I will use the Spotting Scope mostly at the 100 and 300 meter range.
I wear glasses and I do not want to spend more than $300.

Please respond in detail.
Thank you,
Regards,
FRIZ

I bought a Winchester branded scope for about $130 from www.natchezss.com.  It is a variable 15-45 power, 60mm lens.  Comes with a table top tripod, soft case, and hard case.

Mine works like a dream out to 200 yards (my longest range).  I'm sure it would be fine at 300 yards too.

Try this link:

[url]http://search.cartserver.com/search/search.cgi?bool=AND&maxhits=20&cartid=a-7002&category=All&keywords_1=*&keywords=Winchester+Spotting[/url]

Oh yes, I wear glasses too.  No problem with eye relief.  Real bright image.  Great for bird watching too.  Maybe one of the best deals I've ever found.

I have the same one, it's been fine for me as well. But I paid 160.00 for mine, darnit! [V]

I too have a spotting scope on my shoping list, however, I was at the local shop checking that Winchester out.. the one I seen was a POS. focus knob: inop, magnification selector: inop.  another turn-off: made in china.

Only other advice I'd offer is spend more $s on your rifle scope, and save $s on your spotting scope.

Trust me, the Winchester works great.

Anyway, you can always return it if it doesn't work for you.

How about the 60mm Nikon Sky & Earth series, which can be had for less than $300 with 15-45x zoom eyepiece or perhaps the Nikon Realtree for just a little more? I don't know a lot about these scopes, but Nikon generally has a good reputation.

While I’m not generally a big fan of Bushnell, their Spacemaster spotting scope seems to be a good deal for the price.  

SWFA has it with a 20 to 45 zoom long eye relief eyepiece and a case for $299.  For $333, you can get the same outfit with a tripod (essentially a small camera tripod, not a traditional shooting tripod).  

The Spacemaster is available with an armor coating, though I’m not sure the one SWFA is selling has it.  I definitely prefer the armor coating.  

The long eye relief eyepiece is great for someone who wears glasses (which actually should be everyone at a firing range!).  

However, you’d get better resolution with a fixed eyepiece, not a zoom.   While I’ve never tried it - I’ve got to think that seeing .223 holes at 300 meters with any scope in this price range is going to be a challenge.

Sniper Country has a interesting review of the Spacemaster and several other scopes at [url]www.snipercountry.com/InReviews/SpottingScopes.htm[/url].

I picked up a lightly used Nikon Fieldscope at a second hand camera shop in Osaka Japan for $80. I bought a new 20-45 eye piece for it for another $120. For less than $200 its an awsome scope.

I just bought a Nikon Sky and Earth Spotting Scope, 20-60x 80mm, Straight Body from Midway for about $540.  Includes a full-size tripod.  Very nice and I recommend it highly.

check out the burris "lamdmark" seies. out to 200 it works well for me. about $130, with bench tripod.

This is the same unit we are offering with the 2002 LEGP...  Great optics for a low cost!

Keep in mind that perhaps the most important metric in determining how well a scope will function is objective diameter.  60mm scopes are barely bigger than a lot of rifle scopes, and don't offer a great deal more capability either, in my opinion.  I'd look for an 80mm objective scope if possible.  Another possibility is the 127mm Celestron C5.  This scope will probably outperform any other scope on the market.  Here's a link:

[url]http://www.eagleoptics.com/index.asp?dept=1&type=4&purch=1&pid=785[/url]

I was attempting to spot for someone who had one of these over the weekend.  I [red]don't[/red] recommend them.  The "tripod" was as bad as the "spotting scope".

Scope: fuzzy image, too dark.  Yes, I tried using the focusing knob.  No, it didn't help much.  This was at 20x, BTW.

Tripod: very flimsy; it twisted (torqued) rather than slipping when I attempted to shift the scope, and would bounce back as soon as I let up pressure on the scope.  The wind was causing the scope to shake all over the place (not a problem on the other scopes on the line).

Marvl is correct.  These Schmidt-Cassegrain-type scopes are better than more traditional spotting scopes.  The model recommended is outstanding.  With other models, be sure they come with an image-erecting prism.  Also, they frequently do not come with zoom eyepieces (the C5 doesn't), and that eyepiece can run $200 by itself.  The fixed magnification may make it a bit of a pain to use at 100 yards, where the field of view is pretty small.  But at 600 yards, oh Baby!

Gentlemen:
Thank you for your advice.
Regards,
FRIZ

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

[url]http://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.

The scopes that I do have range from a 60mm Bushnell Spacemaster (15x-45x zoom) to a 200mm Schmidt Cassegrain telescope ( a Celestron C8 with a fork mount ) with a couple of Maksutov Cassegrains ( 90mm Celestron and a 127mm Mead )tossed in to round out a set. 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 ). On the other hand, a rubber armoured spotter can take rough handeling ALOT better than most "maks". My Spacemaster fell off my ATV, bounced off a rock, and rolled into the mud with no noticable damage after I cleaned it. I would hate to see that happen to my maks!

Just my $.02