any good spotting scopes recommendation?

[JQIAN]

I found there are not a lot discussions here about spotting scopes, which is what I am looking for these days.
The main usage of the scope will be at the range looking at 300 to 500 yards bullet holes. Of course, occasionally I would like to use it for field trips watching birds or viewing stars at night.
Ideally the power will be within 20-60X range. I don't mind a bit lower, i.e. 50X, but just want to know if anything around 45X is good enough to spot a bird 1000 yard away?
As for the objective lens size, it should be minimum 60mm I guess. Ideally the bigger the better, but the portability is also a concern so I would not go over anything larger than 80mm.
For the brand I have researched a range of different brands within my affordable range, such as Vortex Razer, Swarovski, Howa and such.
The price range would be something around 2500 to 4000 CAD.

Thanks for the suggestions in advance.

 

[Mik123]

You can't go wrong with a Kowa prominair 880 series. Birders and target shooters rank it highly. It should be within your budget. I have a 553 model for hunting and it's fantastic.

 

[maynard]

Seeing bullet holes at 300 is possible under ideal light conditions with zero mirage. Never seen bullet holes at 500 but I am running a 25 year old Kowa TSN-1. There is better glass out there these days but seeing bullets hole at 500 would be a tall order. Check out Pelee Wings for everything spotting scope with the best prices in Canada. You will also need a very solid scope stand. Also check out Leica, Zeiss and Pentax scopes.

 

[JQIAN]

You can't go wrong with a Kowa prominair 880 series. Birders and target shooters rank it highly. It should be within your budget. I have a 553 model for hunting and it's fantastic.

Yeah, I checked a friend's Kowa TSN 883 the other day. It is phenomenal however huge. I am tempted to 553 though, nice little cute also very capable. Let me see if I can get one sub $2000 I will go for it

 

[njlondon]

[h=1]TSN-773 77mm Angled Spotting Scope - Kowa[/h]Buy once, cry once.
However when you add the eyepiece it is well over your budget.
It is a once and forever purchase.

 

[JQIAN]

[h=1]TSN-773 77mm Angled Spotting Scope - Kowa[/h]Buy once, cry once.
However when you add the eyepiece it is well over your budget.
It is a once and forever purchase.

I decided to go with Swarovski 80mm HD + 25-50 wide angel eyepiece.
With tax all in about $4k

 

[JQIAN]

I decided to go with Swarovski 80mm HD + 25-50 wide angel eyepiece.
With tax all in about $4k

I ended up upgrade again to Swarovski ATX modular 65mm + the eyepiece.
So it's 65mm and 25-60 power. Hope this investment, which is worth more than 4K, won't disappoint me.
My thinking going with ATX is that I can upgrade to bigger objective lens and magnifications in the future easily.

 

[Ian Robertson]

I bought a Pentax. I looked through Leica etc and none of them impressed me. I took one look through a Pentax and bought it the next day. Your expectations will never be met. You will see a bird at 1000yds but not the breed. Bullet holes at 300 depending on the light and holes the same at 500. Once, at Bisley, my coach was plotting my shots before the target came up at 500! That was an old Spacemaster 45. I have one the same and it is quite usable for fullbore tr. I bought the Pentax because the Spacemaster is far from water proof.