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Best spotter under $500 and best up to a $1000ish?

G

gprippers

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Mar 11, 2010
183
0
57
OREGON
#1
Im sure this has been done before but here it goes...

1st category..Best spotting scope for long range shooting/hunting under $500?

2nd category...Best up to $1000ish???

Perfect scope would be one that you can see .30 holes to infinity and that muley layin in the edge of the dark timber at 1000m. SO...with that coming out of the side of my neck.....wutcha got for me?

I really like my new Vortex PST FFP scopes and i was considering one of their spotters but i have yet to check into them very deeply at this point. What do you guys like for the long range spot and stock of hunting as well as out at the 1000m plus firing range?

Appreciate the help in advance and this isnt a circle jerk, I take the info provided on this website seriously. Thanks!
 
#2
Re: Best spotter under $500 and best up to a $1000ish?

As far as the Vortex spotters go, I believe the new Viper HD's won't be available until June or after. I think Scott from Vortex posted that on a thread here somewhere.

If you are really interested in Vortex, call them directly and ask them, or if you want an "outside opinion" call Scott at Liberty Optics. I believe he checked them out at Shot Show and seemed excited seeing it.

Spend as much as you can afford and try to get the HD glass in whatever you go with..... yes, it's worth the money and makes a difference.

At the $1000ish mark, I'd save up a little more and shop around for the Vortex Razor HD. If you want to get damn close to what the alpha glass scopes can do, this one does it for alot less money.

I'd start out by calling Vortex and/or Scott @ Liberty Optics. Tell them what you want to do with a scope. They will steer you in the right direction.

Don't forget to budget for a good tripod setup. A decent Manfrotto set of legs and head will set you back around $250 - $300. Yes, it's an additional cost, but if you're gonna get a good scope you want to support it in a sturdy fashion in whatever positions your uses dictate.

Just re-read your post..... If you're really wanting to get out to 1000 and have good resolution, you'll want to be looking at the larger objective scopes. Now I'd really be calling Vortex and talking to someone really familiar with the spotting scopes asking for the low down on your 2 prices points. Tell them how far you want to be shooting and spotting game. I'm sure they've tested the the new Viper HD's extensively in house and will give you an honest answer as to which model will serve you best. •Phone: (800) 426-0048

Regardless what you want to spend, seeing bullet holes in targets at extreme range will depend on alot of things. Type of target - paper, steel, color, etc. Enviromental conditions - mirage. Unless you are using shoot-n-see targets all the time, you'll find that seeing bullet holes much over 300, maybe 400 yds will be frustrating to say the least. Again, it will come down to more things than just your scope. Some days will be good, others will suck, but that's not the scopes fault.
 
#5
Re: Best spotter under $500 and best up to a $1000ish?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: smokshwn</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have been very happy with the big Nikon Fieldscope. </div></div>

+1, I'm very happy with mine too. I've got the little fieldscope for .22 indoors and the big for outdoors. Both are great!
 
#7
Re: Best spotter under $500 and best up to a $1000ish?

Thanks for the link and review. Lead me to a fairly local shop(within 30-40miles to a nice town) that I'm going to call and check out. Thinking astronomy type like the orion with the secondary tube would be nice at 1-2k on nice days.

Hell maybe not, let me know if I'm wrong. Never tried to spot bullet holes with my tasco when I was five just the moon and stars and they were only clear on good nights(no mirage).

Thanks
Bill
 
#8
Re: Best spotter under $500 and best up to a $1000ish?

I recently went through this and selected an 80mm Scope with zoom.

Best 80mm range Spotters I found in the following price ranges: Scope and Objective:

$750 - Bushnell Elite

$950 - Pentax

$1300 - Nikon

$1550 - Vortex Razor HD

Each time you are willing to add another $200-$300, the product gets slightly better.

I chose the Pentax. Very good eye relief. Pentax designed their scope from the objective forward and Pentax objective's are arguably the best of the best, especially their fixed power offerings. Lifetime warranty replacement cost is something like $30. It falls off of a truck.... $30 or so and the scope is good as new.

Good Luck.
 
#10
Re: Best spotter under $500 and best up to a $1000ish?

For under 500 i got the vortex nomad but i wanted a smaller objective and lighter weight for packing with me and so far i am really impressed with performance. I have used it to call hit or miss on pdogs out to 500 with no problem but have not tried looking at bullet holes from a long distance.
 
