Hey guys, I am about to jump in and buy my first Spotting scope. I realistically want to stay under 1K and even more realistically at $600-$800 max. If the step up to 1K gets me that much better of a spotter, Ill do it but, I am not sure I need it.
I live in the Chicago land area so sadly, I have no place to shoot past 600... and realistically the most Ill be shooting is 300. I shoot A LOT of BR .22LR at 50 and 100 and shoot AR 223 loads at 200. That is the majority of my shooting. I will say, I have HORRIBLE eyes so I am not sure if you all think that is impactful.
I am currently considering either a Viper Vortex (I am a huge fan of Vortex optics) but, I am seeing a lot of great things about Kowa. I did see a Kowa TS-611 locally and it seems like a nice deal but... the fact that its an older scope, and it has a smaller objective makes me nervous. Thoughts?
I have read that the Pentax PF80 for 1K is a great buy... the Kowa 82mm TSN-82SV is a fantastic scope, and the Viper HD 20-60 is just something that makes sense as I have a bias to Vortex. Can anyone tell me what the pro and cons are here? What makes most sense for ME? <--- Since this is my first spotter, I am not sure. I do know, I need to make a decision soon though.
I have also thought of buying the used Kowa, and eventually upgrading to the 82SV and just using the eye piece (pretty sure I can do that).
Anyway, all help is so very much appreciated!
I live in the Chicago land area so sadly, I have no place to shoot past 600... and realistically the most Ill be shooting is 300. I shoot A LOT of BR .22LR at 50 and 100 and shoot AR 223 loads at 200. That is the majority of my shooting. I will say, I have HORRIBLE eyes so I am not sure if you all think that is impactful.
I am currently considering either a Viper Vortex (I am a huge fan of Vortex optics) but, I am seeing a lot of great things about Kowa. I did see a Kowa TS-611 locally and it seems like a nice deal but... the fact that its an older scope, and it has a smaller objective makes me nervous. Thoughts?
I have read that the Pentax PF80 for 1K is a great buy... the Kowa 82mm TSN-82SV is a fantastic scope, and the Viper HD 20-60 is just something that makes sense as I have a bias to Vortex. Can anyone tell me what the pro and cons are here? What makes most sense for ME? <--- Since this is my first spotter, I am not sure. I do know, I need to make a decision soon though.
I have also thought of buying the used Kowa, and eventually upgrading to the 82SV and just using the eye piece (pretty sure I can do that).
Anyway, all help is so very much appreciated!