spotting scope vs ranging binos. which first?

[TT1900]

I hadn’t really thought of the Kowa. I’ve seen the name occasionally but never really checked them out. Is it really comparable to a swaro? It seems inexpensive. Warranty? And can I use a reticle?

between kowa and razor for similar specs/magnification/objective which would you choose?

My immediate use is I want to see bullet holes at 200m. Then when I move I’d like to be able to work with it up to about 500 on my own land hopefully. And I want to do some 1000 yard stuff through Ora sometime soon.

Short answer...it depends.

Long answer; the perceived image quality has as much to do with the actual scope as it does the environment and individual user. If you’re using it for 200yds in broad daylight, they’ll all work and you likely won’t notice large differences. 1000yds at dawn or dusk, flat light, in haze, etc is a whole different game. Age and your eyes natural ability also play a role...generally younger eyes and those with perfect natural vision more easily adapt and don’t notice as much difference. Even with all factors being equal, two different people will perceive things differently.

Is the Kowa on par with the Swaro? In a technical sense, maybe. Which Kowa and which Swaro are you comparing? But from the users perspective only you can decide that. Don’t be fooled by all the marketing. There are very few manufacturers of optical glass, so most scope manufacturers are buying from the same sources. To a point you get what you pay for. After that you’re also paying for a name.

The reason I recommend PeleeWings is they will pull out the scopes and let you view them side by side - outdoors. Additionally their primary clientele are birdwatchers and stargazers, folks who forget more in a day than most gun folks learn all year about optics.

As to which I would buy, the Razor or Kowa? I use a Kowa 663. I have no idea about warranty as I haven’t had anything go wrong. Can’t dispute that Vortex stands behind their products...it’s nice peace of mind.

 

[rugbydave]

I have a cheap spotting scope. It's useless. You can't see the holes past 100 yds and you wind up walking out to the target anyway. It gets left home most of the time now.

I guess my cheap spotter was better than yours? Obviously atmospherics play into it but I could usually see bullet holes at 200 and sometimes 300 yards.

To the OP, no spotter will let you reliably see bullet holes at 500 yards. If you want that kind of performance, you'd be better to invest in a target camera.

 

[ogarrden]

depending on your budget, i mean ill definitely go for the binos.

 

[sillymike]

Knowing that electronics have a funny way of becomming obsolete, I don't think I'd be interested in ranging-bino's unless I really (really) had money burning a hole in my pocket

 

[rar]

binos first.

 

[gem]

I bought range finding binoculars 2 years ago. Still haven't upgraded my spotter. Starting to consider it now.

 

[jlagman]

I'll echo the "good binos first" sentiment. From my limited experience, the technology isn't quite there yet for rangefinding binoculars; because not only do they cost more money, you sacrifice image quality in the process. I've noticed that the rangefinder side usually has a blue or green hue, depending on the model.

Another thing to consider and I've learned this lesson the hard way, what about thick fog? Granted, it's not an ideal shooting condition anyways, but I've been out on days when a rangefinder was a paperweight.

 

[harv3589]

Buy the best quality bino's you can afford, then get a seperate range finder, one that's compact like leica, it will fit in your pocket. You can get a middle of the road type spotting scope later.

Agree with this post completely...dont get the rangefinder in the binos.

 

[sillymike]

You have to think long term. As in, if you'd had bought a pair of quality binocular like a Swarovski SLC 20 or 30 years ago.
- Their performance today would still compare pretty good, to current offering
- Try that with a 20 years old laser range finder, and the range/precision of the new units will be far ahead of the old one

 

[Greenthumbed]

I run a pair of 10x42 Vortex Diamondbacks and a 15-45x65 Vortex Viper spotter. I hunt elk and mule deer in the Kootenays in BC. Lots of big country out west and I spend a decent amount of time behind the glass. The binos are used to find the game and the spotter is to tell if it's legal or not. Not everyone need to have a spotter, but it's good to have one in the group if you are hunting with partners. I do like the spotter at the range. It just makes it a little easier to see what your looking at.
I have a SIG range finder, but it's not necessary unless you are archery hunting and even then it's a luxury. With the rifle, keep it within your MPBR, like others have said, and you can do without the range finder.