# Let’s talk spotting scopes



## Tail-Chaser (Feb 7, 2014)

In the market for a good spotting scope. Mostly will be used here at home but will be taking it along on any of my out of state hunts. Haven’t gotten into mountain country yet but plan to in the future. Mostly will be using it to glass whitetails from the truck but am planning on doing some mule deer hunting in the future. So... 
straight vs angled 
60 vs 80 fov
Vortex vs leupold or am I overlooking something? 
haven’t owned a spotting scope before so this is all new ground to me.
I appreciate the input.


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## bwlacy (Jul 10, 2012)

What's your budget? Maybe check out Vanguard.

If budget isn't a concern look at Swaro.

Check out Rokslide forum and birding forums. Google is a good start.

Get a good tripod


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## steelyspeed (Apr 10, 2016)

Tail-Chaser said:


> In the market for a good spotting scope. Mostly will be used here at home but will be taking it along on any of my out of state hunts. Haven’t gotten into mountain country yet but plan to in the future. Mostly will be using it to glass whitetails from the truck but am planning on doing some mule deer hunting in the future. So...
> straight vs angled
> 60 vs 80 fov
> Vortex vs leupold or am I overlooking something?
> ...


I have the vortex diamond back angled 20x60x60 angled. It works fine. If I did it over again, I would buy the razor HD straight as it’s easier to switch from Binos to spotter on a tripod when locating a specific animal.


Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman


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## steelyspeed (Apr 10, 2016)

Tail-Chaser said:


> In the market for a good spotting scope. Mostly will be used here at home but will be taking it along on any of my out of state hunts. Haven’t gotten into mountain country yet but plan to in the future. Mostly will be using it to glass whitetails from the truck but am planning on doing some mule deer hunting in the future. So...
> straight vs angled
> 60 vs 80 fov
> Vortex vs leupold or am I overlooking something?
> ...


I have the vortex diamond back angled 20x60x60 angled. It works fine. If I did it over again, I would buy the razor HD straight as it’s easier to switch from Binos to spotter on a tripod when locating a specific animal.


Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman


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## wateroperator (Nov 8, 2013)

I've been really happy with all the Vanguard scopes and binoculars I've purchased over the years. I'm going to pick up one of their spotting scopes for a Montana mule deer hunt I have planned.

Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk


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## steelyspeed (Apr 10, 2016)

Tail-Chaser said:


> In the market for a good spotting scope. Mostly will be used here at home but will be taking it along on any of my out of state hunts. Haven’t gotten into mountain country yet but plan to in the future. Mostly will be using it to glass whitetails from the truck but am planning on doing some mule deer hunting in the future. So...
> straight vs angled
> 60 vs 80 fov
> Vortex vs leupold or am I overlooking something?
> ...


I have the vortex diamond back angled 20x60x60 angled. It works fine. If I did it over again, I would buy the razor HD straight as it’s easier to switch from Binos to spotter on a tripod when locating a specific animal.


Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman


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## 7mmsendero (Dec 2, 2010)

In my opinion you don’t have to break the bank on a spotting scope. Binoculars yes, but not scopes. We have something a guy threw in with a ,300 Weatherby magnum when I was a kid. It’s a no name brand, and works great. Light gathering at high power is an important consideration, but anything good should do that.


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## III (Dec 6, 2011)

Vanguard makes a good product Spotting Scopes I was able to get a package deal with a tripod at a sport show. Have used it in Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, and of course Michigan. I am very happy with there product, crisp and clear, puts up with abuse.


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## 98885 (Jan 18, 2015)

I have a Leupold Sequoia Green Ring 20-60x80 angled eye piece spotter for Sale. I'd take 275.00 for it with neoprene carry case. May(not positive) even have a tripod I purchased to go with it. It's been used very little but a very clear quality optic. Been sitting in my gun safe for several years. Never really needed it as I use bino's on a tripod instead.


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## Huntmaster143 (Aug 28, 2003)

I like angled scopes in the mountains. Buy a used Swarovski in a 65 mm front and it will work for what you described. 

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk


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## bowjack (Nov 20, 2011)

I have a Leupold 20x60 I purchased years ago that has been adequate for as much as I used it on a couple DIY mule deer hunts and here in Michigan. Does not compare with the high end spotters from Zeiss, Leica or Swarovski that I have looked through on some guided hunts though. I spent the money on 10x42 Zeiss binos and they were a good investment when I was doing mule deer, sheep and Mt goat hunts but kind of an overkill anywhere I have hunted in Michigan.


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## 98885 (Jan 18, 2015)

Leupold Gold Ring or Mark 4 spotters are top end optics also. You won't pay half as much as the European glass optics but you'll get excellent glass. Just have to decide how good of glass you need. For me, getting an excellent pair of bino's was the best move.


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## shanny28757 (Feb 11, 2006)

Definitely depends on your intended use. If you talk to the guys on rokslide that are western hunting a big number will say unless you’re buying swaro/Leica/ziess then you should keep saving until you can afford one.

That said, I have a 65mm vortex razor. It’s worked great for me over the years. I’m not trying to count annuli on sheep or score mule deer at 2-3 miles away in the high country so the vortex works for me. If you plan on doing some of that stuff you may want to opt for “buy once, cry once”. If not, check out vortex, maven, leupold, etc. those brands will probably work for you.


