Spotting Scope choices

JimForTheWin

New member
I'm starting to shoot the longer distances and my little pocket monocular just can't cut it. Does anyone have any suggestions for types of spotting scope to look at. ?

I know I want tri-pod mountable, but what magnification/zoom should I be look at, angled vs straight eye piece, compact or not, etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

SiKirk

New member
I got a celestron ultima 65. Really good scope, easy to see stuff at 100yds with it using it's 18-55x zoom eyepiece. Get an angled scope if I was you, and make sure you get a decent tripod, as you really need to keep the scope as steady as possible.
Quite alot of people use aldi specials, but whilst outrageously cheap, are terrible to my eyes.
 

Alun

Member
I guess the Swarovski is out of your price bracket (it certainly is out of mine, unfortunately), worth noting his comments about what he looks for in a scope: Wex Photographic to sponsor Michael Peart and that non-archery companies are sponsoring archers at this time.
I have always found this a very good company to deal with for this sort of stuff, by the way, having bought many things off them over the years. I'm not affiliated in any way, just a satisfied customer.
 

CPlater1

New member
Ideally you want a large objective lens to get more light in. You want a waterproof scope, with nitrogen filling for when you shoot in the rain. It is nice to have an angled eyepiece, they make it easier to look. Also, the tripod should be robust, and not easily blown around.
 
M

Moose

Guest
As you are not carrying the tripod about other than to shoots go for an older style one made of heavy fat tubes this is much better in the wind and tend to wobble much less than all the other I have tried

The better quality the scope the better the lens the clearer the image, you definitely get what you pay for with optics

If you ever get the chance to look through a zeiss, Leica, or swartski scope and compare it even to a celestron or opticron you will see the difference ?1k makes even though the latter two make excellent scopes
 

SiKirk

New member
Or *don't* look through a Leica or similar top scope! I did this at the birdfair and for ages afterwards every other scope looked terrible. Ruined me it did. ;)
 

BillM

Member
OR you could look at the cheap ones sold by ALDI and LIDL - about ?30. The optics are not as good as other makes of scope but good enough to see the targat at 30m/100y down to 30m and whatever distance an imperial round dictates. It would be good to start with and upgrade as finances allow. A good tripod mkes all the difference, especially in windy conditions.

BillM
 

Rik

Supporter
Supporter
If you go cheap, you're better off going for a non-zoom model. simpler optics have less that can be wrong with them.
That said, I've used a cheap russian pull-out zoom and a mighty midget (old version). The russian one still works but the picture isn't great. The Opticron scope fell over and broke - wind can be a bugger.

My most recent one is fixed 20x50. Incredibly cheap, but the picture seems better than the mighty midget which was approximately 5 times the price... It's a no-brand thing I got off a stall in shopping centre for a throw-away price, waterproof and good enough for most purposes. Difficult to recommend it, given I can't tell you who makes it, but I would if I could.
 

Darryl

New member
In my opinion probably the best "Bang for buck" spotting scope on the market for just ?225

Acuter DS20-60X80A Spotting Scope - Full Review
Id have to agree with buzz on this. I have the st20-60x80 and it's great you can get them for less than ?150. Kenny Allen was using one at the soton h2h iirc.

while celestron and acuter are owned by the same parent company there are differences between same spec models. ive had no leaks while my gf's eyepeice has fogged over during a heavy downpour and it took a few days to get the internals dry.
 

tel1NULLED

New member
When I used to go birding watching I bought a lovely scope from ''Opticron'' great company, as said above get a 45 degree angled scope easier on the back as well!! new scopes come on the market quiet quickly but go and have a look on ''Opticron''.
 

wingate_52

Active member
I use a Bresser Safari 20-60x80 in a water-resistant case that works well. Not as good as a Leica that another member has. It attaches to a Manfrotto grip, fixed to a 35 year old Cullman tripod. I bungee and peg the tripod to the ground. Must make an extention to the hood as rain is expected at Sunday's shoot.
 

Foobs

New member
I bought a Meade 20 - 60X Zoom Spotting Scope from that well known auction site for ?60 posted. It comes with a hard case, a tripod (a bit too weak tbh, but usable), a lense cloth, two bags and the eyepiece. It's completely waterproof and at full zoom you can see the gold only on a 70M target. I saw an independant video review online that stated he could see .22 holes at 100 yards.

Image quality probably isn't the best, but we tested it out this week in low light and the picture was clear and bright. Don't see the point in spending more than this for something that you are only going to use a number of times per shoot IMO.
 
M

Moose

Guest
I like the my mighty midget (mm2) it is not the opticron one but from the company that makes them bought it from a seller on eBay who bought a few to sell

Very clear and bright, I have never added a zoom lens and can tell my arrows at 90m no problem with the 25x eye piece
 

Little Miss Purple

The American
Fonz Awardee
Ironman
American Shoot
I wouldn't recommend the aldi scope, you can't tell arrows apart at 70m. I collected cheaper scopes until I finally bought a decent one.
 

Little Miss Purple

The American
Fonz Awardee
Ironman
American Shoot
I bought an opticron HDF zoom lens.. It's brilliant, I also put an opticron scope cover on to protect from the elements :beer:
 

Craftsman

New member
I used an old screw thread 400mm camera lens with a telescope adapter for years when I was rifle shooting and I could see a 7mm bullet hole at 500 yards with that, (and the craters on the moon when it was out!)
You can't beat either Rhino or Greencat spotters for robustness though.
 

Stash

New member
Anything 20X50 with an angled eyepiece and WATERPROOF is the minimum you need for archery purposes. You just want to locate your arrows, not call linecutters at 90M.
 
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