Budget friendly spotter

[fillthefreezer]

Some may disagree, but if your budget for a spotter is <~$700, just keep saving. In the most part, spotters are for trophy hunting, judging animals at a distance, with decent binos you should be able to see if it's a buck or doe or bear or stump at 1000yds even.. I don't think a guy needs a spotter for elk hunting at all.

[JeffRaines]

Do you want to budget now, and then budget later, and then budget again later, etc., or would you rather buy once, cry once and be done with it?

Save your money and buy a top tier spotter at a significant discount online from a retailer or classified ads.

This is the rub. If hunting is something you enjoy, you'll end up buying a budget spotter now... then in a year or two you'll eventually look through a nice spotter and go "MAN! WHAT A DIFFERENCE!". You'll then sell your budget optics at a loss to buy the "nice" optics.

Or you could just save a little longer and buy something nice, used preferably, and have something that you may not want to sell... and if you do, you'll take much less of a loss(if any). It sounds like you don't have a spotter now, so whats going another season without one?

Very true. At this point I don't own a spotter. Inhunt with my dad and he has more gear then me, but I'd like to have all my own equipment. So I'm looking into buying my own gear.

Don't forget to keep your eyes on websites like samplelist, natchezss, redhawkrifles, cameralandny... There are often demo optics available - which are sold as new, but are used in trade shows and whatnot as display/demo items. This is how I got my Swaro binos.

Also, check the bargain cave at cabelas. If you can find one of their euro-hd spotters they're amazing.

Also, keep your eye on rokslide classifieds. Good deals to be had there. 24hourcampfire has a classifieds section as well.

[Pathfinder101]

A used Leupold 12-40x60

That's what I use 

[bearpaw]

I think I've done pretty well maintaining a budget by buying a lot of used optics. I have decent stuff but not top tier. It's always seemed to work "well enough" for me. Seems like there's always a few spotters for sale in the classifieds here. I've heard decent feedback on the Vanguard spotters. There was one for sale here a few days ago in the $350 range if I remember correctly. The Vortex Viper HD can be had for $400-ish. The Vortex Diamondback spotter is decent too. Their Nomad <$300 new was a good bang for the buck scope but it's discontinued now.

That's kind of what I have done.  Bought my binoculars refurbished.  Bought my Leupy Goldring spotter used off ebay. Got my Leupy VX3 rifle scope in the bargain cave at Cabela's (was a return).
 Cool thing about Leupold is that if anything is wrong with it, just send it to Leupold and they fix or replace it.  I have never been nervous about buying used Leupold stuff because their warranty is so good.

  I bought my Leupold in 1997, later along the way I also got a Swarovski which is obviously better quality and I packed that all over the mountains for a couple years until I simply got tired of the added weight and size. I started carrying my Leupold again and for the most part am satisfied with the optic quality even though it's not as clear as the top three. I sold the Swarovski. Most of all the Leupold is compact and lightweight, it easily fits in a small day pack and doesn't make by shoulders sore even when riding horseback day after day. I can also use it with a window mount and I'm not worried about breaking the glass out of my door when I close it. I sent my 1997 Leupold in two different times for cleaning and replacement of rubber attachments that I literally wore out, it came back no charge both times, they even paid return shipping. I would still have it but it was stolen out of my truck in MT two years ago, I had to buy another new one in the Billings Cabelas.

My son had an older model used Leupold scope that one of our hunters gave him, he wanted new glass, he sent it in and they sent him back a brand new, newer model scope, no charge. You cannot beat Leupold customer service.

[yakimanoob]

Do you want to budget now, and then budget later, and then budget again later, etc., or would you rather buy once, cry once and be done with it?

Save your money and buy a top tier spotter at a significant discount online from a retailer or classified ads.

This is the rub. If hunting is something you enjoy, you'll end up buying a budget spotter now... then in a year or two you'll eventually look through a nice spotter and go "MAN! WHAT A DIFFERENCE!". You'll then sell your budget optics at a loss to buy the "nice" optics.

Or you could just save a little longer and buy something nice, used preferably, and have something that you may not want to sell... and if you do, you'll take much less of a loss(if any). It sounds like you don't have a spotter now, so whats going another season without one?

Very true. At this point I don't own a spotter. Inhunt with my dad and he has more gear then me, but I'd like to have all my own equipment. So I'm looking into buying my own gear.

Don't let anyone disparage you.  Most folks (myself included) are likely to never have the budget for top-tier optics.  You get what you pay for with optics, sure, but far better to have a spotter than not have one, so just get the best one YOU can afford, and don't let folks with deeper pockets make you feel bad for buying a budget spotter. 

That said, if you buy a budget spotter and a Gunwerks custom rifle, I will start throwing stones at you too 

[Wingin it]

 

[fillthefreezer]

I think a lot of people carry spotters because other people carry them or they think they're essential etc. I have been on so many hunts lately we're we've packed 1 or 2 top end spotters and only used them to screw aroung digiscoping critters not on the menu. Binos on a tripod have done the bulk of the work.

