Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics What type of spotting scope for finding mule deer

Those Meopta and Swarovski draw tube spotters are quite nice. I had my first chance to see one up close and personal last year when I hunted with a fella that had Swaro one ( I think the 30x 75 one ). And I was impressed by it. Very clear and sharp. Got an old school look to them, and optics were top notch.

downside is, they ain't as waterproof.....

Which is correct--but I have never had the slightest trouble here in Montana and several other western states.

Of all my sheep hunting gear, the weight penalty in my spotter is the one I'm most willing to accept, and the one I'm gladdest I made once I'm up on the mountain.

Great scopes and can sometimes be found at great prices. I saw one sell on another board yesterday for $545.00 with the 20-60x eyepiece.

That is a fantastic price for one.

Makes perfect sense for you and your choices- and then it is right for you.

Also great that we all make our own choices for our needs. And also wonderful ( or sometimes not so wonderful with too many choices)- that we have lots to choose from for spotters.

And as I said- for my needs, I knew I personally did not want a 80mm and above sized spotter to carry around. Just was not right for me.

Fair enough. A large selection is indeed a good problem to have!

FWIW, and in my opinion........If portability is not a major concern, I've settled on a Meopta S2, as fine a spotter as I've ever seen or used, and I've used all the top end stuff except the new Swaro switch-a-roo models. If portability is a concern, and you want great glass, huge eye relief, and the toughest made, the Leupy GR HD12-40x60 would be my pick. If you want portability and not that concerned with eye relief or toughness, I'd probably pick the Swaro 65 as huntsman said.

For tremendous bang for the buck, the Nikon 82ED with fixed EP's are fantastic.
The Razors are great as well. That's probably the only Vortex spotters I'd bother with. Spotting scopes are all about optics IMO. This is not a place to be a cheapskate.

The only drawback to angled eyepiece scopes is it takes practice to "aim" it. Angled is much easier to use with a window mount and to look uphill.

But not nearly as intuitive to aim the scope at what you're looking at...

You'll not convince me of the advantages of straight vs. angled, but this statement rings true. A good scope will save you lots of walking for a mediocre animal, or create a long walk for what you're really for.

I have no great knowledge for extended use with spotters, but I have an older version of the Bushnell Elite 15-45x60 straight spotter (a roof prism spotter) that has pretty decent glass IMO, and is very rugged.

tricks,

I think it helps to start by quantifying what you expect out of a spotter. I think its hard to recommend one without these:

• 1. How far do you want to view? If you are not sure, use GoogleEarth and make some rough distance measurements of areas that you hunt or plan to hunt. In some places 1000y is a long way, in others 3000y can be viewed in good conditions.
• 2. How small of an object do you want to see? Spot any deer bedded in the open or see antlers in brush? Do you want to eval that buck of a lifetime hiding in the brush or do you just want confirmation of antlers vs slickhead?
  

Doing those two steps help to define the goal, or requirements of the spotter. A spotter for looking over the Snake River from Idaho into Oregon (some people actually do this) is a different piece of gear compared to Big-Eyes used out to 1000 yards. Just an example.

Next, I think that you need to think about magnification and exit pupil:

• 3. Can you see well in general with 1x per 100 yards? Or do you need 2x? Maybe 3x? This is related to #2 above.
• 4. Once you know the mag range you're interested in, you can think about exit pupil which I think should be a minimum of 2mm under good conditions. The actual acceptable exit pupil will depend on make/model to some extent.

So let's say that you want to view in decent detail at 2000y, and you feel that 2x per 100y is a good rule of thumb to start with based on your experiences and expectations. 20 times 2 = 40x. So you'll want to think about 40x under good conditions.

Next 40x will require an 80mm objective, 40 times 2mm = 80mm. So now you're looking at a 40x scope with 80mm objective as a starting point (at the minimum). Do you really want to view that far, or in that level of detail? Only you know, but when you start to outline your goals in this way it helps you narrow down your decision. This will vary from individual to individual based on needs, vision, and budget. But right away we have a strong suspicion that a 60mm probably ain't going to cut it. Maybe, but the numbers aren't adding up since the exit is going to be smaller to get that 40x.

In general people just recommend what works for them which sometimes has nothing to do with what you want to accomplish. This is just my take on how to figure out what will work for you, in a ballpark sense and it forces you to think about the requirements that the gear needs to meet. Otherwise we'd all be carrying 50mm spotters for lightweight. Or 100mm ones for uber-zoom. But some people want/need something in-between.

I don't think you even need to follow my suggestions above... just come up with your own. Maybe you value weight over all else, so you'll need to work that into the equation. The point is to get some rough guidelines and start looking through some spotters at know distances of familiar targets.

I also would not be afraid of ordering the top two spotters of my choosing from a reputable dealer with good return policy. Spend several days/night evaluating them, then return the one you don't want to keep.

Good luck and have fun.

Jason

good advise and like you said to make sure they have a good return policy (one that doesn't have a 10-15% restocking fee). Not hard to figure how much that may cost you.

+1 RD.

Here is Alex Roy's return policy......and he has some of the best CS in the business.

"Your satisfaction is important to us. If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase we will offer full credit for items returned in new condition within 15 days of purchase less our original shipping costs. Firearms that have been fired, or had optics or accessories attached to them are no longer considered in new condition and are subject to a restocking fee. If you purchased a rifle scope, please do not mount it and then hope to return it for full credit. We examine all returned rifle scopes under magnification, and if found to have been mounted we assess a minimum restocking fee of 20%.

We are committed to your satisfaction and encourage you to call if the item you purchased does not satisfy you or meet your needs.
When returning an item, please make sure all original packaging is included and you return it inside a shipper box, preferably the one that it was originally shipped in. If an item is returned without the original materials or if the factory packaging was damaged due to improper packing, then a refund may not be possible.


All shipping discrepancies (damaged/missing/incorrect items) must be reported within 72 hours of receiving the package..."