I was out at the range the other day shooting next to this very friendly couple. I was shooting from a bench and they were shooting prone. Even though the prone shooting area is off to the side it's in front of the benches so we took turns engaging the 600 yard steel targets. During one of my turns the wife makes a comment about taking out the lizard on the right upright. I thought she was kidding. When we were done she let me look through their Kowa TSN-885, I was floored at the image quality. It wasn't "oh that's better than my Leopold" it was "holy crap that's incredible." My Leupold SX-1 20-60 80mm Ventana compared to the Howa was like a VHS tape of an '80s TV show compared to 4K. Being realistic there is probably no way, short of hitting the powerball, that a $3,100 spotting scope is in my future unless I find one used. I already know to look for a Kowa, but what are some others that would be on par for image quality? I'd also like to know if there are any that are 90% or so as good, but cost a lot less.
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Spotting scopes on par with a Kowa TSN-885
- Thread starter rcmigpilot
- Start date
I bet this beats it (speaking as a proud owner)... The king of the castle.
Swarovski STR-80 - excellent field scope.
Minox MD60 is not a bad choice.
Bushnell Elite Tactical LMSS 8-40x60, good buy for the money.
I've heard decent things about the Vortex Razor HD 22-48x65. Never peeked through one though.
If you are turned-on by crystal-clear resolution and overall clarity/contrast - well, that's where the money is at unfortunately. Optics - you will pay to play in so to speak.
Swarovski STR-80 - excellent field scope.
Minox MD60 is not a bad choice.
Bushnell Elite Tactical LMSS 8-40x60, good buy for the money.
I've heard decent things about the Vortex Razor HD 22-48x65. Never peeked through one though.
If you are turned-on by crystal-clear resolution and overall clarity/contrast - well, that's where the money is at unfortunately. Optics - you will pay to play in so to speak.
To be on par with a high end Kowa like that you are in rarified air. Swaro ATX/STX, to a lesser degree maybe the older ATS/STS 80 HD spotting scopes.
My pick for a "sleeper value" is the Meopta 82mm spotting scopes. Straight is usually cheaper than angled, and if you hunt you can find the Cabelas branded version (Euro HD) made by Meopta for a good price, sometimes under $1500 or even less on the used market. I had one for a few years, only sold it because I got a Swarovski BTX.
My pick for a "sleeper value" is the Meopta 82mm spotting scopes. Straight is usually cheaper than angled, and if you hunt you can find the Cabelas branded version (Euro HD) made by Meopta for a good price, sometimes under $1500 or even less on the used market. I had one for a few years, only sold it because I got a Swarovski BTX.
If you get a 50% off Minox coupon or find the Minox spotter on sale here, you will have you Glass. I used the same Leupold that you used for 10 years. I sold it and bought the Minox. No comparison.
OpticsPlanet last year ran their Kowa spotters and eye pieces on sale for Christmas. Combined with a 10 or 15% off coupon (can’t remember which) netted some serious savings.
The Kowa TSN-88 series really is the best of the best. On a coming in close behind we are running a sale on new, without box, Meopta MeoStar 20-70x82 S2 Angled Spotter reduced from $2,699.95 to only $1,799.99
That's a smoking deal on an excellent spotting scope, same one I was recommending above but with the added advantage of interchangeable eye pieces that the Cabelas spotter doesn't have.
They are, I'd like to have a TSN 553 for backpack hunts.
Not sure how it compares to the Kowa, but I have a Zeiss Victory Diascope FL 65mm and it is a very impressive spotting scope! Big 3 for a reason...?
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