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Member |
What do we like for a decent inexpensive spotting scope. Looking at Amazon. ~300 yards max. | ||
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| Freethinker |
I can’t answer your question directly, but for those who might be able to, a bit more information would be useful. Are you going to use it for spotting bullet holes or strikes? If so, what type of target(s) are you anticipating using? Steel plates, black bull’s-eyes, light-colored sighting targets? Also, what caliber bullets? .17, .22, .30, .577? ► 6.4/93.6 | |||
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Member |
In my search for an inexpensive spotting scope, I ended up with a Celestron C90 telescope. With the included eyepiece, I can easily see .223 holes at 200 yds (my max range) but I would expect little trouble seeing them at 300. In the photos I have it mounted to a ball mount, which is attached to a manfrotto super clamp. This combination allows me to clamp it directly to a shooting bench, or to the pictured home depot work light stand.    | |||
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Bone 4 Tuna |
I've heard Konus is a decent, affordable option. I went big(ger) and bought a Kowa 82sv with 20-60x eye piece - I've always been a buy once cry once kinda guy. _________________________ An unarmed man can only flee from evil and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it. - Col Jeff Cooper NRA Life Member Long Live the Super Thirty-Eight | |||
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| Member |
Thanks for the kind reply. I suspect it will mostly be 22lr and occasionally 7.62 out of a cz 527. The range is paper targets only so seeing hits is the goal I suppose. Buy once, cry once most likely applies but there are some fairly "cheap" offerings (~$100 to 150). The type of target would probably dictate the power I need. Just looking for an all around option that would meet my needs. How cheap is too cheap. Thanks again. | |||
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| certified biohazard |
having been there before you will likely be unhappy with cheap as far as spotters go and most likely will get way better glass and still be able to see holes with a set of binos. the big thing with cheap spotters is horrible eye relief. "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" Edmund Burke | |||
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Member |
I bought a Konus recently. I can send you some video at 100, 600 and 750 if you like. Let me know __________________________ If Jesus would have had a gun he would be alive today. Homer Simpson “Him plenty dead” Tonto | |||
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Member |
Binoculars might work at 100 yards... I really doubt they'd work at 300. With a very good spotting scope (the older version Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85mm) I can usually see 6.5mm holes at 300 yards but have a lot of trouble seeing .223 holes. | |||
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| Freethinker |
I’m trying to imagine why one would get better glass in binoculars than a similarly-priced spotting scope. Not only is it necessary to pay for two sets of glass in a pair of binoculars, but there’s also the need to deal with and pay for the mechanism to allow them to be folded while also maintaining precise alignment between the two optics. Even if the binoculars benefit from having smaller and therefore less expensive lenses and components and that benefit can be applied to glass quality, there are still two sets versus one, and, more important, there is usually a big difference in magnification. My 8.5-power Swarovski binoculars are extremely sharp and clear, but I still can’t see small bullet holes as well with them as with my 40-year-old Bushnell “Spacemaster” spotting scope with 20x eyepiece that cost about a third of what the binoculars did (in equivalent dollars). ► 6.4/93.6 | |||
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| Crusty old curmudgeon  |
I have this Konus scope and it is great for the money. It's not great at 300 yrd with .223 but works well with 30 cal at that range. http://www.opticsplanet.com/ko...-spotting-scope.html Jim ________________________ "If you can't be a good example, then you'll have to be a horrible warning" -Catherine Aird | |||
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| certified biohazard |
inexpensive/decent was the OP buzzword here no? $150 bino's are light years ahead of $150 spotters. just saying....... "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" Edmund Burke | |||
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| Freethinker |
Well, that was my question: Why is that? Is it because no one expects a $150 spotting scope to be used for any serious purpose and therefore the manufacturers produce it for $20 and reap the profits while that is not true of binoculars? I am also curious what scopes and binoculars you have compared to reach that conclusion. (I personally have no experience with optics in that price range.) ► 6.4/93.6 | |||
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| A teetotaling beer aficionado  |
I think the bino market is quite a bit larger than the spotting scope market. Volume brings economy to scale and that along with more competition tends to drive pricing down. I occasionally use Nikon 10x50 binos for 100 yard spotting. (don't own a dedicated spotting scope) This works pretty well and comes in handy when shooting low power scopes like 4x which don't allow me to actually see the shot placement through the scope clearly enough to make adjustments even with shoot n c targets. Much past 100 yards and the binos are not effective. Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more slaves. -D.H. Lawrence | |||
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| Freethinker |
Could be the answer. ► 6.4/93.6 | |||
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fugitive from reality |
I had an opportunity to use this scope and had no issues easily spotting .223 holes at 300 yards. The 100mm objective is a light vacuume, and the 60x zoom makes 300 yard targets easy to read. I used a Nikon with a 60mm objective before I got my Kowa, and in medium shadow or end of day lighting I started to loose the ability to see the holes at 300 yards. The Konus is the one you want and it's in your price range.
_____________________________ 'I'm pretty fly for a white guy'. | |||
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My hypocrisy goes only so far |
These 25-125 X 80 binos are what I use for zeroing my scopes. It believe it falls into the OPs budget .   U.S.M.C. VFW-8054 III% "Never let a Wishbone grow where a Backbone should be "  | |||
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| fugitive from reality |
How well do they work? How's the image on maximum zoom?
_____________________________ 'I'm pretty fly for a white guy'. | |||
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| Member |
Now you're confusing me. Did you get a Kowa or a Konus? Huge difference in price and performance. | |||
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| fugitive from reality |
I have a Kowa TSN 82SV with the 27 LER eye piece. I've had the opportunity to test drive both the 80mm and 100mm Konus spotting scopes. They aren't on the same level as the $1k scopes, but for the casual shooter they represent excellent value for the money. _____________________________ 'I'm pretty fly for a white guy'. | |||
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| My hypocrisy goes only so far |
This message has been edited. Last edited by: GrumpyBiker, U.S.M.C. VFW-8054 III% "Never let a Wishbone grow where a Backbone should be " | |||
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