Spotting scope choices

tribal

tribal

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I have gotten myself a tikka t3 and set it up to start doing some decent shooting and I went out to the range and realized that anything over 150 yards I would need a new spotting scope. My idea will be to do minimum of 200 yards and average of 300 yard shooting

Will I be disappointed with a 45 power spotting scope

This is the one I am thinking about buying

http://chwkdart.com/products-page/optics-spotting-scopes/spotting-scope-1-duplicate-duplicate

Thanks
 
Quality of the optics is more important than the magnification. The targets that you shoot, and the calibers that you shoot are also factors. If you are trying to see small caliber bullet holes in a black bullseye, at 300 yards, you likely won't be very happy with the spotting scope that you are considering. If you use the orange colored targets with a white background,you might be to see the bullet holes well enough at 300 yards. In any case, if you want to be able to see most bullet holes, in most targets at 300 yards, I would be looking at a better quality scope, and a better quality tripod.
 
My first spotting scope was the first 12-40x60 scope sold by Leupold, and I thought that it was good scope, way back when I purchased it. A couple of years ago, I replaced it with a Kowa TSN 883, and all of a sudden the Leupold didn't seem at all acceptable. However, the Kowa TSN 883, most definitely isn't within most people's budget for a spotting scope. Kowa does however, make some very good scopes , that are much more affordable.
 
Good to know, km going to pass on this scope and maybe raise my budget - what would be minimum magnification for 300 yards? Or is it mostly about quality?
 
15-45 or 60 is a good magnification. As mentioned before at those macnification the quality of the scope is extremely important. There is options out there, Kowa, Swarovski, Meopta etc.
 
oI bought a leupold spotting scope one of their cheaper ones. It has a green ring on it i forget the model. I think it is made in korea and the tripod and case are chinese. The tripod and case ar ok but the spotting scope sucks. If i use a black bull target i have difficulty seeing the holes sometimes i cant. I lloked through a nikon at the same targets, much better. I dont think the nikon was really expensive. At 100 yards i mean.
 
When it comes to any glass, better glass is always a good idea. Scopes, camera lenses etc. The better the glass, the better the image you'll see. Resale is also a factor.
 
gaetoune said:
15-45 or 60 is a good magnification. As mentioned before at those macnification the quality of the scope is extremely important. There is options out there, Kowa, Swarovski, Meopta etc.
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Swarovski is about best, Meopta second, then Leica and Kowa. But then you are literally splitting hairs.
 
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Swarovski is about best, Meopta second, then Leica and Kowa. But then you are literally splitting hairs.
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To your eye perhaps. I compared the Kowa TSN883 side by side with the Swarovski 80HD, and I prefer the Kowa. So did other people that compared the two scopes.
 
stubblejumper said:
My first spotting scope was the first 12-40x60 scope sold by Leupold, and I thought that it was good scope, way back when I purchased it. A couple of years ago, I replaced it with a Kowa TSN 883, and all of a sudden the Leupold didn't seem at all acceptable. However, the Kowa TSN 883, most definitely isn't within most people's budget for a spotting scope. Kowa does however, make some very good scopes , that are much more affordable.
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I agree the Kowa is very good. I have a Leupold Mark 4 12-40 x 60 spotter with a TMR reticle which is also good for what its designed for. I have used the Kowa as well and would be much better on a static range but the Leupold is much better for field use. Try packing the Kowa in your pack or use it for estimating range or calling corrections. I think it boils down to what you are using it for but try to buy the best you can afford when it comes to glass. Mind you I paid $1800 for the Mark 4 5 yrs ago and they are now more which also isn't what you call cheap either I guess.
 
peterdobson said:
The new Nightforce is a top scope and then there is a Hensoldt spotter and Sightron for best bang for buck.
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Peter,
I have NF glass on my rifles but I think they are limited somewhat with their lack of scopes with FFP. For the life of me I can't understand why NF would offer a spotting scope w/o a reticle. It would be interesting what they have to say at this yrs SHOT Show or if they will be eventually offering a spotter w/ a reticle.
 
Took Hungrys advice and picked up a Kowa 663 (great scope) with a 25 power eyepiece for our club .... and I got a rayvin tripod for it as well .....well made equipment but not cheap.
 
Try packing the Kowa in your pack or use it for estimating range or calling corrections.
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Rather than estimate range with a spotting scope, I prefer to use a laser rangefinder, which is a much more accurate tool, for that application. It is also much more compact, and much quicker to range with, than having to set up, and dial in a spotting scope.
 
tribal said:
I have gotten myself a tikka t3 and set it up to start doing some decent shooting and I went out to the range and realized that anything over 150 yards I would need a new spotting scope. My idea will be to do minimum of 200 yards and average of 300 yard shooting

Will I be disappointed with a 45 power spotting scope

This is the one I am thinking about buying

http://chwkdart.com/products-page/optics-spotting-scopes/spotting-scope-1-duplicate-duplicate

Thanks
Click to expand...

It always pays to try to think ahead. Is there a chance you will want to use the spotter for hunting? If so, will you be weight conscious? Is there a possibility you might want to get into digiscoping?

In it's price bracket, the Kowa is deservedly touted, however the issue with 80+mm class scopes is that they are heavy/bulky for hunting applications. If you do not plan on packing it into the mountains, then an 80mm scope is great. However there are reasons why the vast majority of professional guides and mountain hunters use the Swarovski 65mm spotters: extremely portable, durable, outstanding optics for viewing/digiscoping, and the highest mag range in its class (60x).
 
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