Recommendations For A Spotting Scope?

A lot of great advice - cost varies significantly ... although I think there are diminishing returns as you get up in price.

I found a used/demo Nikon that works pretty good for the price fwiw...

Re: Kowa...I think they are very good (had one years ago for pistol competition) and lots of folks use them with great satisfaction.

It was mentionned that Kowa camera lens are not that great...I think they (Kowa) may be all over the map in camera lens quality....but they can and have made (branded?) outstanding camera optics....I have an old TLR Kowa with a 4 element tessar type lense that is as good or better than a pair of Rollei TLR's I have - and they are equipped with what many claim to be the sharpest 2 1/4 camera lens ever made..Carl Zeiss f3.5 Planars...fwiw
 
I'm a big fan of the Kowa. The Old Man has one and, while I don't wanna pack it up a mountain, it's a damned fine scope.

You really can't go wrong with a Kowa, Leica or Swarovski.
 
I have a Kowa TSN-1 that works great. A friend bought a Konus this summer and I would put the clarity comparable to my Kowa or maybe a bit better. How it holds out in the long run is yet to be seen, but for $169 US he couldn't go wrong. He could but 4 of these for the price of a new Kowa.
I might look into one of these next year for my daughter to replace her Bushnell Spacemaster ll. The advantage of an angled eye piece when shooting prone, stops you from fighting your position and causes less neck strain.
 
Max Owner said:
The spotting scope would cover all my rifles as opposed to getting a good rifle scope.
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So get a good high power rifle scope and mount it on a one piece base and on a tripod for use with the "other" guns and for hunting as a spotter!

Max Owner said:
If I wait to be able to afford a good scope, I will never get one. Always a gun to be bought..............:(
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I'll take good glass over a gun anyday. Good barrels are a dime a dozen, great barrels are harder to find but out there, but a good scope is another thing, very hard to get a great one. And you do get what you pay for in optics.

You have to see what you are shooting at if you want ot hit it IMO. or another way to say this, you can't hit what you can't see.

Got mine from http://www.jarheadtop.com/kowa.html
Jim Owens in the US years back... exchange was the pits then too so I paid around $1500 CDN (I think...) for the body and a 20-60x and 27 LER eyepieces.
 
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Kodiak99317 said:
I'll take good glass over a gun anyday. Good barrels are a dime a dozen, great barrels are harder to find but out there, but a good scope is another thing, very hard to get a great one. And you do get what you pay for in optics.

You have to see what you are shooting at if you want ot hit it IMO. or another way to say this, you can't hit what you can't see.
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Agreed!!

I think using your rifle scope as a spotting scope when mounted on a rifle is a bad habbit to get into....may have ramifications if practiced during hunting season.....I don't like haveing rifles pointed my way to see what I am, It could lead to a LOUD reply. Spotting scopes and Bino's are for that spotting. Rifle scopes are for shooting, never mix the two applications up.:runaway: I think it has a lot to do with hunting accidents, If you can't take the time to identify what your going to be shooting at, you shouldnt be shooting.

Just my opinion.

I was leaning toward the Swarvoski, but I'm going to have to get eyes on a Kowa just to check it out. Sounds like a great deal. If anyone has a lead on where to get a look at one PM me.
 
Long Range Canuck said:
Agreed!!

I think using your rifle scope as a spotting scope when mounted on a rifle is a bad habbit to get into....may have ramifications if practiced during hunting season.....I don't like haveing rifles pointed my way to see what I am, It could lead to a LOUD reply. Spotting scopes and Bino's are for that spotting. Rifle scopes are for shooting, never mix the two applications up.:runaway: I think it has a lot to do with hunting accidents, If you can't take the time to identify what your going to be shooting at, you shouldnt be shooting.

Just my opinion.

I was leaning toward the Swarvoski, but I'm going to have to get eyes on a Kowa just to check it out. Sounds like a great deal. If anyone has a lead on where to get a look at one PM me.
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Me too, please..................
 
Long Range Canuck said:
Agreed!!

I think using your rifle scope as a spotting scope when mounted on a rifle is a bad habbit to get into....may have ramifications if practiced during hunting season.....I don't like haveing rifles pointed my way to see what I am, It could lead to a LOUD reply. Spotting scopes and Bino's are for that spotting. Rifle scopes are for shooting, never mix the two applications up.:runaway: I think it has a lot to do with hunting accidents, If you can't take the time to identify what your going to be shooting at, you shouldnt be shooting.

Just my opinion.

I was leaning toward the Swarvoski, but I'm going to have to get eyes on a Kowa just to check it out. Sounds like a great deal. If anyone has a lead on where to get a look at one PM me.
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Target shooting ain't hunting!
I see no problems at all using a rifle scope to spot targets, although I don't use them for spotting while hunting.
Let's not get the two things mixed up here, this is a precision forum, right?
Cat
 
I use a Nikon XL 16X45 spotter. Very nice optics except at full mag. I can spot a 30cal hole on white paper at 600+yds if mirage is low. At 200yds, i can easily see the smaller print on those printed targets.

Small and light enough to pack if used for hunting (supposed to be water proof too but haven't been caught in a rain storm with it yet). Exit pupil is a bit small so you have to snuggle up to the scope to get a full view but that view is crisp and sharp.

They are selling for around $450US and lots out there for way less. I have used mine for 5 yrs with zero trouble. Been bounced around in my range box all that time with zero loss of optical quality. It will handle the rigors of hunting just fine.

Another option is the new Nikon EX Action Extreme porro binos (the other action binos are crap). I have a 12X50 and the image quality is simply outstanding. Dirt cheap too. I will look into getting a 16X50 in the future.

I use mine for general glassing and for spotting shooters at LR. I can see the wild grass at 1000m. This is really a best buy if you don't mind the larger format - still quite light.

Nikon ED spotting scopes are supposed to be right up there with the best of the best for much less money. They are being priced w/ eye piece about 1/2 to 2/3 of the Euro brands. I have never looked through one but the reports are very favorable.

The top of the line Nikon binos are still ranked the best in the world (by Birders) and cost about 2/3 to 1/2 the Euro big names. Nikon Camera equipment is some of the best you can buy so they know lenses.

Pentax is another name to keep an eye out for. Hit and miss but when they are good, right up there with the big names. Priced way less too.

Optics cost money. However, the amount you need to pay is dropping fast.

If you don't mind size, or lack of weather proofing, Celestron is an option. Useable optics, also dirt cheap. Find them at London Drugs. Bushnell Spacemaster are supposed to be nice too.

You don't need to spend mega dollars to spot at 200yds.

Jerry
 
I think it depends what you use it for. Is it just going to be used for the range or are you going to be lugging around in the toolies. One of those big honkin Kowas or Zeiss may be fine for highpower on a conventional range but try dragging that son of a whore around in your rucksack with all your other stuff. Kowa, Swarovski, Leica Zeiss always come up. Especially Kowa for some reason. They may be good for a range shoot but they are the size of a space shuttle and are not very practical for field use. I have a Leupold Mark 4spotting scope that has excellent glass and is compact enough to carry around. Again it depends what you use it for. Optics though cost bucks and you get what you pay for. No matter what the purpose is, pay once and be done with it. Your eyes will thank you for it.
 
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