I was looking for an inexpensive spotter with an 80-100 mm objective lens. Are there any good?
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I was looking for an inexpensive spotter with an 80-100 mm objective lens. Are there any good?
I have the Konus 80mm spotting scope. It is one of the most popular spotting scope in highpower rifle competition. The 80mm is used in highpower rifle instead of the lager 100mm scopes because we have to pack and haul all of our shooting gear in a range cart a distance of 400 to 1000 yd. at each match. There are more Konus scopes at Camp Perry than any other brand. There is no better spotting scope for $250. The Konus is not as rugged as a Kowa but has a lifetime waranty. I have looked through the Celestron Reagal scope a few times, $550. The image brightness and resolution were very good. The Celestron Reagal scope may be second only to Kowa scopes, $1000 +.
I agree with the Reverend. I have a Kowa but when Creedmoor Sports started carrying the Konus, I couldn't help but finally get a look through one. Creedmoor does not carry junk equipment, and I would not hesitate to drop the money on a Konus. It's a bargain for a darn good scope.
I have a Konus 20- 60X 100MM. My Bride bought it used for me for Christmas a couple years ago. It is very clear and seems to be a well made scope. It is however bigger than the back of God's hand. If you were using it off of a bench at a range, or mounted on your deck to watch critters in the next county, I don't think you could beat it. If considering one for hunting, it's too big. If interested, shoot me a PM.
Hi.
I've got one bought used from a Black Powder shooter. Seems to be the go to scope for the long range shooters and look at mine as a bargain! Worth a serious look!
Thanks to you all for your responses.
I have a Meade (hecho in Chino) that's a great 20-60 scope for 100 yards but loses its' effectiveness right at 200.
Thanks for the info, I'll go a Konus next time around.
Sorry to hijack the post but what happened to the moulds you asked for information about?
I have a meade telescope with several eyepieces and a reverser to make the image right again, it reverses the image otherwise. Good scope and useable easy to change power with different eye pieces. Several kowaseye pieces are available in different powers and a variable but are more expensive than the ones for the meade. The Kowas are very good and dependable but pricey. I have used many over the years the old unertels were very good spotting scopes and darn rugged. A few years ago for spotting shilouettes I bought a set of celestron 25X100mm binoculars and like them better than the spotting scopes for a couple reasons. 1) both eyes are working together giving better clarity and depth perception. 2) with both eyes together less eye stress and fatuige is there. 3) when focused correctly reading wind with mirage is easier for me. 4) reading bullet strikes with misses on the back stop is easier. As important as the scope used is a solid mount set up that dosnt move in the wind. The stand is as important as the scope here. I like the freelands bi pod with a good spike on it. The Jim Owens stand he sold a few years ago is very good also. I believe I bought the tripod I use with the binoculars from creedmore. Its a good solid tripod with fine adjustments for both windage and elevation.
A good spotting scope allows you to see the "air" between you and your target at long range. Most any scope will let you see the spotter in the target, but you need to see the mirage and other wind indicators that will affect your bullet's deflection due to wind if you are planning to use it for shooting at longer ranges.Quote:
I was looking for an inexpensive spotter with an 80-100 mm objective lens. Are there any good?
If you wear glasses like I do, you'll also want to check on the eye relief of the prospective scope. Many of the budget (and even high end) scopes are inadequate in this respect. With your glasses on, you'll want a full field of view, particularly if you are using it to spot game. Higher power in variable scopes usually results in less than useful eye relieve with glasses on while the lower powers are useful and resolution is usually better below full power.
As an aside, a good tripod will allow you to also use a good scope to view the moons of Jupiter or the rings of Saturn at night. Look for coated lenses and as mentioned above, a convenient size. Power is not the factor, but resolution is when defining details and atmosphere. Size and optics are often a compromise. I'm still using a Leopold 20X spotting scope from my days of military deployments. It won't compete with the Kowa for resolution, but does see the air well enough. It will fit in a rucksack and it's easy to carry from the 200 yard line to the 1,000 yard line in high power matches.
Don't forget about a good mount too. The cheap mounts that come with lower end scopes are OK for shooting off of a bench, but will fail you in the field. My favorite mount is the Freeland tripod, but I don't think that they are made anymore. Champion's Choice and Creedmoore Armory have some to choose from.
Don't skimp on your purchase price. I would argue that for good results at long range, a good spotting scope is as important as a good rifle and good ammo. If you just need something to see bullet holes at 100 yards, there are lower priced models than those mentioned available. I use kind of a cheap spotting scope on my pistol box for pistol matches with fine results at 25 and 50 yards. Define your need and then purchase accordingly.
Here is my Leopold on a Freeland tripod with an after market adjustable attachment. The vertical steel rod extends with 18" segmetns up to 5 1/2 feet high so I can use it for bench rest, prone, sitting, kneeling and off hand shooting. Take the lead stabilizing weight off of the bottom and it is very portable for military or hunting applications and it also folds up for the rucksack.
My other spotting scope is a Bausch & Lomb 20X. These were the cat's meow back in the day for both small bore and high power competition. It's actually a better scope than the Leuopold, but it's awfully heavy, being made much like an M1 Tank. It interchanges on the Leuopld's tripod so changing one out for the other is quick work.