Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Spotting scope is next!

shato, you really have to ask yourself "is the Swaro HD worth it"? Not trying to be repetitive, but you can buy some fantastic HD spotters for far less money. You won't see things through a Swaro HD that you cannot see through a Zeiss FL, Leupold GR HD, Kowa 663/664, or a Nikon Fieldscope ED. Now you may like the ergos, FOV, etc of one over another but all of these have fantastic glass. Swaro has the reputation of being on the high end of the price scale, and to me there are too many great options to consider.

HD glass handles color fringing better than non HD glass. As mentioned before, this is particularly critical if you're into digiscoping. I'd buy one of the others I mentioned, all HD/ED spotters and save over $1000 in the process.

I don't carry a spotter hunting, only use it at the range.
So, I went straight to QUALITY glass, and an 80mm objectve, for reasons JGR mentions. Weight is a non-issue as I only carry it from the car to the shooting bench. I bought a fixed 30x, angled eyepiece. I had a 16-47x eyepiece on my last spotter and never used it above 30x. Above 40x was a real problem as there was image degredation. I've been using the new spotter for over a year now, and must say the image is spectacular.
Eye relief is very short, but all that's needed is getting used to it. Now, it's a non-problem.

I've been doing a bit of research and one scope that keeps showing up as the real deal for reasonable money is the Pentax PF80ED, particularly when paired with one of their XW eyepieces.

If you like fixed eyepieces, you ought to see the 30x wide angle on my Nikon 82ED. WOW! The Pentax is too long for my taste, but has great glass for sure.

The fixed 30x eyepiece on my Swaro ain't too shabby..
WOW +P
This is one upmanship at it's very best...LMAO

My dog can beat your dog in checkers.....

No denying the fact that the Swaro spotters are super good.

In a year or two the game will change. Leica will be discounting their 82/65mm class for their new 85/70mm class. Swarovski will be reducing their numbers of magnesium in exchange for titanium bodies, ect...etc,...


Nikon EDG, Pentax ED, Kowa Prominar, Swarovski A/STM, Leica Televid APO, Zeiss Diascope....take your pick.

JG: Thanks.

I just ordered a Kowa TSN-603 and will let you know my review in a couple days.

The HD is beter for sure! Is it worth the extra money? That is for you to decide. I have the STS HD 80 and it is phenominal in my opinion! For a hunting application I wouldn't have the ATS (angled).

Glad U got a good sense of humor!!!
I wuz just funnin..
Lots of great spotters available, like the Kowa's U mention. I went to Camp Perry National Matches one year 'cause my oldest son shoots High Power in those Matches. All U see on the line are Kowa's; Kowa's everwhere. That has to tell U something when everone is using them.
I have no place to go to comapre spotters up here, so I decided that Swaro was the one for me. Swaro had just done me a Huge service by having a PF 6x42 scope shipped in from Europe just for me. The PF 6x42 isn't sold in the US, so I called Swaro in Rhode Island and asked if they could get me one. They said yes, and two weeks later I had the scope at my house. I appreciate that kind of good service, so I bought their spotter. Few companies would go out of their way to do what Swaro did for me, and I never forget who served me well. If there's ever a choice in optics I want, I go Swaro. Loyalty is important to me. Sure, some other high end spotter "may" be better in some way, but I can live very well without that "some way".

Couldn't agree more DMB. You know what you're getting with Swaro for sure. The performance of those Kowa's are phenomenal, but I do wonder how tough they'd be in actual hunting/field use. I wonder why you never see them "out there" being used by guides/outfitters/hunters? I can't say I've ever seen one while hunting. I've really come to like the helical focus ring like you have on that Swaro, and on my Nikon 82ED.

Went through a similar decision process a while ago. I was in a position to buy whatever I found to be best (for me). After a ton of research and a lot of hands on comparison, I ended up with a Kowa 663 Prominar. It keeps good company with my FL's.

I wonder why you never see them "out there" being used by guides/outfitters/hunters? I can't say I've ever seen one while hunting."


Very simple......Advertising!

Don, not trying to start a pizzing match, but as I've said before, all that tells you is that they work well for the HP game, and that is not a particularly challenging application for a scope. Plus, competition shooters tend to follow the crowd, not that that's a bad thing.

Nothing personal, but over the years I've never found "all the ---- use it" to be particularly helpful in choosing my personal equipment, particularly optics and sights.

Paul

What really got my attention was the birdwatcher's reviews. You know, the guys that like to look at mites on a robin's ass

http://www.livingbird.org/netcommunity/bbimages/lb/pdf/ScopeChart2008.pdf

I used birdwatcher's sites/forums as one of my resources also. I believe they are amongst the most critical and technically astute optic nuts on the planet. They go far beyond "this is what I think" or "based on a 5 minute side-by-side comparison.....". Very objective and analytical.

That last word was far too long...the first four letters would've sufficed, when describin' birders and their glass.

Paul,
I think that viewing bullet holes at 100, 200, up to 1000 yards at Camp Perry is no different from viewing bullet holes at my range.
Testimony is of merit, and the fact that so many people use KOWA scopes at Camp Perry is about as good a testimony one gan get when considering a Spotter purchase.
If that doesn't work for you, fine. It works for me.

I would not have a spotter without it (HD). In dicey lighting conditions, I think one gets better contrast, less CA and flare.

FWIW I'm a Leica fan.