Request Advice for Spotting Scope

[gamboolman]

We are needing advice from practical knowledgable users of spotting scopes in the field please. I have been doing the search and read thing - it is overwhelming to a good bit. I am in the paralysis by analysis mode now....

We recently repatriated from overseas oilpatch, and moved back to our home in Texas and are near to retiring after 42+ year in the oilfields. The wife and I are looking forward to being able to spend time target & IDPA shooting, hunting, shooting pigs, fishing, etc.

Our aging eyes require trifocals....and I imagine we need a fairly good / powerful spotting scope to be able to see the holes in the targets.

We are fortunate in that all the years living oversea's working the oilpatch has allowed us to be able to afford and get good quality equipment. But when it comes to Spotting Scopes - I am ignorant.

We want to be able to use the Spotting Scope to sight in our rifles and use them for hunting and general use.

As I said, we don't mind spending the money but need advice from folks that have the practical user basis.

Besides the Spotting Scope and Attachments - Cases, Tripods, smart phone picture taking attachments, etc.

Any advice would be most appreciated.

I would add that one day we would pass on this equipment to our kids and grandkiddos....

Thanks, gamboolman ms gamboolgal....

ETA - I just realized that I had posted a similar question a couple of years ago. Basically the same thing as I asked here, but we are now closer to retiring....Thanks for any help.

 

[gr8fuldoug]

There's a few options all depending on your price range. Be glad to discuss options with you if you have a few minutes to give a call

 

[338LMAI]

I'll bet it's nice to be home and have some time to do those things you've worked your whole life for. May I suggest?
See a good reputable optometrist especially to check for cataracts. In '13 I finally reached the point wherein mine said it's time and had them both done. I had no idea... There's only one ophthalmologist here and she corrected by accident or design my lifelong 25/20; now it's 20/15, don't need reading glasses for the presbyopia, etc. My eyes are better today than all the years since scarlet fever in'49-'50. Can't get away from having a fever of 105 for almost three days, ever. This is where I'd start for you and the wife.
You will get the best of advice here and on some specific "glass snob" sites. You may get what you pay for and almost never more. I'd rather skip the brands, stores, and shops for now, but suggest you consider binoculars big and small, but always the best. Be good to those aging eyes. They can be had, well, I don't know the limit except that once in a while a pair of those Japanese giants come available and Kowa & Fujinon have production (sort of) "big eyes." Then there's the specially assembled "Pennsylvania" gizmos; the largest spotting scopes from Swaros, Kowas, Bauch & Lomb, Zeiss, Leicas, etc paired up and collocated in custom machined mounts. Beast they is, but great they are... Once you get above 10x you're better off using a tripod if possible and with the big stuff there's few options. When you get this stuff all together include the family entire this way they'll kno the value and really appreciate the zaniness of grandparents! In any event all the best, enjoy, be safe, and healthy.

 

[Steel head]

Got a budget on this?
For a cheaper and fairly compact option I like my Bushnell legend tactical.
Functional glass and a nice reticle.

If you want phenomenal glass the 663/664 and 883/884 Kowa.
Glass and focus is amazing.
The 80’s are huge but the 60’s are quite compact.

I’ve gotten to use a few of the Leupolds and they are pretty nice.

 

[502Chevelle]

There is more info on here than you can shake a stick at. I will say that gr8fuldoug is a straight up good guy, and won’t steer you wrong. I have bought a couple scopes from him, and he has always done me right. Good glass costs, it just does, sometimes painfully. Sometimes we try to save a little cash, and buy something, and it is great right up to the point when you look through your buddies high end model, and then you can see how good the other glass is. Buy the best that you can, and that will be something different for everyone.

 

[m1match]

Congratulations on a well earned retirement. I've been the route of buying cheaper even though I could buy whatever I wanted only to find that whatever I bought didn't fit my needs well and I end up upgrading to better (and more expensive) equipment at a total cost of more than if I'd just bought the high quality implement to start with.

With spotting scopes, I started out shooting NRA Highpower with a Bushnell spotting scope which was OK but only so so optics. I upgraded to an angled eyepiece Kowa 821 in about 2001 which I still used to this day. Phenomenal optics, great LER (long eye relief eyepiece) with excellent field of view. The only limitation is that to my knowledge there is no eyepiece that fits my Kowa that has a reticle.

