Spotting Scope Recommendations please

Mount Sweetness

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Southern Ontario
Considering purchasing my first spotting scope. But can not get my hands on them and have no experience with them.

Looking for more magnification than my bino's, clear glass, rugged, in a somewhat compact size and weight. At a reasonable price...

Will only be used for long range spotting from the truck, jack rabbits and fox.

Anyone have experience with spotting scopes? Are they much more useful than bino's?

Recommendations...?
 
Compact spotter

The best of these smaller units in the 60mm Elite, I think they retail in the $450.00 range.
Celestron make a super compact one and the are quite a bit cheaper , like $149.00 and they work. Celestron have an Ultima 65mm and it retails in the $199.00 range
Swarovski and Leica and Zeiss all make them but they are well over a $1000.00 dollars.
Leupold spotters in my opinion are over priced, and are not made by Leupold. FS
 
if the prices just quoted gave you sticker shock,then you can pick up a "meade" for like $40.00 at costco.they are usually avail. around summer/fall but can a pain to wait that long for.
they work,of course not like a $1000.00 spotter, but you won't cry if it gets damaged...
 
Anybody else?

Anyone use a Bushnell Spacesaver?

Spacemaster?

Good scopes. The older Bushness Sentry scopes were very good too, better than the newer ones IMO.

Newer isn't always better in optics; coatings are used to make up for less precise grinding and lower quality glass.
 
kowa if you can afford it and if you want the same clear optics at 1/3 the price buy yourself a konus 80mm scope.

Yes indeed! They're very good for the money.
Bushmaster 20-60x60 is a pretty good all-purpose scope too...for even less cash.
Both beat the newer low end Bushnells, but maybe not the older Spacemasters.
I have a sample of each and a higher end scope sitting here right now, and have tried them all side by side and at the range.
 
Spend the money and get a good scope. Your eyes will thank you.

If I was laying my cold-hard out for a new scope I'd be getting a Kowa. I had the chance to look through several at the SCI Convention and have used the 82mm model for competition. For field use I'd probably go with their TSN-604 with either the 20-40x or 20-60x eyepiece or the TSN-774 with the 20-60x eyepiece. They're big scopes, but weigh in around 3 lbs with the eyepiece and offer the best optics you can buy. If money was no object I'd buy their High Lander 30x88mm binoculars. They're 14 lbs and not practical to carry any further than the bench or the line (unless you're real serious), but damn they are the clearest glass I have ever had the (mis?)fortune to look through. Makes m ewant to get my hands on their binoculars to give them a whirl.
 
My Konus KonusSport is supposed to be here this week. Its a 20-60 X 100.
I am told they are good enough to see hits at 1200 yards. I don't know if thats on painted steel or paper. They sell for $329 US + shipping. I'll check back after I get mine, with an update.
 
For spotting out of the truck a Bushnell or Nikon will do you fine. It's not like you are scouring mountains all day for sheep.
 
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