Posted: 10/27/2006 7:03:04 AM EDT
| Can anyone recommend a decent and reasonably priced spotting scope? |
Unfortunately 'decent' and 'reasonably priced' don't usually go together!! I bought a second hand Kowa and it's the dogs danglies! Opticron are pretty good as well. Having said that, if you're only going to be using it at shortish distances (<200yards) and in good weather then pretty much anything will be ok. I had a Russian Yukon scope to start with, but after looking through it for a while at 600yards it used to give me a headache!! |
I normally use mine out to 600yards, and its 32x magnification. It fine at 1000yards though. You can change the eyepieces on all the better scopes around, but the more zoom you have - the smaller the field of view. most people shooting Highpower seem to be around the 27x to 32x area. My Kowa is a 66mm objective lens and they also make an 82mm version. Difference between the two is noticeable at longer distances on an overcast day, but the 82mm version is quite a bit more expensive. On a clear day they are as good as each other. |
|
Spotting scopes seem to be like rifle scopes, in that everyone will tell you to buy the best, and that means Kowa. I have a Kowa TSN 821, the 82mm with a 27x LER (long eye relief) eyepiece. When you buy these, you buy the scope body and eye piece separately. 27x seems abouy optimum and appears to do everything you want. You can also get zoom eyepieces such as the 20-60x but to be honest, you don't need that kind of mag when shooting. For one thing, when zoomed too high, things tend to get a bit shaky and dark. The Kowa really is excellent and I can't imagine being able to get a better scope. Not cheap though as the whole thing cost about £550 IIRC. You'll also need to make sure that it's waterproof and possibly buy a jacket for it and then of course, you'll need a stand for it. The tripod type stands really aren't up to the job and it's best to buy a stand that has been made specifically for the jop of holding a shooting spotting scope. You can really only get these from the US and they aren't cheap either. Before I bought the Kowa, I had a Opticron HR66 with a 20x eyepiece which was excellent but just decided to treat myself to a bigger and better one. The difference between good scopes and cheap scopes is like the difference between night and day. Good optics are always costly but apart from being able to see where the soptting discs are, a decent scope will also allow you to read the mirage for wind, watch bullet trace in flight when spotting or coaching for others and given the right conditions.....see bullet holes at 200 & 300yds. A cheap scope is usually dark and blurry and won't allow these things. Also, get a scope with an angle'd eyepiece, they're much easier to use. You can get decent scopes from most major manufacturers. I bought mine from Ace Camera's in Bath Mark |
Not so easy if you're not a big time dealer/distributor or magazine writer. 'Dear Mr. Spotting Scope seller, can I borrow this scope for a couple of months before I decide whether to but it or not?' 'F**k off sonny' 
|
Get yourself to the next highpower shoot - there will be more scope + stands than you can shake a stick at. Most people will let you their kit for a bit if you ask them nicely  I was going to replace my Rhino with a Kowa, now after using one at a HP shoot - I'm not so sure. p.s. don't underestimate the importance of a quality scope stand. I've recently bought a Ray-Vin and feel its worth every penny. p.p.s Make sure you get an eyepiece with sufficient eye relief - it will drive you nuts if you keep banging your eye on the scope  (gee Steve, how do you know that?)SteveA |