Entry Level Spotting Scope Advice

[Orcaborks]

I have just started 1000 yard shooting and am in the market to buy a spotting scope, I know you can spend a small fortune on a spotting scope but unfortunately my budget is not that massive, what I would really like to know is, what is the starting point that will do the job properly without breaking the bank. Or what second hand scopes I should look out for?

Kind regards

Orca

 

[navyrad8r]

http://www.creedmoorsports.com/shop/Scopes_-and-_Stands/

orca,
try the above link...don't overlook the Konus scopes. They are NOT a Kowa prominar (fluorite lens) but they are acceptable in my opinion. give them some thought and if you use it for awhile and don't like it you can help out a junior or new shooter and resell it. next match ask you fellow competitors if you can look through theirs. also consider what type of stand you want to use too. If you choose the konus 100mm scope it is a BIG tube make sure your scope has a wide base or it will fall over easily.
FWIW I have used a Kowa for many years and is has its own sleeping bag when its on the range(scope cover) and when we travel it has a Kalispel Aluminum case it gets locked up in! If you are ready to take a second mortgage Leica, Zeiss and Swarovski are great choices along with the aforementioned kowa prominar. I even have read that Nightforce make them as well but haven't looked through one....still on my first mortgage though ;D
cheers
Doc

 

[R.Morehouse]

I got a low end spotter a few years ago ( Braska ) for next to nothing on sale. MSRP was $400.ish if I remember right. It sat on the shelf for quite a while after the initial inspection when new. I took it to the range a few weeks ago to see how it would do seeing 3-4-& 500yd holes. It was a complete piece of crap. My 8-32 Sightron S-III was SO MUCH BETTER that I was shocked. I think the new NF may be on the wish list for later this year.....Now if I can remember where I planted that money tree.........

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

No scope that you can carry will allow you to reliably see bullet holes fired from non-crew served competition rifles at 1000 yards.

For competition, you will need a spotting scope through which you can see the scoring disk and the shot marker and anything around 10-20X will do fine for that. No need to get higher magnification, that's what your riflescope needs to be able to do. The other use you will have for that spotting scope is for observing conditions and here you want more field of view than high end magnification, so again a 20some X scope is all you need.

Eschew the calls of "buy once, cry once." This is not needed here and new models are coming out all the time. I would say that something around $3-400 is going to be plenty to start with. Look at low end Nikon, Leupold, Konus, etc. Stay away from Barksa, NC Star and other similar sold at Wal-Mart in plastic bubble packaging.

 

[boltman13]

As Bayou Shooter states, you need not break the bank for a spotting scope if all you shoot is long range. An angled eye piece is handy to have, but not mandatory. I find my Burris 15X45 more than adequate. You want your spotting scope close to your position on the rifle so when you switch from viewing thru your scope to your spotting scope you do not loose your position set up. Your scope stand should be far enough away to not interfere with your position. You are only following mirage and other shooters shots near your target, with your spotting scope, so you want a focus that lets you see the mirage, and the scoring disks. My method is to extract the case after the shot, place the next cartridge in the action, transition to the spotting scope, checking my wind flags as I do, note any change in conditions with mirage, and when my target comes up, transition back to the scope, chamber the next round, make any sight adjustment needed with hold off, and fire the next shot. Of course any major change in conditions will require more time to adjust for the next shot, but in steady conditions with good target service you can get 2-3 shots a minute and hopefully shoot all your shots in the same or similar conditions. Any spotting scope able to do this for you will also let you score another shooter. The expensive scopes come into their own at shorter ranges, especially during rapid fire or matches with no pits. You can usually see even 22 cal shots at 200 and sometimes even 300 yards with these scopes.

 

[loneranger04]

I had the entry level Luepold...wrong choice. I now have a 12-40 Gold Ring which is a great choice. They can be bought used in good condition for $600 up but I doubt that is what you're looking to spend. As someone said the Kowa is pretty nice for a starter. That huge lense seems to help but it isn't compact. Whatever you buy, if you go with a entry level scope, try and buy it used for a good price then when you're ready to move up you can probably get most of your investment back.

