Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Best spotting scope for hunting?

Looking for advice onp

How are you planning to use it ? Are you driving around on the roads trying to judge heads, or are you back pack hunting ? How much are you willing to spend ?
As a rule, you really need to be careful with the really cheap spotters. My ex-wife bought a 25X60, $150 spooter that wouldn't show us her .243 or even my .308 bullet holes at 100 yds. In contrast, I just shot both my '06 and my .280 at 300 yds. The spotter was a very small 50mm but it still showed me where the bullets went.
The bigger spotting scopes allow one to use more magnification for a good quality image as a rule. So, if weight isn't an issue, or the very best performance is a requirement, I'd suggest a big 82mm class spotter. E

nolting,

The only way for you to get the best from you money for your eyes is to start with the cheapest and compare side by side until you notice one is better than another; no matter what the price. My gunsmith spent a Saturday and did this. To his surprise He discovered the only one noticeably better than the Tasco 20-60X80 was one that cost about $500. He purchased the Tasco.

To the annoyance of some of our .com friends I posted my findings after comparing some rifle scopes with it by setting the rifle scope to its highest setting and the Tasco to match each in turn. There were four guys in age from 83 down to 30 and all agreed with the findings. The object of our test was "HIGH VOLTAGE" on a power pole over 400 yards away.

The scopes included Leupold, Bushnell 4200, Sightron II, and some others. The only one better than the Tasco spotting scope was a Nightforce 12-42X56. This Nightforce is noticably and way better than my Swarovski z5 5-25X52 and my Bushnell 6500 4 1/2-30X50.

oh my gawd...

If you have the money a Leupold 12-40x60mm in HD or Non-HD.

if that is out of your price range I would look for older fixed power Leupold in 20x, 25x or 30x.

Dink

I just picked up a Zeiss Dialyt from Doug and I am really impressed with it so far. Built super tough. If Doug has a pre-owned one you can it get it at a real good price. Something to consider

Kowa prominar. Pick up a used one. Not a better glass for the money

The Zeiss and Swaros are great too but quite a bit more $$$

I have the TSN 883, I chose it over the Swarovski 80HD.

Do you wear glasses? With spotters in also price ranges, eye relief is a major consideration.

if writing a big check isnt an issue then buy one of the more
expensive brands and you wont be sorry.
if it is an issue then some research will be necessary.
most people reccomend what they have or have seen.
very few will have done any side by side test and evaluation.
the more expensive coatings such as prominar in the kowa brand
is not worth the cost for a hunter.
during normal daylight hours most people wont see the difference in side by side evaluation. but its your money.

excellant quality optics have been being made for over a half
century. people have been using spotting scopes to see bullet
holes on long range targets for many decades. likewise some have been using those same scopes to identify very distant game animals.
in pa most serious long range hunters use twin spotters in brackets for hunting. by far the most popular scope is the old
bushnell spacemaster.
i personaly have 6 sets ranging from 77mm kowas to 50mm bushnell sentrys (old ones).
if i were forced to surrender all but one set, the set id keep
would be the 50+ year old bausch&lomb balscopes.
those scopes and the spacemasters can usually be bought on ebay for less than $200. sometimes far less.
but again its your money.

How 'bout telling the OP about your side by side comparisons with different scopes?

Ringman, what part of "Spotting Scope" don't you get ? You compared a bunch of rifle scopes to a far larger spotting scope.
If you want to post something of value, how about a comparison at a couple of miles with spotting scopes with the same objective sizes ? E

need to know what he's looking for before comparing apples to oranges.

sorry, E, you posted while i was writing, but that's what i was getting at.

So then, you boys haven't compared anything side by side to help the OP?

This is almost as good as the Hunters Campfire.

The best spotter will be the biggest you're willing to pack and the most money you're willing to spend. If your purchasing "mail order", be sure the seller has a generous return policy. You might not like it after you look through it and send it back.

i've compared a surveyor's transit to a Polaroid veiwfinder. maybe i'll get some buddys to read a power pole so i can have some 'wisdom' to share too...

Perhaps I missed where the OP asked about either of those.

But if you think they would help him make a decision let us know what you and your friends come up with.

Here's what I'd say, without knowing your budget:

Sub compact-Nikon ED50
Toughest/Best Eye relief/great glass--Leupold 12-40x60 HD
Best65mm class for the money-Kowa Prominar 663/664
Best 85mm class money no object-Kowa Prominar 883/884
Great Value--Vortex Razor 85 HD
Best Compromise between 65mm-85mm--Kowa Prominar 773/774

http://www.usoptics.com/optics/field-spotting-scope.html


dave