For a number of years I have simply (and stubbornly) refused to spend much money on spotting scopes as I wanted to pour my optics budget into good glass for my rifles. Now that my rifles are fairly well-glassed, I decided to invest in a decent spotting scope to replace my 'good value but just mediocre quality' Meade-brand scope that I bought some years ago from Costco. I was determined however to stay under $1K for the purchase so that eliminated some of the usual contenders but I felt I should be able to get a 'good enough for me' piece of gear for under a grand.
I chose to make the purchase this past weekend as I was in Kamloops for work and, more importantly, a F-Class match which would provide a good opportunity to look through and compare spotters. In the Wholesale Sports store I looked at a variety of mid priced scopes and, still being reluctant to spend much money on a spotter, initially chose the Leupold Sequoia. That scope was returned the following morning and didn't even make it to the range as it really wasn't much superior to what I already had. Frankly, I was very disappointed with this lower-end Leupold and searched about the store for better product.....
After upgrading to the Vortex Viper HD I went off to the match. The Vortex was a huge improvement over my old spotter and I felt fully satisfied that I had gotten what I needed at a very reasonable price.......until...... yes, I started to look through some other scopes on the line. While the Vortex was as good (or better) than some, I felt that it wasn't quite what I wanted - close but not quite.
So, what did I decide upon ? Well, I had previously spent a lot of time behind a buddy's Pentax 80ED so I was kind of biased in that direction anyway and looking through several more of these on the line and comparing it to the Viper and some other brand names I decided to go the same route. Order made via CGN sponsor Cameraland last night
I didn't quite stay under $1K but came pretty close and feel that for the money I am getting an excellent spotter.
I chose to make the purchase this past weekend as I was in Kamloops for work and, more importantly, a F-Class match which would provide a good opportunity to look through and compare spotters. In the Wholesale Sports store I looked at a variety of mid priced scopes and, still being reluctant to spend much money on a spotter, initially chose the Leupold Sequoia. That scope was returned the following morning and didn't even make it to the range as it really wasn't much superior to what I already had. Frankly, I was very disappointed with this lower-end Leupold and searched about the store for better product.....
After upgrading to the Vortex Viper HD I went off to the match. The Vortex was a huge improvement over my old spotter and I felt fully satisfied that I had gotten what I needed at a very reasonable price.......until...... yes, I started to look through some other scopes on the line. While the Vortex was as good (or better) than some, I felt that it wasn't quite what I wanted - close but not quite.
So, what did I decide upon ? Well, I had previously spent a lot of time behind a buddy's Pentax 80ED so I was kind of biased in that direction anyway and looking through several more of these on the line and comparing it to the Viper and some other brand names I decided to go the same route. Order made via CGN sponsor Cameraland last night
I didn't quite stay under $1K but came pretty close and feel that for the money I am getting an excellent spotter.
