spotting scope?

[Jamieb]

Whenever a topic like this comes up I allways say to to save up and buy a good spotter the first time, you'll come out money ahead over trying to go the cheap route and upgrade like I did. Ziess, leica, and sworovski are the top 3 but way out of my price range, even used.

[whacker1]

That was the path I was planning on taking - The big 3, but that is still a long way off.   Maybe if I save my Cabelas points for 10 years, I will get a free spotter for $3000?

[MtnMuley]

If you are going to spend more and go up few hundred, don't look past the Leupold Gold Ring 12-40x60.  I use mine 10 times more than I use my Zeiss HD 20-60x85.

[jackelope]

I think one of that size is a lot more practical than a 20-60x of the size those typically are unless you're hercules and don't mind carrying a giant spotter.

[boonerboy]

thanks for the info guys. I know that there is no golden nugget when it comes to lower-end spotters but I refuse to look through my piece of crap Bushnell one more time and I just can't afford a swaro just yet. I have put in a couple bids on ebay for a Burris Landmark, hopefully it will suffice till I can afford the one I really want.

[G.R.K]

You get what you pay for. 

[Cylvertip]

Depending on what size you want, check these two out.  Burris 12-24x50mm Compact Spotting Scope and Konus  20-60x80mm  - some one else had already mentioned the Konus.  Look up some of the reviews, it's a lot of scope for the $$$.

[jackelope]

You get what you pay for. 

For a couple hundred the burris is a decent scope...just don't look through a swaro.

[Intruder]

Vortex Nomad for 300 is about the best you can do for under 600-700.

[GoldTip]

I have the Vortex Impact, and it's fairly compact and not too bad a scope at the lower magnification levels.  The Vortex Nomad is a step up for sure, but mine suffices for what I use it for and for as much as I use it.

[Alpine Mojo]

Depending on what size you want, check these two out.  Burris 12-24x50mm Compact Spotting Scope and Konus  20-60x80mm  - some one else had already mentioned the Konus.  Look up some of the reviews, it's a lot of scope for the $$$.

The Burris Compact is a great 24x power for the money and is light enough to pack in for the high buck.

[Bigshooter]

Depending on what size you want, check these two out.  Burris 12-24x50mm Compact Spotting Scope and Konus  20-60x80mm  - some one else had already mentioned the Konus.  Look up some of the reviews, it's a lot of scope for the $$$.

The Burris Compact is a great 24x power for the money and is light enough to pack in for the high buck.

I have a burris landmark 20-60x80 that I really like.  I got to compare it to a wind river last hunting season and it was 100x's better than the windriver.  There were about 10 of us looking at the same deer through both spotters and everyone agreed that the burris was alot better.

[7mag.]

There is no such thing as "value" in a spotter. You have to spend money to get quality. If you can't afford at least $1500, then don't waste your money. There is no decent spotter for the money, only good and bad. There are miles of difference in spotting scopes. If you take a $500 spotter and a $2000 spotter, and ask "is the expensive one 4 times better?" The answer is yes, at least 4 times better. As G.R.K. said, you get what you pay for, especially in spotting scopes.

[jackelope]

There is no such thing as "value" in a spotter. You have to spend money to get quality. If you can't afford at least $1500, then don't waste your money. There is no decent spotter for the money, only good and bad. There are miles of difference in spotting scopes. If you take a $500 spotter and a $2000 spotter, and ask "is the expensive one 4 times better?" The answer is yes, at least 4 times better. As G.R.K. said, you get what you pay for, especially in spotting scopes.

 

[Dansk]

I went cheap on my trip to MT last year- came back and immediately dropped $600 on the Nikon Prostaff 80mm.  Don't waste a dime on a cheap spotter.  You can get away with cheaper binos, but not a spotter... when cranking the zoom up - quality differences are HUGE... and I agree with everyone who says you get what you pay for.

I Looked through MANY spotting scopes before settling on the Nikon, and read many comparison- the Nikon was consistently rated higher in articles, and it was better than all competitors between 500-700 when I went out shopping to actually try them... up until the Leupold gold ring - that would be my next choice, but to me it wasn't worth another $400.

IMO and based on all the homework I did, you can't get anything decent for under $500.