spotting scopes

[Harpman]

Is there a spotting scope under 100 bucks, that makes it very very easy to see a 30 caliber bullet at 100 yards on black ?.I'm not sure what specs I need for that, how about a 200 yard scope for 30 cal bullets ?

[mike in co]

i think most decent scopes will....
i have a $45 4.5 30x bushnell star scope that works welll
( even after i dropped it....it was reassembled at the factory for a shipping charge)
and a $600 kowa setup in 25x or 20-40x

it is a more about the resolution issue which is mainly glass dia and quality of the glass.
at 200 yds you need something over 60mm ...i see most 30's at 200 with my 60mm.

see american rifeman a few months back

[7br]

I picked up a Burris 12x24 for around $60 off of ebay. 30 cal holes are no problem and 22 cal holes are possible if the light is right.

[Char-Gar]

A couple of years back, I picked up a late 40's vintage Argus scope complete with Freland stand on Ebay for $80.00 delivered to myfront door. It will do what you want.

[Junior1942]

I have an old Bushnell with replaceable 45x and 60x lenses. I can NOT see a 30 caliber hole in black at 100 yards with the 45x lens, but I can with the 60x lens.

[StarMetal]

Gosh Junior. Is that because of your eyes or what? I can see 30 caliber holes at 100 yards in the target with my regular rifle scopes and I have really bad eyes.

Joe

[9.3X62AL]

Lens quality and light quantity/quality seem to be the big bugbears in spotting scopes--or any optical instrument, really. Poor quality binos cost me a buck in Alberta this year--rest assured THAT gap will get filled before next deer season rolls around.

[PatMarlin]

I bought some chinese make that picks up .223 at 100 yards easily, but I think it was like $160.

Care to explain what happened with your deer and the binocs Al?

[Junior1942]

Gosh Junior. Is that because of your eyes or what? I can see 30 caliber holes at 100 yards in the target with my regular rifle scopes and I have really bad eyes.I think it's due to cheap optics, Joe.

[9.3X62AL]

What happened to the deer? Bruce B whacked him--because unlike me, Bruce was able to see the antlers that my binocs wouldn't allow me to see in failing light. Hell of a shot, too--290 yards off the muzzle, in very poor light. The same animal had been around 75 yards from my blind, but I couldn't put horns on him with the sorry-assed optics I was using. So--the critter didn't get away. :-) But, I wasn't much help in that regard.

[Shepherd2]

I have a Bushnell Sentry II with a 48X eyepiece that is over 30 years old. I can easily see .22 caliber holes in the black at 100 yards.

[Blackwater]

Deputy Al said it right. Spotters are probably the highest magnification instruments we use, and the higher the power, the more crucial the grinding of the glass, the quality of the glass, the coatings inside the barrel of the scope, and the lens coatings become. Magnification ALSO magnifies any problems inside the scope or its components, and that's why cheap spotters are so darn hard to come by.

I had a BSA spotter, because it was cheap. It was a 15-45x50mm. model, IIRC. It did fine in good light out to 100, but much past that, and you just couldn't see much unless the light was just right.

Then I got one of the Burris Fullfield II 3x9's with the "free" 20x50 compact spotter. Now THAT is a surprising little scope for the money! I didn't expect much, and it's surely not a $700 quality instrument, but it fits in my big shooting box, along with its short tripod and the Nikon laser rangefinder, and it has been surprising what it'll suffice for in decent daylight. For its price, I'm well satisfied, if not very pleased with how it's worked for me, and especially with the fact that when I shoot, that box always goes with me, and that compact little scope really comes in handy sometimes when I forget or didn't think I'd need a scope.

I also lucked into a deal on a Burris spotter. IIRC, it's the 15-45x60mm Landmark. Not sure about the Landmark moniker, but I think that's right. It's been a real surprise also. A buddy bought the 20-60x model because he was so impressed with mine, and it's a little higher priced and probably a bit brighter as well. This guy is NOT a newcomer to shooting, but wanted a decent spotter without spending a mint on it, and he's been very well pleased with his Burris as well. I say I "lucked" into mine because my dealer had had this one for a while with no bites, and I asked him what his rock bottom price was, and he said he'd gotten them on special and could sell it to me for what he had in it, which was $120. I pulled out the billfold without protest.

If you seldom shoot past 100 yds., I think I'd see if I couldn't find one of those deals on the Fullfield scopes with the "free" mini-spotter. It's so small that it'll go with you every time, and come in mighty handy at least some of that time. If you ever get a decent spotter, you'll never want to shoot without one. It's one of those things that, once you have one, you don't know how you ever lived without one.

The lower priced line (@ $200 list and less when discounted) of Burris spotters has really surprised me. I'm not deeply experienced with spotters, but these have really impressed me for the money. I can see .22 bullet holes in a target at 200 in decent light with the little mini 20x50, and at 300 or more with the bigger scope. The bigger one is significantly better, but don't underestimate that little mini either.

Wish I had broader experience, but just from what I've seen in stores, those cheaper Burris models would be my first choice for an affordable spotter, and bought alone, I think you can get one of those Burris minis for $100, and maybe even less. Very neat little scope that has surprised me.

[locutus]

If you want a "cheap" medium quality scope, but still want something worth owning, get a Nikon 20-60X80MM.

It's certainly not in the same league with a Swarovski or Zeiss, but it's not bad.

In my experience, a scope, whether riflescope of spotting scope that you can buy for under $500 isn't worth owning. Just my $.02, for what it's worth.

[Bent Ramrod]

I bought a NcStar spotting scope (angled eyepiece, 20-60 power) at the Del Mar Gun Show a couple weeks back for $89. Field of view and exit pupil are something you have to manage, but resolving power, so far, looks OK. Company is "New Century Sci. and Tech., Inc., 10302 Olney St., El Monte, CA 91731 1-866-627-8278. Promptly thereafter, I saw them in Gun List or somewhere for $20 cheaper.

My brother, the Birdwatcher, says optics are a Darwinian deal; good lenses and good construction and clarity and ease of use cost bucks, and the same bucks no matter who is doing the grinding and assembling. But my cheap little Herter's 30-power did good service for my modest wants for 30 years; it was only lacking the angled eyepiece, which I needed for shooting matches.

The NcStar comes with a cheap tabletop tripod and a pull-out eyeshade, and has a little laser projector that allegedly can be adjusted to show you where to point the scope. The red spot doesn't show up beyond about 50 feet in the daytime, but is good for at least a hundred yards at night, for what that is worth. Too bad this little gimmick doesn't work in the daylight; it would save a lot of set-up time.