spotting scope for the range

15x50mm binoculars on a tripod. Don't need an expensive spotter for 500 and less. Check out the Bushnell Engage binoculars for a great value.

seriously, you can see .22 caliber holes in a black bullseye with 15x binocs. ? At 500 yards ?
hmm, I may have to look into that idea. I do need a new spot device of some kind.

My only suggestion is ro get the angled eyepiece. So your short friends csn use it too. Angled eyepiece on a tabletop tripod works good and is a much smaller pkg than my straight eyepiece version on a full scale tripod. Its huge. Always getting cranked up or down.
Grrr

While your looking........try Natchez . They have an spotting scopes galore. That way you can see the spec`s and prices at the same time.

Good site .

I have been using a Konus 20-60 X 80. It has lived in my truck for probably 6 or 7 years. It’s held up well. I can see 22 holes pretty easy at 200. I can find them at 300. I don’t know about 500.

Vortex Diamondback 20-60x80mm. Angled eye piece. Very multi-purpose and won't break the bank. I spot .243 and .308 bullet holes out to 300 yrds. Use it on a camera tripod that will let you mount under the apex of the legs (for low camera angle work) and you can then use it shooting prone. Good for hunting, too. Decent in low light. You can buy better, but it will cost a lot more.

If we are talking about paper targets, why not use something like the Birchwood-Casey Shoot-n-C stuff that provide a hi-vis yellow ring around the bullet hole. I always believe that best (and likely cheapest) results are obtained in any process by improving every aspect a little bit rather than pushing one aspect (spotting scope in this case) to its ultimate. So a modest scope or binoculars and some help from a hi-vis target would combine to give very good and cost effective results. I get the 6 inch targets for about $0.25 each. I bought 400 of another brand of the 5 inch ones much cheaper than that...just pennies.

rpenmanparker said:

why not use something like the Birchwood-Casey Shoot-n-C stuff that provide a hi-vis yellow ring around the bullet hole.

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Because their targets are way too big. Until they start making regulation SR and MR bullseye targets, I'll stick with paper.

BigDog1955 said:

What is a good spotting scope for the range at 25 yds to 500yds?

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Looking forward to responses; I too, can use this advice.

This is what I use.....https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1210873-REG/leupold_170762_sx_1_ventana_2_20_60x80.html

get the highest power you can afford,better to have and not use than want it and not have it

D.B. Cooper said:

Because their targets are way too big. Until they start making regulation SR and MR bullseye targets, I'll stick with paper.

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They have all sizes from about 2 inches diameter up.

Many years ago I bought a Barska BLACKHAWK 20-60x 60mm scope and was amazed at how well it forces and showed bullet holes on targets. Not all the Barska scopes will do this, only the Blackhawk line from what I have seen. I bought a Barska 25-125x88 Benchmark spotting scope and it would not fine focus to see the bullet holes @200 yards.

I'm sure there are excellent scope out there but at what cost? This scope when I bought it cost me $109 and it's @$130 now with the angled eye piece, a little less with a straight eye piece. The hard and sift classes are a bonus IMO.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2...ith-tripod-and-hard-case-rubber-armored-green

D.B. Cooper said:

Because their targets are way too big. Until they start making regulation SR and MR bullseye targets, I'll stick with paper.

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Not if you put them far enough away. But then can you see the color? I dunno. If I were still shooting Long Range, I would have a camera for practice.

There aren't many "affordable" spotting scopes in my experience that can clearly discern .22 holes on a black background @ 500 yards. I've used an older Leupold "Gold Ring" variable 15x30x50mm scope at much shorter ranges with some success but it leaves a lot to be desired at longer ranges. Like others, I strongly recommend getting as much magnification that you can afford, along with an angled eyepiece for sure.

The other component needed for seeing things clearly at distances is the stand used to support the scope. I insist on using a well-made, convenient and adaptable (from shooting prone with the service rifle to standing with a handgun) unit. There are many good ones on the market. Before investing in a new one and divesting of my old one several years ago, I took the time to ask fifty or so different competitors at Camp Perry (both pistol and rifle shooters) as to their opinions based on their experiences with the stands they were using. Most of them concluded that, yes, there are many good ones on the market; get one of them.

After much research and deliberation, I ended up buying a First Strike unit from [email protected]; 770-663-0009; 855 McFarland Road, Alpharetta, GA, 30009. I recommend it highly.

I think that light gathering ability, aka objective size, is an important consideration. There is an optimum ratio between power and objective size. All the power in the world won't do you any good if you can't gather enough light. For example, my Kowa is 27X with an 82mm objective. I don't think that is an accident but a careful consideration by the scope designers. I also have a 15-45 X 60 Bushnell. The higher powers are practically useless unless it is a very bright day.

