Spooting Scope power for 600 and 1000 yards

[xdshooter]

Whats the best power for a spotting scope, im am planning on 600 and 1000 yard shooting. Shooting 6mm and 300wsm.

Thanks for Help

 

[CaptainMal]

Want to make a smart comment like ... remote video camera with TV monitor but ...that may be right.

It's not always an issue of power but one of lens quality (read "big money") and conditions.

40-60 power or so is fine if great (that's higher than good) quality AND there's little mirage or other distortion. Problem is conditions make it super hard to get a good sight on bullet holes unless you use something like a "shoot-n-see" target or plain background that shows holes well.

I use a Bausch and Lomb 20-60. OK if all is perfect. I have seen others do better with their scopes but they were HUGE things that cost 2 grand or more.

Best I have ever seen is a video camera system fed remotely back to a screen at the line.

 

[fdshuster]

As CaptainMal said, much will depend on the quality ( read cost) of the optics, and then you are left to the mercy of mirage conditions. Get the largest objective diameter you can afford with an eyepiece, if fixed power in the 40x range, maybe just a little higher. The larger objective diameter, the higher the cost of the scope. The Unertl Team Spotting scope has a 100mm objective, and the cost is around $3000 the last time I checked. My Nikon Fieldscope 11 with the ED glass, 82mm & 25 to 75x eyepiece, as good as it is, is useless under extreme mirage conditions. With my variable power eyepiece I'm seldom able to use it above 45x, proper focusing being the big problem, and only under the rare perfect conditions can I get near the full 75x. Another vote for the "Shoot-N-C" splatter targets and mount them on white or tan/beige paper/ no black or dark colors anywhere, because that's where your shot always lands: in the black somewhere & you're going crazy trying to find it, and wasting ammo too.

 

[kentuckytroutbum]

+1 on the Shoot-N-See targets to highlight your hits.

Also, my local club hangs 4'x4' pieces of white bed sheets behind each target, about 3' or 4' behind each target. The sheets are hung on 2 sets of clothes line, held at the top & bottom with clips.

When they first handed me a sheet, I thought what the heck is this for? To drape over my head, to keep off the sun? I would not have thought about it, but it does work.

Bill