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First Spotting Scope Recommendations

M

maxwewb

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Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 31, 2012
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Hello all,

Recently I've started going out to the 300 yd at my local range and have had trouble seeing my shots on paper through my scope. Although I'm hitting the target and see the splash behind it I can't see the holes I'm making until there's a cease fire and I have to drive down and see my target (mirage is also a killer too). My question to yall is what would most of you recommend for a decent spotting scope to get the job done that I'll be able to use out to around 600 yds that isn't terribly expensive around $200-$300?
 
Celestron 52252 100mm Ultima Zoom Spotting Scope
http://amzn.com/B0002862UW

This was recommended to me just last week. I was pleasantly surprised the quality. I'm not sure whether you will be able to see your holes on paper at 300 yards, especially considering mirage. But this is probably about the best you get in that price range. This is far cheaper than the price at optics planet.
 
I was using a Leupold Sequoia 20-60X80 and was able to pick up .223 holes at 300 only on a new target and no mirage.
that didn't happen too often at Camp Perry.......The scope itself was great and when it finally took a dive on me this past season, just before the President's 100-ugh-I contacted Leupold and they told me that the model was discontinued but send it back for a replacement. They stand behind their products, something to consider. Unless you're sending boxcars downrange, picking up those holes will be tough in mirage even when using the shoot-n-see type. Good luck and good shooting! My vote is for Loopy!

Doug
 
There is no spotter that will let you see hits on paper out to 600 yards, even a $3000 one.

For that save up and get a target camera.
This will be my next acquisition;
Remote Video Spotting System 775-852-9449 Target Camera TargetCam

No affiliation, I've just done my homework.
Uses RF instead of range-limited (and prone to interference) WiFi.
Totally self contained.

The most complete system in its price range.

Joe
 
for the money $210 with free shipping IMO it is hard to beat the konus 60x spotting scope... I have one and I can see .223 / 5.56 bullet holes no problem @ 300yards and was the main reason why I got it. The tripod that comes with the scope is not the best in the world, but it will get you going until you can get a better tripod. The tripod is pretty much a freebie anyway being that the scope is worth $210 easy.

Konus Spotting Scope 20-60x 80mm Tripod Photo Adapter Soft Case
 
If you buy cheap, you will be replacing it unless you quit shooting.
 
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Take the advice. Fall off your wallet and spend some coin a nice spotting scope.

And don't skimp on a nice well built tripod or stand with a little weight to it. I did the opposite and regret it. My buddy dropped 500 on a vortex spotter and had a really nice camera tripod from the 80's that had some bulk to it. My cheap spotter doesnt see the light of day anymore.
 
First Spotting Scope Recommendations

I used a vortex spotter for several years and could see .30 cal holes out to 700 yards. Since then I have moved up to a Leopold spotter with a reticle (M-4).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
 
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I'm currently using a nikon ED 82mm objective with the 25-75x eyepiece. I've had no issues seeing 6.5mm holes on white paper at 600 yds. I got it on close out from sport optics or optics planet for under $1000.
 
A good scope will cost more than $300, and they last for decades. Buy once cry once applies here. A decent 80mm-ish 25X (or so) will see holes at 300 all day long with ease, and will come damn close at 600 - might even see them under perfect conditions. My old Kowa 27x comes very close to seeing holes at 600 on paper. I can see bullet splats on steel at 600. Probably a little further, but that's as far as I've tried.

It's a good idea to buy last year's model on clearance, as tends to happen. Who's going to care in 5 years?
 
The above advice of not going cheap on the spotter is solid. Yes, I know every one has a budget but I bought an inexpensive Burris spotting scope several years ago when I was just shooting at 100 yard ranges. It worked well for the money and at that distance. Now I am dropping the $'s again to get a much better scope. I think that the Cameraland closeout on the Vortex and I believe one of the other sponsors here had a deal on Leupolds would be worth looking at.
 
+100 on the cheap scope spend the money and get a good scope first and don' t look back
 
i have the konus 2-60x80. the tripod and bag are junk, but the scope itself is pretty nice for the money. i've had mine for maybe a year and a half, and will be looking to upgrade sooner than later. i can see the argument to spend more up front and get something nice, and i usually go that route, but t was what i could afford at the time and has served me well thus far. i guess it depends on how much you'll use it. no sense in spending $$$$ on a kowa if you'll only use it two or three times a year,
 
I'm also looking to buy a new spotting scope. I'm trying to find a decent one for under $2K that has a milradian reticle, but not mildot. What would be a good one to go with?
 