 

[watercam]

You did not say whether you were shooting conventional (sling), F-Class or bench. Makes a difference. Assuming you want a long eye relief eye-piece (LER - 30mm of relief as opposed to 18-20 on non-LER) your choices become more limited. Creedmoor Sports carries the Celestron Regal complete with 27X LER eye-piece for about $650. I have looked through a couple on 1000 yd. ranges and came away impressed. Mirage was easy to see and clarity and color were quite good. If that is too high, the advice given above is good. Do not forget to think about how you are going to support it on the line. Ideally you should be able to look through the scope without breaking your position, that means it needs to be low enough and close enough to see through the eye-piece by turning your head slightly. Champions Choice is another source for scopes and stands.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

No scope that you can carry will allow you to reliably see bullet holes fired from non-crew served competition rifles at 1000 yards.

For competition, you will need a spotting scope through which you can see the scoring disk and the shot marker and anything around 10-20X will do fine for that. No need to get higher magnification, that's what your riflescope needs to be able to do. The other use you will have for that spotting scope is for observing conditions and here you want more field of view than high end magnification, so again a 20some X scope is all you need.

Eschew the calls of "buy once, cry once." This is not needed here and new models are coming out all the time. I would say that something around $3-400 is going to be plenty to start with. Look at low end Nikon, Leupold, Konus, etc. Stay away from Barksa, NC Star and other similar sold at Wal-Mart in plastic bubble packaging.

+1 to that.


Orcaborks,
Nothing out there is gonna show you bullet holes at 1K unless you have someone standing behind the target holding a flashlight to it on a cloudy day because there is almost always some sort of mirage to deal with. I have the Meopta S2 HD 20-70x and it is arguably one of the best pieces of glass money can buy...but it cannot see bullet holes at 1K. Maybe if I plastered a bunch of "shoot-n-see" targets, but not on a normal paper target

The nice thing about the expensive glass is that it gives you so much more for other types of glassing situations. At 500 yards, I have no problem at all seeing 6.5mm bullet holes even if there is some mirage. At 300 yards, it's like you're standing in front of the target. Remember, you're going to have to start load development at shorter ranges before stretching your rifle's legs to 1K. The top end glass will save you a lot of leg work or driving back and forth to the target.

If you must buy a cheaper optic, Nikon ED spotters are pretty nice and Vortex Viper HD's and Razors aren't too bad for the money. If all you want is to see a 4" orange spotter, pretty much anything will do that if it's not off a Walmart shelf.

 

[Damfino]

Your mileage my vary, but I have a Kowa TSN-82SV and it's a great spotting scope for reading mirage and seeing the scoring/spotting disks at 1000 yards, but for the money my old Konus 20-80 is hard to beat and I've kept it as a backup and loaner for other shooters who invaribly like it. I also had a very positive customer service experience with them about 5 years ago.

 

[skiutah02]

Before I started long range shooting, my wife wanted something to see the birds in our backyard. So for $25 on ebay I got a decent scope that I've been using to score and lend to others on the line. When I was in the pits and a torrential rain hit the line, I was glad to have spent so little for when I returned back from the pits it was full of water (it got left out). I cracked it open, drained the water, cleaned it up a bit and duct-taped it back together. Still works for scoring, etc even to 1000yds. Still happy to lend it out, etc and not worry about it.

In an effort to improve my scores, I was in a similar situation as you earlier this year, I read a bit (esp on this forum) and found a great price on one of the above mentioned scopes (Konus 20-60x80). For $155 ($165 shipped), I've been very pleased with it. Can easily see 223 holes at 300-500 (depending upon mirage) and reading mirage is a snap. I can look up the vendor if you are interested and see if they still have the same deal (Edit: it was dvor.com). I've been able to score looking at just about every type/brand over the past few years and there are differences, but in my opinion for ftr at my ability there is a limiting return of $ vs. improvement in scope optical quality and it seems odd to me to use a $5K scope just to score.

