Spotting Scopes,How much magnification to see rock chucks at 1000 yards?

[Phil]

How much magnification do i need to see a rock chuck sized critter at 1000 yards????

Is 60 power enough??

Phil.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I use a 75x but if the mirage is out any at all you may just see a blob that small at any power

 

[rayporter]

i use 25 x binoculars for p dogs. they work like a charm in hot weather at a thousand yds. you can look through them for hours and not be strained.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Cabelas Instinct Euro HD 20-70x spotting scopes are on sale for $1609 right now. Normal price is $2300. Some of the best HD glass available at any price range. Guarantee seeing a rock chuck with my Cabelas spotter at 1K isn't even a challenge for that optic.

60X would be enough power to see them, but I think optical QUALITY is much more important than optical power. A cheap scope on 60X is no good if the glass is milky.

 

[Phil]

The Vortex Razor is $1400 and looking like it might fit the bill nicely.

I like the dual focus on the front of it.

Phil.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

The Vortex Razor is $1400 and looking like it might fit the bill nicely.

I like the dual focus on the front of it.

Phil.

Spend the extra $200 on the Meopta made Cabelas Instinct Euro HD. Its a Meopta S2 HD in Cabelas clothing. It is an AMAZING price for a spotter that will rival or even best the Swarovski HD spotters. The Razor can't compare to the Meopta S2 HD. Trust me, I had a Razor spotting scope before I bought the Meopta spotter. Couldn't be happier with the optical superiority of the Meopta, especially in low light.

 

[billlarson]

How much magnification do i need to see a rock chuck sized critter at 1000 yards????

Is 60 power enough??

Phil.

It`s not so much the power,but the quality of the glass....most people who shoot long range use around 25x....... at 1000 yds. on an "F" class target...the "X" ring is 5" diameter. the spotter used is 2" diameter.quality/price wise you do see a lot more Kowa`s than any other spotting scope....I use a 27x Kowa model 821 and on a clear day can see the white lines on the target.

 

[Phil]

It`s not so much the power,but the quality of the glass....most people who shoot long range use around 25x....... at 1000 yds. on an "F" class target...the "X" ring is 5" diameter. the spotter used is 2" diameter.quality/price wise you do see a lot more Kowa`s than any other spotting scope....I use a 27x Kowa model 821 and on a clear day can see the white lines on the target.

Thanks Bill.

 

[284winner]

All depends on the quality of glass. I use my 20x Mark IV scope to 1000 on Chuck's and see them very clearly. I have a leupold seqioua spotting scope that's not even close to as clear as my 6.5 - 20 scope. Glass quality means everything.

 

[DaveTooley]

I have a set of Kowa 77's put together as binoculars. Varmint hunting I use the 20X eye pieces. I have no trouble seeing rock chucks out to 2000 meters which is the longest shot I've taken. It all about resolution not magnification. My Wild range finder is only 12X but the resolution is great and I can range distances that far on small objects.

 

[Nvreloader]

And another thing to be aware of,
during the heat of the day,
I find anything over 45x a problem, (heat distorsion)
I use 25-30x and have no problem seeing them,
longest 1S1K, so far has been 875+ yds.

Tia,
Don

 

[Shaggy357]

My scope is a Compact 12-36x. A few weeks ago I was having to turn it down in power because of the mirage. Still no problem spotting chucks 1200 plus. My Leupold scope is 8-25x and I had no problem keeping the crosshairs on the chucks at 850. Too bad the wind and shooter didn't cooperate....

Steve

 

[CaptainMal]

There is no real answer.

Last Saturday the mirage came up at our 1,000 yard gong shoot. All the March and Nightforce competition scopes in the world would not work. The gongs literally disappeared in the blur and dance of the shifting mirage. Even if you hit one by luck, it was hard or impossible to see if there was a hit. This is not uncommon to experience.

You need reasonable conditions to see. if not, it would take a target camera system. Power is not the complete issue. Neither is quality if you don't have conditions.

 

[opticsauthority]

How much magnification do i need to see a rock chuck sized critter at 1000 yards????

Is 60 power enough??

Phil.

For 1000 yards I would only prefer Nightforce Scope. You don't need to worry about conditions at all. It works just fine. Go for Nightforce BEAST 5-25×56

 

[Yote Hunter]

I use Steiner 25 x 80mm Binoculars. Gave $600 for them new about 6-8 yrs ago. Easily spot groundhogs at 1000. Have been used for spots out to a mile.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I can "see" rock chucks at 1K with my 10X binoculars. But if you want to spot shots for a friend that might hit the dirt in order to make a correction, then 60X would be fine.

 

[Eric Leonard]

I have a 12-40x60 Leupold Gold Ring that to my eyes is very good,,and it is compact enough to carry and actually use,,I have spotted shots on white steel with it at 1600 yards and 12 ounce coke cans at 1,000 are easy,,

there is lots better top end spotters but for my use the 12-40 Leupold works pretty well,,a friend of mine has the same scope with a mil reticle that comes in handy also,,

 

[carlsbad]

How much magnification do i need to see a rock chuck sized critter at 1000 yards????

Is 60 power enough??

Phil.

The useful magnification depends on the "seeing" as astronomers put it. Air is stiller and more conducive to approaching experimental limits at night. So generally what you can see doesn't even remotely approach the optical capability of your expensive spotting scope. Sunlight driven thermals and mirage limit you to perhaps 40x. The other day, with 77x on a cloudy morning I was able to see .243 bullet holes at 600 yds. That's about the limit for daytime seeing.

I use a celestron 5" birding scope. Take the money you save and buy a couple of nice eyepieces, however the one that comes with it is pretty good at 40x and that's what I use for most spotting in daylight.

Then spend some money on a good tripod.

Add in a nice fluid head and you've got a really enjoyable scope.

You do give up the variable power function. Although nice, it is always a compromise. Astronomers hardly ever use variable focal length eyepieces. Your best performance is always a single focal length eyepiece.

--Jerry

PS If you do go with the celestron birding scope, learn to collimate it. Easy to do and essential to top performance. again, speaking from astronomical experience.

 

[Phil]

Jerry,

Is there a variable power eye piece, or do they not offer one for the C5 celestron???

Phil.

 

[carlsbad]

Yes they offer one and I bought the celestron one and was very disappointed. These birding and astronomical scopes take standard eyepieces with 1 1/4" barrels. So there are lots of variable eyepieces available but read reviews as I haven't looked at them carefully. Televue is good stuff and they used to make a variable focal length eyepiece. It may cost as much as the scope. The quality variable power eyepiece is a significant portion of the cost of a $3000 spotting scope. --Jerry