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Newbie Q: is 15-45x65 enough?

Superluminal

Private
Minuteman
Sep 1, 2019
13
1
Washington, DC
Newbie starting out in long range shooting with 6.5mm Creedmoor and was wondering for a spotting scope is 15-45x65 good enough? Obviously for zeroing at 100 yards and then going on from there, shooting steel out to 1,000 yards (I hope!).

Is there a need for higher magnification? I've been lurking and reading for a while and read comments that seeing holes at ranges over 400-500 yards is pretty much impossible unless you have the Hubble. Was considering the Vortex Viper v500 15-45x65.

Thanks for any advice, educate away. Also...appreciate how people here are generous with their knowledge and that lack of nasty flaming and stupid comments, this community seems like a very constructive one compared to other parts of the web.

Cheers.
 
For seeing trace from up close out to a mile I use a 20 or 25 (I forget if it's 20 or 25) fixed power eye peice with a reticle.

For snooping around and looking for yotes I screw on the 27-60 power.
 
Spotting scopes are a thing of the past. I would not spend my money on one especially for zeroing at 100 yards or shooting 1k. I can see my hits with my razor gen II at those distances and not need a spotting scope. The vortex does not have premium glass either. Save your money and get a better optic or some good binos.
 
Spotting scopes are a thing of the past. I would not spend my money on one especially for zeroing at 100 yards or shooting 1k. I can see my hits with my razor gen II at those distances and not need a spotting scope. The vortex does not have premium glass either. Save your money and get a better optic or some good binos.

The optic I bought is exactly that, a used Razor Gen II 4.5x27 of a fellow Hide user. No need for a spotting scope? What’s my shooting buddy supposed to do, play Tetris next to me? :)
 
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Your shooting buddy should be spotting for you with his rifle scope, ideally.

I do have a spotting scope that gets a lot of use for spotting at practices and matches, when I am not on my rifle. Mine is a 20x. Mirage really becomes an issue at the higher magnifications.
 
Your shooting buddy should be spotting for you with his rifle scope, ideally.

I do have a spotting scope that gets a lot of use for spotting at practices and matches, when I am not on my rifle. Mine is a 20x. Mirage really becomes an issue at the higher magnifications.

The bast**rd went and bought a condo and now we just have mine (Rem. 700 Magpul Enhanced 6.5 Creedmoor/Razor II 4.5-27) as he can’t afford his rifle/scope. The guy is so selfish, unbelievable. Millennials.

We’ve both done a lot of pistol shooting and wanted to get in to long range.
 
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Spotting scopes are a thing of the past. I would not spend my money on one especially for zeroing at 100 yards or shooting 1k. I can see my hits with my razor gen II at those distances and not need a spotting scope. The vortex does not have premium glass either. Save your money and get a better optic or some good binos.

So do you just never spot and call trace for someone? And the vortex razor hd's glass is decent. Is it Leica or swaro no.
 
Can't afford the Razor, was going to go Viper. What's a decent magnification though, that's what I'm wondering from you all with experience, is 15-45x65 enough? I need to cheap out a little on the spotter...went 'buy once cry once' on the Razor Gen II 4.5-27 as many of you suggested in other posts.
 
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I use fixed 15x binoculars for spotting and have done so out to a mile. Most matches are inside 1300 yards and they really give you a lot more for clarity and FOV than a spotter. id take a look at the bushnell forge 15x56 as they are in the price range you are looking and are fantastic glass for the money.
 
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I use fixed 15x binoculars for spotting and have done so out to a mile. Most matches are inside 1300 yards and they really give you a lot more for clarity and FOV than a spotter. id take a look at the bushnell forge 15x56 as they are in the price range you are looking and are fantastic glass for the money.

Thanks, great info. I keep reading many are going to bios. Any opinion on the Vortex version, the Vortex Optics 15x56 Vulture? I can grab them for $400
 
I'll agree that for many shooters, spotters are a dead issue, especially for shooting steel. You're going to want to see the impact as it happens, which just isn't possible with a spotter unless you're spotting for someone else. For most uses, I would rather use my binos (Bushnell Forge 15x56) for spotting for other shooters, especially when I am working as an RO at a match. The only time my spotter sees any use any more is when I am using my PhoneSkope to get video downrange.
 
Thanks, great info. I keep reading many are going to bios. Any opinion on the Vortex version, the Vortex Optics 15x56 Vulture? I can grab them for $400

I owned the 15x vultures and they left a bit to be desired for me, youll likely enjoy them at the start, but you wont realize how great binos really are with them. I think the forge is worth the extra $300 or so. Now that I am using 15x Swaros, the vultures look even worse, and the forges compare surprisingly well.
 
So do you just never spot and call trace for someone? And the vortex razor hd's glass is decent. Is it Leica or swaro no.

I do but not with a spotter. Bino’s are where it’s at nowadays. Very few actual spotter show up at matches around here anymore. The people that are still using them are only using them because they had bought them previously before everyone went to binocs.
 
I do but not with a spotter. Bino’s are where it’s at nowadays. Very few actual spotter show up at matches around here anymore. The people that are still using them are only using them because they had bought them previously before everyone went to binocs.
This is pretty much true. If I didn’t already have $2000 in a spotter with two eyepieces, I would swing that money to a pair of Swaros. Since I already have the spotter, that’s what I use.