Too bad you can't use steel instead of paper, easier to see hits. You should be able to find something in that price range, I'm still using a cheap $80 20-60x spotter from either Academy or Dick's Sporting Goods. Can see hits on white steel at over 1k.

I agree with the others that Vortex would be a nice one for the $.
 
I Truely dont Know how the heck A Person can see 6.5mm or even .308 holes at 600yds when It was hard enough seeing the 2" maker disc at 7-800yds, There is only one product that I know of that can do the job at these ranges and that is Target Cam because Mirrage is going to be the Killer with you achieving you goals.

John

PS, and NO I dont work for them. wish I did.
 
hondo1312 said:
I'm currently using a nikon ED 82mm objective with the 25-75x eyepiece. I've had no issues seeing 6.5mm holes on white paper at 600 yds. I got it on close out from sport optics or optics planet for under $1000.
Click to expand...

The Nikon 82 ED is incredible. With a bit of digital help I thinks it's potential raises significantly.

Here are a couple views that were taken with just a cellphones camera. There's a lot more detail in the original pictures before they were ultra compressed by photobucket

<200 yards at 75x
20130724_111511_zps5986033a.jpg


<700 yards at 56x magnification (75x is max)
20130612_181007_zps2f74b999.jpg



~900 yards at 75x wide
20130726_113416_zpsd04ff60a.jpg


I would assume set up with a proper point and shoot you could see quite a lot, not actually taking the picture but in live view mode and cropped even more.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
BobD that last picture is very good seeing its turned up flat out and the fact its out so far, thanks for posting it

John
 
maxwewb,
I think most of the advice you have is right so I would add only a few things. If your budget is $200-300 then know, going into the purchase, that its not going to be great scope as you go out further. My first purchase was about $300 (and it was an uneducated purchase). I purchased a Leupold recently and realized I actually would have been better off just saving my money. Not to say it wont work for you but I would have been better off just saving my money.

There are a couple of great buys on new scopes here that are hard to pass up. The other thing is look at the Optics for sale section here as well. If you are not in a rush you can find some great deals from great people.

Vortex makes a good scope however, I would choose the Leupold based on how well they stand behind their products.
 
Check out the Redfield Rampage 20-60x60 (250.00). My dad just bought one and was just as good as my Leupold (350.00) and came with a scope cover and soft case. Very nice spotting spotting scope for entry level.
 
I found a great deal on a Nikon Fieldscope III on ebay and bit. I had previously been using a Tasco that was a much older version than what is available. Both of these are of the 60-65 mm objective variety. I personally like that size for the portability. The magnification is 20-60 on my Nikon and I can get it higher with a different eyepiece. Nikon also stands behind their spotting scopes very strongly. I was attending a class and did not have my "crap in an effective pile" and the scope fell out of my pack on to the parking lot. The objective lens housing and sunshade were dented in severly. The scope still worked fine but, I could not operate the sun shade. When I got home I sent it in to them and for $10 a recieved a new one the following week. ;) Good stuff and good service that is what you should look for.
 
Dude327,
Right at your price range i just ordered the leupold 20-60x80 mark 4 tactical with reticle from Scott at Liberty Optics. You can find him here on the hide. Havent gotten it yet but I would assume it should be a decent scope.
 
macfly said:
Dude327,
Right at your price range i just ordered the leupold 20-60x80 mark 4 tactical with reticle from Scott at Liberty Optics. You can find him here on the hide. Havent gotten it yet but I would assume it should be a decent scope.
Click to expand...

Well thats a great piece of kit, Its on my wish list too, good luck with your new toy, dont forget to tell us about it,

John
 
I have a Nikon Fieldscope with the ED glass that I use for hunting it is a 20-60-60 that I got for 875 it is real clear and you can see hits on steel @ 1500 paper hell no but as stated the only thing that will is a target camera.
 
308Gunner said:
I have a Nikon Fieldscope with the ED glass that I use for hunting it is a 20-60-60 that I got for 875 it is real clear and you can see hits on steel @ 1500 paper hell no but as stated the only thing that will is a target camera.
Click to expand...

