Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Spotting scope to see .223 holes at 200 yards?

What do I need to see .223 holes in paper at 200 yards with good eyes.

There is a 18-36x50mm Barksa Blackhawk that lists just under $100.

Thank you in advance

I doubt the optical quality would be good enough in that one.
Could always use hi-viz impact targets like shoot and see

Barska is another way to spell junk.

I use a cheapie $100 Bushnell..
If you shoot farther out, just buy some Shoot-n-See targets...

I’d buy the Barska for my kids as a telescope to play with.
Actually, I wouldn’t. You’d have to pay me to buy it

This has been asked and discussed here repeatedly. While you need the best scope you can afford, there is no magic threshold for "seeing ___cal. bullet holes at___". It is highly dependent on light and contrast.

The best suggestion so far is to use Shoot-N-C targets. Although a bit pricey, you can paste the heck out of them with repair dots and make them last a long time. You can buy a lot of Shoot-N-Cs for the additional cost of a better scope.

I make many of my own targets using white poster board from Walmart. You can stick pasters on it, or as I do get target stamps and an ink pad. I got mine from Sinclair years ago. On our range at 200 yards , I can see .223 bullet holes in the white board with my rifle scope

Most commercial targets are too cluttered, made for visual appeal to the customer, like fishing lures.

To add a perspective, I shoot competition with a .22 at 200 yards in two different events on two ranges, one facing north and the other south, red or black bulls. I can't reliably spot bullet holes in the bull even with a 20-60 Zeiss. Depends on light conditions. Did I mention mirage?

Paul

9x per every 50 yds. works for me.

That is some good advice there. A $1.50 poster board from Walmart and a marker will get you a lot of target that is pretty easy to spot holes in, regardless of distance.

For a decent quality spotter on a budget we suggest the Konus KonuSpot-70 20x-60x70 #7121B for only $149.99, including a Table Top Tripod, Camera Adapter, Carrying Case, Lens Cleaning Cloth and Smart Phone Adapter.

It'll get the job done for sure

Actually, the basic white poster board at Walmart has been $.33 forever. 10 packs for $2.97. This cheaper stuff is actually best for targets because it has a matte finish, while the more expensive versions have at least one shiny side.

Part of the "secret" to economy with Shoot-N-Cs is sticking the targets on the white board, The more durable backing lets you keep repairing the target.

Good tip on the marker too. I like red.

Paul

Actually, at the risk of being verbally abused, I have a Barska spotting scope. Yes, it is garbage, but I can see bullet holes to 300 yards. Don’t take that as a suggestion to buy one, but it is marginally useful. I’ll get a good one some day.

I bought a hundred pack of 8” adhesive round shoot and see at a gun show last weekend for $14.99. Work great for my needs.

The Konus spotter that Doug from Camaraland suggested is pretty nice for the money. I bought the exact same one from Doug for my Grandson's(age 25) Christmas present and got to use it at the range.

Light conditions and mirage have a lot to so with seeing detail at distance, but generally, I can see .223 holes easily at 200 yards with my Cabelas branded Meopta made 20-70x spotter. I got it on sale but it was still over $1000. Good spotters are not cheap even if you get a deal.

I purchased one for seeing holes at 200 and casual wildlife viewing about a year ago when the wind blew my old range spotter off a bench and smashed it. I purchased a vortex diamondback in the $400 range, 20-60 x 80 mm obj . Not a meopta or lieca but works pretty good. Also, has a unlimited warranty, so if I drop it or the wind get a hold of it , send it in and you get a new one. I am not a big fan of their scopes or range finders, but don't mind their binocs or spotters for knockabout use. Also, if I leave it in my vehicle and some a-hole steals it I am not out 2 grand. If I was going on a expensive hunt I would up grade.

One of these is cheaper than a spotting scope and can be used out to a mile.
https://www.amazon.com/Caldwell-156726-Ballistic-Precision-Target/dp/B01B7OYN1Y

My luck is that's the first thing that would get shot......

Ask any contractor friends for some old home building plans and use the back side of them.
The stick on dots or a Magic marker for making Xs to shoot at works fine and you cant beat the cost.
As for the spotting scope, certainly a new high end scope is a desirable thing to own for a serious shooter/hunter.
But what happens to many high end scopes when the owner dies or no longer needs it?
I can tell you what happens with many of them, they get sold for a fraction of the original cost on EBay.
In PA virtually all serious long range hunters use large binoculars mounted on tripods for glassing and shooting while hunting.
For about the last 40 years or even more, the vast majority have been using 2 spotting scopes mounted in machined adjustable brackets. Yet still today, even with all the great scope choices available, the most popular set in use by far is a pair of the older Bushnell 60mm objective Bushnell Spacemaster scopes. And you will find them on EBay in good clean condition for about $100 quite often.
I have bought Kowa TSN 77 mm scopes in mint condition for under $400.

instead of using white paper for targets, head to the dollar store and buy the brightest green paper you can. I found it's easier to see holes at a distance. YMMV.

For the use of the OP it is the right spotter and not expensive