Best spotting scope for 25-100 yards

[marklyftogt]

Well, I bought a Win 1892 lever gun in .357 and now I need a spotting scope to help out my old eyes.

What would you guys recommend?

Thanks.....

[MtGun44]

For the price, you can't beat the Konus 20-60 x 80 mm. I have some big bux spotters too
and side by side the Konus is really impressive for a LOT less money.

http://www.hinterlandoutfitters.com/konus-konuspot-spotting-scope-7120-80mm-black-tripod-photo-adapter-p-8901.html

This is NOT some place that I am recommending, just a link that I quickly located that
has them. I bought number of these from and outfit in PA, Snake Run Sports, IIRC.
This Hinterlands may be great, or not, I have no idea, you'll have to locate a supplier yourself,
but the scope is really good.

I went and looked for Snake Run Sports online, looks like their page is down, so I suspect they
may be out of business.

Bill

[fecmech]

With the .357 and only going to 100 yds I very successfully used a cheapy Winchester 15 X 45 X 50 spotter. They are less than $100. Under very good lighting conditions I could usually find .357 holes at 200 yds but not in the black part of the target. As long as your requirements are only to 100 yds anything in the 15-30 power range will work just fine

[williamwaco]

With the .357 and only going to 100 yds I very successfully used a cheapy Winchester 15 X 45 X 50 spotter. They are less than $100. Under very good lighting conditions I could usually find .357 holes at 200 yds but not in the black part of the target. As long as your requirements are only to 100 yds anything in the 15-30 power range will work just fine

I have one of those too. It is so handy I find myself leaving the big Nikon at home.

Note the Winchester is no Nikon but it is about a third as big and a fourth the money and it does a really good job.

[Jeff82]

I have a Marlin 1894C in .357 that I shoot at 100 yards. I use a cheap Barska 18-36x spotting scope. I've had excellent results out to at least 150 yards with it. Very clear and bright ---and inexpensive.

[runfiverun]

i just use one of my varmint rifles.
you can clearly see 35 cal holes with 12 power at 100 yds.

[RobsTV]

I know you asked for the best, but to me, the best you can get for the money usually works well. You reach a point where spending more yields very small performance increases, especially when a lower cost will fit the lower need just fine.

For 25 to 100 yard range, even the cheap $30 Harbor Freight Gordon 20-60 x 60 spotting scope will work great. Check them out and read the reviews. Best thing is most can buy one in person, and if it doesn't meet your needs, return for full refund within 30 days. Mine far exceeded my old eyes expectations. Don't forget to bring a 20% off coupon available in most magazines. The included tripod blows, so now I just use a spare wooden rifle rest on a shooting table.

The rule I use for cheap scopes is plan ahead that they will only be useful for half their stated ability, so a cheap 60x will work very well up to 30x. If you can see holes now at 5 yards, then viewing .358 holes at 5 yards is nearly the same as viewing them at 150 yards when using 30x magnification, and 100 yards if using 20x.

[Jeff82]

+1 RobsTV comments.

Cheap scopes will do very well out to about 40x or so. Apertures can be smaller and still give good illumination, the scope doesn't need to be built with super strong material, and the glass doesn't need to be of a really high quality. So a cheap spotting scope will work very well out to about 150 yards for most of our purposes.

To get more magnification, you'll need a larger aperture for better illumination, better glass so the image doesn't appear grainy, and a stronger body to hold it all. You have to pay a great deal more for some extra ability. People shooting at 300-yards or so probably need to pay up for a more expensive scope, because they need them. Thankfully, we don't. Less weight to drag around too.

[John Boy]

Best spotting scope for 25-100 yards
What would you guys recommend?
Save your money and buy a cheap pair of binoculars for that distance. When you start shooting 200+, then start thinking about a scope!

[shtur]

I use my 40 year old bushnell scope I used for bullseye pistol (20X) for M1 Garand matches at 100 yds. I can see the holes clearly in the black. It's easier to lean over to look through the scope at your target, rather than to let go of the rifle and pick up a set of bino's.