Best value ( Chinese ) spotting scope

i have 2 old bushnel in 45x ....got a 60x eye piece for the one....look for an older one for 200$ and your worries are over or go to cabelas or some where ...look through some at the end of the store or ask to go outside and view road signs at distance tune them in at 200 yds good luck have fun don the older ones are very good out to 200 yds on 25 cal holes
 
Buck1950 said:
Proshow - My 'concern' is that a person can buy much better for the same money. "V" has a 'rep' for good warranty results, BUT how do they get that 'rep'? By having 'many' warranty claims ! Many other manufacturers have the 'same' Lifetime Warranty, but you don't 'hear about' all the claims 'dealt with' because there aren't that many claims. JMO and what I've read. I have 2x $700 Athlons and a Vortex and a few others, and I've NOT had any warranty claims . . . Yet. And the "V" I got used for Less than Half-price, not because I was looking for one. It was 'too good a deal'. :rolleyes:
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Fair enough man . I think I’m going to go with a Leupold spotter
 
coyoteshooter said:
i have 2 old bushnel in 45x ....got a 60x eye piece for the one....look for an older one for 200$ and your worries are over or go to cabelas or some where ...look through some at the end of the store or ask to go outside and view road signs at distance tune them in at 200 yds good luck have fun don the older ones are very good out to 200 yds on 25 cal holes
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Have a bushnell model you recommend I should look for ?
 
I picked up a Vortex Crossfire HD spotting scope during one of Prophet River's open box/demo sales and I've been very happy with it. I have had several Vortex products (some of them are 15+ years old and have never needed to use their warranty).

There are good deals to be had if you wait for demo models, slight blemishes, or good used spotting scopes to show up on the EE.
 
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homer76 said:
I picked up a Vortex Crossfire HD spotting scope during one of Prophet River's open box/demo sales and I've been very happy with it. I have had several Vortex products (some of them are 15+ years old and have never needed to use their warranty).

There are good deals to be had if you wait for demo models, slight blemishes, or good used spotting scopes to show up on the EE.
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Right on , im a new member . How long does it take for me to
Be able to purchase something on here or even sell
Something myself ?
 
sillymike said:
Celestron spotting scopes are pretty good.
- Had the chance to play with one of their Regal M2, while birding... if I didn't know any better, I'd say it was pretty darn close to my Pentax PF80... as a bonus, they accept 1.25" astro eyepieces.
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Cool! I was looking at Pentax on eBay . Are the older models a good option? Would you recommend that before an entry level vortex , athlon, Hawke , Leupold etc ?
 
If I was buying a used spotting scope I would look at an older Kowa, ( or Spacemaster made by Kowa), Pentax, or Nikon in that order. I would buy one of these before a new cheap Chinese scope. A angled eye piece scope is easier on the neck when glassing any more than 5 minutes.
Fixed 10x, 15x or 20x eyepieces usually offer more eye relief than zoom eyepieces.
 
It really depends what are your need (and expectation).
- The Celestron Ultima a not bad, but I'm pretty sure you are stuck with their zoom eyepiece...
- I'd look for a Regal, or if you browse market place, there are always interesting stuff turning up.

Personally, once you've played with quality fixed eyepiece, it's hard to go back to a zoom. (you'll lose of FOV/eye relief). 25x LER is probably the one I used the most.

- I used to have an older Kowa spotting scope, and something "happened" to my eyepiece... before the Internet-days, getting a replacement was kind of a challenge...
- Probably still have a few Spacemaster laying around, they were good enough for pistol shooting (20y-50y)... The wife was using a 20 (or maybe 22x) eyepiece... and when we were mostly shooting indoors (winter league) I'd use a 15x eyepiece... that is, until the wife tried it wanted one of her own. Being the nice guy, I just gave her mine... thinking that I'd just buy another... Long story short, we stopped shooting bullseye before I found another one... I have since learn that the Opticron HR eyepiece work, and are supposed to be real nice...

Anyway, that's the reason why I went with the Pentax, 1.25" eyepiece easy to come buy... and star-watchers (like birder) can be picky about.

For your budget, if you don't need something waterproof. The Kowa TSN-1 can be had for reasonable $ from Japan. There's at least two local birders that went that route and are happy with their purchase.
- While ED glass are nice, if you're not into birding, use it in low light... we've done without it for quite some time...

Just to throw another wrench in the discussion. Scout the bird forums.
 
sillymike said:
It really depends what are your need (and expectation).
- The Celestron Ultima a not bad, but I'm pretty sure you are stuck with their zoom eyepiece...
- I'd look for a Regal, or if you browse market place, there are always interesting stuff turning up.

Personally, once you've played with quality fixed eyepiece, it's hard to go back to a zoom. (you'll lose of FOV/eye relief). 25x LER is probably the one I used the most.