If you're wanting to find 22 holes in a black target at 500 yds, even the best optics will be challenged.

I got a Vortex Diamondback. Very good optics, not too expensive ... running around $500 right now:

https://www.opticsplanet.com/vortex-diamondback-20-60x80-spotting-scope.html

They make a range of scopes:

https://shop.opticsplanet.com/vorte...R0cVKr__m_ZhbApo9bqH1X2X_FkLFWqxoCoX4QAvD_BwE

SwampWolf said:

After much research and deliberation, I ended up buying a First Strike unit from [email protected]; 770-663-0009; 855 McFarland Road, Alpharetta, GA, 30009. I recommend it highly.

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Really? $250 for a scope stand when you can buy and extremely strong and adjustable tripod from Radio Shack for $29.95? (got mine for $19.99 on sale) I would rather put the additional $220 into the scope.

Radio Shack? Still some out there?

SwampWolf said:

There aren't many "affordable" spotting scopes in my experience that can clearly discern .22 holes on a black background @ 500 yards.

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This is the key problem, in my opinion. You can take out “affordable” and the statement remains true. There just aren’t many spotters which will clearly - and reliably - reveal 22cal holes in black paper at 500. So in actually shooting 500+ regularly for many years, I can’t say I believe a $1000 spotter is significantly better than 15x binos for 25-500yrd shooting. 500 is just far enough for paper holes to be easily obscured by the slightest mirage. I have a Bushnell Elite 20-60x80, Bushnell tactical 15-45x, and Vortex Razor 27-60x85mm currently, have had the Leupold Ventana 20-60x80, and a few other Celestron, Konus, Nikon, and Simmons spotters. Cheap stuff will struggle to resolve bullet holes even at 100, great stuff will struggle to resolve bullet holes at 500. For most precision rifle matches, I don’t even take a spotter - I use 15x50 Vortex Vultures on a tripod. Only when it comes to spotting impacts at 1,000-1,200 does the spotting scope have an obvious advantage.

So the reality in my answer isn’t saying a 15x bino can spot bullet holes at 500 reliably, but rather that almost NOTHING can do so, such you can save a lot of money and NOT buy a spotter.

ArchAngelCD said:

Really? $250 for a scope stand when you can buy and extremely strong and adjustable tripod from Radio Shack for $29.95? (got mine for $19.99 on sale) I would rather put the additional $220 into the scope.

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Hey, if a Radio Shack tripod works for you; great. You won't find many of them at places like Camp Perry because serious competitors insist on reliable stands that don't get pushed around by the gusts coming off Lake Erie and are adaptable enough to be used for shooting prone/sitting/kneeling/standing with a rifle or shooting offhand with a handgun. Nothing says you still can't put another $220.00 into a scope if you want your cake and eat it too.

SwampWolf said:

Hey, if a Radio Shack tripod works for you; great. You won't find many of them at places like Camp Perry because serious competitors insist on reliable stands that don't get pushed around by the gusts coming off Lake Erie and are adaptable enough to be used for shooting prone/sitting/kneeling/standing with a rifle or shooting offhand with a handgun. Nothing says you still can't put another $220.00 into a scope if you want your cake and eat it too.

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I find it a bit insulting you saying I'm not a serious competitor because don't think it's necessary to spend $250 on a scope stand.

The cheap $19/$20 tripods are flimsy but the $30 ones are extremely sturdy, have multiple adjustment points and built in levels. No need to try insulting me just because disagree with you.

ArchAngelCD said:

I find it a bit insulting you saying I'm not a serious competitor because don't think it's necessary to spend $250 on a scope stand.

The cheap $19/$20 tripods are flimsy but the $30 ones are extremely sturdy, have multiple adjustment points and built in levels. No need to try insulting me just because disagree with you.

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I didn't say every serious shooting competitor; I reported seeing almost every serious competitor at Camp Perry using serious sighting equipment, scopes and stands. You simply won't find many competitors on the line at Camp Perry or similar venues using cheap tripods to hold their scopes steady when strong winds are having fun shoving us and our equipment around. That doesn't mean you can't; it means they don't.

Nor does it mean you need expensive equipment to shoot well. However, after many years of competing, many, if not most, of us "step up" to better equipment that accordingly costs more. That includes guns, scopes and, for some of us, stands. You'll find the same updating of guns and equipment in virtually every shooting sport endeavor, from trap shooting to "Three Gun" events to Cowboy Action competition.

Nobody is "insulting" you for what kind of shooting equipment you use. I sincerely hope you don't feel you need my opinions to validate your choices.