If you watch ebay you can find the Bushnell elite 20-60x80 ED scope for under 500.00. I had one for a while and it worked really well. In good light I could resolve 6.5mm bullet holes at about 500 yards. However I recently moved up to a Vortex Razor 20-60x85 (got a great deal on one for 1K). There is no comparison between the two. The Razor is a much better scope. The only reason that I mention the Razor is to demonstrate the advice of a number of previous posts. Buy once cry once. I didn't and ended up spending more money in the long run.
 
I paid 225 dollars for my 60obj konus off midwayusa and would put it up against any vortex 2x and others 3x the price. Ive had mine next to a vortex that was more than twice the price and the konus wins hands down. Im usually a buy once cry once type of guy, but i love finding products that perform just as well or if not better for a fraction of the price. ive had no problems at all with the konus and its well built for the money. The tripod it comes with sucks ass and the bag it comes with is just ok, but at 225 youre pretty much getting the tripod and bag for free and is good enough to get any recreational shooter going until you can get a better tripod. Im not one to bs people about my extensive reviews.

I can easy see .224 bullet holes up to 350yards and have been able to see .308 holes up to 400yards and have not tested it further than that.

sarge7174 said:
I have to agree on the Konus. It's good glas for a couple of hundred bucks,and their customer service is outstanding. Sent mine in for repair,the ocular was cracked. They replaced it free of charge and it was only gone a week.
Click to expand...
 
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I use a Zen-Ray 20-60x82 spotting scope. That was an upgrade from my $500 Vortex spotter. Unlike binoculars, there is a huge difference between sub $500 spotter and higher end spotter. My old spotter can only see clearly at 35x or lower. But the new one can push me all the way to 60x on a clear cold day.
 
Glad to hear the reviews here on the Konus, I'm really looking hard at that one. I just sold an Aimpoint 2X because after putting the Elcan Spectre 1.5-6x on a rifle, everything else pretty much PALES in comparison. I just want to see .308 hits on paper out to 2-300 on shoot-n-c targets.
 
you can easy see .308 bullet holes up to about 400yards (best logical guess would be 400yards max, confirmed easy to spot .308 @ 330yards, and 300yards absolutely no problem for .308) on white paper with the 60x konus (no shoot n see needed)... just needs to be white paper and not black..

just don't use black paper.... use white heavy paper and you can see .224 @ 300yards easy & .308 @ 400yards easy... best logical guess max for .224 is 320yards MAX! I just got back from the 300yard range today and was able to see .224 bullet holes @ 300yards in the shade no problem... would've been even easier if the sun was on the target.

pick up the 2'x3' heavy duty white cardboard paper at the dollars store for .50 cent each, and if you really really want the bullet holes to stand out buy the $1 2'x3' black foam core cardboard the dollar store sells and use that as a backer for the white paper..... you can totally re-use the black foam core cardboard backer for about 500rounds.

if you don't need a reticle for your spotting scope as a recreational shooter, its hard to beat the 80obj 60xmag konus for $220

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/46...pod-photo-adapter-and-soft-case-armored-green

superjc said:
Glad to hear the reviews here on the Konus, I'm really looking hard at that one. I just sold an Aimpoint 2X because after putting the Elcan Spectre 1.5-6x on a rifle, everything else pretty much PALES in comparison. I just want to see .308 hits on paper out to 2-300 on shoot-n-c targets.
Click to expand...
 
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this is with the 60x konus with the 80ojb... this is the best I could get my crappy $200 cannon pocket camera to focus and by no means reflects the quality of the glass... this was at 330yards and I was able to see .308 bullet holes with absolutely no problem at all.

I want to say I paid $220 with free shipping on sale @ http://www.midwayusa.com/product/46...pod-photo-adapter-and-soft-case-armored-green

the tripod absolutely sucks ass but is good enough to get you going until you can get something better (and im still using it and to be honest with you as a recreational shooter I prob will not upgrade and is good enough for me)... the bag it comes with is not padded, but is good enough for me and fulfills its purpose.

