes the best scope on the market, they told me that the real world difference between the standard 80mm Kowa and the Konus was pretty minimal. When you factor in that the KOWA was $800, and the Konus was 1/4 of that, it was a no brainer. Prior to that I had been using a 50mm KOWA which I also gave $200 for new at Camp Perry. I still keep the 50mm around somewhere as a loaner/backup. I wish I had known about the Konus back then.

[esshup]

I have a bushnell and I wasn't happy with it. Back in 2008 I was planning on going out west to WY for Mulies and Antelope and hoped to go at least every other year. I did a bunch of research and comparisons, and at that time the Leupold Wind River Spotting Scopes were the best mid price range scopes that I looked thru. I ended up finding a barely used Swarovski 20-60x80 HD straight body scope, hard case, tripod and haze filter for slightly more than half of what the scope body costs today.

Yes, it's heavy to pack around at altitude, but I bought a CF tripod to lessen the weight a bit. The optics are phenominal. I thought that I'd better bite the bullet and pay the price once and never have to buy another spotting scope again.