permitit

CalHunter

I don't own any of your listed models. But if you can, look through all 3 scopes outside, preferably towards dusk or on a semi-hazy day. You should be able to notice some differences. Reviews are a great start to narrow your choice down but nothing beats performance outside in the world.

MudderChuck

Don't forget to price in a tripod, short (tabletop) and tall (freestanding), also some sort of clamp on mount can be handy either for a high seat or a car window frame. You may also want to check on camera adapters.

Put some time in trying out tripods, ease of setup, sturdiness etc. It took me a couple of tries before I found one that worked well.

bwatts

At the price point you're looking, I feel like you'll most likely not be happy with the spotters that are on the market. Just an alternative opinion, but you may be better off upgrading your binoculars with something slightly higher power, which would offer you better clarity than the lower end spotters. Let us know what you end up with though.

acudaowner

not saying its good or great but for cheap you could pick up a barska or any of the brands you mentioned + a phone holding clamp and turn a scope with a smart phone pics or video you can see, tried it on a 25-125x88mm WP Benchmark High Power Spotting Scope by Barska saved a bunch of money at the time it worked to 400 yards pretty good i could see my 22 impacts at 400 yards its not going to replace good optics in any way just another option got the scope for think it was 80.00 and the phone mount for think it was around 50.00 that's under the 200 dollars you wanted to spend. sorry they wont let me post pics yet.

elkman30

I don't know if you've bought your scope or not since you didn't post again in this topic. FWIW, I originally bought a Bushnell spotting scope and promptly took it back the next day and then bought a Leupold. Much better scope. I've since bought a Nikon with a little higher magnification but the glass quality isn't the same as the Leupold. All 3 scopes were from the 90's and obviously scope quality has improved. If I were looking at a new scope, I would do what CalHunter suggested. Go look at the scopes you're interested in at a store that sells them, preferably mid day and at evening or dusk. That way you get a solid idea of how each scope will perform in different times of the day.

I would also recommend that you should broaden your horizons just a bit when looking at scopes. Just so you know what's possible in a scope, look at one of the big 3--Swarovski, Zeiss and Leica. You might not be able to afford one of those 3 like many of us but it helps to know what's possible and then how much you think is a reasonable compromise. After that, look at a couple mid grades like Vortex and Meopta, etc. Then see if a straight or angles scope will work best for what YOU are going to need and use it for. After all of this research, you should have a solid idea of what quality point you need and what price point you're willing to pay now or possibly wait a bit to save up for (you only need to pay for expensive glass once). If you do all of this, you should end up with a scope that suits your needs well and will last for a lifetime.

henrypahvant

I'm kinda with bwatts on this one. I think you'll be disappointed with the performance in low light conditions with the cheaper spotters. During the day I'm sure they'll perform great. The real test is early morning and evening as the sun goes down. I have not tested those models mentioned, but I've had other spotting scopes with those dimensions around the $400 range and my 42mm binos were better in low light than the 100mm spotter. Needless to say, if you do a lot of spotting, you'll get what you pay for with a spotting scope. If you're budget is $300 ish, once in a while you can find good used ones. Might be hard in that price range, but definitely cheaper than new. Another alternative would be to go in with someone else. Another hunting buddy or someone to share in the cost of a higher end spotter. Just some thoughts.

Hhardrockminer

Permitit,
I think I'd Look for the best Bino's you can afford and buy them as you'll spend more time behind them then you will behind the spotter.
Just my .02 Good Luck
Hhardrock

Wiwagner

Obviously go for Bushnell Trophy Xtreme. I have one of them that I really enjoy.
This one is the most popular spotting scopes on the market now. I got a lot of positive review about Bushnell trophy xtreme in this article https://ioutdoorpursuit.com/best-spotting-scopes/ and I like it.

JackWalton

Hey, can I throw in a budget option? Take a look at the Roxant Blackbird. Yes, you can buy a better scope if you have $325 burning a hole in your pocket, but if you're open to a value for money option at around $80.... just saying. ;-)

Jack