Leupold, Bushnell, US Optics etc (Spotting Scope)

pazzo

pazzo

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i'm looking for a spotting scope over $1000, but under $2000, and able to spot objects for 1000 yd shots. the scopes i have in mind (so far) are the:

Bushnell Elite 20-60x80 (made in Japan, unlike ALL the other Chinese Bushnell's)
Elite20-60x80.jpg


US Optics 15-40x60
USOptics15-40x60.gif


Leupold 12-40x60 Tactical
12-40x60tactical.jpg


all three of these scopes are under $2k.

i had a chance to view the Bushnell Elite the other day, and was pleasantly surprised at the clarity (w/ my limited experience in these things). i took a look at a similar Swarovski model, and it seemed very nice, albeit out of my price range.
I was viewing some small details about 500 yds away, and the swarovski seemed somewhat comparable to the bushnell elite in picking out the same small details on street signs, etc...

i have not viewed the Leupold or US Optics scopes yet. the only problem i have is that they only go to 60x. that just doesn't powerful enough for what i'm looking for!??
 
IMHO out of the three you have listed I would go with the Leupold.....BUT

COnsider taking a look at the Zeiss Diascopes. Wholesale, Russells, and Cabelas/Sir all have them for right at or under $2K.

Buying a spotting scope or any type of optics is really supposed to be a one time deal so spend the extra money and get something decent.

I own one of the Zeiss Victory Diascopes in 15-45X65 and love it. Ive used it for Alberta deer hunting, an Alaskan Moose hunt, and a Yukon caribou hunt in the yukon all with great success. Believe me in that I have done my research before I bought this guy and hands down its the best scope on the market for the money. You could go up to a Swarovski HD model but ive looked through them and the extra $1000 atop the price of the Zeiss and Leica....its just not worth it

Also could I ask what exactly you need 60x or above magnification for? Ive used the 20-60x85 in the Zeiss while on an Alaskan Moose hunt and you really need a sturdy tripod, a calm day, and low heat currents to get the most out of a 60x image. YOu can forget about using one of those backpack style tripods or a window mount to justify having a scope that goes up 60X magnification plus.


JMHO
 
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jobbass said:
Get the Leupold but the HD version, so at high magnification you don't see a blury image.
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:eek:
Are you serious seeing a target a max magnification is not always possible this depends on the weather conditions. BTW I have looked thru the 3 that pazzo posted.The US Optics offers a far superior optical clarity than the Bushnell or the Leupold .Hell my Leupold MKIV scopes have better optical clarity than the Leupold line up of spotting scopes.
I agree that there are better units out there like the Zies ,Lieca ,Kowa Swazforski, Nikon
 
Savage said:
:eek:
Are you serious seeing a target a max magnification is not always possible this depends on the weather conditions. BTW I have looked thru the 3 that pazzo posted.The US Optics offers a far superior optical clarity than the Bushnell or the Leupold .Hell my Leupold MKIV scopes have better optical clarity than the Leupold line up of spotting scopes.
I agree that there are better units out there like the Zies ,Lieca ,Kowa Swazforski, Nikon
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Its funny that you say that. We were at Genessee shooting last winter and had 3 spotting scopes being used, Zeiss, Swarovski, and a Leupold Mark 4. The Leupold performed the best and that was the general consensus of the 10 plus guys shooting. The high end Zeiss is actually an issued work scope, crapped out previously and was out of commission for 4 months while the Leupold worked like a charm. Go figure.
 
Well I have used the Leupold MK 4 spotting scope and I can honestly say that there optics are garbage when compared to there MK IV rifle scopes .I have used the Kowa,Us Optics and Ziess they are better scopes than the Leupold in all areas .The Leupold is way over priced it should IMO be a 600 spotting scope. The only issue I have with the US optics is Eye relief there is simply not enough
 
Savage said:
Well I have used the Leupold MK 4 spotting scope and I can honestly say that there optics are garbage when compared to there MK IV rifle scopes .I have used the Kowa,Us Optics and Ziess they are better scopes than the Leupold in all areas .The Leupold is way over priced it should IMO be a 600 spotting scope. The only issue I have with the US optics is Eye relief there is simply not enough
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That is your opinion and you are entitled to it. The Zeiss we had cost twice as much as the Leupold and was no better, especially when it was out of service for 4 months. It took that long for it to get repaired. It also depends what you are using the scope for, I have used Kowas that were huge and were fine for a conventional range (Camp Perry ) however as a tactical scope used in the field it is useless. I have yet to see any police or military sniper deploy with any Kowa scope, again depends on it's intended use. You know what they say, opinions are like #######s, everybody has one.
 
