Rifle Scopes What spotting scopes have mil-dots?

#4
Re: What spotting scopes have mil-dots?

check out the new bushnell liberty is gettin ready to start delivering for $400. frank has a thread where he has field tested one. i cant wait to get my hands on one!
 
#6
Re: What spotting scopes have mil-dots?

Do all Eor's have Mil reticles or is it just the optolyth tbg 80?

Id like a quality glass spotter (not Leupy) that has a mil based reticle but something smaller than the TBG 80, That thing is Huge.

Maybe the Bushnell will do... but i have used the leupy in the army alot and would love to have something a bit nicer in terms of glass quality because some days its not always easy to catch the trace even with the leupy.

Can anyone suggest a somewhat decent sized optic with good glass quality and a mil/mil dot scale??? Thanks
 
#7
Re: What spotting scopes have mil-dots?

The actual glass quality of the Leupold is as good as anything you can get a reticle in, excepting the Zeiss Spotter 60, but that'll set you back 5K or so. You can also get the ED version of teh scope and have the reticle installed, though it really only improves color rendition.

What tripod system did you use? I've had a lot of people in class have problems using their spotter, then look through mine on the Manfrotto MagFiber tripod and marvel how much better the view was to them. Same exact scope with a better mount can make a big differance.
 
#8
Re: What spotting scopes have mil-dots?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CoryT</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The actual glass quality of the Leupold is as good as anything you can get a reticle in, excepting the Zeiss Spotter 60, but that'll set you back 5K or so. You can also get the ED version of teh scope and have the reticle installed, though it really only improves color rendition.

What tripod system did you use? I've had a lot of people in class have problems using their spotter, then look through mine on the Manfrotto MagFiber tripod and marvel how much better the view was to them. Same exact scope with a better mount can make a big differance. </div></div>

Are you talking about the really tall magfiber? Is there only one i googled it and it was huge... Im talking about a short spotter tripod for range/field work.

The spotter 60 seems interesting... Idk about the 20x low power though. I usually pick up my trace out of the gold ring at about 18 and if im not seeing it i'll bump it down to maybe 15... But then again the Zeiss has a 72mm lens instead of a 60mm so who knows. Id sure like to try one but from the sound of it they are rare.

Ive seen alot of different setups i guess. Some 18 series guys will use the Mount For the Viper LRF because it has a big ball socket swivel head, or Ive seen That same tripod with the Manfrotto grip swivel thing, although ive heard from operators that those wear out over time and are junk.

You might laugh but i actually use the old cradle type m-15(i think?) Tripod for the m49 spotting scope. I strap the leupy into that with just some 1 inch nylon and a fastex buckle. I absolutely hate the leupy Tripod. Its nice operationally at times but from shooting in the prone for training it sucks, its too dang high IMHO. I have to get way up on my elbows to see anything and then its shaky as all get out.

The strap and m15 are nice. You get it really nice and tight and then just give it little corrections by hand. All you have is a verticle adjustment but I love it... its really fast, solid and nice and low.

As for the news on the spotting scope, thats too bad. I was hoping there would be something with better glass than the gold ring that was affordable. I certainly wouldnt wanna give up variable power for a fixed scope. <span style="font-weight: bold">I was looking at the Zeiss 15-40x65 from liberty optics with a straight eye piece and Mil dot. Does anyone have experience from them?</span>
 
#13
Re: What spotting scopes have mil-dots?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 11B-B4</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I absolutely hate the leupy Tripod. Its nice operationally at times but from shooting in the prone for training it sucks, its too dang high IMHO. I have to get way up on my elbows to see anything and then its shaky as all get out.

</div></div>

Even the scope itself contributes to this problem. I never for the life of me could understand why they were designed with the objective lense lower than the ocular lense. STUPID! The objective lense should be the highest point so as to see better over grass, near mirage and other ground obstructions, while the ocular lense should be low enough to keep the head down as low as practically possible to reduce exposure. I wonder what the engineers were thinking. Sometimes engineers are out of touch with practical battlefield application.

Sorry about running a tangent on an old thread already.
 
#15
Re: What spotting scopes have mil-dots?

In terms of the Bushnell Excursion FLP Tactical,
http://www.bushnell.com/products/scopes/spotting-scopes/excursion-flp/781570ED/

They stopped production over a year ago, not exactly sure why, but it may have been because they were having significant quality control issues?

The one I have has some small fibers/flecks in the field of view, if you look for them they are obvious, but not anything that you can't learn to ignore. Other than that it has worked great, KNOCK ON WOOD!

Bushnell was supposed to have had a new version of the scope out by now, I believe that it was shown at the 2011 SHOT Show, and promised to be out in the 2nd quarter?

There was a group buy initiated here, but no delivery as of yet.
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2623792&page=1

The new version is supposed to have a hash mark reticle in place of the standard Mil Dot.