(wind was crazy! damn near 20mph)
IMG_7837_zpsa4a8b1be.jpg


IMG_7888_zpsaa9eccd9.jpg


this is the best I could get my crappy camera to focus... with the human eye I had absolutely no problems spotting the .308 bullet holes @ 330yards.
IMG_7849_zps23cf2462.jpg
 
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this is not what it looks like with the human eye... this is just the best I could get my camera to focus by holding it up to the lens which is actually really hard... just to prove my point that .308 bullet holes @ 330yards is no problem for this spotting scope... to the human eye it was really clear and no problems


this is a picture when I was on my 3rd 5shot group going from left to right on the bottom circles .308 @ 330yards (top circles haven't been shot yet in the pic):
IMG_7872_zps92332141.jpg


IMG_7888_zpsaa9eccd9.jpg
 
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I actually like the Leupold Gold ring compact 15-30X50MM. I love it. And its compact enough you an take it with you hunting or in a pack. Some of the big (cheaper) spotters are too bulky.
 
IMG_7888_zpsaa9eccd9.jpg


Elfster, your home made target is exactly what we make for use with our TargetCam system. About 4 foot wide and 3 foot tall scrap wood. This size target fills up the whole screen on one of our base units. We also reccomend using just plain white background like you did and then putting some small 2 inch targets on it.
 
nice! I would love to have your system.

as for the konus spotting scope it really fulfilled its purpose for seeing .224 bullet holes @ 300yards & .308 @ 400yards easy.

yeah, I made it out of $3.50 pc of 1/2"x2'x4' osb plywood & 2 total plastic garden stakes that have a metal spike at the end which was on sale for $3 each at menards.... it seriously cost me under $10 dollars to make this kick ass target stand and it's totally solid and easy to plant into the ground & remove. I just pre-drilled some holes through the OSB into the plastic stakes so the plastic didn't crack when screwing in some drywall screws I had laying around the shop. I was hoping to keep the plastic garden stakes the full 4'long so I could put the wind ribbons at the top of the stakes, but it wouldn't fit into the back seat of my 4door sedan so I was forced to cut them off with a hacksaw (would be perfect for those with a truck).

IMG_7895_zps24707cc2.jpg


IMG_7891_zpsb1bb55c2.jpg


IMG_7897_zpse2758a5d.jpg






TahoeRider said:
IMG_7888_zpsaa9eccd9.jpg


Elfster, your home made target is exactly what we make for use with our TargetCam system. About 4 foot wide and 3 foot tall scrap wood. This size target fills up the whole screen on one of our base units. We also reccomend using just plain white background like you did and then putting some small 2 inch targets on it.
Click to expand...
 
you went all out on your homemade redneck target with the "wind ribon" idea. That's a little over the top don't you think???

Multiple targets on one large target works very well with our system.

nice work Elfster....we'd like to hire you as our official CRTD - Cheif Redneck Target Designer.
 
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LOL, what a dick ;)

you should see my home made camera target system that displays to my ipad

TahoeRider said:
you went all out on your homemade redneck target with the "wind ribon" idea. That's a little over the top don't you think???

Multiple targets on one large target works very well with our system.

nice work Elfster....we'd like to hire you as our official CRTD - Cheif Redneck Target Designer.
Click to expand...
 
Take a look at the Kowa spotting scopes. I use mine to look at 223 holes when I'm shooting high power matches.
 
elfster1234 said:
nice! I would love to have your system.

as for the konus spotting scope it really fulfilled its purpose for seeing .224 bullet holes @ 300yards & .308 @ 400yards easy.

yeah, I made it out of $3.50 pc of 1/2"x2'x4' osb plywood & 2 total plastic garden stakes that have a metal spike at the end which was on sale for $3 each at menards.... it seriously cost me under $10 dollars to make this kick ass target stand and it's totally solid and easy to plant into the ground & remove. I just pre-drilled some holes through the OSB into the plastic stakes so the plastic didn't crack when screwing in some drywall screws I had laying around the shop. I was hoping to keep the plastic garden stakes the full 4'long so I could put the wind ribbons at the top of the stakes, but it wouldn't fit into the back seat of my 4door sedan so I was forced to cut them off with a hacksaw (would be perfect for those with a truck).

IMG_7895_zps24707cc2.jpg


IMG_7891_zpsb1bb55c2.jpg


IMG_7897_zpse2758a5d.jpg
Click to expand...


By far one of the best target stands I have seen on this forum. I am going to try and copy this design. I hope I can find some garden stakes like that around here. ( no menards)I have never seen any like that before. Maybe Lowes has some...
 
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