A sound piece of advice (above) is to consider a stand. I've yet to use mine in competition because I keep forgetting to buy a stand, but it comes in super handy to practice and help sight shots for others.

Drew

 

[JRS]

If you have the opportunity to look through a few different brands, you'll be in a much better position to make an informed decision. No two people share the same eyesight, and what appears to be not so clear to one person, might be crisp and clear to you.

 

[coldboreshot]

Orca,
If your comment of getting involved in 1000 yard includes competition, may I suggest the Sightron series spotting scope. It is a midrange priced scope which performs very well. It reads the most slightest Mirage that rolls on the top of the number boards. For competition, you want the spotting scope to primarily read conditions, not so much for spotting and scoring discs. He'll, my 10x US Optics rifle scope at Camp Lejeune does that! The Sightron's glass is perfect for reading those slight variables. Back your power off wide enough to display other targets adjacent to yours, you would be surprised how much information you get from reading other shooter's targets. Now, if this is just for casual 1000 yard shooting, its not going to matter how expensive or popular the brand...you can listen to the BS all day long but at mid-day with mirage, your not going to see bullet holes at 1000 on paper even with a $4000 Hensolt. Trust me. A motto that is prominent in all of these forums, " buy once, cry once"!

 

[coldboreshot]

Also, it's not a matter of sampling different scopes based on your eyesight, it involves the quality of the build from one brand to another. Ever spotting scope has a focus control to adapt to variables in eyesight. Similar to the fast focus eyepiece on a rifle scope. Most individuals don't know how to set this up in conjunction with their parallax and blame the scope's quality. If your finances permit, consider HD or ED glassed devices. Good luck in your endeavors.

 

[coldboreshot]

One last thought, right now, Natchez Shooters Supply has the Leupold Kenai on closeout at $599 for a 20-60×80, angled or straight, down from $1200. If I needed one, that would have been the next acquisition.

 

[mysticplayer]

I have just started 1000 yard shooting and am in the market to buy a spotting scope, I know you can spend a small fortune on a spotting scope but unfortunately my budget is not that massive, what I would really like to know is, what is the starting point that will do the job properly without breaking the bank. Or what second hand scopes I should look out for?

Kind regards

Orca

You have received plenty of really good responses but they are all guessing on what "started 1000yds shooting" means to you. So more info please.

If you mean competitions like F class, the spotter is there to aid in viewing conditions and mirage.

If you mean shooting rocks and gong with friends and just need to see the impacts, that will be different.

As will hunting towards 1000yds and needing glass to SEE the target. Then maybe rough use and weather protection might come into play

So more info please....

Jerry

 

[dkhunt14]

You have received plenty of really good responses but they are all guessing on what "started 1000yds shooting" means to you. So more info please.

If you mean competitions like F class, the spotter is there to aid in viewing conditions and mirage.

If you mean shooting rocks and gong with friends and just need to see the impacts, that will be different.

As will hunting towards 1000yds and needing glass to SEE the target. Then maybe rough use and weather protection might come into play

So more info please....

Jerry

This thread is old. I am sure he got one since last summer. Matt

 

[coldboreshot]

True, but this is also for the benefit of other readers who may stumble onto this forum out of curiosity.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Look for the Cabelas euro hd on sale.

 

[rardoin]

Look for the Cabelas euro hd on sale.

I looked at this one (rebadged Meopta) when buying a spotter last year...I opted for a Swarovski ATS-80. After viewing through an equivalent Meopta (Cabela's Euro) at 300yds and comparing to my scope, there was not a significant difference for target spotting use to justify the Swaro IMO. If a budget is limited, the Meopta is an excellent option. A Kowa 60mm is an excellent value as well as a used 80mm, if you can find one. I would consider finding a birdwatching site that has classifieds and looking for used scopes...particularly Leica or Swarovski as these people typically spend a bit of $$$ on a good scope that usually ends up for sale down the road. My mother has a 15 year old (or so) 60mm Leica that is every bit as good, if not better, as my current Swaro.