Help about Spotting Scope

[Savage Hunter]

I'm looking at buying a spotting scope.
Never owned one.
Use for hunting only sparingly.
Mostly at the range 100-400 yards.
Angled or Straight?? please school me on this.

I buy a lot of Leupold.
Don't want to spend more than $500.
Any good scopes to be had for this or less and is one of these Leupold's a good choice?

Leupold SX-1 Ventana Spotting Scope 20-60x 80mm Armored Black

Leupold Golden Ring Compact Spotting Scope 15-30x 50mm Shadow Gray

thanks.

 

[JimP]

The type of spotting scope as far as angled or straight is going to depend on how you really use it. If you have a window mount in your truck a angled one is going to feel awkward where a straight one won't. If you do a lot of sitting and looking a angled one might be better than the straight one and then if you are standing a straight one would work best. Did I help any? The best suggestion that I can give is to head on down to the optics store and look through both and then decide. For mostly range work either one should work.

Now for what one to get. Leoupolds are good. I know of a couple of hunters that have them and use them a lot with no problems. You might also want to look at the Vortex line for a good scope.

 

[Savage Hunter]

Well, I won't be using it from a truck window. don't really have a lot of wide open spaces around home that I can do that.
I will take it out west with me. Got an New Mexico elk hunt planned in October.
Mostly, though, it'll be at the range with my son.

The reason I lean towards Leupold is that I have a lot of their scopes, binoculars, range finder. I love each one of them.
Trust them. Good warranty, although I've never used their warranty.

Wondering if these lower end leupolds were any good or if another similarly priced brand would/could be better.

thanks,

 

[JimP]

You can't go wrong with Leupold and from what I understand the spotters are made in Japan.

I'll let you know how they handle their warranty. I just sent in a pair of binoculars that have more miles on them than you should expect. It was just a few minor things but when I lost a screw out of the pivot point I figured that I would send them in.

 

[ZG47]

@Savage Hunter Straight is easier to get on target and ... you can mount it top side up, bottom up, rotated to the left or right and still look through it ok. The angled eyepiece style was developed for prone competition shooters and has been adopted for some positional competition use. It was never intended for general use. Also, if you mount an angled eyepiece scope so that you are looking down into it, you increase the chances of covering the ocular lens surface with sweat, dust, suntan lotion, etc whereas with a straight eyepiece scope it takes a bit longer to cover the lens with rubbish.

NB Always use a lens brush and lens tissue to clean the lens surface. Toilet paper and various other absorbent papers contain pumice or similar material to soak up moisture and will scratch your lens surfaces.

Make sure that the scope is sufficiently sharp for what you want to do, at the magnification you intend to use. Test it on a couple of your old targets, at the range you normally use them. If this is to difficult to do before buying, talk to someone who shoots indoor rimfire rifle competition. Shooting .22 rimfire and spotting each shot under electric lighting is one of the hardest tests for a spotting scope that you can run.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

I am in the same boat you are: been considering a spotting scope for years.

Consider the weight too. Your stated reason for this scope is hunting. The Leupold Golden Ring Compact Spotting Scope 15-30x 50mm is very light (21 oz) and 30x for the yardage you are talking is more than enough.

The Leupold SX-1 Ventana Spotting Scope 20-60x 80mm is much heavier (37oz), too much in my opinion for a hunting scope. Could use this on the shooting range, but I am leaning towards a Bullseye Camera system (http://www.bullseyecamera.com/ammocam.html )

 

[Say Man]

I have a Nikon Spotter XL that I have had for about 18 years and haven't had a problem with it. Use it mainly hunting sheep and goats here in Alaska and hasn't failed me yet. I would agree with the previous poster about going to the optics shop and trying out the angled vs. straight to see what is best for you. The Spotter is straight and I like that more than the angled. Not that it matters much but an angled one causes the user to get higher to look through it and can expose someone looking through the scope. Lots of people use the angled for hunting I have just never been a fan. The Spotter is a little more slim and lightweight than most scopes but that is what I wanted for hauling around the mountains in a pack.

 

[caddman]

I chose straight. No one I know seems to care for the angled for hunting. As far as optics go, You generally get what you pay for. Unless you plan on using it for many hours in a row, a scope under $500 will likely suit your needs. If longer times used and the likelihood of eye fatigue is an issue you will generally have to part with more cash for a spotting scope.

 

[Rob404]

Mine is angled, I think leupold and Vortex make a good spotter, I have a Pentax with ED Glass, also a stable tripod is a must , you might try doing some scrounging on e-bay. I have a Gander mountain that served me pretty well as well as the Leopold, if you want I'll send you the Gander it worked good for me up to 200meters not sure about 400, even my ED glass pentax has a little problem with small calibers at long distances

 

[ack]

I'm looking at buying a spotting scope.
Never owned one.
Use for hunting only sparingly.
Mostly at the range 100-400 yards.
Angled or Straight?? please school me on this.

I buy a lot of Leupold.
Don't want to spend more than $500.
Any good scopes to be had for this or less and is one of these Leupold's a good choice?

Leupold SX-1 Ventana Spotting Scope 20-60x 80mm Armored Black

Leupold Golden Ring Compact Spotting Scope 15-30x 50mm Shadow Gray

thanks.[/QUOT Check out Meopta befdore you buy Leupold

 

[ack]

I wold look at Meopta before you buy..I have their Binos and they are a superior set of glasses.

 

[BobT]

I am a big Leupold fan myself but when I started looking for a compact spotter for hunting I ended up with the Minox MD50 and couldn't be happier. If you add a quality lightweight tripod you should still make your $500.00 target. I bought an open box demo from Cameraland NY for about $200.00 that price has gone up about $20.00 but still leaves a pretty good chunk of your budget for a nice tripod.

 

[Nyati]

Zeiss and Swarovski make excellent spotting scopes, unfortunately they are rather expensive !

 

[Savage Hunter]

thanks guys.
Rob has satisfied my immediate need for the range. Thanks Rob!!
Down the road I may look at something for hunting, if necessary.

 

[wesheltonj]

You will not need a spoting scope in New Mexico, if you are in the mountains. If hunting the low winter grazing grounds, one would come in handy there, to pick though the animals.

 

[RolandtheHeadless]

Everyone has their own preference, but to me, 100-400 yards is binocular range. I've only carried a spotting scope when sheep hunting, when I want to check out a ram a mile away.

 

[wislnwings]

My wife got me a Vortex spotting scope last year for Christmas. It is 20-60x if I remember right and I think its their middle of the road one. I got it with the angled eyepiece. I find it more comfortable at the range and if I take it on mountain hunts, your often looking up the mountain so the angled eyepiece I find more comfortable.

 

[Fire652]

Everyone has their own preference, but to me, 100-400 yards is binocular range. I've only carried a spotting scope when sheep hunting, when I want to check out a ram a mile away.

This. Get the best pair of 10x42 you can afford for hunting. I have gone through all types of spotting scopes. I now have one of the best and it only comes out on mule deer hunts. My binoculars always go. If you are going to the gun range a 65mm will handle just about anything.

 

[Philip Glass]

I have all Leupold scopes and am sure you will be happy with anything from them. However the unfortunate thing about good glass is that you get what you pay for. I have a swaro high end spotting scope and it is incredible only problem is the price is incredible as well!
Philip

 

[sierraone]

I have the Golden Ring 15 x 30 scope. I use it on the range. I personally thing 400 yards is too far for this scope, but then again looking at a deer size animal or better yet an elk, that might work just fine! I bought mine 3 years ago from a local shop and paid $420. Good luck with whatever you decide.