"Budget" spotting scopes?

[Shanghai McCoy]

The thread about having four spotting scopes got me thinking about my one crappy spotting scope.

Sure there are very high quality ones in the multi 1,000's but that's more than I could justify to myself or my wife.
So, in the $500 max range, what all is out there that is worth buying?

 

[ms6852]

Celestron and Konus Spotting scopes are good scopes for the price point. Just remember that even the high dollar scopes have limitations due to atmospheric conditions, only difference is that they can correct more because of the optic coatings than a lesser priced scope. Distance is another factor so if you stay within the parameters that the scope has , you will not be disappointed. How do you plan to use this scope?

 

[dcloco]

Konus work well. Buy the largest lense size in your price point.

 

[rabid wombat]

Look at the secondary market (used). You may be able to buy ‘better’ than what retail will sell. The results of a poor filtering below:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/sear..._scopes_1032|riflescopes_9297|telescopes_3307

 

[lysanderxiii]

Buy used.

 

[BobABQ]

I have a Redfield spotting scope, one of the ones after Leupold bought the name. I am sure you can find them on the secondary market and mine works just fine.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Buy used. Clarity is important. Someone had a higher power scope than my Leupold but my Leupold had better clarity.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Celestron and Konus Spotting scopes are good scopes for the price point. How do you plan to use this scope?

Mostly figure I'll be using it for shooting on the range or just "looking" around at the birds here.

 

[LiveLife]

"Budget" spotting scopes ... So, in the $500 max range, what all is out there that is worth buying?

After using several binoculars and spotting scopes for shooting, I have happily settled on the $100 Visionking 25-75x70 Maksutov spotting scope - https://www.amazon.com/Visionking-2...ting-Waterproof/dp/B00GH2JWTA#customerReviews

Unlike traditional spotting scope with long body, I like the short compact body and 75x magnification that allows me to see smaller .22 caliber holes at 100 yards and beyond.

 

[PWC]

I have a B & L, don't know the power or field of view (recliner is too comfortable to get up right now) cost $40 30 yrs ago, and Harbor Freight scope 3 yrs ago for $36. Both work well spotting 30 cal out to 100 yd, which is mostly what I shot. Any caliber, less than 100 yds, ok too.

Took the HF scope out of the box and to the front of the store to check it out thru the front window before I bought.

 

[Jim Watson]

I have one of the smaller Kowas, 60 or 66mm with 25x long eye relief eyepiece.
A friend has an older 82mm 27x.
Meant more for spotting disks on Long Range targets or bullet splash on steel and reading mirage, they won't pick bullet holes out of the black as far as I see said on the www.

 

[AlabamaRoscoe]

I bought an Athlon Talos 20-60x80. So far, it has worked as needed and cost less than $200 new.

 

[jmorris]

Mostly figure I'll be using it for shooting on the range or just "looking" around at the birds here.

I have cheap spotting scopes too, some given to me because of their poor quality, they are still useful because I keep my good stuff put away and the cheap ones are always handy. Most often I still just grab a decent pair of binoculars, as above clear can be more important than magnification.

 

[jmorris]

After using several binoculars and spotting scopes for shooting, I have happily settled on the $100 Visionking 25-75x70 Maksutov spotting scope

I had thought catadioptric lenses went the way of the dodo, been awhile since I have seen any. How does it do as you go up in magnification?

I always thought it would make for a compact rifle scope, until I got one for my SLR. The design seems to “eat a lot of light” vs just lenses without all of the reflecting.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Buy used. Clarity is important. Someone had a higher power scope than my Leupold but my Leupold had better clarity.

I'm looking at some reviews and I am noticing some complaints about clarity at the higher magnifications with some of the scopes in the 20-60 power range.

 

[ms6852]

As has been mentioned buying used is one way to go. This guys usually have decent used riflescopes and spotting scopes on sale or trade.
https://www.swfa.com/used-demo/spotting-scopes.html

 

[SwampWolf]

I bought a Leupold "Sequoia" 20-60x80mm, new, several years ago and to be truthful, I've always been disappointed with its resolution. It's been my experience that a really good spotting scope, like most everything else in optics, doesn't come cheap.

