Someone wanna recommend a spotting scope

Status
Not open for further replies.
N

noob_shooter

member
Joined
Feb 8, 2009
Messages
348
under $100? I am currently looking at the barska 20-60x and ncstar 20-60x. Just need a spotting scope for no more than 300 yards to check .223 bullet holes..

if you know of any good ones a bit above $100, list them. Thanks
 
Tain't no 'good ones' in that price range, but the bad ones will do just fine for range spotting.

Try posting a WTB for a used one. Be sure to specify tripod to be included.
 
Careful Noob, you're asking for trouble here. The optics elitists might come out and tell you that you might as well use plastic wrap and a toilet paper tube if you can only spend $100 on a spotter. I tried it once. Good luck. I'd look at a decent used scope as well, though.
 
Check out the Konus 20-60X 80mm for about $215 (I know, you said under $100). It's a great spotter for the money.
 
I was in the same dilemna with trying to pick out a spotting scope but then had the revelation that I could easily use the Digital SLR equipment I already have !!! duh !!!
 
Got the Barska myself and have been using it for a couple of years now. The clarity isn't there for more than 200yrds but under that it works fine.
 
Seeing .223 holes at 300 yards is going to be tough. Maybe a combination of the lower priced scopes and the "Shoot -N-C" targets will work for you?
 
^^^ Wow that thing is pretty massive have you had it out to spot tiny holes past 200yrds? I have the Barska Blackhawk 20-60x60mm and for what I use it for it's been good enough. Like I mentioned more clarity / contrast would be needed for longer than 200yrds to spot with. Still much better than not having a spotting scope!
 
To clearly see .22 holes at 300 yards is a tough thing to do, even with a white target, even with $3-500 scopes.

Put in some low quality optics, mirage, a crappy tripod, or insufficient eye relief, and you compound the difficulty.

If you want to spend $100 and see these holes at 300 yards buy $30 worth of shoot-n-see targets and a $70 scope.

Not being an optics snob here, just sharing my experiences.
 
Just need a spotting scope for no more than 300 yards to check .223 bullet holes..
Click to expand...

If you live up in the crystal clean air of the Rockies, maybe with a darn good scope you will see .223 bullets at 300 yards.

But not in the soupy humid air of the South.
 
I have a Barska 20-60. The picture is so dim and washed out, I can actually see bullet holes better, at absolutely any distance, with some $40 Bushnell 8-16 binocs...
 
I agree with some previous posters. Even the best of scopes will strain to clearly define .22 holes @ anywhere near 300 yards. A super clear day is your best ally but we can't always shoot in the Rockies or choose the weather when it's our turn to compete at the range. Good resolution will trump higher magnification, everything else being equal. Unfortunately, higher magnification is much cheaper to achieve optically than is excellent resolution. I'm no glass snob but I sincerely doubt that any low-priced spotting scope on the market today can pick out those tiny holes @ 300 yards. If there is, please share. I'm all ears!
 
My experience with optics is over the last 40 years and everytime I have purchased inexpensive scopes and binoculars I have been very disappointed. Unless you get used stuff that has good glass. Most people hate the saying "you get what you pay for" but within reason it is true. As you age and your vision goes to hell you will reap dividends on the good glass.
 
With optics you really do get what you pay for. A spotting scope going for less than $100 won't be able to resolve much at the distances you describe.
 
About a year ago I got a Burris 20x fixed with a 50 mm objective and a Vanguard tripod for $69.95 from Natchez. The tripod is worth that much. I shoot 10 meter pistol and rifle and Bullseye pistol. It has been great for that.

I spotted at the PA smallbore silhouette chmpionship last year for a shooter who had a Leica 36x with 80mm objective in a Bogen tripod. It was wonderful. I could see the hits on the rams before they went over. That rig is around $3000, I think. It could be more.
 
Like several other posters in this thread, I have the Barska Blackhawk 20x-60x. I purchased it a couple of years back for $80. I can see .22 holes at 200 yards with it. I've never tried it past 200, as that's the maximum distance where I shoot, but I don't think it will be up to the task of seeing .22 holes @ 300 yards.

It is a decent spotting scope for the money, but lacks the optical clarity of the big names. My only serious complaint is that the eye relief is so short that I have to remove my shooting glasses to use it.
 
Cabelas has some good scopes with their name on them, dont know who makes them but I have looked thru some and they are good quality in the lower $100 range, Swaroskis and Leupold.....but most of us cant afford them
 
Spend the most you can afford. Quality is resolution: the ability to distinguish between two separate spots. The better the more obvious. Buy cheap and you'll see big fuzzy stuff instead of big clear stuff, and be frustrated.
Al
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

deerhunter61
  • Locked
Spotting Scopes at 500 yards?
Replies
9
Views
2K
win71
win71
J
  • Locked
  • Poll
help me pick one (spotting scopes)
Replies
5
Views
422
Jolly Green
J
C
  • Locked
Yet Another Spotting Scope Thread
Replies
13
Views
1K
hps1
hps1
C
  • Locked
Considering this Basrska Spotting Scope
2
Replies
27
Views
3K
LiveLife
LiveLife
R
  • Locked
spotting scope
Replies
6
Views
841
Ken70
K
Back
Top