Forums / Gun Discussion / Spotting Scopes

see how far across the store you can read a sign
You decide how much you want to spend

Pkato is only gonna use it to spot "LBFM"s in PI,lol

I understand...but I was reading somewhere a few reviews and there were 1 or 2 mentioned that were rather cheap, but worked exceptionally well..while, I think I read a pretty bad couple of reviews on leuopold ones...and both reviewers were surprised how bad they were, blurry and shit. That's more what I was looking for. When I get home I won't have a lot of time going and checking out a bunch, so any information I can get to help narrow my choices down to just a few would be helpful. The best information that would help me would be crap ones...if anybody has experience with some bad ones...let me know. Thanks Charles. Mike...LBFM??? What does that mean? Besides I am more a Laos/Thailand guy!

i have a simmons 12-35 x 50 spotting scope,it works very well,very crisp and good in low light too.300 meter KD range was where i use it.i'd say that it has worked fine for what i wanted to do with it,see target hits.a simmons won't break your bank either but it is chinese made.

of Pkatos girlfriends!!!!lololol....sorry could'nt help myself

I have the Barska Gladiator 25-75x100 and this thing kicks ass. I shot out to about 500 yards and still can identify my shoots real well. I use it for scouting elk to and its optics are nice and clear. I have some friends that prefer it over their more exspensive Nikons and Leopolds. I think I was into mine for about 275 shipped to the front door.

Im guessing all the stores are set up the same way..where the optics are in the middle and they have the rasied area that has the scopes mounted and you can look at thier "mountain" and all the trophys mounts on it.. Best side by side comparison you can get... Not saying thier the best price.. I couldn't pay the kinda bucks they want for a swarwhatsitcalled even if i had it.. My scope is an old beat up 10-30 that i think i paid like 40 bucks for.. I do have a good set of Steiners that i got a good price on.. Thier worth it, but i use bino's lot more than spoting scope.
The son-n-law borowed the cheap old scope, and it worked well enough for that beautiful antilope he just got..

Since I was going to be into medium range rifle shooting, I looked at some spotter optics, at different price points. It is probably a function of 78 year old eyes, but I could not distinguish the difference between the mucho dinero variety, and the much less expensive types. I wound up buying a chinese brand [NcStar] 20-60 X60 for about $50.00. So far, it has been surprisingly durable, and has good clarity, light gathering, and focusing characteristics, at the distances I was concerned with--out to about 250'+.
If you can test them, side by side, with your own eyeballs, you might get a surprise on the quality of the less expensive variety. A tripod is, of course, is an absolute necessity for the test.

Pkato, get a cheapo if you are going to be in AZ or half way around the world in another hot spot. Heat waves don't care how much money you spend or how good it looked in the controlled environment of a large sporting goods store. If you go far enough north you may be seeing clearly for 500 yds. Down here, 250 to 300 period. A 6mm hit is invisible at 250yd at 60pwr on a 80 deg. day.

i didn't realize that 6mm 250 yd 80 degree thing... mine only goes to 30 and (real cheap) to be honest i dont use it enough to know about the heat disapating thing...makes since..

Just stoped in to say hi... you guys stay well,, will see ya tomorrow..

You can use the angle of mirage to help guesstimate wind speed downrange.

I ordered this one:

Barska 20-60x60 Blackhawk Waterproof Spotting Scope 60mm w/ Tripod, Soft & Hard Cases 1 BK-SS-Blackhawk-20-60x60 $109.94 01 - Models = AD11284: Barska 20-60x60 Blackhawk Green Angled Spotting Scope

Cheap, but all the reviews I could find were good...with only at max power slightly darker...that was the only drawback on it...so I ordered it. I figure it isn't very good...I wasted 120 dollars...or half a night out in Bangkok...haha.

Thanks for all the help. I will be using it in PA and ARizona...