When I started shooting precision rifle, I quickly discovered that having a spotting scope with a reticle was the way to go when spotting for someone else. Without a reticle, you can't give your shooter an elevation or windage correction that is anything but a guess.

I ended up buying a Leupold Mk 4 with TMR reticle which I really like. I got it on a Black Friday sale for a REALLY good price but the optics are pretty good, the reticle is good, and for precision rifle, I didn't want an angled eyepiece like my Kowa. I got a package deal from Eurooptic for the spotting scope and Badger SLICK system which I added the Badger Spotter Cover, and the Badger Eyepiece Cover.

Here's another SH thread with more info on spotting scopes. I like the Leupold scope and think it's a reasonable value (a great value for what I paid for it on sale), but the Hensoldt, Swarovski, Leica and Zeiss scopes also are available with reticles (I think) and they have absolutely world class glass that I can tell is better than my Leupold.

Badger ordnance slick system

Looking at the above for scope, seems to have good reviews. Any other comparable systems that I might want to consider before purchasing? Any issues with using this mount? TIA

www.snipershide.com

 

[chrome]

Just went through this same project myself, haven't completely assembled everything but the way I looked at it:

1.) My Needs - Spotter for shooting at 100 through 1,000, for both myself when I am prone, and to also help others get on target. I wanted a wider FOV so wanted to stick with something on a lower mag range/wider FOV.

2.) Budget/Price - I was all over the place. Always enticed by the fancy as fuck superior race Hensoldt 45 spotter, but couldn't bring myself to spend the 4.5k (bought a ZCO with the difference), so I decided to go "high value" and grabbed one of the Leupold Mk4s with inverted h-32 from Natchez (https://www.natchezss.com/leupold-mark-4-spotting-scope-12-40x60mm-inverted-h-32-reticle-black.html) - $1.4k

3.) Tripod Setup - Already have an RRS I can use it on, so I bought some additional RRS arca mounts. And also grabbed a tactical tripod setup (http://tacticaltripod.com/Prices_and_Ordering.html) for a more compact setup and/or when I am prone. - $450 (tripod)+ $100 (additional arca mounts)

4.) Case - Bought the Kinetic Group Case that allows me to run it inverted in either the TT or RRS setup (https://kineticdg.com/product/the-optics-hub/) - $150

So all said in done will have just around $2k into a setup that will be able to flex across multiple tripod platforms quickly via ARCA mounts, be semi-protected in a metal 'shell' or case, and ultimateily has quality (not german) glass and a tree reticle.

 

[gamboolman]

From 502 Chevelle - "Good glass costs, it just does, sometimes painfully."

Thank you all for the advice, and for the link. Thank you gr8fuldoug - I will see can I contact you. Good stuff Chrome - thanks very much.

It is good to have so many great spotting scopes to choose from. We are researching them some more. I had not heard or read up on some of the manufacturers listed - so thanks to all.

Budget for us is that we can purchase any one of them including the Swaroviski / Zeiss / Leica's or others I may not know about yet.... - but we want to be as sure as possible we are getting what we need and want. Being from the oilfield and doing large projects, I do like simple and tough but also know we need to spend what we need to do to meet our goal.

Will post back on what we are leaning towards

Thanks, gamboolman...

 

[chevy_man]

If you have the budget you can never go wrong with Swarovski or Hensoldt.

Most of us don't have the budget for the $3-4k price point which is why you will see a lot of Leupold, Bushnell, and Kowa fans.

Rest assured you won't get sub quality glass at the $4k mark. The $800-$1500 Mark is where you really need to look through them and decide for yourself.

I can easily see .224 holes in paper at 200 yards at 20x through my Leupold. I wouldn't worry much about that being a high contrast application.
The better glass will shine when you're looking into shadowed and low contrast areas.

 

[chrome]

Had extended 7 hours behind my setup I mentioned above, and the mk4 did well as expected. I could see trace across, no complications there. The only thing that sucked is when the mirage was the worst, I couldn't pick up hits on steel unless it the target was perfectly painted white (some had a lighter coat of paint than others).

