Asking for advice about a Spotting Scope for Hunting
 

Hi guys and happy hunting! I am thinking to purchase a spotting scope for hunting (maybe wildlife watching) and I was wondering what features are the most important?

Do you prefer a lens diameter of 80mm or 60mm?

Should a angled one or straight? Will the 20-60x magnification be enough?

One friend sent me this photo with his 3 spotting scopes. As you can see the middle one has the focus ring around the scope and the other 2 have it on top (much smaller focus knob). Which one do you prefer? Is there any difference?

What about the eye piece diameter? Is it better to be larger or depends on your eyes?

If you have any tips about spotting scopes, I would be more than happy to learn. Thank you very much, I truly appreciate it!

A large part of your decision will likely revolve around whether you're primarily hunting or wildlife watching. Although you look at animals in both, they have some different requirements. It can also depend on the state you're in, what you hunt and even how you hunt. If you are willing to share some of this information, people will likely be able to provide you with more specific answers.

First a disclaimer: I am absolutely no expert, and frankly neither are 99.999% of the self proclaimed expert internet gurus.

Large objective lens spotters usually seem a bit brighter to my eyes but they are a huge pain to carry around. I use a large lens (80*) for spotting from a camp or vehicle and a smaller 60mm if I want to throw it in my pack.

Straight or angled is really dependent upon intended use. Glassing from a vehicle or a full size tripod the straight works best for me and it is much easier to get pointed in the right direction. The angled eyepiece is nice for looking upward, like spotting from the bottom of the valley to the mountain side.

Less expensive spotters are almost useless at the higher powers and even the best ones have limited use at 60x. I have some premium spotters and it is rare that I turn one higher than about 45 or so.

With spotting scopes you definately get what you pay for. The super budget spotters are dim, fuzzy, and a waste of money, but luckily the quality has gone up and the price has gone down on the medium priced glass.

Many guys do not realize how important a good tripod is. Get a good tripod! A scope that vibrates and shakes on the top of a cheap tripod will always give a fuzzy view.

What those guys said. How you use a scope will always dictate what type of scope you need. If you're bird watching or truck hunting, weight, size and bulk doesn't matter much. If you're backpack hunting, those matter a lot. If you're hunting and spotting game at 400 yards or less, you can easily get by with just binoculars and save the space for other equipment or carrying some of that animal back with you.

Whitetail Deer Hunting will be easily the main reason why I will buy the spotting scope and I am hunt mostly in Texas, sometimes I go to Indiana too. Currently, we are doing rifle hunting! I hope this information helps!

That doesn't sound like you're shooting bucks at long distance. You sure you need a spotting scope? Maybe a good pair of binoculars instead.

That is exactly what I was thinking. I use spotters to find or evaluate far away game, and of course at the shooting bench. Otherwise binoculars do the trick very nicely. About the only times I do not use binoculars is for upland hunting (flushing birds) and freshwater fishing.

I'd hate to find out this is because of one of those article that are really just glorified sales pitches. You know, when they have to tell you the exact name and model of expensive gear that they just couldn't have gotten the animal with but don't bother telling you how expensive it is or the fact that it was supplied by some manufacturer wanting more "free" advertising. Oh yeah, and way down towards the end of the article is the fact that this was on a guided hunt. Bet the guide used different gear that costs less. Not trying to bag on the OP. But a lot of these articles on gear needed seem way overblown. If you're hunting whitetails, binos will work just fine.

I have to admit, binoculars are much handier and all that's really needed for shorter range. Now if you're hunting in the evenings and dusk, that better glass can get a little pricey but it is oh so worth it.

yeah,Ive had and used a 38 year old mill surplus 10x 50mm STEINER binocular,
on hunts for almost 4 decades now, old tech, heavy,a P.I.T.A. to pack around compared to whats currently available,
but at dusk/dawn ,theres an amazing difference in the ability to make out objects with those field glasses,
vs the typical $70-200 sporting goods or big box store binoculars most guys carry,
quality always costs more, I pissed away a years tax refund , paid about $550 back then (1979 )
more than a weeks pay. but amortized over the last 38 years thats roughly $15 a year ,
so it was not a bad deal considering the thousands of hours they were used.
your lucky, technology has vastly improved and value per dollar has improved and cost for value,
has been reduced, today you get far better quality for the price paid.

We do tons of glassing here in Utah from very long distances. Many use spotting scopes however, a lot of us including the guides just use a high powered binocular 12x50's and some use 15's. They are a lot quicker for us to put on a tripod plus it eliminates the bulk of packing a spotting scope around. I've hunted whitetail in Texas a few times and every time was from a tree stand. A spotting scope would have been too much because I wasn't glassing a hillside from a long distance. A nice pair of 8 or 10 power binoculars would do the job. Plus you save the expense of the spotting scope which can run upwards of $1500 or more depending on the brand. You also have to consider how often you'd be using it. If you do decide to get one, make sure it has a great warranty.