First off let me say this Elknut is an absolute wonder to deal with when it comes to the things he sells. I told Paul (Elknut) I wanted this spotter on last tuesday evening, he put it in the mail on Wednesday and it was in my office on Friday. Impeccable business to deal with.
So here are my impressions, for a $200.00 spotting scope I really don't think you can find one to compare with this spotter without spending close to twice the money and even then, there is not a clear cut superior scope to my eyes for even twice as much money. It is a pretty fat little scope, but nice and short and offers excellent fine focus adjustment. I met up with Intruder from this site last evening and he brought his Vortex full size spotter and we were able to compare scopes looking at deer and rocks and even a house at what I would guesstimate to be a mile away. Certainly the full size spotter was more clear all the way out to the edges, but I wouldn't say it was terribly noticeable when focused on a specific object. I personally to my eyes felt the Impact was slightly brighter and both spotters had excellent fine focus capabilities. I think the 75power rating was over kill on the little scope, as the image is certainly downgraded on fine detail, but hey, no one says I have to turn it up that high right!
The day previous to meeting up with Intruder I used it while sighting in my 17HMR at 100 yards and was easily able to pick out the teeny little bullet holes on the target. The scope come's with a fold up eye cup which helps with eye relief or for eye glass wearers, can leave it folded down. Also come's with a nice little table top tri-pod and all in a nice padded case. All in all I think it is a great combination for someone who doesn't want to spend /need to spend $2,000 on one of the German big three scopes. No, I certainly would not compare it to any one of the big three spotters, but I also still have $1,800 to spend on some other hunt or item that I didn't spend on one of the big three. I think between the price point and the good function and clarity of this spotter. You would be very hard pressed to find anything better.
Once again thanks Paul (Elknut) for being such a prince of a guy to deal with in this spotter quest of mine.
