What is the recommendation for a spotter under $500. This is for my Dad. He lives in ND, so his conditions aren't too dissimilar to those in Alaska. He doesn't need a ton of zoom, wide fov is more important. Would like an 80ish mm objective. Primarily used for hunting, range secondary. He knows Vortex, but I didn't see anything in his budget that met his wants.
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Spotter under $500
- Thread starter Zatchmo
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If you are set on an 80mm+ objective then the Athlon Optics Argos 20-60x85mm would be a good choice and it can be had for $369. I bought the super cheap ($150) Athlon Talos spotting scope as a backup/companion to a high-end Leupold and mainly for spotting 22lr holes on targets at distance and I was shocked at how good the glass was for the money. The Argos has even better glass and should be very hard to beat in that price range.
It would be our pleasure to work with you on this if you have a few minutes to give us a call, 516-217-1000
Thanks
Doug
Thanks
Doug
Only one I would recommend is the Bushnell Legend T. It punches over its price.
Might be newer stuff, and call Doug, he can give you pricing over the phone that he can't advertise. He also knows a ton.
Might be newer stuff, and call Doug, he can give you pricing over the phone that he can't advertise. He also knows a ton.
Thanks, he's definitely on my list to call. I was hoping to be better informed before calling, but will definitely call tomorrow.
After playing with a ton of spotters at matches over the years.....
Save more and buy in the $1k range. That's about the bare minimum I'd bother with. I'd honestly take a $500 8x42/10x42 bino over any spotter.
As the mag range increases, all the glass needs to be much better to be able to see. I lived in ND for awhile, and you can see the horizon in any direction from most anywhere in the state. That is going to take decent glass to be able to see past where binos make more sense.
The lower cost spotters don't have the resolution, contrast, or overall clarity to mess with in my opinion. I guess I did have a guy tell me his $75 barska was just as good as a Gold Ring because he could still see holes at 100 yards, so it may depend on your point of view.
Save more and buy in the $1k range. That's about the bare minimum I'd bother with. I'd honestly take a $500 8x42/10x42 bino over any spotter.
As the mag range increases, all the glass needs to be much better to be able to see. I lived in ND for awhile, and you can see the horizon in any direction from most anywhere in the state. That is going to take decent glass to be able to see past where binos make more sense.
The lower cost spotters don't have the resolution, contrast, or overall clarity to mess with in my opinion. I guess I did have a guy tell me his $75 barska was just as good as a Gold Ring because he could still see holes at 100 yards, so it may depend on your point of view.
This is also a valid opinion. Thanks. The saving a bit more probably isn't going to happen for him, but that doesn't mean I couldn't kick in and help him get something nicer. In your opinion, what would the $1000 spotter to get be?
Honestly, unless he absolutely HAS to have a reticle, I think he'd be better off with a good pair of 10 or 15x binos.
I just picked up a Legend T Series 781545ED 15-45X60 . So far, so good. I'd love to be able to afford a high end spotter, but I'm too busy treading water at the moment. The Legend replaced a $275 Celestron spotter that was decent in optimum conditions but just not good enough for ELR. I'm hopeful the Legend will fill the gap until I can splurge on a Hensoldt. Yea, I'm dreaming big...
I just took the Legend out to look at the moon and Jupiter. The detail on the surface of the moon is excellent. I see 3 of Jupiter's moons, which is cool. If I had a robe and a cap, I'd feel like Galileo. The Legend has very good sharpness and contrast for a sub-$500 spotter. I'm not seeing the focus creep that some reviewers complain of, but the reticle does have some fine particulate contamination. I wonder if it is an artifact of reticle manufacture? We will take it out this weekend for an ELR workout.
Legend T is pretty damn decent for the $$$
Reticle is simple and useable and glass is decent.
It’s been quite good at spotting out to 1.5 miles.
Was spotting 130 grain 6.5cm at 1810 yesterday with another hide member quite well.
I did have the reticle focus creep but it went away fairly quickly.
It definitely doesn’t have that glass of the Kowa 883 I get to use often but it has a reticle and wide FOV and often I prefer to use it over the Kowa
I try not to buy Chinese but My options were unfortunately quite limited.
Reticle is simple and useable and glass is decent.
It’s been quite good at spotting out to 1.5 miles.
Was spotting 130 grain 6.5cm at 1810 yesterday with another hide member quite well.
I did have the reticle focus creep but it went away fairly quickly.
It definitely doesn’t have that glass of the Kowa 883 I get to use often but it has a reticle and wide FOV and often I prefer to use it over the Kowa
I try not to buy Chinese but My options were unfortunately quite limited.
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Call Doug at cameraland. He's a straight shooter.
I picked up a Leupold sx-4 for a good deal and was watching elk 5 miles away. It's a heavy pig compared to a gold ring but I didn't want or need the reticle for the hunting spotter.
another vote for the Bushy legend T. I have one. its amazing for the price and I really dont see a reason to upgrade ANY time soon.
my only issue I had was the rubber ring around the focus knob started to slip so rolled it back and superglued it and its been fine so far.
my only issue I had was the rubber ring around the focus knob started to slip so rolled it back and superglued it and its been fine so far.
Sig stopped making the tango 5 a couple years ago, but if you can find one they're a good option for $4-500. No reticle. I've got one that I'm happy with for the price.
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