Need some spotting scope advise plz.

T

Teac

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So I need a spotting scope. I want to be able to see .30 cal bullets easily at 150-200m.

I can not find good info about what kind of magnification or scope quality I should get.... I do not need the scope for hunting and things like that. Just for holes in paper.

How much do I need to spend? How much magnification? Which brands/models should I look at?

Even "cheaper" brands seem to run 800-1000....

cheers

Matt
 
If you're on a budget like I was, buy a Barska,they have a large range that are OK for target shooting.
I bought one last year,believe it's a Colorado,20x60,quite happy with it.
 
Test drive one from the store. Ask the sales person to go outside with you to do some spotting. I bought a bushnell on sale for less than 100 bucks. Good enough fer me.
 
You may find the cheaper ones are a waste of money. I had to replace my leupold sequoia or whatever it was I think it was made in Korea. I bought a sightron slll it works ok although I did not get to directly compare it to anything but I looked through a Nikon and a Leica at our local range and I was more impressed by them although it may have just been the conditions. A black target bull may be hard to pick out holes some days even at 100 metres. It seems the extra mag doesn’t help sometimes when contrast is an issue. My 6x24 leupold vx3 atout the same price as my slll spotter seems to do pretty good
 
After much research I picked up a used Redfield spotter from the EE. They have really good reviews and for the price you can’t go wrong. I used it last weekend and was easily able to pick up 100 yard shots from my .17 cal. I was also shooting my .25 cal at 250 yards and was able to see those holes without any problem.
The target I was using were white with orange center, I could see where the black bullseye would be a problem.
 
Magnification is not what you need to see bullet holes, resolution, contrast and image quality is what you will need. Using my nightforce atacr I can see 30 cal bullet holes fairly easily at 300 meters, and it's only a 25X.

Honestly, you will need to take one out of the store, and look around in decent lighting conditions to see what you can spot, and don't skimp on the tripod. Great glass is useless if the spotting scope is constantly jiggling in light wind and you cannot see anything because of it.
 
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A $500 Vortex Diamondback Tactical 5-25 rifle scope is good enough to see those distances. Even the 4-16 is good enough to see holes at 200. Not much power is needed in half decent glass. Maybe your rifle is scope free though...
 
I am looking to buy the best quality spotting scope I can for $500 or less. Can anyone please give me a recommendation? How important is where it is made vs what materials are used? Should I get 60 or 80 mm objectives? Any advice is appreciated.
 
7.62Nato said:
I use a celestron ultima 80. Unless its days with crazy mirage, the glass is amazingly well at its price point for spotting 30cal holes at 500yrds. Fits well within your price range.
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Thank you 7.62Nato. I will research that item. It is an attractive option because I also like star gazing as well.
 
mustang979 said:
Magnification is not what you need to see bullet holes, resolution, contrast and image quality is what you will need. Using my nightforce atacr I can see 30 cal bullet holes fairly easily at 300 meters, and it's only a 25X.

Honestly, you will need to take one out of the store, and look around in decent lighting conditions to see what you can spot, and don't skimp on the tripod. Great glass is useless if the spotting scope is constantly jiggling in light wind and you cannot see anything because of it.
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This. Image quality is far more important than magnification. Our CDN Forces use Leupold Mark 4 12-40 for most all precision work; due to the image quality and ruggedness of the optic. A quality tri-pod is also key.

KGL
 
I was leaning towards a Meopta Meopro for $1700, ending up scoring a First gen Vortex Razor HD 20-60x80mm new off amazon for $1300.
 
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