 

[rabid wombat]

I'm looking at some reviews and I am noticing some complaints about clarity at the higher magnifications with some of the scopes in the 20-60 power range.

@jmorris hit on some of it (in cameras, it is called the f-stop - most the mirror or ‘folded’ light lenses are f11 or worse). How much light comes in, and how much comes out. For spotting scope, it is easy math…exit pupil. Take the objective diameter / power. For an 80mm objective at 20 power = exit pupil is 4 mm. A 60mm / 60 power = exit pupil is 1 mm. Typically the larger the exit pupil, the brighter the scope, or vice versa - the smaller the exit pupil, the more light you need coming in for the ‘same’ brightness coming out. This is why when dialing up the power on a scope, it seems to get darker. Your pupil typically is around 5mm in normal dilation, (much smaller in bright light) - any larger from the scope, and the extra light is wasted. Age, genetics, etc. may cause differences for you.

Like you (and @4v50 Gary ) realize, clarity is different (sometimes called resolution). This where the big $$$ come from. It is why poor glass vs great glass with the same objective and same power cost different (amongst a host of other reasons). A standard is the 1951 Air Force resolution test. There are others. My epiphany came when looking at a bird on a wire behind the house with the then new to me Swarovski spotting scope. The bird was cool…feathers, beak, normal bird stuff. What blew me away was reading the embossed nomenclature of the wire the bird was sitting on. I was reading the heat embossed, black on black, nomenclature like I was holding the wire. As @Nature Boy and @hq hit on in another thread - I had made a very expensive mistake…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1951_USAF_resolution_test_chart

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/zwaro-z5-z3-opinions.915449/#post-12535719

 

[rabid wombat]

like most everything else in optics, doesn't come cheap.

Pay once, cry once

 

[ms6852]

I bought a Leupold "Sequoia" 20-60x80mm, new, several years ago and to be truthful, I've always been disappointed with its resolution. It's been my experience that a really good spotting scope, like most everything else in optics, doesn't come cheap.

.
You are correct, good optics are not cheap. I believe that there is a niche for cheap budget scopes but I believe that they are intended for 25 to 50 yards max.
When I was younger in my teens my vision was pretty spectacular so a budget scope was not an issue for me until I hit my 40's I begin to have difficulty discerning bullet holes at 100 yards, so switched to Shoot N C targets. When I retired from the Army by then I needed better optics and saved for almost 2 years to buy my scope and tri-pod. People forget that a good sturdy tripod is crucial and expensive as well.

 

[PWC]

Scope "power" or magnification = objective dia ÷ by eye piece dia.

Fully dark adapted eye pupil is 7 mm. Anything larger is wasted, anything smaller is dimmer.

 

[rabid wombat]

Fully dark adapted eye pupil is 7 mm. Anything larger is wasted, anything smaller is dimmer.

Thank you!

 

[hq]

Fully dark adapted eye pupil is 7 mm. Anything larger is wasted, anything smaller is dimmer.

Physiologically correct, yes. However the maximum "aperture" of human pupil gets smaller with age. At around 50 you're lucky to have 6mm and it's downhill from there.

 

[PWC]

I have 7 scopes: 4 astromonical; 2 reflectors, two refractors, and 3 refactor spotting scopes. I've never shot 600-1000 yds, but if I had, I would take one of my astro scopes; the target would look the size of a saucer, hopefully with holes in ot.

 

[mljdeckard]

In many categories I sneer at snobs. People who buy name brands, and ignore the law of diminishing returns. Most people will never even come close to using the difference between "good enough" and "the very best money can buy."

However, I recently dusted off the Bushnell box with my dad's 'bare minimum' spotting scope he bought just to have one, and took it to a municipal range to do some accuracy tweaking. No. So much no. I ended up using the rifle scope on max power to spot hits.

I am going to take the advice here and look into buying used.