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Rifle Scopes Celestron 65

xxsjj2007xx

xxsjj2007xx

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 9, 2009
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Walworth, Wisconsin
I searched the forums list and didnt really find anything. I am looking for a budget spotting scope that I dont have to treat like my rifle scopes. Have any of you guy heard of or actually looked through a celestron 65 spotter. If you have any advise or direction that would be great. Thanks
 
Re: Celestron 65

If you are talking about the Celestron Ultima line then I can say that I had both the 85 and the 65 and considered them the best of the bargain scopes. Even after I bought my Kowa I still would often just use the celestron because they are lighter.
 
Re: Celestron 65

First off..Celestron makes multi million $$$ Telescopes that are second to none. Second...I was at Camp Perry years ago (like 15) and I was at a vendor that had spotting scopes al set up so you could look out to the 1000 yard targets. I was looking for a 20-25x compact scope at the time. I didn't look at price, just looked through each scop. Out of at least 20+ scopes, the celestron had the second best clarity and brightness. It also happened to be one of the most inexpensive compact scopes too. I since sold it because I thought I should have a Kowa like most of the top shooters, but I shoulda kept it. WEll...Well worth the money.
 
Re: Celestron 65

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: chrisj</div><div class="ubbcode-body">First off..Celestron makes multi million $$$ Telescopes that are second to none. Second...I was at Camp Perry years ago (like 15) and I was at a vendor that had spotting scopes al set up so you could look out to the 1000 yard targets. I was looking for a 20-25x compact scope at the time. I didn't look at price, just looked through each scop. Out of at least 20+ scopes, the celestron had the second best clarity and brightness. It also happened to be one of the most inexpensive compact scopes too. <span style="color: #FF0000">I since sold it because I thought I should have a Kowa like most of the top shooters, but I shoulda kept it. WEll...Well worth the money. </span></div></div>


That was pretty much how I felt. The Kowa is clearly a sturdier optic, but when I tested the glass I didn't see that much of a difference.
 
Re: Celestron 65

I think my spotter is the Celestron 80, the eye relief sucks, but for the money it's pretty good glass, I'm about to buy a Bushnell FFP spotter with MilDot, for 375 it's a bad ass scope, when TB was at Rifles Only for some training I Iooked thru the 5k Ziess and the Bushnell, yes the Ziess is the best there is, but the Bushnell is pretty dam good.
 
Re: Celestron 65

Ths past spring I took a class at CVT. I am VERY new to the whole LR shooting aspect of the sport so I was asking a lot of questions on gear amount everything else. Being on a tight budget, I asked Vern what he thought the best Spotter under $300 was.

He said the Celestron Ultima 65 without question. He said the base model for $135 is very good, and the version with ED glass for $250 is Great.

Being broke still I just ordered the base model. Of course its on backorder... so I wait.........................
 
Re: Celestron 65

I've been shopping scopes recently, too. Had a chance to look through most everything evailable about a month ago at a match at Butner and walked away thinking that the Celestron Ultima 65 was an excellent buy for the money. Standing behind a shooter using one, I could easily see bullet trace when they were shooting on the 600 yd. line.
 
Re: Celestron 65

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: captainbarred</div><div class="ubbcode-body">....He said the Celestron Ultima 65 without question. He said the base model for $135 is very good, and the version with ED glass for $250 is Great....</div></div>
Vern recommended the Ultima 65 ED to me too. I bought it and use it a LOT. For the money, it is a great scope. I can usually look though more expensive spotters and see the difference, but it's not >$500 worth of difference.

Given my druthers, I'd rather have a nicer spotter, but overall I'm very pleased with it and use it every weekend. I have let quite a few people use it for spotting and scoring F-Class and long range steel matches and most are quite surprised at the image quality.

The eye relief could be a little longer. I ended up chucking the rubber eye cup and putting a BC cap on it.

captainbarred, I would strongly suggest springing for the extra scratch, canceling your standing order and getting the ED glass. It is THAT much better.

Where did you see the ED model for $250? I paid more than that for mine and I know a couple people looking for one now.
 
