Do I really need four spotting scopes?

Don't ask me how i got there, but I did and I'm there..
I have 3 Bausch & Lomb Balscope Sr spotting scopes 1 in 20X and an original B&L tripod used on the bench, One in 30X in a Freeland bi-pod mount also used on the bench, and another in 20X in a Freeland tripod mount used for offhand..
I also have a Kowa 821 with a 27X extended eye relief eye piece.that I also use from the bench.
Now I know I really only need one, probably the Kowa, but I just can't bring myself to get rid of the Balscopes.. they are such a good scope for what you can get them for I just can't let go.

 

I feel your pain. I have 2 Kowa's, 2 Unertl's,1 Buschnell, 4 Bausch & Lomb's and 1 Argus. I could live with 1 Kowa or 1 Unertl. What can I say? I like spotting scopes.

 

Just 4? Good start.

 

You wouldn't really be "getting rid" of one of your Balscopes if you gave it to your THR buddy - good ol' .308 Norma. He'd give it a good home.

 

I'm with .308 Norma. I could provide a good home too

Yall got too many scopes for the amount of eyes you got.

 

I only have one Leupold

 

I’m not familiar with the Kowa. If it’s of very high quality I’d keep it.

Personally, if the extra scopes could be sold for any kind of meaningful money, I’d sell them and get one really good scope. Maybe sell all of them and wrap it into into one if you could use the proceeds to trade up. I see zero benefit to using marginal equipment when perhaps you could have something exceptional. I see even less benefit in owning something that sits in a drawer at home.

 

I feel like a slacker here. I have an older Bausch & Lomb and one of the newer Redfield spotting scopes. Just 2 spotting scopes for me.

 

Forgot to mention all scopes American made except the 2 Kowa's and the bushnell which are Japanese. I wouldn't even think of owning a Chinese scope.
Kowa's probably the best in modern made scopes but if you look through the old school B&L scopes or Unertl's you'll wonder why they can't build them like that today.

 

All I have is an old Tasco...

 

That's impossible to answer. How is your vision? Target size and distance.....

I'm 67 and have never owned a rifle scope, and this covers the 20 (+) rifles which have been here.

 

The Kowa is probably a keeper. Never owned one but I have looked through them and came away impressed. How old are your B&L Balscopes? They also have a reputation for high quality optics. I have a modest Bausch & Lomb collection focused on when their products were all made in Rochester NY and one of them is a 15-60x Balscope from about the early 1960's. If you decide to just keep the Kowa you wouldn't even have to give a Balscope away for it to find a good home, (grin). I'd cough up a fair price depending on condition, ( if it's a Rochester made model). They are seen on E-Bay if you want to figure a value on it. That's where most of my Bausch & Lomb stuff came from. If you can't bring yourself to get rid of the Balscopes you could just keep 'em.... My 15-60x Balscope was what got me interested in older B & L stuff.

 

Thanks for the reply.. In my opinion, the 15-60 B&L does not have the same resolution as the earlier fixed power Balscopes. and yeah, the Kowa is definitely a keeper I us the Balscopes when i'm just going out for some informal shooting or where I won't leave it in the car unattended.. I had a Unertl once upon a time that grew feet and left me.. I'll probably unload a couple of the Balscopes at some point, but which ones! LOL

 

We built our house in 2006 about a mile from the base of mts that go up to 9500 feet. For years I’ve been wanting to get a spotting scope I could set up in the back yard fire pit area to glass the slopes with for deer, mtn lions, elk, hikers etc. Was always kicking around the $650 price range as a target for this one and only spotting scope for backyard use.

Fall of 2021 one of my best friends who I shared this info with texts me and asked me if I’m still looking for a scope. Said yeah. Replies he would be over in a few minutes. A word about my buddy. Well heeled medical professional. Owned about 20+ motorcycles in the past 17 years I’ve known him and well over a dozen vehicles, some Range Rovers, Alfa Romeos etc.

Shows up at my house. Said he bought a Vortex Razor HD 24x65x85 ($1999) with angled eye piece, neoprene body covers and a $300+ tripod. He just got back from Yellowstone from its inaugural use and decided he was more of a binocular man. Offered entire package to me for $1000. $350 more than my price range. BAM…took that offer and ran with it.

I’ve used it 2-3 times for glassing deer but really like it for looking at a full moon. Amazing detail. In another thread some time I’ll recount all the guns and motorcycles he’s sold me.

 

I have no spotting scope at all.

I will just go and stand in the corner now.

Stay safe.

 

Probably better to have none and pine for a good one some day than to try to make due with a cheap junker. Bad glass is more headache than it's worth (so says this guy who tried and gave up on using el-cheapos).

 

I have an Aspen, Spacemaster, and a Bushnell.

 

I just read this post and my heart really went out for you, my heart, not my wallet. With that said, why haven't you ever purchased one? Just trying to get you pulled from the corner...lol

 

I have 2. A Nikon fieldscope 25-75X82 ED and a Leupold 15-30X50. They are both straight scopes and I use the small Leupold for glassing deer and up to 200 yards with shoot NC targets. Now I want an angled scope no reason other than I want one so I'm researching, either a Kowa or a Swarovski, but not in a hurry since my Nikon is one of the premium scopes up there with Kowa, Swarovski, and a couple of others.

 

I like having a range of sizes. My pistol scope is an NG...one of the mini-scopes. Good for 25 meters, tolerable to 50. The rifle spotting scope is a low-end Kowa, which is entirely satisfactory for 100 yards.

 

I have two. Hadn't used them for years. Finally took the Nikon down to the cabin and set it up on the porch to scan the upper field for deer. Even then, it's still easier to use the binos. Got like 8 of those.

 

I have never seen a Kowa except in pictures but I did buy a pair of Kowa binoculars last year for bird watching. If the scopes are on a par with these binoculars they are excellent. I had the option of free returns on the binoculars if I didn't like them but they are definately a keeper.

I am a piker when it comes to spotting scopes. I used a Tasco for many years and then my wife bought me a Leupold and I eventually passed the old Tasco to a grandson as it was just taking up space.

 

My wife bought me a cheap one years ago.
I think it was Winchester branded...I think.
I gave it away. Could see bullet holes through my scopes mounted on guns better than I could through that thing.
Guy at the range acted like he had never been given anything before.