On a funny note, the tripod blew over and the leupold took a direct spill on the ocular. All is well still.

 

[surgeon260]

Kowa 88mm should be at the top of your list to learn about. It is an incredible scope. New ones with an eyepiece will be $3k+.

I don't have much insight as far as tripods. I use a MeFoto carbon Globe Trotter. It's pretty light and very solid. There are cheaper and much more expensive options.

 

[gamboolman]

Thank you All - for the advice and recommendations.
We are looking at lots of different manufacturers per the advice given above/herein.
I will try to post pictures of what we get.
I really appreciate yawl sharing your experience and knowledge
Thanks, gamboolman....

 

[Steel head]

Kowa 88mm should be at the top of your list to learn about. It is an incredible scope. New ones with an eyepiece will be $3k+.

I don't have much insight as far as tripods. I use a MeFoto carbon Globe Trotter. It's pretty light and very solid. There are cheaper and much more expensive options.

They are pretty amazing spotters.

 

[PL833]

Hello im not sure i can post yet im new to the hide. But i did just solve the same problem..i could spend 3 to 4k or even 2k.
Meopta makes a pretty nice SS. Meostar s2 imo..congrats on retirement me to but not by choice.

 

[MarinePMI]

Hendsoldt. The master race. Lol

Seriously, for rugged (hunting) optics, with amazing clarity, consider a Spotter 45 or 60. These things can literally take a beating and still function fine.

 

[flatland1]

I've bought a few spotters from 1986 to present, mostly for use in high power XC & LR prone matches, but also wanted something I could use for things not shooting related. Will admit, I'm a hard-headed, somewhat-slow-to-learn guy, because I bought a couple of less expensive spotters before going with a Kowa 661 (all for HP use), and that model's still well below the best that Kowa offers. Friends with Kowa 821 spotters have had me score for them while using their scopes, and I've always been impressed by how much better they are than my 66mm 661. Am pretty sure the Kowa models with ED/fluorite objectives are better still, but have never spent any time behind one. Over the past 6-7yrs, I bought what I expected would be better spotters, in the form of Vanguard Endeavor 20-60x82 & Celestron M2 Regal 20-60x80. Should've known better; both are possibly a little better optically than my Kowa 661, but mechanically, neither is as robust or solid as the Kowa. Right now, I'm thinking about an Athlon Cronus 20-60x86, which is their top-of-the-line model, and though normally priced at $1500, they're now on sale for $1000. That's about as far as I'm going to go price-wise; am not disagreeing with the advice to go with good German glass, just don't feel it'd be worthwhile for my application. Part of the reason is that I don't believe you're ever going to be able to see bullet holes from 400yds on out with any consistency, no matter how much money you spend on glass - sure, there may be a time when conditions are nigh-on to perfect when you might be able to see holes clear out to 600 - but it isn't going to happen often. A more realistic way to judge glass is whether you're going to be able to tell whether a big mulie or bull elk has antlers that are good enough to make a long stalk worthwhile, and that includes being able to see back into the shadows with clarity that less expensive glass just can't deliver.

As far as angled body vs. straight, the only time I want an angled eyepiece is when I'm spotting for myself during a HP match; an angled LER eyepiece allows you to see the spotter on your target without breaking your prone position (if you've got a good tripod designed specifically for this purpose, and if you take the time to get it set up correctly during prep period). Straight bodies are much easier to use when you're glassing for wildlife or spotting for someone else while they're shooting. And as far as for use spotting for another shooter, a good pair of 15x56 binoculars are hard to beat. I prefer to use my Leupold 15x56 binos while spotting/scoring at matches, whether we're shooting steel or paper. Binos generally have a much wider field of view, and since you're working with both eyes open, they're less stressful on your eyes than a scope.

Lots of things to consider when shopping for optics - but for value & being able to fill a wide range of applications, I'm thinking your best bet would be to invest in a spotter in the $1200-$1500 price range, and a pair of good 15x56 binos. I've never had the pleasure of looking though a pair of Swarovski SLC 15x56s, but they'd have to be quite a lot better than my Leupolds to be worth the price of admission to me. Good luck, hope you have a great retirement!