Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Hunting Optic System for $1500

I just finished reading(and re-reading a few sections) JB's Modern Hunting Optics. It was a good book and enlightened me about Spotters and Binos. What/Which spotter, binocular, rifle scope, and range finder would you recommend for the 1500 mark? Would there be enough left for the rangefinder? I ahev used Leupold and swift scopes and had a Burris Landmark binocular before it went missing fro my truck.

You raise a good question, and I have also read Johns book and I like it and recommend it.

What kind of hunting do you do? There is a difference from
the western open plains hunting compared to the woods.

For money spent, I would spend the most on binoculars, then
the rifle scope, spotter, and the rangefinder is optional.

Let us know.

I live in in PA but have been out west a few times and one trip to Canada

I take it $1500 is total expenditure for all 3 combined. If so, I'd probably spend around $400 on a VX3, FX3, Meopta, or Cabelas Euro for a scoope. I'd then have about $1100 for binos, and I'd look for either a Meopta HD, used Swaro SLCneu, Zeiss Conquest HD, Cabelas Euro HD, or you may even find a used Zeiss FL T if you look hard enough. I'd then start saving $$$ again for a good spotting scope. I'd budget around $1k for that alone. If you buy a junky spotter you'll regret it, and basically be throwing your money away IMO. There are lots of great spotters for $1k, and lots of garbage spotters around $500. Spotting scopes is one optic that you absolutely get what you pay for, once again, IMHO.

The suggested $1500 budget was for all four. IIRC, $250 was earmarked for a RF and $500 for binoculars. I don't remember if there were monetary figures put on the scopes.

I have yet to read this book.

Was the $1500.00 for someone just starting out.?

If not, I have spent too much money. lol

Kinda makes a guy sick thinking about how much $$$ we're packing around in 'gear' out on a hunt!


(of course it's all worth it and luckily some of us only have time for one hobby)

I don't know jack about spotters but I have a Konus pro that works fine for f/class shooting to 1k. However, you could get a pair of Zen Ray binoculars, a Sightron S3, and a Bushnell arc 1000 for 1500$ and if you knew how to drive your rifle could outshoot 99% of folks with 10k worth of stuff. I shoot a .223 with a Savage action in 600 yard F/Class and love it when a fella toting a Gap 308 with a Smidt on top steps up to the line, cause his ass is grass before we ever fire the first round. Get you a good shooting rifle and shoot the hell out of it, 1500$ is plenty to spend.

I have been hunting for a while and can now afford to venture out more and to different places. The there a a lot of options at each price point - enough to drive you nuts. I am not frugal but would rather spend the money on traveling to hunt rather than gearing up with no money left for gas. I am looking for good products with good warranties and reasonable pricing.

$1500 for scope, binos, and RF may work, but forget adding a spotter and buying it all for $1500. If you wind up with mediocre optics it won't be long before you wished you would've gotten better ones.

Can you get there for $1,500. Yeah sort of...mostly...no damn way. You'll get all responses. So I'd prioritize what you use most. I have no idea about you, so I'll use me as an example.

My most used item of the list will be the binocular. I'd also rate this as the most important in success as well. I'd personally rather use iron sights than not have a good binocular. Next in importance to the outcome of the hunt, but the least used is the scope. If things go right, I only use it on the hunt long enough to take a shot. Mostly it just gets packed. But it needs to be up to snuff when it comes time to make a shot. Mostly its use is load development and practice, so I rate it second

The second most used item will be the spotter. You'll spot stuff with the binocular that you will need more magnification to get information. Very rarely will much over 30x be of much use. However if you need over 30x, you will need $$$ in the scope. I use a 25 or 30x fixed WA eye piece and don't feel the need for more. I hunt mostly for Mule Deer in the open Sage Juniper High Desert country in Eastern Oregon. Some Elk in the same general area.

A rangefinder has no great importance for me, but I fully understand how they work and why they are a must have in most day packs. Because I don't use one a lot does not mean I don't have one, but it is personally the last thing I'd put in my list if I were possessed of your $1,500.

So, I suggest that you look at a binocular like the ZEN Prime HD or Leupold McKinley HD. Those are about $700. The McKinley are being phased out due to the new Mojave BX-3 Guide Pro HD, which are about $400. You can buy better, but you will pay much for slight improvement.

Then I'd get a Leupold VX-2 scope. I use it and it works. Mine are 3-9x.

That may come in at less than half your budget. I'd use the rest on the best spotter I could get. Something like the Vortex Viper. Good yes, the best, no.

You might also consider just getting a binocular like a Meopta HD or Zeiss Conquest first. Go the best riflescope you can get with the rest of the budget. Build the system up as you need to. A really good system with all components, even avoiding complete selection of top end items will ultimately wind up several hundred above where you want.

I'd personally hold off on the rangefinder and practices using the reticle displacements of the riflescope instead.

Everybody's ultimate gear choice is a personal journey. You never get it right the first time. Ten years from now you might look back and think you would have been better off to start off with what you have at that future point. However hindsight is always 20/20. There is always a personal learning curve. If you start here, you will have stuff that works. You can learn from it and evolve your stuff as you go.

Here is were i would start 15x50 vortex viper or minox 15x56 right around 500-600 dollars. An inexpensive light weight tripod 100 dollars. You see alot more game with these than cheap binos and spotter. Leupold vx-2 is a great scope for the money 350 dollars or similiar. as you can see with tax your around 1200 dollars which will get you a good range finder which is an absolute neccesity as you cant kill what you cant hit. Archery hunting your talking 10" per 10 yards of drop and any rifle shot over 300 yards which is very hard to determine in different terrain.

$1500 is plenty to get some really nice gear, especially if you look for near mint, used.

I'd be real honest with myself about how much I would actually use the spotter. Not knowing your specific situation I would spend the money on a great pair of 8x or 10x binos and a nice scope for 95% of hunting east of the Mississippi.

I've had a Leica spotter for about 3 years and other than range outings I have used it probably less than 10 times in the field. Nice luxury to have - but hardly necessary for me.