#11
Re: Best spotter under $500 and best up to a $1000ish?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: marine2012</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Have you tried the pentax out to 1000yd? </div></div>

No, have not tried using it at 1000-yds. Consistent performance at 600+ yards: Look into remote camara set-ups. Cost less than quality glass too. No mirage! The technology is there and for less than you think.

At 150 yards I can see that the 5/16-in wire on a nearby telephone pole is 7-strand. A fantastic stand is needed to do that in adition to good glass. Do not over look the cost of the stand.
 
#12
Re: Best spotter under $500 and best up to a $1000ish?

Hello AnschutzNerd

Read your post with great interest. I, too, am in the market for a spotting scope. I've narrowed it down to the Pentax or Vortex.
I"m kinda leaning to the Vortex because of all the good reviews of it. But I've also read many good reviews of the Pentax.
Have you actually looked through both scopes? And according to your statement concerning money is the Vortex worth the extra money?
Eye relief is important to me also because of wearing glasses. Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.
 
#13
Re: Best spotter under $500 and best up to a $1000ish?

I wear glasses too, and have no problems using my Razor.

Can't comment on the Pentax, but can tell you that I wouldn't sell my Razor or trade it for anything. The Vortex warranty is bullet proof also, if by chance you should ever need it.

If you shop around, you can land a Razor for less than $1500. It also comes with a padded case that you can leave on and just zip open for use.
 
#14
#16
Re: Best spotter under $500 and best up to a $1000ish?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: walt k</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hello AnschutzNerd

Read your post with great interest. I, too, am in the market for a spotting scope. I've narrowed it down to the Pentax or Vortex.
I"m kinda leaning to the Vortex because of all the good reviews of it. But I've also read many good reviews of the Pentax.
Have you actually looked through both scopes? And according to your statement concerning money is the Vortex worth the extra money?
Eye relief is important to me also because of wearing glasses. Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.
</div></div>

Hi Walt,

I have not used the Vortex Razor HD. The reviews I have found show that it's in the same league as scope's in the $3k range in terms of color, resolution and build quality. One review I saw clearly showed it was sub-par to a $3k optic but, very close. The review I reference compared the resolution and color rendition of the scopes when viewing the feathers of a bird (Razor HD vs $3k Optic).

It's a big purchase. Set up a day trip somewhere that offers some of the scopes you are really interested in trying. Check out the scopes for an hour and then enjoy the locale of the retailer.

I have read that the Pentax does not have the same vivid color "pop" of some of the higher priced optics however, it is not lacking when it comes to resolution. I bought the optic primarily for shooting and identifying hits on paper. Bird watching is not something I plan to do.

Some days the mirage is soo awful that seeing hits on paper at 400-yards is very challenging with any optic on the firing line... let alone further. I think most shooters will find all they need with a $150 spotter out to 200 or 300-yards.

Draw the line somewhere. Be realistic in what you need. In the end it's always a compromise. Very happy with the Pentax 80mm. I use the 20-60x zoom and want the 40x fixed. I primarily shoot out to 400-yards. Any further is tough to find in this part of the country (New England).

AnschutzNerd.
 
#18
Re: Best spotter under $500 and best up to a $1000ish?

What about the USO spotting scope? I am in the same boat, looking for a spotting scope around a G. I know they make great optics but I have heard some rumors of complaints about the eye relief giving guys grief. Can anyone confirm or deny?
 
#19
Re: Best spotter under $500 and best up to a $1000ish?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: b2!!!</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What about the USO spotting scope? I am in the same boat, looking for a spotting scope around a G. I know they make great optics but I have heard some rumors of complaints about the eye relief giving guys grief. Can anyone confirm or deny? </div></div>

I don't know about the USO model but I did just look through a Kowa 80mm with a long eye relief 25x eyepiece and it was awesome. I think I'll be buying one of these shortly. 25X is enough to spot vaportrails and misses/hits out to 1200 but the long eye relief was very comfortable to use.
 
#20
Re: Best spotter under $500 and best up to a $1000ish?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: b2!!!</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What about the USO spotting scope? I am in the same boat, looking for a spotting scope around a G. I know they make great optics but I have heard some rumors of complaints about the eye relief giving guys grief. Can anyone confirm or deny? </div></div>

I have one and I like it a lot, but I kept my angled zero-eye-relief spotter. I feel like they are sort of different tools. The eye-relief is nice if the scope is stationary on a tripod, but the traditional spotter is nicer if you are moving it around by hand since it is a little easier to "guide" the scope. It is fantastic having the Mil-GAP reticle on the spotter, although it would be nice if they would offer the MPR.
 
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