Spotting Scope

[Neil]

Hey guys, I'm looking for a little advice on spotting scopes. I wasn't planning on elk hunting with one, but after browsing craigslist, I found a few in the $50-$75 range that make it a little more feasible. I was wondering if the options I'm looking at will benefit me as I glass, or if they'll just be extra weight in my bag. The options I'm looking at are a simmons 20-60x60, a Winchester WT-541 12-50x50, and a Gordon 20-60x60. Thanks for the help!

[Swede]

I have a spotting scope, but never use it for elk hunting. There are open areas where they might give you an advantage, and they can be helpful for scouting, but give me a good pair of binoculars for hunting. For sizing up a bull a mile away, they could be helpful, but I don't care to score the animal anyway.

[saddlesore]

I have Nikon, 1-45X. I don't carry it elk hunting, Usually in the truck for antelope One thing to watch for in the cheaper line of scopes is that they don't have a very long depth or field and it is a lot harder to adjust to clarity .

The other thing is I wish I had bought one with an angular eye piece. It is tough trying to get down prone to look thru a straight scope or even to get in position on a pack or rock.'You will never need a 60 X scope. Mirage, etc. will limit you and that depth of field at 60X is terrible along with the clarity

[Indian Summer]

Do you know for sure that your area is one where a spotter is even usable? My advice would be not to buy one until you are sure AND when you can afford one worth owning. Budget scopes fog up, aren't that clear at the higher powers, and end up collecting dust before finding their way to eBay. You'd be better off with a good quality pair of binoculars.

[husky390]

I would save my money for a better spotter than those listed. I snagged a Nikon Fieldscope III off Craigslist for a heck of a deal.


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[AlexG]

I use the Nikon pro staff 20-60x82 and it's awesome for the money! Probably find a used one for good price.


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[MidwestHunter]

I went through the same scenario looking for a spotting scope. I looked at the simmons (IMHO crap), redfield (ok, but still not amazing). All the "budget" scopes I figured would collect dust and just be extra weight in my pack. Most of them really could only use up to 30-40 power before it gets real grainy. Honestly I didn't see anything that would be beneficial under $400. The vortex spotters are where I thought they would be useable, those started at $400.

Given that I didn't want to spend $400, I took advise of some board members and bought a pair of "higher" powered binoculars. Much cheaper, and the clarity on the pair I got was amazing, and even at dawn/dusk hours, you can see through them longer than your naked eye, they collect that much light. You can get an adaptor to put them on a tripod for stability.

I got the Vortex Diamondback 12X50. I read the lifetime no questions asked warranty is amazing. I am happy with them, and the clarity is superb for the price, haven't used them on elk hunt, but I feel this is all I will need. Cabela's has a good price on them right now, see the attached link:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/vortex-r ... Ntt=vortex

[RAMMONT]

I wouldn't waste my money on any of those optics, cheap scopes aren't worth the bother. They will give you trouble when you try to focus at long range, they usually don't have a crisp view across the entire image, and they usually don't last very long under rough use.

I use a Leupold 15x-30x by 50mm Compact Gold Ring, it's a compromise that I could live with. Less magnification than some would prefer but short, light, and easy to put in to a pack.