Received the Simmonds 20-60 x 50 spotting scope today. Tried it at lunch. IT DOESN'T FOCUS FOR CRAP!!!

Yes, I realize you get what you pay for.

Can anyone recommend a 50x or greater spotting scope? I need one soon. (One that is clear, so I can see 100 yds...)

Oh yeah, CDNN was great with the return. Give them a call, tell them the situation. ALL taken care of!!! Quick shipping too!!!

Highly recommended.

Been there done that, Leopold, expensive and worth it.

 I used a Simmons 12-36X50 that I bought at Walmart for $100.00 I thought it was fine until I tried to use  it at DCM matches at 200 yds..I found myself guessing at what were the bullet holes.Very discouraging, wreaks havoc on concentration.
 I bought a Kowa TSN-821M x82mm. with a 45degree offset. The lens comes seperately, most shooters get the 27x LER. I got the 20-60Xzoom, because I use it for other things, besides shooting. You have to get a GOOD tripod to hold this thing up, and hold it steady when using it to shoot offhand on a breezy day. I got the Freeland.
 All this stuff was expensive, but so is eye strain and high blood pressure. I got it at Champion Shooter's Supply 1-800-821-4867.If you order the tripod, get an extra extension rod if you plan to use it for offhand.
 I think this thing's great,others that have them think they're great.

OK, ... I'll rephrase...

What spotting scopes do you guys use 100-300 yds?

What do you recommend?

Think of it this way, I buy a good spotting scope, or I am the guy that always has to walk down range while you are concentrating on shooting...

HELP!!!

I use my Kowa  for dcm/cmp matches at 200 yds(our range is limited to 200 yds. max). I'm looking at .300 cal holes. A guy that shoots next to me looks at .22 cal holes through his Kowa. He's a better shot than I am, so he has to count a bunch of little holes in a small space. Mine are bigger holes spread out over a bigger area. Neither one of us have any problem counting holes at 200 yds. At 100 yds. you almost think you could paste your targets from the bench, it's that clear and close looking. I had a choice of buying this or another gun, I chose this.

I went and bought CDNN's Simmons 20-60x60mm spotter, and it works fine if you keep its price in mind. I can't afford a Leupold or a Nikkon or a Zeiss, but the Simmons is still a cheapy scope to me.

But it works, and focuses fine, and I can see wonderfully to 200yrds. If i take the magnification anywhere beyond 20 I'm an idiot.

Do take a look at the switchable fixed power spotter being sold through Kalinka. Everything I've seen from KO is worth far more than was paid for.

If you can get in touch with Green18 he has a very nice spot scope. Was not expensive and works very well. Send him a IM or e-mail

Ditto!

You'll find yourself using a [u]good[/u] scope at
the 20 to 30 power setting more often than not.
"wobble and mirage will eat your lunch on higher
settings (most days).

Buy a quality scope or don't buy one at all.
If you're serious about shooting, it's well
worth the investment. Leupold, Kowa etc.

I bought the Leupold with a mil dot reticle from
Premier Reticle and it's the best investment
I've made in years.
[url]http://www.premierreticles.com/[/url]
[img]http://www.premierreticles.com/images/1240spott.gif[/img]

Good luck,

G1X

I recently bought a Coleman 20-60 X 80 $165 from Champions Choice after reading that it compared favorably with the Kowa 821. It focuses better than my Burris Landmark and the eye relief is ok. I bought it for highpower match use because the 223 holes are hard to see, The Simmons seems to work ok for 30 cal. holes but has poor eye relief.  I will get a chance to compare the Coleman to the Kowa next weekend. There is a link to a picture of it in the AR15 forum  "build it yourself" section ...Homemade spotting scope stand.

You may want to give the folks at Orion telescopes a try.

[url]www.telescope.com/cgi-bin/OrionTel.storefront/3cdd683706e85feafe55c0a80a650704/Catalog/AM[/url]

They've got good scopes for the money. I do not own any of these scopes but I've bought some of my optics from them and I've been pleased with what I got.

Another place to check out is:

[url]http://www.astroptx.com/[/url]

I have ordered scopes from them and I,ve been very pleased with the service I got and they also sell used stuff( telescopes, spotters, eyepieces, tripods, binoculars, ect, ect, )
But you got'a call for prices on some stuff.

The scopes that I have range from a 60mm Bushnell Spacemaster (15x-45x zoom) to a 200mm Schmidt Cassegrain telescope ( a Celestron C8 with a fork mount ) and a couple of Maksutov Cassegrains ( 90mm Celestron and a 127mm Meade ).

IMHO, a good "mak" is better( to MY eyes at least )than a good spotting scope that you would find in a sporting goods store( exept for the high-end/high-dollar ones of coarse). On the other hand, a rubber armoured spotter can take rough handeling ALOT better ( drops and some kicking around ) than most "maks".

See if you can get a scope that will accept different power eyepieces. Zoom lenses are OK, but the GOOD ones start at $160.00!

Just my $.02