Yeah, I had heard good things about the Burris scopes and had every intention of buying the Fullfield. However, after looking through it and several others, it simply wasn't very clear. I had read very mixed reviews about the Leupold Wind River, but after looking through it, it was very clear and much better than anything else I could find in the price range. Bottom line - read reviews to get a feel for some products, but at the end of the day, trust your eyes because there gonna be the ones looking through it.

I do not take a spotting scope while hunting. I prefer good bino.

The trouble with reviews is you generally get them from the person trying to sell it to you, which ironically makes the most sense, because certain sellers should also be users - therefore having a clue as to the best buy for the money.

I found Janssens' Adventure Outfitters to be very knowledgable on upper end scopes. They are out of Oregon, and the owner/employees are serious hunters. The owner outlined about 5 scopes for me a couple of years ago with respect to quality for the value. They field test the scopes themselves.

I have to agree, that Swarovski probably makes the best spotter, but you can buy 2 or 3 other scopes for about half the money or less that have similar performance.

I would consider that suggestion especially if you are hunting in the back country with a pack. Swarovski makes them for their binoculars.

I use Lieca 10X42Bino's and they are great. Worth every penny and it took alot of penny's. I also under all cases carry a good spotter with tripod for 1 reason. It saves me time and work. Im after hornes and dont want to take all day to make a stalk on a distant animal across the next mountainto find its not something I want to shoot. Its worth its weight in gold. I use a Swarovski 20-60 and I agree the 60 power is useless. Usually go up to 30-40 power with clear, crisp vision. Great glass.A bit bulky though. Tried out the new Nikon series this year and I believe they are almost as good. Plus they are more compact. If your after just an animal and dont care weather a point is broken, etc, spotting scope isnt as critical.

Hunting in the east (New Hampshire and now North Carolina) I've never needed a spotting scope. For my first trip to Colorado, I bought the above mentioned Leuplod Sequoia (Green Ring) 15x-45x X60mm. It is a good buy for the money. However, at higher magnifications, image clarity was distorted due to heat rise. I used them most at 20x - 25x and was able to locate game much quicker than with my 10X42 binos. After using itfor a week straight, I could see a tail or ear flicker from amile away . I would recommend it if your limited to $350 or less. If I lived out West, I'd step up to Zeiss or an equivalent

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Nikon Fieldscope III ED 20-60x60.

Its a sweet scope.It nears the quality of Swarovski and Leica's at half the price. Rarely does it get cranked to the 60 setting or much above 45 for that matter. The image quality/stability at 30x is much better and easier on the eyes. But I like the ability to zoom in further if I really want to study a set of horns.

I just love it when guys go hunting with just binocs. That just means they will miss 90% or more of the good bucks in the west. Then I can come along behind them and shoot the big ones. I make my living with a spotting scope. Ask any of my clients and they will all say the ability we have to spot an antler tip in the brush at a mile is beyond belief. I had friends in Colorado that were hunting the same canyon as I was. I had seen literally hundreds of deer and at least half a dozen 5x or better bucks in the canyon. Mid-morning we met and visited about the morning so far. They were beat up and said all they saw was half dozen or so does and fawns. I pointed right over their heads and said there were two very good bucks running does right behind them. They called me a liar and laughed at me. I focused the spotting scope on them locked it down tight and told the dad of the group to sit in my seat and take a look. He immediately said holy s*#@ get the waders. He went up the canyon and shot a very nice 27 inch 5x7 or so buck. I did that 3 more times that day with them guys. They all tagged out in a canyon they said had no deer in it. The following year all four of them had spotting scopes and tripods or window mounts. So as I said before... you guys just stick with your binocs. I have one Bushnell stalker with ultralight tripod for my back pack and I have a Leupold Gold ring for the short trips and the window mount. I feel the best bang for the buck is the Leupold. The best I have ever looked through are 1. Carl Zeiss and 2. The big Swarovski. Best binocs are Leica closely folowed by Swarovski.
Best of luck to ya guys