• Thanks to everyone who joined The Shot You’ll Never Forget Giveaway!

    We'll be announcing the winner early next week, keep an eye out!

    See the contest

Spotters Spotting Scope Advice

DaddyJumbo

Private
Minuteman
Oct 4, 2020
1
0
Looking to upgrade my spotting scope and hoping to get some recommendations. Currently, I have an Athlon Argos 20-60x but I was recently gifted Vortex Razor UHD binoculars, which made me want to upgrade my spotting scope to get more clarity. Unfortunately, I don't live in a place that will allow me to look through the spotters before buying.

Hoping to keep it around $1,300 or less, but curious to see how the optics of the spotters in that price range compare to the Vortex Razor UHD binoculars or if I need to bump up my budget. As another data point, I use Athlon Cronus rifle scopes for my long-range shooting. I plan to use this spotting scope at the bench and watching wildlife from my house (on a good day can see a few miles), so size and weight aren't a concern for me.

So far considering the following scopes (prefer straight spotting scopes), but looking for other ideas too:
  1. Athlon Ares 20-60
  2. Vortex Razor 27-60
 
I have an Ares 20-60x....HD glass. It does everything I need it to, and more. I honestly don't know how much better an image I would get for a $6k top of the line spotter....but I doubt it would be worth it for my needs.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: DaddyJumbo
Looking to add to this. I went down to Arizona this weekend looking for Javelina on the Mexican border. Unfortunately we didn’t see any. I did however spot several Coues deer the only problem is I have a cheap spotting scope and though I could spot the deer with my binos at 600-800 yards. when I was trying to see how big the buck was, this picture is what I was looking at! Worthless! Would a razor or Athlon be clear enough to look at the rack on a buck?
 

Attachments

  • EF6E7CF3-C15F-49DA-9A35-DFAEC00CDFC6.jpeg
    EF6E7CF3-C15F-49DA-9A35-DFAEC00CDFC6.jpeg
    292.1 KB · Views: 80
  • Like
Reactions: DaddyJumbo