Spotting Scope on sale at CTC

Mr. Friendly said:
well, I bought one for the gits and shiggles of it. taking the bugger back. the mini-tripod had the altitude knob broken upon removal and then very quickly after, the internals of the slow-mo knob busted up. on top of that, not surprisingly the tripod was a piece of garbage.

the FOV the scope had is extremely tight and the only time the image was any good was when the magnification was at it's minimum. the image darkened so much to be intolerable and useless when you zoomed up to it's maximum. it's going back...

that said, the bag the package came into is very nice and would have been useful, had the equipment that accompanied it been worthwhile keeping.

on average, what would you say the weight of your spotting scope be? I'm curious to know, because there are several 80-100mm achromatic and ED telescopes that offer very good value (being I know their quality) for their price. I'm just not sure how well what hunters/outdoorsmen use would stack up against an astronomical device, or visa versa.
Click to expand...

I'm assuming you purchased the celestron version and not the bushmaster version? (especially since you mentioned it comming in a nice bag, which the bushmaster does not)
 
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i actually didn't know CT had rainchecks until you guys mentioned it. i guess i'll go tomorrow(i work till around 9:15 today and i'd get there too close to closing) after work. can't wait. thanks for the suggestion guys.
 
Got the Bushmaster one. Not the greatest tripod but not a bad deal for 50 bucks. It'll do and I won't cry too loudly when I drop it off the bench.
 
Kind of weird how they are mixing and matching between the celestron and the bushmaster. The website shows celestron yet the local flyer shows bushmaster. 2 local stores had the bushmaster but 1 had the celestron. The product numbers are the same for both :confused:

My bushmaster has that funky image shifting problem. When you start turning the focusing knob or go from clockwise to counter clockwise the image shifts from side to side a bit. Its a little annoying. I unscrewed the body for a peek. I could see that the focusing prism sits on a platform that rides on 3 rails. One is the the focusing knob which lifts and lowers the platform as you turn it and the other 2 are just rails to keep it stable. It looks like the rails are a bit too small for the holes in the platform that ride them and there is a tiny bit of play there. So when you go from one direction to another with the focuser, that play relates to a slightly shifting image as the prism moves out of alignment by a few thousands of an inch (as it rides these rails that are a hair too small).

Anyway, I would recommend that if you buy one, take it out in the store and play with the focusing to ensure that it doesn't have this problem and the image doesnt' shift around.
I'm going to exchange mine for another one (when they get more in)
 
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Bushmaster Spotter 206060 is what's written on the side of mine. No model number printed on the box.

Also, for those who have Princess Auto locations nearby, they have a really dandy 22"-5' tripod on sale for about $12.50, starting today.

A nice companion to the Bushmaster scope.
 
Thanks.

Edit: as a side note, the model/type name also seems to indicate the parameters: 20 x 60 x 60. ;)

Second edit: This seems to be an older model indeed, considering what "googling" turns up...;)
 
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Anyone got the Cantire product # of the Bushmaster? The idiots at my local CanTire can't find their....with two hands and a flashlight.

I try to get all the info I can before confusing them with simply asking. (It's way easier to have them look up the stock #, then having them look it up)
 
well i went to can tire after work today(did 3 hours overtime so i got there pretty late) and went to look at the scope cabinets. yup, still none in so i decide to go see if i can get a rain check. right then one of the employees comes and asks if i needed help, and i asked about the scope. he says theyre all sold out, so i'm about to ask if i can get a rain check and he interupts me "oh wait, theres one right there. i forgot to put it away". so now instead of waiting for one, i get one right away. awsome possum.
 
Andrea and I just grabbed one (Bushmaster) each at the CT off Gardiners in Ktown, they were coming off the truck at 3:30ish and they went and dug up one for each of us :)

The lady said 6 came in with 3 more on order or vice versa...

Geoff
 
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