Spotting scope recommendations

[troupe]

Tract Optics, Schott glass is tough to beat. Buy direct with no middleman means optics comparable to optics costing 2,3 times more price. And a satisfaction guarantee. It puts world class glass in the working guys hands. Sold my Swaro's , IMO it is that good. Just a working guy.

 

[Kittitas George]

I just got tired of buying the BIG BUCKS spotting scopes, none were satisfactory. Cameras weren't available at the time. So I got a bigger gun, quit messing around, you can see the holes easy at 1000 yards and further with a 20mm.

 

[RedfootRanch]

Yeah the old Japanese built Nikon EDs can’t be beat for the price. I would even argue that most of the Japanese ED glass spotters couldn’t be beat at ANY price point. I can pick out 6mm holes on 56x at just shy of 900 yards where we shoot, even with a little amount of mirage going on. Quite easily see them when conditions are perfect. Looking thru Swarovski ATX/BTX, Meopta S2 HD and other optics at the same distance, even with higher magnification levels, gives no advantage over the old Nikon ED. Modern glass really isn’t much advantage. They’ve just figured out how to give wider fields of view and better eye relief but the glass quality itself isn’t really any better. Could argue about coatings but I don’t think those are much better either except for maybe the water shedding and scratch resistance built into them now. You got way more quality for your dollar back in the day.

Many people think I’m BSing about my old Nikon ED spotters but when we meet at the range and set up to shoot at 871 yards, I’ll stand there and call out the holes in the paper every time. Pretty amazing glass. Closer targets at 450 and 700 yards are a walk in the park for the old scope. Saves a lot of driving on a rough road

What distinguishes an "old" ED unit when searching for one when compared to the than less desirable newer one?

 

[Ledd Slinger]

What distinguishes an "old" ED unit when searching for one when compared to the than less desirable newer one?

Light green body with black barrel focus ring and thin red band around the front objective. Plus they are all made in Japan.

 

[FNSafari]

^^^^What Ledd said. Get a Nikon ED and save yourself a bunch of money. Especially if your just looking at targets and don't need a really wide FOV. One of the old ones,not the new ED.

Nikon service...years ago I bought an 80mm Nikon ED spotter from the wife of a deceased friend/shooter. Kit included a variable eyepiece and 4 fixed eyepieces in a rugged metal case. The scope when I got it was extremely difficult to focus with the mid mounted ring. I got an RMA and sent it back to Nikon for servicing expecting to pay something for the work. Scope went back with no eyepiece per their instructions.

A month later a box appeared and inside was a brand new Nikon ED with a variable power eyepiece. Easier for them to replace than fix I guess. I can't say enough good about Nikon service!!!!!!!!

 

[FNSafari]

Tract Optics, Schott glass is tough to beat. Buy direct with no middleman means optics comparable to optics costing 2,3 times more price. And a satisfaction guarantee. It puts world class glass in the working guys hands. Sold my Swaro's , IMO it is that good. Just a working guy.

Nikons used to use OHARA Japanese glass, not sure if they still do. Equal to German Schott.

 

[troupe]

Not knocking Japanese glass because there is some very good glass, but my point was that you get Schott glass in a package for much less money. When the middleman is cut out of the chain, optics can be sold 30 to 40% less to the buyer. I do agree that Nikon had some good glass.

 

[Hondo64d]

Tract Optics, Schott glass is tough to beat. Buy direct with no middleman means optics comparable to optics costing 2,3 times more price. And a satisfaction guarantee. It puts world class glass in the working guys hands. Sold my Swaro's , IMO it is that good. Just a working guy.

I have the Tract Toric spotter with both the zoom and the fixed 22x eyepiece with the mil reticle. Simply fantastic glass at any price. After using my Tract spotter, I have no desire for “Alpha” glass.

John

 

[tom]

Need to upgrade my spotting scope. Getting into the longer range shooting situations and need something that performs better than the Celestron 100mm scope in use now. At 600 yds or more, I know there really is nothing that will show impacts in less than ideal conditions and the bullet hole from a 223 is almost impossible past 300 yds.
What are you seeing at 1000yd shoots?
Considering one of the remote view camera systems as well.

Thanks

I don't know if you plan to share it or not. If sharing I would stay with a spotter. I currently have about every configuration of atx, btx, and the 1.7x mag extension from Swarovski. The 115mm with 1.7x and btx eyepiece is my favorite so far. It's tough to share though, as it needs tuned in per individual. With the atx, the 1.7x didn't do much at all, as I found myself dialed back to around 70x anyways. The btx set-up at 60x is the best I've ever experienced for seeing holes. Kulzer was calling 6mm holes at 1,000 at deep creek last weekend, IN THE BLUE. I sat behind Jim Williams during a relay, and called his 98 score with ease. When dialed in for your eyes/face, it's the most impressive thing we've seen to date. @GlennK and @Alex Wheeler took some time with my set-up as well and would likely agree.

