A spotting scope isn't an absolute necessity, but they are nice if you spot an animal at a distance and want to take a good look at it without having to cover a lot of distance only to find that it isn't of the quality you're looking for. I sure wouldn't consider a spottign scope as excess baggage as the other member stated unless you're good with shooting any legal animal on your hunt. Antelope are one species that really takes a lot of looking through a spotting scope from different angles to tell a really good buck form an average or just above average one. There are many top notch ones that you could easily buy for $2K. I'm partial to the Leupold brand myself, but there are a number of top notch companies out there to take a look at.