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## 98885 (Jan 18, 2015)

Yep if I were a western hunter, I'd own the best glass money could buy.


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## shaffe48b (Oct 22, 2019)

I had Maven binoculars last year and at first considered not even bringing my leupold 15-30x50 compact spotter which is about a $5-600 spotter if you pay full price. But I found that despite the better glass in the binos, the extra magnification in the spotter was beneficial to the point of being necessary for field judging game. But even then outside of a mile bets might be off.

I ended up seeing a lot of game last year and using a spotter a lot. I'm considering comparing my current scope to a kowa 664 to a maven s2. Maven through their demo program and the kowa through a rental. Apparently athlon makes a good scope for $600. Trac touric makes a 80mm class spotter around $1400.

The good thing about maven and trac touric is half your purchase price isn't going to retailers and advertisers. Come to think about it, I haven't noticed excessive marketing for kowa either. Yet many think they are the best better than sworovski.

So yes, if your only or main choices are leupold and vortex then you are definitely missing something.


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

steelyspeed said:


> I have the vortex diamond back angled 20x60x60 angled. It works fine. If I did it over again, I would buy the razor HD straight as it’s easier to switch from Binos to spotter on a tripod when locating a specific animal.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman


Which one do you have again?


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## shaffe48b (Oct 22, 2019)




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## 22 Chuck (Feb 2, 2006)

Kind of a tough one. For a product that will be used probably only occasionally. Something that will most likely be passed down to someone else.

You will want to see what your looking at but at what cost??

Buy once-cry once surely applies. Good luck.

I use at the range a few times/yr. I got lucky and found a Redfield 30 yrs ago, or so. I also bought a stronger lense that Ive used maybe 2-3x, ever. Oh well.

I did use it couple summers watching some birds in the yard, making the nest.


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## shaffe48b (Oct 22, 2019)

Something else I've considered is renting a spotter for spot and stalk hunts. If you're going on these types of hunts every year or every other maybe better to buy. But if you might go out West someday or a couple times in your life then dropping $500-1500 or more on a spotter doesn't make sense.

If you are spotting deer out to say 500 yards then a pair of 10×50 binos might be up your alley. Maven sells a c series for less than $400. I demoed the 8x42 and they did pretty dang good. I also had a pair of leupold acadias I got on sale for less than $300. Fully multicoates, schmidt bender, dialectic coatings. They were nice binos ive basically given to my brother.


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## CrankyThunder (Feb 11, 2012)

hey tail chaser:

I have shot competitively for over forty years and struggled with various cheapie scopes, Bushnell, Konus, etc and always lusted at the Swarovski's and Kowa's. Never turned down an opportunity to peer through a competitors high dollar scope if only to have my breath taken away at the brightness, clarity, and resolution they enjoyed. Vowed to save my pennies and get top dollar glass someday. 

Well years went by and it was difficult to justify three grand on glass over the years so I kept on using the Konus and Bushnell. Told myself "someday". 

Then a guy showed up with the Athlon Cronus 86 mm spotter. OMG! here is a spotter that I actually liked better then the swaro and the Kowa that was set up right next to it side by side. We were watching birds at 300 yards comparing scopes, the optic quality was that entertaining. 

Here it is at optics planet:

Athlon Optics Cronus 20-60x86ED Spotting Scope | 20% Off 5 Star Rating w/ Free Shipping (opticsplanet.com)

I got mine at CameralandNY about six months ago for less then half what optics planet is selling them for. Think I paid $700 for a opened box model but it is in perfect condition. I do not know why cameralandny does not have them in stock anymore. I have since compared mine with the top dollar scopes side by side and personally I think it delivers a brighter image then the swaro's, Kowa's and the other german optics. some will disagree but I bought mine for less then a third of what they paid for theirs and since we cannot determine which one is better should answer which one is the best buy. 

One thing that a lot of people overlook is the quality of the tripod they use their spotting scope on. While I would like to use my heavy wood surveying tripod all the time, it is solid as a rock but weighs over forty pounds. not very portable to take on the road. My travel tripod is the celestron altazismith:

Amazon.com : Celestron Heavy-Duty Altazimuth Tripod : Astro Binoculars : Camera & Photo

It is about a hundred bucks but the important part is that the method that the legs collapse is not a telescoping tube within a tube that gets jammed with every piece of sand but a more open design that handles dirt and grime better. Plus it has the micro windage and elevation adjustments with the extended knobs to get right on target easily. I know it does not collapse down into a shoebox but it is relatively lightweight, reduces in size somewhat, is durable (I have had my Altazimuth for twenty years), pretty darn steady, and I love the micro windage and elevations screw adjustments. 

While I am shooting highpower I use a freeland bench top tripod that is designed specifically for the discipline but not very versatile.

Regards,
Crankster


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## grapestomper (Jan 9, 2012)

I used a spotting scope for one year in the mountains and said forget this. 
Binoculars only now. You can get a window mount for them if you need.


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## Cat Power (Jan 6, 2013)

I bought a kowa and it’s pretty good 

mounted it up on a ruger american stock


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## 98885 (Jan 18, 2015)

Bino's on a tripod work much better for glassing. Once I find an animal that needs more judging, the spotter comes out. A good pair of bino's like the Vortex HDs which I love work very well and eye fatigue doesn't occur compared to inferior optical quality glass. The spotter IMO doesn't need to be the best glass out there for my needs.


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