[ctwiggs1]

I don’t believe a cheap spotter is better than no spotter.  I still don’t carry one or own one because none of the areas I hunt require one.

That said, when I find an area that I could use one in, I would ask myself if the spotting scope I’m looking at will actually give me more than my binoculars.  I can tell you it will take me spending $1,000+ between spotter, Tripod, etc for the answer to be yes. 

[Wingin it]

Another thing to consider is the tripod and head is going to be a bit of a cost too. A spotter of any value will do you no good without a solid platform. Tripods like spotters have quite a range in price and they are another get what you pay for item.

[colersu22]

The vanguard endevour hd is a good scope for the money,  I had one and sold it because every time I use a spotter my eyes are sore.  I picked up a pair of 15x56 bino’s and much prefer those to the spotter, it helps when my hunting partners have a 65mm razor and the other a 65mm swaro so if we need a closer look we have those options.  Like mentioned above get a good tripod, I have the promaster xc525c and it is amazing the difference it makes even using my 10x42 vipers.  I have been looking at upgrading my bino’s before the season since 95% of the time I’m looking through them.

[konradcountry]

Some may disagree, but if your budget for a spotter is <~$700, just keep saving. In the most part, spotters are for trophy hunting, judging animals at a distance, with decent binos you should be able to see if it's a buck or doe or bear or stump at 1000yds even..

Yea I'm gonna disagree.

I have a Herters spotting scope that I got half off at Cabela's as a "why not" purchase and as something I can keep in my vehicle without caring if someone takes it. I can easily count horns with it at 1000 yards. The advertised magnification range on low end optics isn't an exaggeration. The main reason I would recommend something more expensive is that it isn't an optic you would want to spend an hour looking through. So something like a Vortex Diamondback will easily do the job and cost less than $700.

[ctwiggs1]

Some may disagree, but if your budget for a spotter is <~$700, just keep saving. In the most part, spotters are for trophy hunting, judging animals at a distance, with decent binos you should be able to see if it's a buck or doe or bear or stump at 1000yds even..

Yea I'm gonna disagree.

I have a Herters spotting scope that I got half off at Cabela's as a "why not" purchase and as something I can keep in my vehicle without caring if someone takes it. I can easily count horns with it at 1000 yards. The advertised magnification range on low end optics isn't an exaggeration. The main reason I would recommend something more expensive is that it isn't an optic you would want to spend an hour looking through. So something like a Vortex Diamondback will easily do the job and cost less than $700.

You're kind of proving his point. 

1000 yards isn't that far for optics, and a decent pair of binoculars will do what you just described.  And the OP isn't asking about hunting out of a truck.  So if you're going to pack the extra weight, make sure you're actually getting something you (1) need and (2) will give you value your binoculars won't.

[yakimanoob]

So if you're going to pack the extra weight, make sure you're actually getting something you (1) need and (2) will give you value your binoculars won't.

x100

I stand by what I said -- don't let anyone make you feel like you shouldn't get a spotter because you can't buy a Swaro.  BUT ctwiggs is very right.  WHATEVER you spend your money on, make sure it's giving you the best value. 

If I had $500 to spend on optics, I would spend $100 on a riflescope, $400 on binos, and $0 on a spotter.  But since you asked for recommendations for a spotter, I'm assuming you've already got a decent riflescope and the best binos you can afford. 

My spotter is the Bushnell Spacemaster (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/321390-REG/Bushnell_787345_Spacemaster_Collapsible_2_0_50mm_Spotting.html?ap=y&gclid=CjwKCAjw06LZBRBNEiwA2vgMVX9Em7gqtKAwaPLsE-ns0jPhKT9yzbH4mvLbVDnmEg-d01SgYpuVOxoCS8UQAvD_BwE&smp=y).  Good optics?  Nope.  They're pretty dismal.  But BOY is that thing small and light, and I can still pick out more detail at distance through it than I can out of my new Leupold 10x42 BX-4s. 

You FIND animals with your binos.  You JUDGE them with a spotter.  If all you need to know is if it has antlers, or you're rarely glassing past 1000yds, you can often skip the spotter.  But since my preferred poison is the High Buck hunts in BIG country, I definitely want to know if it has 3 points or 2 before I hoof it several miles to put a stalk on.  The spotter is also extremely handy for making sure I didn't miss any 1" stubs that would mean the difference between spike-only success and a pricy citation. 

[BULLBLASTER]

Quality binos on a sturdy tripod before a spotter. 

[cbond3318]

Watch Craigslist and the like. Some killer deals sneak through if you have the patience to wait for one.

On a personal experience note, I wish I had never bought my spotter. All I do is talk myself into bringing it last minute , lug it all over the mountain because I’m too paranoid I’m going to miss that one buck at 2 miles and regret bringing it as soon as I hook my Binos into the tripod. I’m sure it will be in pack come September.