What is a good spotting scope?

[Maillemaker]

I find shopping for optics very confusing. I always end up having to teach myself the lingo, and then you find that many scopes have the same "power" and have wildly different prices. I know quality optics make a huge difference in image quality and price.

So what is a good spotting scope that is reasonably priced? I can see on Amazon there are $60 models and $200 models.

What I'd really like is one that has a built-in transmitter so that you can see the output on your phone.

I found this adapter camera that mounts to a scope and transmits to a phone:

https://www.amazon.com/SME-WiFi-Spotting-Scope-Camera/dp/B07MC572D3

I'm surprised the scope manufacturers have not built-in this functionality by now.

Steve

[MR. GADGET]

Burris, Ziess, Leupold and Swarovski if you what something good.
There are a few others.
Cheap ones never last if you use them much.
Buy Quality and you get a life time of use.

[Maillemaker]

None of those seem to be less than $800, and most are $1500+.

Is this really the entry point for a decent spotting scope?

Steve

[MR. GADGET]

None of those seem to be less than $800, and most are $1500+.

Is this really the entry point for a decent spotting scope?

Steve

Yes for a good one!

[Don Dixon]

Steve,

It depends on what you are looking for and what you want to do with it.

Mr. Gadget assumed that you wanted a telescopic sight that mounts on a rifle. Good ones are expensive. I would add the Nightforce sights to his list.

Based upon the differences in your two posts you are asking kind of an apples and oranges question. I'm going to assume that at the simplest level you want a telescope that you can use to spot bullet holes on a target. If that is the case:

For N-SSA shooting almost anything will work -- short distances and large bullet holes. How long it will hold up in use is dependent on the quality of manufacture, which gets us back to cost. Cheap spotting scopes generally do not hold up over time.

The high power rifle shooter wants to be able to spot his bullet holes at 200 and 300 yards, accurately see the placement of the spotters by the pit crew in his targets at 600, 800, 900, and a 1,000 yards, and read mirage at all yard lines so that he can adjust his sights for changes in the wind. For .30 caliber shooting the Kowa TSN-1 through TSN-4 scopes worked well and the Bausch and Lomb Balscope Sr. wasn't too bad. That can give you something of an idea of pricing. When you're trying to spot 5.56mm bullet holes you need to step up from there in optical quality and consequently in price.

Hanging a electronic camera lens on the spotting scope, as you mentioned in your first post, is yet another problem. If what you want to do is transmit a picture of your target back to your cell phone or laptop there is a simpler solution, like Caldwell's ballistic target camera system which doesn't require a spotting scope and will transmit up to a mile. They are designed so that a long range shooter can practice beyond 300 yards without a pit crew. They run about $500.

I hope that this was helpful

Regards,
Don Dixon

[Maillemaker]

Hi Don,

Thanks for the info. Not looking for any gun-mounted scope.

Just looking for something to use on the line for looking at N-SSA bullet holes up to 100 yards.

I have seen the transmitter cameras but I believe you set those up downrange by your target. I shoot at public ranges and this would never work as the equipment would get shot.

So, it needs to be a spotting scope I can set up at the bench on a tripod, and ideally I'd like to hook up the wifi camera I linked so that I could set up my phone on the bench and see the shots without having to stand up and go peep through the eye piece.

I don't think I want to spend more than $300 on a scope. Once we start getting into new gun prices I'd rather have a new gun. :)

Steve

[Mike McDaniel]

Try Champions Choice (www.champchoice.com (http://www.champchoice.com)). They?ve got decent scopes, and a smartphone adapter.

[Joseph Plakis Jr, 00302V]

If you have a Harbor Freight in your area they have one. Here is a link to their site. https://www.harborfreight.com/search?q=spotting%20scope You can't beat the price, I bought one several years ago and it works well. The only draw back is you have to buy a camera tripod to mount it. this will put you under $200.00

[Rob FreemanWBR]

Leupold Vortex - hands down.

?Good glass? isn?t cheap. If someone on your team is active or former law enforcement / military, Leupold offers a very nice discount program allowing them to purchase a set number of items per year at a reduced rate.

Bottom line, if you ?buy cheap?, you?ll buy twice... Esp when it comes to a range scope.