Re: Celestron 65

I think I miss-worded my post. I meant $250 more than the base model.

The scope actually showed up today(I work nights but UPS shows it delivered) going to the range tomorrow. I ordered it from optics planet as I had a decent coupon, they have always been good in the past, if its not sufficient for my meager needs I don't think I will have any issues returning it for the one with the ED glass.

wink.gif
 
Re: Celestron 65

Got it to the range today. Overall I am pleased for the price that I paid.

When I opened it up last night I got a bit nervous as one of the zippers broke right away... OK, no huge deal... it has dual zippers so the non-broken one just goes all the way around to seal the case now....

Just an FYI it also does NOT come with a tripod so I grabbed one from an old scope.

The clarity is worlds better than the $90 Bushnell it replaced! I can see the .223 holes clearly at 200 yards no problem, the focus on top is nice and light and very finely adjustable.

One odd thing I don't like is the rubber coating for the eye piece seems to get in the way, I may pull it off and leave it off. Another thing is the eye piece with the zoom is not attached to the scope when shipped and comes in a small container. It just screws on, but seems odd as you have to align the top if you want to see the magnification level on top... kind of odd.

Aside from that, not top quality, but a fantastic scope for a buck and a quarter delivered!
smile.gif


IMG_1984.jpg
 
Re: Celestron 65

Just roll the eyepiece forward. That also makes it so the lens cover fits snug over the lens.

If you are looking for a decent bargain tripod, I used the Slick Mini Sprint with that scope a lot and really liked it. It will adjust very low for using prone and high enough that I could set it on the ground next to me and use it while sitting at a bench.
 
Re: Celestron 65

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: glock24</div><div class="ubbcode-body">How's the eye relief? Would a glasses wearer have a problem? </div></div>Longer eye relief would be nice, but it's workable with glasses.

As Mudbug notes, the eye cup can be rolled down, but I finally took the eye cup completely off and put a BC cap on it. This helps keep the rain off, and allows me to get my glasses closer without getting tracks on them from the rubber. If it's decent weather, I just pull the cap off.
 
Re: Celestron 65

And what about the Ultima 80? Is it worth the extra money? Cheers, Desola.-
 
Re: Celestron 65

I'll tell you the same thing I tell everyone looking for a cheap spotter:

One great option is a Konuspot 80. It's 90-95% the scope the Kowas are, at about $200. I did a LOT of hands on research with this, and was fully willing to spend for the Kowa.

Jim Owens has a good description of it here. I hit it with a nice coat of Krylon Ultra Matte (black) and was good to go. It had all the features I wanted as well- angled eyepiece, rotatable junction ring, etc.

http://www.jarheadtop.com/KONUS.htm

http://www.jarheadtop.com/Testimonials_Scopes.htm

I found it for under $200 on sale from B&H Photovideo.

Good luck,
BB
 
Re: Celestron 65

OK, but what about the Ultima 80? No offense.... Cheers, DESOLA.-
 
Re: Celestron 65

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: desola</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> And what about the Ultima 80? Is it worth the extra money? Cheers, Desola.- </div></div>


It is and it isn't.

Performance wise it is better, but it's also a much bigger scope.

At one point I owned both the 80 and the 60. I eventually sold the 80 to a friend who was getting in to high power shooting and I kept the 60 because it was easier to drag to the range. Even after I got my Kowa I still often took the Ultima 60 to the range cuz it was so light and pretty much fit in my range bag.

I finally just sold the 60 a couple weeks ago because I also own 2 kowas and it just seemed silly to hang on to it.
 
Re: Celestron 65

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: desola</div><div class="ubbcode-body">OK, but what about the Ultima 80? No offense.... Cheers, DESOLA.- </div></div>
I was able to look through both the 65 and 80 side-by-side at Butner. I didn't notice any difference in image and for the difference in size, weight, and cost I prefered the 65.
I think I'm going to order the 65-ED version, though.
 
Re: Celestron 65

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: NativeCraft</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What, exactly, is a "BC" cap? </div></div>
"BC" is exactly Butler Creek, industry standard scope cap.
 
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