Spotting scopes

thebuckhunter

thebuckhunter

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What's out there for decent spotting scopes in the $600-$700 range, absolute all in is $800. Ideally looking for clarity at max magnification and large objective lense. ED/HD glass if the budget allows it. Any info on LGS that have used spotters would be nice as well. Getting tired of jumping on the 4 wheeler to check targets. Too time consuming and cuts down on my trigger time. 700 yards max right now, but with a bit of brush clearing, can make it out to 1000. Any and all ideas considered. This is a totally new area of optics for me. What should I look for and/or avoid?

Thanks in advance,

-J
 
Lot of threads here asking the impossible for next to nothing $$$ wise. I will say that even with a spotting scope costing $2500-$3000 you will not be able to see bullet holes at 700 yards. Pelee Wings has a great selection of spotting scope, some a little bit less than you want to spend and some way more that you want to spend. They have the best prices that I have seen in Canada.

If it is just for home use I would look a a Silver Mountain solo target instead of a spotting scope.
 
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Alternative to spotting scope

I think the best solution for you would be to get a drone. Fly it out and land until you want to see the target, to save battery power. I plan to do that myself this year. Just to see .22 & .223 holes clearly at 200 yds. - max at my range. An alternative is if you have a really modern camera, it may have bluetooth or wifi capability that can reach that distance. Your cell phone may be able to set up a "mobile hot-spot" to accommodate that drone - some can do that if you have a cell-signal at your range, but it costs data usage.
You can get a nice drone for just a few hundred, instead of a good spotting scope for that distance at $2K.
 
thebuckhunter said:
What's out there for decent spotting scopes in the $600-$700 range, absolute all in is $800. Ideally looking for clarity at max magnification and large objective lense. ED/HD glass if the budget allows it. Any info on LGS that have used spotters would be nice as well. Getting tired of jumping on the 4 wheeler to check targets. Too time consuming and cuts down on my trigger time. 700 yards max right now, but with a bit of brush clearing, can make it out to 1000. Any and all ideas considered. This is a totally new area of optics for me. What should I look for and/or avoid?

Thanks in advance,

-J
Click to expand...

i am in the same boat...optics i know are out for me at those ranges....i am looking at electronic pic sending ...there are companies selling set ups for this problem...we also are trying the drone type camera but you need to change the lens to get focus if you have a elt nerd friend put the problem to him thats what i am working on yea its just more junk to move but im tired of 4 wheeler to not to mention the bugs that want to help so the idea ...and good luck
 
I personally don’t have any experience with them but those target cameras from LongShot look like they might be a good option for you. Maybe a little over your budget but they claim they are good out to 2 miles. If anyone has used one I would like to hear their options!
 
You are better off to find a used spotting scope for the price rather than anything new in that price range.

On the used market you will get a scope that far outperforms anything new for the money even if it has a few miles on it.

Check ebay and look for premium brands like Lieca, Kowa or Ziess
 
Buck1950 said:
I think the best solution for you would be to get a drone. Fly it out and land until you want to see the target, to save battery power. I plan to do that myself this year. Just to see .22 & .223 holes clearly at 200 yds. - max at my range. An alternative is if you have a really modern camera, it may have bluetooth or wifi capability that can reach that distance. Your cell phone may be able to set up a "mobile hot-spot" to accommodate that drone - some can do that if you have a cell-signal at your range, but it costs data usage.
You can get a nice drone for just a few hundred, instead of a good spotting scope for that distance at $2K.
Click to expand...

This is almost a great point. I considered this myself and these new drones can fly a planned route and go to a GPS location, point a certain direction and wait there for so many minutes before it returns to the base position and lands all by itself, all while broadcasting the video feed to your phone.

The problem is the government has gotten involved and wants to attach large fines for flying without a license, and the license part gets complicated too. If you post the drone video on youtube, they suddenly call the video for commercial use and then you need a more advanced license. The legalities around drones has certainly become a turn off if you look into it. Check it out on youtube and see how large the fines can be.

Then there are watch dogs who report you and get authorities involved even if you are legit, you are likely to be harrassed.
 
DKJS said:
I personally don’t have any experience with them but those target cameras from LongShot look like they might be a good option for you. Maybe a little over your budget but they claim they are good out to 2 miles. If anyone has used one I would like to hear their options!
Click to expand...

That sounds like what I need. I looked around and found a reasonably priced Caldwell unit from Bulleye North. $575 shipped which is way under budget. I read the reviews about the clamps breaking and believe I can replace them fairly easily. Thanks for the idea about range cams. When it comes in, I'll do a range review.
-J
 
Regarding the discussion about seeing bullet holes at long distance, travelling back and forth to the target, drones, etc:
When I shoot long range out in the bush in cutovers by myself without a buddy along to spot for me, I use a Phone Skope attached to my spotting scope and with my phone I video each shot on the gongs. I spray paint the gongs first and if the light is good and the mirage is not too bad I can see each hit on the paint until the gong gets too many hits with all the paint chips merging. But in reviewing the video I can often see approximately where the hit was without seeing the paint chip mark, based on how the gong wobbles. And most importantly in the video I can see bullet trace and dirt spray for the misses.....unless the mirage or light is too bad, or there is too much vegetation and debris that masks the dirt spray on the misses. If the light is good the video will also show you the mirage bending and vegetation movement, which can give you a clue for what the wind was doing when you pulled the trigger.

Thought I would mention this phone video technique using your spotting scope which can be very useful and avoid the drone expense and hassle. Gong sizes can be chosen based on what MOA accuracy limit you set for yourself. These won't replace paper targets for score and group data, but it eliminates that need to travel back and forth.
 
I already bought the Caldwell LR target cam. Used it out to 500 yards this week. No issues and 5 min setup. Camera was about 15 feet from the target and no issues seeing bullet holes. Was using 6mm and 6.5.
-J
 
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