EC said:
. I have yet to see any police or military sniper deploy with any Kowa scope,
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But then again they buy from the lowest bidder,I seem to remember that not long ago most CF sniper teams were using the Bushnell Space Master spotting scopes. I know that decision was driven by unit pricing as does today when police depts or military buy gear for there teams.
 
Savage said:
But then again they buy from the lowest bidder,I seem to remember that not long ago most CF sniper teams were using the Bushnell Space Master spotting scopes. I know that decision was driven by unit pricing as does today when police depts or military buy gear for there teams.
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They now use the Mark 4 with a Cdn designed reticle. Go figure. I recently attended the CISC in Gagetown, there were various spotting scopes there but all the ones used for field use by all competitors was the the Mark 4. This included police sniper teams and military snipers from around the world, including snipers from the Royal Marines, Ireland, Latvian SF Snipers etc. These boys had top of the line high tech equipment including rifles, optics, night vision, ti binocular/rangefinders, I could go on and on but they all used Mark 4's, call me crazy. As I said previously the Zeiss that crapped out was an issued scope that cost almost twice as much as the Leupold. So the argument that the decision was driven by unit pricing is wrong, if that was the case we would have bought a $300 piece of crap. I highly doubt a Timberwolf and a S&B Scope was purchased because it was from the lowest bidder...
 
EC compare the optical image between the S&B scope and the Issue MK IV spotters I am sure that the S&B will out perform the Leupold in any condition.
FWIW I was told by Korth Agencies that they do not work on MK IV scope and that they are to be returned to Leupold in the US for any work For those lowly civilians that means they have to get an Export Permit from Foreign affairs in Canada and an Import Permit from the US State Dept to get the scope into the US for repairs .But wait it gets better after your scope is repaired you need to get a DFIAC permit and US State Dept export permit to get your MK IV scope home at the way the US government is operating each phase can take on average 6-8 weeks plus repair time say 1 week that's 13-17 weeks not bad for traveling across one border so 3-4 months of down time for the Leupold MK IV vs 4 months or less than the Zeiss
BTW I highly doubt the CF paid Ziess $2000.00 per unit as for your claim it took 4 months I highly suspect it sat in the supply for 2 of those 4 months just knowing how the system works.
 
Savage said:
EC compare the optical image between the S&B scope and the Issue MK IV spotters I am sure that the S&B will out perform the Leupold in any condition.
FWIW I was told by Korth Agencies that they do not work on MK IV scope and that they are to be returned to Leupold in the US for any work For those lowly civilians that means they have to get an Export Permit from Foreign affairs in Canada and an Import Permit from the US State Dept to get the scope into the US for repairs .But wait it gets better after your scope is repaired you need to get a DFIAC permit and US State Dept export permit to get your MK IV scope home at the way the US government is operating each phase can take on average 6-8 weeks plus repair time say 1 week that's 13-17 weeks not bad for traveling across one border so 3-4 months of down time for the Leupold MK IV vs 4 months or less than the Zeiss
BTW I highly doubt the CF paid Ziess $2000.00 per unit as for your claim it took 4 months I highly suspect it sat in the supply for 2 of those 4 months just knowing how the system works.
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You will have to ask these teams why the use the equipment they do but they all used Mark 4's. I am not saying there are not other good scopes out there, its just that every team which were from around the world all used the same one, most of which could use any scope they want. Also, you send a Mark 4 scope to Korth, if they can't fix it in house, they will replace it. Phil from P&D indicated this before in the past as well. There is no 3-4 months wait. A friend recently had a Mark 4 riflescope that had a permanent fleck on the lens, sent it to Korth and they replaced it with a new one, turnaround time less than 2 weeks. I also never said it was the CF who purchased the Zeiss and as a result didn't sit in supply for 2 of those 4 months. It was sent by courier and did take 4 months to get back.
 
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