Kowa TSN 601 vs. 82sv for long range

[Jonathan Zimmerman]

So here's the dilemma. I shot a lot of high power and long range in the past. I figured I was done completely for the next 15 years (until the kids were grown) so I got rid of my 82sv last year. After not competing for a year and it nearly killing me, I have decided to try to squeeze in a few matches each summer. Mirage was easy to read with the 82sv and 25x LER eyepiece. Knowing that I will only get in a handful of matches each year, I have been looking at less expensive options. Would the TSN 601 with 25x LER eyepiece get the job done well? I am not sure if the 60mm lense will affect my ability to read mirage. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[dkhunt14]

I would tend to think that optical quality would have more to do then objective diameter. Now the bigger objective would allow more light. Matt

 

[Alex Wheeler]

A lot of people seem to think the lesser quality optics see the mirage better. It may seem that way because the lesser optics are more muddy to begin with so it seems like your seeing more mirage. I wish there was a scope out there that gave you more for less. When it comes to glass theres just no way to get around the price. I was not impressed with the tsn-6xx that I used. My favorite optics are Meopta. They are the best you can get before stepping up to Swaro's highest end IMO. And you can almost stomach the price.

 

[perry42]

I have an older TSN-1 Kowa that shows mirage quite well with a 27x long eye relief eyepiece.

perry42

 

[Ledd Slinger]

In my experience, provided the glass is of the same quality, a larger objective will ALWAYS perform better at long range. A larger objective in no way equates to a larger field of view, but it always seems to give much better sharpness, contrast of colors, and of course brightness. Field of view is regulated by the placement of the prism in the scope body so don't get confused with thinking field of view is directly propertional to objective size.

I also got hooked on Meopta Meostar HD optics. It was love at first sight. Not cheap, but not the most expensive either. Can't find better glass for the money. Gotta step up to the Swarovski ATX series spotter if you want to best the Meopta S2 HD and that ain't no small step for your wallet.

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

So here's the dilemma. I shot a lot of high power and long range in the past. I figured I was done completely for the next 15 years (until the kids were grown) so I got rid of my 82sv last year. After not competing for a year and it nearly killing me, I have decided to try to squeeze in a few matches each summer. Mirage was easy to read with the 82sv and 25x LER eyepiece. Knowing that I will only get in a handful of matches each year, I have been looking at less expensive options. Would the TSN 601 with 25x LER eyepiece get the job done well? I am not sure if the 60mm lense will affect my ability to read mirage. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

This is a similar thread to the one in the competition forum. I answered your question there as part of a larger reply. In a word, the 6xx will be just fine for your purposes.

 

[Erud]

The 601 will work just great, you shouldn't have any trouble with mirage. It is a handy size of scope. You may miss the rotating band feature, but depending which scope head you have, that may or may not be an issue. The LER eyepieces on the Kowa are worth more than any other single feature for HP shooting, and are the area where none of the other companies can compete. I have had the Kowa 821, 601, 773, 883, and Swarovski ATS HD, and a couple of cheapies of various brands. After using all of those pretty extensively in HP and prone matches, I settled on the 773 as the best tool for this sport. The 883 glass was the best of them all, but the 773 is 95% of the scope at 75% the price, and is much smaller, lighter and easier to manage. I would have no trouble using a 601 for matches though if that's what I had.

 

[Jonathan Zimmerman]

Thank you all for responding to my question. I had no idea the other thread was already going. I did a couple searches a few weeks ago on the 601 and found very little information. There is plenty on the 82sv. Again, much appreciated