- I used to have an older Kowa spotting scope, and something "happened" to my eyepiece... before the Internet-days, getting a replacement was kind of a challenge...
- Probably still have a few Spacemaster laying around, they were good enough for pistol shooting (20y-50y)... The wife was using a 20 (or maybe 22x) eyepiece... and when we were mostly shooting indoors (winter league) I'd use a 15x eyepiece... that is, until the wife tried it wanted one of her own. Being the nice guy, I just gave her mine... thinking that I'd just buy another... Long story short, we stopped shooting bullseye before I found another one... I have since learn that the Opticron HR eyepiece work, and are supposed to be real nice...

Anyway, that's the reason why I went with the Pentax, 1.25" eyepiece easy to come buy... and star-watchers (like birder) can be picky about.

For your budget, if you don't need something waterproof. The Kowa TSN-1 can be had for reasonable $ from Japan. There's at least two local birders that went that route and are happy with their purchase.
- While ED glass are nice, if you're not into birding, use it in low light... we've done without it for quite some time...

Just to throw another wrench in the discussion. Scout the bird forums.
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I’m interested in the Pentax , are they waterproof ? Because I would like to use it in the bush aswell. I was looking at a kowa tsn-1 on eBay
 
maynard said:
If I was buying a used spotting scope I would look at an older Kowa, ( or Spacemaster made by Kowa), Pentax, or Nikon in that order. I would buy one of these before a new cheap Chinese scope. A angled eye piece scope is easier on the neck when glassing any more than 5 minutes.
Fixed 10x, 15x or 20x eyepieces usually offer more eye relief than zoom eyepieces.
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Thanks for the info ! Any older kowa models you are recommending ? There was a user on here that was offering me a space master 2 spotter, is this the same one your talking about ?
 
Proshow said:
I’m interested in the Pentax , are they waterproof ? Because I would like to use it in the bush aswell. I was looking at a kowa tsn-1 on eBay
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Yes they are... if you're going to use it on rainy days, you might want to double check that the eyepiece you buy for it will also be water resistant.

As far as angled body VS straight body, it depends on how you'll mostly use the scope.
- In the prone position, angled is easier
- Sitting/standing, unless you've spent lots of time with an angled body... finding the stuff you want to look at, it usually faster with a straight body. (Make sure you have a sturdy tripod, that can bring the scope up to eye level. Bigger scope + higher magnification will amplify any vibration/movement).
- Another advantage of a straight body is when you're using it when it rains/drizzle, it's easier to keep your eyepiece dry...
 
sillymike said:
Yes they are... if you're going to use it on rainy days, you might want to double check that the eyepiece you buy for it will also be water resistant.

As far as angled body VS straight body, it depends on how you'll mostly use the scope.
- In the prone position, angled is easier
- Sitting/standing, unless you've spent lots of time with an angled body... finding the stuff you want to look at, it usually faster with a straight body. (Make sure you have a sturdy tripod, that can bring the scope up to eye level. Bigger scope + higher magnification will amplify any vibration/movement).
- Another advantage of a straight body is when you're using it when it rains/drizzle, it's easier to keep your eyepiece dry...
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Great info thank you .
I plan on just using it at the range to start , I’m guessing most people use a straight when sitting on the bench. It would be nice to bring it hunting but where I’ve been going lately it’s thick bush and Binos serve me better. Makes me wonder if I need a high quality spotter now
 
The sx-2 alpine is pretty good. Better than the vortex and same warranty. Waiting on my olin case and phone mount, but worth it. Basspro in Calgary had them on sale for $600. A bit heavier, and all the way zoomed in is when they lack, as with all lower end spotters. Still worth the purchase.
 
Proshow - Type of spotter depends on your use and how the range is set up. At mine we have 2-sided tables but it's never very busy so I can spread out everything. I use my Celestron Cavalry scope (above post) on a tripod beside the bench. It's Angled and the angle is adjustable via a 'ring', plus the tripod is fully adjustable as well. I normally have it a bit closer than in this pic, but I just have to lean over. The rifle is CZ VMTR and my scope is an Athlon Argos 8-34x56 FFP so I can usually see the holes anyway but the spotter can give my a tighter view if I want it. The range goes to 180-yds.Range 9-10-23 CZ-VMTR.jpg
 
Bretzky08 said:
The sx-2 alpine is pretty good. Better than the vortex and same warranty. Waiting on my olin case and phone mount, but worth it. Basspro in Calgary had them on sale for $600. A bit heavier, and all the way zoomed in is when they lack, as with all lower end spotters. Still worth the purchase.
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Thanks for the insight ! Do you think you can see bullet holes on paper at 300 yard with it ? Curious what you think makes it better then the vortex ?
 
Buck1950 said:
Proshow - Type of spotter depends on your use and how the range is set up. At mine we have 2-sided tables but it's never very busy so I can spread out everything. I use my Celestron Cavalry scope (above post) on a tripod beside the bench. It's Angled and the angle is adjustable via a 'ring', plus the tripod is fully adjustable as well. I normally have it a bit closer than in this pic, but I just have to lean over. The rifle is CZ VMTR and my scope is an Athlon Argos 8-34x56 FFP so I can usually see the holes anyway but the spotter can give my a tighter view if I want it. The range goes to 180-yds.View attachment 1126102
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Nice setup . I just need something for the range but it would be nice to use to look around in the bush
 
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