After months of shopping, I was ready to spend the big money on a spotting scope for my long distance work. While a smaller, field spotting scope would have probably been handier, my goal is to use this higher magnification, traditional-sized spotting scope to try and improve my wind reading and bullet tracing skills.
Although I had considered scopes costing three times the price, I kept coming back to these low-cost scopes made by Celestron, essentially for star-gazing and bird-watching activities. I don't know if those markets have a different price structure than the shooting sports, but whatever the reason, the bang for the buck seemed to be much higher than what I could get through the more recognized "shooting-sport" brands.
The decided on the Regal F-ED series, Celestron's flagship model. While these scopes are assembled in China, the lens are Ohara brand ED glass from Japan. And man oh man, does it show! The images are razor sharp from edge-to-edge, and the colors are true to life. The resolving power is also amazing. I was counting 6.5mm bullet holes at 500 meters yesterday, in the rain! And with the huge 100mm objective, my images do not get dimmer at all as I approach maximum magnification.
<span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-weight: bold">Pros</span></span>
- Cost ($579) B&H Photo
- Japanese, ED glass
- BAK 4 prism
- 22-67x wide angle eyepiece
- 20mm eye relief
- accepts any 1.25" eyepiece
- 100mm objective, awesome brightness and resolving power!
- Waterproof
- No fault lifetime warranty
<span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-weight: bold">Cons</span></span>
- size (almost 2 feet long!)
- weight (5.5 lbs!)
The Slik tripod I bought ain't too bad either. It handles the weight of this bad boy very well, and adjusts from 11" to 62.5". That's enough adjustment for me to use it while shooting prone, or standing on the line while spotting other shooters. For around $120, it' an excellent tripod.
Long story short, if you're in the market for some excellent value on spotting scope glass, consider these Celestron scopes. They also make 65mm and 80mm models if the 100mm model is too intimidating!
In my opinion, they are one of the very best values for well under $1000.
Although I had considered scopes costing three times the price, I kept coming back to these low-cost scopes made by Celestron, essentially for star-gazing and bird-watching activities. I don't know if those markets have a different price structure than the shooting sports, but whatever the reason, the bang for the buck seemed to be much higher than what I could get through the more recognized "shooting-sport" brands.
The decided on the Regal F-ED series, Celestron's flagship model. While these scopes are assembled in China, the lens are Ohara brand ED glass from Japan. And man oh man, does it show! The images are razor sharp from edge-to-edge, and the colors are true to life. The resolving power is also amazing. I was counting 6.5mm bullet holes at 500 meters yesterday, in the rain! And with the huge 100mm objective, my images do not get dimmer at all as I approach maximum magnification.
<span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-weight: bold">Pros</span></span>
- Cost ($579) B&H Photo
- Japanese, ED glass
- BAK 4 prism
- 22-67x wide angle eyepiece
- 20mm eye relief
- accepts any 1.25" eyepiece
- 100mm objective, awesome brightness and resolving power!
- Waterproof
- No fault lifetime warranty
<span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-weight: bold">Cons</span></span>
- size (almost 2 feet long!)
- weight (5.5 lbs!)
The Slik tripod I bought ain't too bad either. It handles the weight of this bad boy very well, and adjusts from 11" to 62.5". That's enough adjustment for me to use it while shooting prone, or standing on the line while spotting other shooters. For around $120, it' an excellent tripod.
Long story short, if you're in the market for some excellent value on spotting scope glass, consider these Celestron scopes. They also make 65mm and 80mm models if the 100mm model is too intimidating!
In my opinion, they are one of the very best values for well under $1000.
