Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Cheap spotter for shooting range

I need a spotter for looking at targets at the rifle range.... 100 and 200 yards..... I plan on leaving it there (private range not worried about theft) in a weatherproof shed.... not really wanting to spend a ton of money, I have a nice Zeiss that I use for hunting and serious stuff but my plan is to have most of my stuff (rest, hearing protection, etc) at the range all the time so it's not such a hassle if I just want to swing by real quick on my way home from work,etc.

I don't think I want an angled eye piece.... never did care for them..... I'm not sure how much power I need or if obj size matters much..... mostly shooting in good weather and just for testing loads and practice.... no competitions. What are my options?

Paid 60.00 for an old steel tube 25x bushnell with stand on Fleabay..worth every penny.

Doug at Cameraland NY has an Athlon spotter on sale for $129. I bought one last year and it’s great for the range.

I have a red head that works and it came with a table top tripod so it is fine for the range. The eye piece likes to unscrew with its dust cover but it works fine for 100 yard. If going 200 or more or doing over I would have spent a little more. There is a Bushnell Trophy Extreme 20-60x65 that comes with a similar tripod that would probably be a safe bet for right $195 Natchezss. Don't know if Doug's Athlon has a stand or not. The used one suggested above might be a good option too.

Get a good used one at a price you can afford. Let someone else take the depreciation.

Like Archer said.

there are plenty cheaper spotters out there to buy , i have my own range by my house with a heated shooting house makes things very simple that way all my rests sit on my 2 cement benches ,spotting scope,targets and stuff stay in there too works out great. build a small shooting house makes things very simple ,so simple i should shoot more. Pete53

I bought my son one of these and it works very well at the range.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1020449785?pid=748850

For 200 yards and under at the range there are many inexpensive options that will do fine. Just give Doug (or one of his associates) a call.

Thank goodness Doug showers on Sunday mornings.....

We had a steel match this weekend at a local range. Is there an electronic version that anyone has tried. Would be great if everyone of the squad could watch, rather than having a couple people on spotters.
Camera and monitor would make it more fun for everyone, even if it was just at one stage.

If you do go the budget-scope route, get a phoneskope adapter for your cell phone, so much nicer IMO than trying to diddle-about with a cheap spotter's small FOV and unforgiving eye-box when you're alpha-spoiled.

Longshot Hawk works pretty well if you already have a scope. It clamps to the scope EP.

SVBONY has a 65mm scope + WiFi camera combo. The camera replaces the EP. I have only used the scope + EP, and not the camera though.

For both, the camera creates a WiFi network and anyone within distance can view the camera image with appropriate app.

Longshot also has remote cameras that you position near the target, but I don't think that is what you are looking for.

I also tried the SME WiFi camera and could not get it to work. Returned it.

The Longshot Hawk works better for me, but the app doesn't work with some of my devices.

Just remember that if you go this route, the cameras are low resolution. And you need to consider the quality of the scope.

Steel splash is easy to see at 200

Holes in paper can be hard to see

Target selection is key to seeing holes in paper

OP said he did not want angled

Every time that I have called it has been Neal that I have talked to, very helpful and has always hooked me up with what I have needed

My experience with inexpensive spotters is that about the 3rd time you have to walk 200 yards because you can't see the bullet holes you will wish you had spent a little more. I gave up and called Doug about 4 years ago and he hooked me up with an Athlon. Worth every penny.

Poor mathman must be under the weather today.

That's a shame.

I was looking for the same thing a few years ago to leave at my personal range. Ended up with a used Leupold Golden Ring spotter. I want to say 20x60mm or thereabouts but it’s in the closet at my shooting house in the middle of my property so I can’t tell you for sure. But it has fit the bill for me. My range goes to 400 yards but once I zero at 200 my further shooting tends to be on steel plates and I can see the hits in my scope

I apologize for the thread hijack.
I just looked and phonescope makes a universal adapter for a GoPro to mount to a spotter.
GoPro 5 6 7 apparently have an hdmi cable to plug into computer monitor.

So back on topic of less expensive spotters, I find they come up pretty often at garage sales this time of year.