Hi All

I am in the market for a new spotting scope I read in TSR that the best choice would be a 30X60 for 200 yards but the further I read on the web the more confused I get, not on the magnification but the huge price range with no indication of what I actually get for my pennies.

So I would appreciate some of your experience on the scopes you use and hopefully this can get me in the right direction to choose a good spotting scope without loosing a minor fortune.

Michael

ACGould is right about not skimping on spotting scopes... but MAN can they be spendy!

The Kowa line is pretty much the "gold standard" in the shooting sports for spotting.  You'll see little else at a Highpower match.

That being said...
Recently a local shooter got a Konus spotting scope (around $200, 80-ish mm objective, 20-60 zoom).  At a match, we did some informal side-by-side testing.  There were two Kowa's present (an 821 and an older TSN-1), a Swarovski, and the Konus.

The Konus compared very favorably to all present. Notice I didn't say "it was better than" all present... but for $200 it was surprisingly good!
It didn't give up much to the Kowa's, and it gave up NOTHING to the Swarovski (much to the consternation of the Swarovski owner...).

That was the second Konus I've looked through, and as I said, they may not be "fully the equal of" a more expensive spotting scope, but they are outstanding in their price range.   
I've been looking for a "backup" for my 20+ year old Mirador spotting scope, and I think I'll be buying a Konus by the end of the year.   
For the price of one Kowa, I could buy 5 Konus's, test them all,, pick the best one, and pay return shipping on the other 3 and STILL come out ahead.

If you have the money, a Kowa 821n would be a great investment... 
If you want some decent glass on your bench while you save up the other $900 for the Kowa, buy a Konus, then resell it for $150 after you buy your Kowa.

I've also been VERY impressed by some Nikon spotting scopes, but they've all been older models, and one shooter thought their newer ones were not nearly as good.  That's 100% heresay though, as I haven't checked them out recently.

Paul F.

Don't be mislead by the Eagle Optics listing on eBay. That's really not a bargan!!!  Take another look at the eBay ad. Price is for the scope body only.  The zoom eyepiece for this outfit is an additional $358 plus about $40.00 for a cover.  This makes it about $1043.00 for the same outfit that Buffalo Arms sells for  $1003.95!  Final note--it is good to support the dealers who support our sport!
Cheers, 
ACGould

I have a high dollar scope but also have two little Bushells. One is a 20x50 mm that has a real good picture owned it for 30 plus years.

Last year got another Bushnell off ebay used for 40 bucks, 20x40 mm straight tube, they were sold for Pistol scopes years ago,  I keep it in my car on a window mount for Hawks, It does a good job too forgetting my regular scope one day used it to spot 32 cal holes at 200 with no problem,   

On the inexpensive scopes stay lower power, 50 mm 20xmax.  You need big objective to run 27 x  Also there seems to be differences scope to scope same model in the lower priced units, If you are buying new or can see the scope before you buy test it or have return privileges

Last avoid variable fixed power is always going to resolve better,

Boats

ACGould wrote on Aug 3^rd, 2008 at 12:19am:


Good catch! I missed that fact.

I would like to comment on Eagle Optics. I bought my Nikon there. I brought a target with .22 cal holes and set it in a snowbank as far away as I could get, and they let me set up spotting scopes on a special stand that they have and compare one against the other. After about four hours I finally made my choice and have been very satisfied. Joe S

Hi All

Thanks for all the inputs which I have gone through with great emphasis and there seem to be for and against for the scopes mentioned but to me no clear decision points.

We had a good talk at our shooting club yesterday and tried to compare the spotting scopes we had and they were all lousy except one which was bought some years ago from BA

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and this scope is the owner not satisfied with he can barely se the holes at 100M and also wanted to buy a new scope, does anyone know this scope an can give some comparre to the better scopes, this might give us a lead to where we should go.

What about the Alpen scopes are they any good?

Here in Copenhagen Denmark the scope cost about 3 times the price in the US so we are going to by some on a trip we are doing into the west to October.

Michael 

If you can find a Unertl 20 power scope you will be surprised at the quality. I compared scopes at camp perry with them all mounted next to each other on a board at Champions choice and for clarity and being able to see holes the Unertl was the best.
Bill