Leupold GR Vs Vortex Razor HD Vs Athlon Ares?

[xugz0212]

Going to get my 1st spotting scope. Main usage would be spotting at range out to 500 yard (but considering 1000 yard in the future), and also do a few hunting. My budget is no more than $1400

I've narrowed down my options to:

* Leupold GR 12-40*60 HD
* Vortex Razor HD 22-48
* Vanguard Endeavor HD 15-45x65
* Pentax EDII 65
* Athlon Ares 15-45×65 ED
* Athlon Cronus 20-60×86 ED
* Meopta Meopro HD 80 20-60×80

I've heard lots of good things about leupold gr especially optics considering its weight and size. My main concern for leupold is they only offer non-reticle or moa-reticle options, and no mil reticle. Their MARK4 model with mil reticle doesn't have HD glass, and they just discontinued the H32 and H36 hash reticles and only provide some ugly mil reticle IMO. Another concern is if 40X power is enough for spotting holes out to 500 yards?

Vortex razor hd seems a good way to go as I can always replace the eyepiece with a mil one. However, I'm concerning it's weight and size even for the 22-48 model.

Had zero experience Vanguard, but this model keeps popping out when I doing research online and a lot say it kinda on par with Razor HD regarding glassing performance. Not sure if it is true but the price is attractive anyway.

Pentax seems to be widely recommended by a lot of birding forums, but it seems a bit dated and I'm not sure how it is compared with leupold and vortex.

Athlon ares seems getting some good reviews online. But it's really not a popular model and I'm not able to justify if it deserves the money as it's kinda in the middle price range and my past experience told me "buy once, cry once", so getting a middle price range scope might be a waste as i will upgrade to a premium one in the future most likely.

Athlon Cronus is up to 60× power but still have a reasonable size. Not sure how good it is but the cronus rifle scope line has a good reputation.

Meopta is said to be on higher tier than vortex razor. For this particular, how does it perform?

Also, is 40 or 48 power enough to spot holes at 500 yards? What about 600 or even futher? I know there are 80+mm spotting scopes available, but I just cannot image carrying such a big monster with me all day around. Any other options I'm not aware of?

Thanks!

 

[gr8fuldoug]

It would be our pleasure to discuss options with you.

Best quality for the price would be the Athlon Cronus. The Meopta Meopro is an excellent choice and in your price range.

You should also read this spotting scope review, that was posted on another forum by a member.

Thank you for your continued support.
If there is anything else we can assist you with please let me know.
Doug
Camera Land
720 Old Bethpage Rd
Old Bethpage NY 11804
516-217-1000
Please visit our website @ www.cameralandny.com

 

[xugz0212]

It would be our pleasure to discuss options with you.

Best quality for the price would be the Athlon Cronus. The Meopta Meopro is an excellent choice and in your price range.

You should also read this spotting scope review, that was posted on another forum by a member.

Thank you for your continued support.
If there is anything else we can assist you with please let me know.
Doug
Camera Land
720 Old Bethpage Rd
Old Bethpage NY 11804
516-217-1000
Please visit our website @ www.cameralandny.com

Thanks for the help, Doug. That was a really nice review on Athlon Ares, my only concern is its big brother 20-60 is way too large for me while the 65mm one might not have enough power? All in all, I want a spotting scope being able to see holes out to at least 200 yards at range. Is this doable for the Athlon Ares 15-45 65mm?

Another question is how good is the Athlon Cronus 20-60? I see it has a much reasonable size considering its power. But I'd like to see how good is the glass compared to razor HD, is it superior?

Also, how about the Vanguard Endeavor HD 65 or 82? I've heard a lot of good things about the Endeavor HD and it is said to be on par with razor hd.

Thanks a lot!