Tom

Edit to add. Watching traces with 1.7x removed (35×), nothing will touch it.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Tom's right, his 115 BTX with the 1.7x multiplier is the most impressive glass I have looked through. I could easily see individual 6mm holes at 1k. I watched Tom shoot a 5 shot group and told him the order of the holes. Its simply amazing. And I could read the mirage with it better than anything else I have seen. The most subtle shift was easy to see. I was watching one record string and the mirage had a slight shift to to left and I figured the guys would all be a couple inches left. Sure enough the groups formed there. I have never been able to see a 2" shift in mirage at 1k before. That thing is hard to believe. And setting it up for your eyes in not a big deal.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Ordered a mint condition Nikon 82ED spotter with angled eyepiece to complete my set. Wanted one with an angled eyepiece because my others are straight. The old 82ED-A is a hard scope to find in mint condition at a fair price. Don’t think people like to get rid of them very much.

I have a 75x fixed power wide angle eyepiece, the new eyepiece on the way that will give 50x wide angle view in the 82mm and a couple zoom eyepieces. One zoom is lower power and will do 25-56x and I think the other one will do 25-75x in the 82mm. Be interesting to see if the 82mm gives an advantage over my 78mm. Likely will see most of the difference in low light but will just have to wait and see.

 

[Schutzen2]

All of the 82's that I've seen are water proof too which is a plus. Asking prices for the 82 have really shot up!

 

[PracticalTactical]

I have had quite a few spotting scopes over the years and have narrowed it down to two simple choices.

You have to either spend big money on new premium glass, or save a bunch of money and get an older scope with premium glass. If you look on ebay it is not hard to find really nice used optics for less than a new scope with optics that are just no darn good.

I would caution you not to get caught up in the large 80 mm + spotting scopes. I found that I often left it at home because it just took up too much space.

These days I use a Kowa 554 and it always comes along.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Yeah the only thing I can find that compares to my old Nikon resolution is the Swarovski STX/ATX/BTX. But a good setup with that scope can cost anywhere from $5k-$7k.

After having sold my ATX a few years ago ($6k invested with two objectives, multiplier, and covers), I honestly don’t feel like I’m at any optical disadvantage with any of my current Japanese Nikon ED scopes.

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

Nikons used to use OHARA Japanese glass, not sure if they still do. Equal to German Schott.

Yeah, Nikon makes their own ED and Super ED glass; after all, they invented them. They make that glass at their Hikari factory. It's possible they outsource some of the lesser (non-ED or Super-ED) glass in their spotting scopes.

 

[pepper51]

I have been following this conversation with interest. In relation to the earlier Nikon 60mm spotters, are fixed eye piece a bit clearer and have a wider view than variable? For my use it would be at the range under 300 yards. Most all at 100 and 200 yards. Shooting.22 and 6mm would the best choice be 30X fixed or low variable? I am thinking 20X may not be enough at 200 yards. Thanks for your experience, opinion.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I have been following this conversation with interest. In relation to the earlier Nikon 60mm spotters, are fixed eye piece a bit clearer and have a wider view than variable? For my use it would be at the range under 300 yards. Most all at 100 and 200 yards. Shooting.22 and 6mm would the best choice be 30X fixed or low variable? I am thinking 20X may not be enough at 200 yards. Thanks for your experience, opinion.

So I just got my new fixed eyepiece today. Been out playing with it for the last couple hours against my zoom eyepiece. I never thought I would see so much of a difference. The field of view is WAY bigger. Resolution is definitely better to a level I didn’t even really think possible considering the mirage conditions today. Slices thru mirage like a hot knife thru butter. Depth of field is much better as well. Can scan a lot more varying ranges from 500 to 1200 yards without having to re-focus. Focusing each time helps but is not really needed because the resolution is so amazing.

Ive been trying to take photos to capture the insane view this eyepiece delivers but my iPhone camera doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of even coming close to how the actual view is in the scope. My phone can’t capture the full field of view, depth of field, or even come close to the true resolution. I have photos but I feel it’s pointless to post them publicly because it’s nothing close to the real view thru the scope.

Needless to say, the zoom eyepiece won’t be going back on my 78ED. Can’t wait to see what this eyepiece does on the bigger 82ED when it shows up

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Here some photos in the difference between the zoom and fixed eyepieces. Zoom is the smaller one.

 

[pepper51]

Ledd Slinger, will that new fixed eye piece work on the series II 60mm? Looks like it would have more eye relief. Part number? My interest is under 300 yards for bench work. Thanks.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Ledd Slinger, will that new fixed eye piece work on the series II 60mm? Looks like it would have more eye relief. Part number? My interest is under 300 yards for bench work. Thanks.

I’m pretty sure the MC eyepieces will fit all Gen II and higher. And yes I forgot to mention that the eye relief is now better with the fixed eyepiece