I love Harbor Freight, for made in China consumable items. I wouldn?t buy/trust their stuff where durability and QUALITY mattered.

My two cents...

[John Bly]

For skirmishing you don't necessarily need the best scope to see 50 and 58 caliber holes at 100 yards. I've seen a lot of scopes blown over at nat'ls and I would hate to see a $2000 scope hit the ground. I've got a older 25X50 Simmons scope that probably cost about $50 when new. I can see 22 holes at 200 yards with it as well as I can with my Kowa scope. It is my skirmish scope. The Celestron Regal line is one of the best values in scopes today. They have ED glass and come in 65 mm, 80mm and 100mm objective lens sizes. Unfortunately the Celestron website lists them as back ordered for at least 6 months or more.

[Don Dixon]

So, it needs to be a spotting scope I can set up at the bench on a tripod, and ideally I'd like to hook up the wifi camera I linked so that I could set up my phone on the bench and see the shots without having to stand up and go peep through the eye piece.

I don't understand your problem. With a proper spotting scope with an angled eye piece and a proper competitive shooter's tripod (see Champion's Choice), there is no need to break your position either on the bench or in position on the firing line. You just turn your head slightly and look through the scope to see the target and the bullet holes. What would one need a camera for?

I have always thought that the N-SSA shooters' dance was highly amusing. They fire a shot, break out of position to walk over to look through their scope which is ill mounted on a camera tripod, and then walk back to build their firing position again. Having proper gear, I build my position once and then fire my five sighting shots and 10 record shots on each target without moving out of position. Consistency is everything.

[Maillemaker]

If you have a Harbor Freight in your area they have one. Here is a link to their site. https://www.harborfreight.com/search?q=spotting%20scope You can't beat the price, I bought one several years ago and it works well. The only draw back is you have to buy a camera tripod to mount it. this will put you under $200.00

Well shoot, that is so cheap as to darn near be disposable! I might give it a shot. I have a HF in town so I could go try it out. I've already got a tripod, too.



I don't understand your problem. With a proper spotting scope with an angled eye piece and a proper competitive shooter's tripod (see Champion's Choice), there is no need to break your position either on the bench or in position on the firing line. You just turn your head slightly and look through the scope to see the target and the bullet holes. What would one need a camera for?

I didn't know you could do that.

Steve

[MR. GADGET]

Well shoot, that is so cheap as to darn near be disposable!
Steve

If 200$ is darn near disposable I don't know why you would not spend more to get better quality.

You get what you pay for.

And as others are said it is funny watching those that don't know how to set up a spotting scope so they don't dance or need someone else to spot for them.

The key is to keep you form and not move your feet or break rhythm.

[MR. GADGET]

BTW, at Nationals this fall why no walk the line and look for yourself at all the Spotting Scopes and talk to the users.

After looking at 44-40 holes at 100 yards you may see first hand what is good, bad or ugly on the spotting scopes.
May also end up with one that fits the bill and lasts or has a lifetime warranty so you don't spend 200$ for something that is disposable.

[Bruce Cobb 1723V]

Look up Vintage Russian scope 20x30x50. These are compact and worth a lot more than the $50 they usually go for. 20 power eyepiece and a big 50mm going out. Don't get anything smaller than a 20x50mm

[Maillemaker]

If 200$ is darn near disposable I don't know why you would not spend more to get better quality.

I was talking about the one at Harbor Freight for $50. I already have a nice tripod.

Steve

[Maillemaker]

Look up Vintage Russian scope 20x30x50. These are compact and worth a lot more than the $50 they usually go for. 20 power eyepiece and a big 50mm going out. Don't get anything smaller than a 20x50mm

Like this one?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/303963699638

[MR. GADGET]

I was talking about the one at Harbor Freight for $50. I already have a nice tripod.

Steve

If you feel you are happy with the $50 spotting scope from HF go for it.
I would not waste my money on it.

[Maillemaker]

Like I said, at $50, it's darn-near disposable. If it works, great, if not, no big loss, either.

Steve

[Ron The Old Reb]

​You get what you pay for!

[Bruce Cobb 1723V]

Like this one?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/303963699638

That is exactly what I had and did the job very well.