Hopefully they will pull it off, having a ranging spotting scope for under $400 will be great! Now if I could only get them to come out with a MOA based reticle version, things would be freaking outstanding!


Also I don't think anyone mentioned the Vortex Razor
http://www.vortexoptics.com/category/spotting_scopes
There is an optional Razor HD 30x Tactical Eyepiece for it.

Personally it would be great if you could also get it for the Viper series, but they currently only offer the eyepiece for the Razor, which is a $1,500 scope. They also only offer this as a MIL Hash, once again it would be great to also see a MOA version. Vortex has a MOA based reticle option in their scopes, so it shouldn't be that big of a stretch for them.

Honestly, I am not sure why the Optics manufacturers are not offering more of the products that shooters are actually looking for? I am not sure who works in the R&D / Marketing Depts of these companies, but they obviously don't get out in the shooting world very often!

Best of Luck,
M Richardson
 
#16
Re: What spotting scopes have mil-dots?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: captrichardson</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Honestly, I am not sure why the Optics manufacturers are not offering more of the products that shooters are actually looking for? I am not sure who works in the R&D / Marketing Depts of these companies, but they obviously don't get out in the shooting world very often!</div></div>

Not sure if you ment Vortex, but they have been at almost every match I can think of for the past couple years. Not to mention they seem to be very well informed and receptive to the shooting community needs.
 
#17
Re: What spotting scopes have mil-dots?

Not per say when it comes to Vortex, they had admittedly done more in the last couple of years than some optics companies have done in the past decades!

But “generally speaking” when you look at the post above, it is a clear example of where the tactical market wants a ranging spotting scope, but there is a very limited number of offerings available, and the options within those offerings is very limited.

Back to Vortex,
Spotting Scopes – per above, the ranging reticle is only an option on their most expensive scope, and it is only available in a MIL based option. Why not also offer it with your mid level scope, and why not offer it with a MOA based reticle?

Rifle Scopes – thanks to the folks at Vortex for offering their scopes with both a MOA and MIL option, they are one of the very few manufacturers doing it, especially when it comes to the mid-low price models. However when you look at the new Viper PST, the MOA based turrets have 12 MOA per rotation versus 10. This makes adjustments and math very “fun” to try and keep up with. With 10 MOA, if I want 27 minutes, I dial 2 rotations plus 7. With 12, I have to calculate 2 rotations is 2x12=24, so I need 2 rotations plus 3. Not the most difficult, but under stress, it adds more to mix. Also comes into play when you look back to the scope after making adjustments, and when you have to make adjustments from some point other than zero. It’s not rocket science, but it is enough “extra math and steps” that it can screw with you under stress. Maybe I am just to dumb and slow to grasp it, but 10 MOA per rotation works real well for me and a lot of other shooters I know!

Overall, IMHO Vortex has done more for the “Tactical Community” than any other manufacturer, and most of their products are 90%-95% spot on, so many thanks to them for their efforts. That being said, I hope they will continue to push their R&D and product offerings, based largely on what the shooters are looking for.

In reality, the “Tactical Community” is peanuts compared to some other markets, so it is somewhat understandable why some of the decisions are being made by the manufacturers. But the reality is also that the “Tactical Market” is a legit and growing market sector, which if not addressed accordingly, is going to cost some manufacturers potential income. The market is getting competitive enough that those who get it right will succeed, and those who don’t will be going by the way side.

Thanks,
M Richardson
 
#19
Re: What spotting scopes have mil-dots?

Leupold, Hensoldt, Vortex are the main players. Bushnell, Kruger Optical offer items that have been less than satisfactory for us.

We were hoping to get a reticled eyepiece for Kowa but that isn't happening this year.

I agree, with the influx of new scopes and the availability of reticled binos, the only real deficiency in the market is reticled spotters, in a compact variable you can pay $5K for the Hense or $1500-$2000 in the Leupy offering, or get the Razor HD with a 30x eyepiece in a big spotter. Valdada-Optolyth has/had a reticled eyepeice in the big Optolyth spotters but they haven't sold well, and are big $$ also.

Meopta and Zeiss 65 are discontinued options.

Vortex does have the excellent Recon R/T series with a 10x50 and 15x50 setup, that is very functional and well designed in a compact fixed spotter.

Still, for some odd reason, this is the segment of the market where quality options and variety have yet to be found.

Scott
 
#20
Re: What spotting scopes have mil-dots?

Seems to me like 15X isn't really enough for the Vortex Recon spotter. Really oughtta be 25 or 30X.

I mean, most guys tactical riflescopes have more mag than 15X.

Also, the Razor is too damn big for what most of us care about.

I suspect Vortex would do pretty well with a competitor to the Leupold MKIV spotter.
 
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