Spotting scopes

[RUDY850]

Thinking of getting one.Lets here what you have or recommend.

What power spotting scope is needed to see holes at 100 yards?

Is a more expensive one worth it or even needed?

[TonyF]

Swarovski is ...... well ...... the creme de la creme but their prices are astronomical. I have an 88mm Kowa which I think is a brand that offers a very good compromise between quality and price.

[Hawk]

Quote from www.opticsplanet.com
"Out to 100 yards, you don't need a spotting scope with a large objective, a lot of magnification or premium grade optics to get the job done. 18-36x or so will be plenty of magnification to see bullet holes at 100 yards and even a good 50mm objective will have enough resolution to see 22 bullet holes."

Check out Dunhams, Dicks, Gander mountain - price should be in the $50-80 range for a decent mid-line scope. I bought a compact Winchester spotting scope at Dunhams and can see .223 holes at 200 yards.

Hawk,

[mauser]

I have 2 older (1960s - 1970s?) Bushnell spotting scopes that I got fairly cheap at a flea market and on eBay. One is 20X, ($15.00), the other is 48X, ($50.00). The 20X is plenty for me at 100 yards, the 48X is too much scope for 50 yards, (field of view is too small), and more than enough, almost too much scope for 100 yards. I haven't had a chance to try either of them beyond 100 yards. My dad has an even older Bushnell 28X (1950s - 1960s?) that he uses for everything from 300 meters to beyond 1500 yards to spot silhouette shoots and varmint hunts. He bought a "better" higher power scope a few years ago and didn't like it at all, he went right back to the old Bushnell. I found a good deal ($25.00) on a Bushnell 9-30X40mm several weeks ago at a yard sale and picked it up for Thebuckslayer. He said he's happy with it. Like myself, he hasn't had a chance to use it beyond 100 yards, but it's plenty good enough for that.
I did have a Simmons 12-35X50 that I bought new. I sold it on eBay in July. It just wasn't as sharp and clear as I wanted. That's when I found my first used Bushnell. The first time I tried it, I knew the Simmons was going up for sale, never a second thought.

[Steve in PA]

I used (and still own) an inexpensive TASCO spotting scope for year. For 100yds it worked okay. I could make out .22cal holes at 100 yards.

A few years ago I upgraded to a Burris 20-60x-80mm spotting scope for working at longer distances. The scope is in the picture below.

[XD45]

Bump.....



I'm looking to get a new one, any recommendations?

[roland]

Hawk and I use this for seeing 223 holes at 200yds. It is a little difficult at times to see them in the black with no white backer board. Been using it for a year now for weekly practices.

http://www.opticsplanet.net/konus-ko...ing-scope.html

[Hawk]

Hawk and I use this for seeing 223 holes at 200yds. It is a little difficult at times to see them in the black with no white backer board. Been using it for a year now for weekly practices.

http://www.opticsplanet.net/konus-ko...ing-scope.html

Yup, I sold the Winchester and bought the Konus. Best scope for the money (IMHO).

[Tomcat088]

Thinking of getting one.Lets here what you have or recommend.

What power spotting scope is needed to see holes at 100 yards?

Is a more expensive one worth it or even needed?

Others have given you some pretty good advice here. For most people's uses, there is absolutely no reason to spend LOTS of money on a spotting scope. With equal glass quality (which is VERY hard to measure), the larger the objective lense is on the spotting scope; the better the resolution and the brighter the sight picture will be. This means that if 2 spotting scopes have the same quality of glass, and one is a 60mm objective, the other being 80mm objective; at the same magnification the 80mm objective lense will be able to resolve finer details and will have a brighter picture. Many times though, when you make a larger lense, it's more difficult to turn out the same quality of lense for the same price, so many times a scope that has 80mm objective lense may be the same price as a 60mm scope; so the glass quality might not be as good. At that point, it's really hard to decide which one will appear better, then it's just differing opinions and depends on each one's glass quality.

Even with high end scopes at long range, they will only look so good because of mirage and other things. You have to realize that being able to see bullet holes at 200 yards or 300 yards, is also dependent upon atmospheric conditions, light angle, target and it's backer, etc. Some days are easier than others to see trace and bullet holes on target. I actually don't own a spotter, but I have looked through a fair amount of them. I use my rifle scope for most applications and binoculars for glassing or spotting. I can resolve bullet holes fairly easily with my 25x rifle scope that has a 56mm objective, which is big for a rifle scope. In the black they are sometimes difficult to see, but typically I can. So any kind of decent optic that has over 25x and a 60mm or larger objective will probably work for you.

Keep in mind that with high magnification you will need the scope to be steady. This usually means you will be proned out, or the scope will not be high above the bench. This may mean that you need to purchase a decent tripod to place the scope on, so it's something to consider in the price of the scope as well. I would agree with some others that the top of the line spotters will probably be the swarovski, or from what I hear, the USO is even nicer. Either way you probably don't need these top of the line scopes, and if you're like me, you may just want to spend the money on a nicer rifle scope. When it comes to optics, quality optics that have good resolution can make up for not having as much magnification. Look through a USO, Swaro, Zeiss, Nightforce at 16x, and compare it to other "midrange" optics, and you'll understand. Either way, they all have their place for different people's needs, but you most likely do NOT need to spend even over $200 to get what you want, and I would say that $300 will be just novelty and nice. Best of luck to you.

[Rivergun]

I know I'm new but... Have used a cheap russian made spotter for years to see out to 200 yds. Works acceptably. Had a chance to compare a "Used" Bausch & Lomb and a "New" Kowa. The new one wins, but without the two side by side the comparison is not easy.
Opinion ?, buy a inexpensive one for the 100 yd targets...