Any advice on a spotter's scope?

[FlyinFMJ]

A friend of mine and I have started shooting longer distances and we have been thinking about getting a spotter scope to help us. We shoot anywhere from 100 to 500 yards (not incredibly long I know, but even with contacts in, I can't seem to see a darn thing) :-)

Anyone have experience with these things? It will be much appreciated.

 

[FlyinFMJ]

No thoughts... I'm shocked!!

 

[Texas1911]

Redfield makes one, and since Redfield is essentially Leupold it might make for a cheap entry level model to get you going. I looked at one at Cabela's and it looked alright, but I can say that spotting scopes and indoors aren't a good combination for an evaluation.

 

[Dawico]

You get what you pay for. I was cheap and got a crappy one, but it is all I need.

 

[gerritm]

I have a less than $100 Barska and it works well out to 200 yards, kind of iffy at 300 and probably useless beyond that to spot a .223 hole in a paper target. You do get what you pay for. That said I don't shoot much beyond 300 and it is fine for me. The problem is trying to decide what works at the sports store or gun show. They all look great until you get them to the range and realize their limitations based on light and distance. Talk to people at the range that shoot out to whatever yardage you are shooting about what they are using and see if you can look thru their spotting scope. That is the only way to tell what is quality and will work.

 

[IXLR8]

You will prefer one with a canted eyepiece. I wish mine had the 45 degree bend for the eyepiece. It makes it easier when bench shooting. Also the tripod is more important than you think. With the straight eyepiece, I had to buy a higher tripod than came with it. A camera tripod will work, but they are generally too high for a shooting bench.

Good optics are not limited to the range. If you think more multi-purpose then you can justify spending a little more for something you can use elsewhere.

 

[ROGER4314]

Stay away from the straight eye pieces and try to get one that twists (tilts the eyepiece). The 45 degree is the best.

I have a Kowa 82mm with 20-60 variable that ate up a $1000 bill. It sits at home most of the time. In a match, the field of view is so wide that I can see two targets on each side of me on the 200 yard firing line. The one I actually use came from Harbor Freight for $49! It's a great scope and has the same features as the Kowa except for the 82mm objective lens. I use that scope all the time and don't need to worry about getting it swiped or dropped.

Flash

 

[Nate C]

Kowa. You get what you pay for, but you do pay for it. Creedmoor Sports out in Oceanside is a reputable vendor. CreedmoorSports::Scopes...

 

[cpf3]

Don't skimp on optics; this can be a lifetime investment. I have my dad's 60 year old Leitz binos and they're still fantastic. Look at the Kowa brand (Optics Planet is one source). I have a Kowa model TSN-821 (82mm objective lens) with 20x-60x eyepiece and although I haven't used it shooting yet, I did watch some nested bald eaglets and close to 1/2 a mile.