Spotting scope
 

I am looking to get a spotting scope for the range. My local suppliers are very limited. What power am I looking for? To see target at 50,100,150,200 yards. Some are 20-50x and others are 12-24x-50. Any recomendations. Nothing expensive, just want to see where I'm shooting.

Thanks

RE: Spotting scope
 

Not sure what you consider expensive, but if you look on www.midwayusa.com you will see lots of options in all price ranges with owner reviews.

I bought a Tasco 15-45 power scope for 50 bucks years ago. It is, in short, crap. Cloudy optics, poor resolution, can't see .243 holes at 200 yards with it. I would not ever buy another Tasco product, as all of them that I have owned have had the same poor optical quality. Please note that this same scope is now sold under the Bushnell brand, bushnell having aquired Tasco.

Later I paid about $250 with tax or so for a Leupold Wind River 15-45 scope. This is much, much better, but the optics are in no way comparable to the Leupold Gold Ring Made In USA optics which goes for about a grand. It is, however, good enough for me to use at my rifle range and see what I need to see. If i were to want one to use on a hunt, glassing far off mountains, I would bite the bullet, sell the wife's engagement ring and buy a Leupold, Zeiss or similar high end scope.

Good glass is worth the money. I started out with low priced rifle scopes, then made the mistake of looking through a Zeiss scope during a rare combination of events where I had a credit card, plenty of balance left on it, and a wife grateful for jewelry purchased only the day before. BIG MISTAKE because now I NEED to have good optics for all uses. This led to Zeiss binoculars, more Zeiss rifle scopes, a severely battered toy budget and deep suspicion of every other piece of optics I own with the possible exception of two Bushnell Trophy scopes that are adequate.

If you can look through several befor ebuying, you'll have the best chance of being satisfied. Just beware of the consequences of being spoiled.

RE: Spotting scope
 

I would suggest the Leupold 15-45x 60mm Sequoia spotting scope and it goes for about $325 at Cabela’s. You will be able to see your target up to 200 yards. It’s not the best but should do the job. Good luck

RE: Spotting scope
 

I recently received the same scope as Trailer mentions as a gift and agree for the money it works pretty nicely. When I got it I compared many in around its price range +or- 100 bucks and found it to be the best option I could find locally. It has suited my range needs upto 250 meters and distance scouting on game.

RE: Spotting scope
 

The first one I bought was on a STRICT budget, it is the Trekke 20-60x60mm in Cabela's. They've got it for $150 right now, on sale I think, I bought mine five years ago for that much. Personally, I don't use them a lot, I RARELY take mine hunting anymore (which is why I bought the cheap, lighter one to begin with), I only use them when they're bolted to a stand while bow hunting, or while hunting over LONG ranges where my rifle scope might not reach out and see the longest range there.

Other than for clarity of image, the cost of the higher end ones aren't worth paying IMHO. If you're doing a LOT of shooting and durability might come into play, or you're using it for hunting where it might fog up, then they're worth it. But as far as just seeing what and where you hit goes, you just need something that will let you see it. Cheaper rifle scopes shift zero or have bad parralax, or fog terribly, basically stuff that makes your bullet go somewhere other than where you're looking. With a spotting scope, all you're doing is looking.

I bought a Leup. 20-60x80mm later on, d@mn fine scope, but I wish I would have spent the money on a leup rifle scope instead. I honestly don't think it was worth the money compared to the other cheaper models I've used. It's clearly better than the others, but if all I need is blue jeans, why pay for armani britches?

The bigger the objective, the better usually, since you get a larger FOV. FOV isn't as important for targets as it is for hunting, but it's still handy.

I just bought a BSA from cabelas, 20-60x60mm for $60, can't complain about it, I'm planning on using it as a spotting scope for deer this season, it's light as a feather, and cheap enough that if I drop it in the creek, who cares, but it does what it needs to do.

I'm not saying buy a BSA as your ONLY glass, it IS terribly cheap, and cheaply made, but it gets the job done. I wouldn't recommend it over a Leup., however, I WOULD recommend that you don't spend over $300 on your spotting scope, no matter what you get. A $60 scope might suit your needs just as well as a $600 scope, but I'd recommend a mid-range priced one before I'd tell you to get a high priced one. If you NEED a high priced one, you'd know it (i.e. you'd be a bullseye or BR shooter, or shooting at over 600yrds regularly.)

One thing I did that I'm glad I thought of: I mounted a "sighting scope" to the side of my Leupold spotting scope. It's a little 4x rimfire scope, I got it free with a bb-gun when I was like 10, never got rid of it. I "sighted" the x-hairs for approximately the center of my picture in the other scope at 250yrds, it's not a perfect system, but it really helps speed things along.