Spotting scope advice

[Bob L.]

I have found the LER eyepiece a must for target shooting. I bought a 20-60x eyepiece and found it useless, not enough eye relief, too shaky on my scope stand, and unable to discern bullet hoes due to mirage (and distance).
I shoot F class and use a Kowa 82sv.

 

[muleman69]

Lots of great input above. My thoughts are you do not need the best spotter for target shooting. We use a Swarovski 65 ATS HD with fixed 30W and it is great. But, the eye relief is little short. Kowa, with their LER eye pieces rule the roost. Get a 601, 663, 82SV, or 883 with the fixed LER eye piece: those are almost perfect for target shooting.

Does 30w mean fixed 30 power? I can see where the LER would be good. What works best in the mirage? Do you find your Swarovski better when it heats up?

 

[rardoin]

I think the Kowa Prominar and the Swarovski ATS (80+/-mm objectives) are very similar under match shooting conditions. I find that I am able to discern mirage under low light/very light wind conditions when other shooters are remarking that there is "no mirage/flags are useless". Makes me grin. IMO the Kowa with Prominar glass is really close, arguably as good as my Swaro….at a better price point. As far as under hunting conditions they both would be outstanding. The Swaro might be a little lighter.

 

[Scott Harris]

Does 30w mean fixed 30 power? I can see where the LER would be good. What works best in the mirage? Do you find your Swarovski better when it heats up?

30W = fixed 30x wide angle, Swaro doesn't make these anymore. At a minimum you need a fixed mag eyepiece because the eye relief will be much better than a variable. Ideally, you can get an LER eyepiece (also fixed). From what I can tell, Swaro no longer makes even a fixed eye piece much less an LER version. As far a reading mirage, spotters with 20x to 30X work best imho....Kowa.

 

[praveen]

Kowa 883 .. I've looked through Swarovski's and they are pretty close. I think Swarovski is out with a new 95mm objective. That should make a difference.

 

[mikeeg02]

Watch Ebay for the older style Swarovski AT or ST 80HD, but make sure its the HD model(it says in light green on the side of the body). And that is has the eye piece you want. Im certain they are the same optically as the newer ATX models, and if it needs anything send it back to Swarovski. Every newer one I have looked through looks identical to mine and there is a huge difference optically between the non-HD and HD models in the older generation.

Swarovski, while not the fastest on repair time, is exceptionally affordable on repair price, and goes out of the way to make sure you are happy. Often times if you get something fixed, they will completely clean the scope inside and out without cost to you. Really great company to stand by and support their older models. Even if you didnt buy it from them. I have less than $500 in mine, including repairs from Swarovski.

 

[SS GO DEVIL]

Pentax PF 80EDA. Look up the reviews on this site. Just sayin. I bought one this year and have been amazed at the performance.

 

[Walt Krafft]

I started shooting High Power And bought a Kowa. I am left handed and could never get it close enough with its offset eye piece. I got a Zeiss over 15 years ago to replace it and it has worked great.

 

[std7mag]

Ouch...
I upgraded my spotter last year. After much research, i ended up with a Celestron C70 mini Mak.
Short, fat, light weight, lots of light gathering, uses standard telescope lenses.
I got the lens package with mine, includes different lenses (obviously) and filters.
The blue filter really helps with glare in the morning and evening, if looking towards sun rise or set.
Cloudy overcast days, the yellow filter makes animals really stand out!
I haven't had the opportunity to try it at 600 or 1,000 yards yet. Hope to this spring!
Works great at the local 500 yard range.
And spotting deer/elk/bears at 1,000 plus.

 

[Raythemanroe]

@ 1k Nationals a slurry of spotters were on the line and the Meopta was clearly a step ahead. Conditions were all over the place and everytime I looked through the scopes I was impressed by the Meopta.

https://www.eurooptic.com/meopta-me...QUnxSuyio6SUrHruaZShkTuhvNBsrfnRoCoVQQAvD_BwE



Ray

 

[Toddy]

I can't fault the Kowa 883 prominar. Absolutely stoked with the quality and images I get for digiscoping. Also use it for Fclass and I like it a lot. I have a 20-60 eyepiece but would love to get my hands on a straight 25 or 30 to just use for Fclass.

 

[muleman69]

I bought me a Swaro 80-HD,can't wait to check it out. Hopefully I'm not disappointed

 

[mikeeg02]

I bought me a Swaro 80-HD,can't wait to check it out. Hopefully I'm not disappointed

I can assure you that you wont be disappointed

 

[gunnermhr]

I bought me a Swaro 80-HD,can't wait to check it out. Hopefully I'm not disappointed

You won't be but: Be certain to purchase a high quality tripod and a high quality fluid head, the scope will be worthless without spending some coin on the tripod and head.

I honestly believe any high end optic is just that and it comes down to personal preference, I have a Swaro and really like it but have looked through several other high end spotters side by side and you really have to nitpick to find differences.

 

[muleman69]

You won't be but: Be certain to purchase a high quality tripod and a high quality fluid head, the scope will be worthless without spending some coin on the tripod and head.

I honestly believe any high end optic is just that and it comes down to personal preference, I have a Swaro and really like it but have looked through several other high end spotters side by side and you really have to nitpick to find differences.

What exactly is a fluid head? What scopes were you comparing that were really close to the Swaro?

 

[mikeeg02]

What exactly is a fluid head? What scopes were you comparing that were really close to the Swaro?

The better meopta's, and high end kowa's are comparable. I looked through a friends nightforce spotting scope and I prefer my HD swaro over it.

As far as the fluid heads, I know manfrotto makes them, it could be a trademarked term, but it allows you to make fine adjustments while setting your scope. The fluid heads allow you to loosen the cinch bolts, and they have a glide to them while adjusting, they dont just fall over. If you catch my drift. They are very nice, solid and smooth tripods. The best spotting scope on a flimsy tripod will appear shaky and frustrating to really focus and use the optics you have.

 

[gunnermhr]

What exactly is a fluid head? What scopes were you comparing that were really close to the Swaro?

Kowa and Ziess are also top notch optics, if I were to replace my swaro it'd more than likely be another swaro. Like mikeeg02 said, their customer service gives me no reason to look elsewhere. I have a manfrotto model 701 fluid head which I also really like mounted to an old movie production tripod, its solid as a rock.

I'm fortunate enough to live close to two high end optic dealers, one has a nice area to look for comparing, he'll get anything out you ask. I actually bought the high end nikon, I dont remember the model as it's been several years ago, from him based on reviews, unlike Jeff, I wasn't smart enough to take a target with me, their shop is 45 minutesfrom my house. One look when I got home made me turn around and give back the nikon and buy the swaro. Bullet holes at 500 where much easier to see through the swaro. I believe you chose wisely

 

[Raythemanroe]

You won't be but: Be certain to purchase a high quality tripod and a high quality fluid head, the scope will be worthless without spending some coin on the tripod and head.

I honestly believe any high end optic is just that and it comes down to personal preference, I have a Swaro and really like it but have looked through several other high end spotters side by side and you really have to nitpick to find differences.

You don't need to spend much, I bought a eBay manfrotto head and combine that with a surveyor tri-pod and you have a pretty stable platform. I honestly think it's better than the expensive tripods I see at the range.


Ray

 

[gunnermhr]

You don't need to spend much, I bought a eBay manfrotto head and combine that with a survivor tri-pod and you have a pretty stable platform. I honestly think it's better than the expensive tripods I see at the range.
Ray

I agree, I bought my tripod from PSU surplus for $35 or so, it is however super heavy duty. A walmart special isn't going to cut it. The head I got was new and money well spent, Ebay can be your friend when looking for stuff like this

 

[muleman69]

Kowa and Ziess are also top notch optics, if I were to replace my swaro it'd more than likely be another swaro. Like mikeeg02 said, their customer service gives me no reason to look elsewhere. I have a manfrotto model 701 fluid head which I also really like mounted to an old movie production tripod, its solid as a rock.

I'm fortunate enough to live close to two high end optic dealers, one has a nice area to look for comparing, he'll get anything out you ask. I actually bought the high end nikon, I dont remember the model as it's been several years ago, from him based on reviews, unlike Jeff, I wasn't smart enough to take a target with me, their shop is 45 minutesfrom my house. One look when I got home made me turn around and give back the nikon and buy the swaro. Bullet holes at 500 where much easier to see through the swaro. I believe you chose wisely

What model Swaro did you get?I bought a Manfrotto head with a hand brake on it, handy for panning around looking for game.