what is a good spotting scope for elk hunting

[ScottBerish]

Mike,

The Kowa Prominar 88mm is way more than just for the range, it's one of the finest spotters on the planet, and it's designed for nature/field use. Check one out sometime and bring anything to the table you want. It's not as portable as the others you mention but for a window mount or non-packing field use it's awesome.


pstimac,

As for the Leupold having a 5mm exit pupil, that's only at 12x. I don't know who would spot long range at 12x, when binos run that power. I've already shared my thoughts on the Pentax. Setting that scope at 90x I would receommend you do so and look through it before buying.
.

[Sako7STW]

I bought a Kowa Prominar 884 from Scott and I will flat out tell you the scope is amazing. There were several times I thought I was focused and then i tried the fine focus to find I could even see better. I found more elk with this scope than I ever have in the past. I highly recommend you look at this scope. My list I was looking at was just like yours minus the USO and I ended up with the Kowa and I dont regret it. After owning this scope, I think the Swaro is over rated and over priced. JMHO

[Rymart]

Another alternative:

Spend $150 on a Celestron Ultima 80, spend the rest on bullets, rifles, binocs, gas, etc, and be amazed at what 150 bones can buy.

Don't get me wrong, its no Swaro, but almost everyone with a high dollar spotting scope that has looked through my Celestron was surprised. One guy at the range with a new Swaro actually started cussing when he looked through the Celestron (something along the lines of I can't believe that I just spent that much money for that little of a difference).

I replaced a mid range Leupold with the Celestron and never looked back.

Just my opinion.

[Wildcat Bullets]

Originally Posted by LibertyOptics

Mike,

Setting that scope at 90x I would receommend you do so and look through it before buying.
.

Not the zoom, but the fixed 90x eyepiece for the Pentax PF 100.

Here's a review of the Pentax PF 100 with a zoom and the review says that it compares favorably with Leica's and Swarofski's. Pentax PF 100 Review. Since fixed powers usually resolve better than zooms, that's what I based my recommendation on.

Swaro/Leica/Kowa don't have a 90x option that I'm aware of. They all seems to max out at 60x. That's why I'd use the Pentax for long range and the Leupold for backpacking. I have only seen the Pentax PF100 in person once at the range and didn't have anything to directly compare it to at the time. However, I was easily able to see bullet holes on a black target after the sun went down at 300 yards.

The Leupold is for backcountry not long range spotting. The Leupold is more comfortable especially 4-6 hours/day glassing. 12x is good enough to spot deer/sheep/goats at 2+ miles with a steady tripod.

If the power is too high, it makes it tough to cover a lot of area. I don't own the Leupold but I used one several days this hunting season and I preferred it to my Nikon just because of the comfort. The terrain was steep and rugged. When I found a group of deer a long ways off, I'd switch over to the Nikon to count points. The Nikon did better zoomed in. The Leupold that I was using wasn't the HD version. The HD is supposed to have better resolution. Two days ago, I was at Gallenson's in Salt Lake and directly compared the Leupold HD to the Swaro. While the Swaro was a bit brighter with better contrast, the Leupold seemed to resolve objects just as well at the top end of the zoom range. It seemed better than the regular model I used during the season. And again, comfort wise, nothing I've tried comes close to the Leupold.

[Wildcat Bullets]

Originally Posted by LibertyOptics

Mike,

I've already shared my thoughts on the Pentax. Setting that scope at 90x I would receommend you do so and look through it before buying.
.

Here's excerpt from a birding site about the Pentax PF100

possum
Thursday 13th October 2005, 20:55
I have the PF100ED and use it for very long range digiscoping. I am very pleased with the optical performance for photographing at up to 3 km. When purchasing, I was advised to compare it with the Swarovski 80 HD, and found little difference between them both in resolution and apparent brightness at mags up to x45. However at x60 the difference was spectacular. On a wet dull dark day in January, the 80mm Swarovski produced a comparatively dull image, while the Pentax looked as though it was a bright summer's day.

Unfortunately the Swavoski only had their zoom option available for testing at x60 while the Pentax had the fixed focus eyepiece. The zoom image on the Swarovski was soft and lacked resolution compared to the better detail produced by the Pentax fixed optic.

For digiscoping marine subjects at long ranges from shore, the extra brightness and photon collection capability made the 100mm optic the favoured choice.

The downside is the weight, but if you want to collect lots of light with a good quality image and you don't plan to drag it all over the world, the scope is great, really magnificent. However, I have just ordered the 65mm for portability, as I'm not as strong as I used to be.

hope this helps

possum.

[soren]

I see things a little different than most here. I rather try to keep the weight down instead of carrying a big spotter. I have big binoculars already. Mine are Leica 10x50 Ultravids and my spotter is a Nikon 13x30x50ED Fieldscope (lightweight, decent glass). It takes some weight if you want a steady set-up with high magnification and I rather not carry the extra weight of a big spotter and heavy tripod. My rifle and scope are heavy enough.

[jwp475]

FOr long range hunting one needs the best glass available and thie means a large spotter. My understanding is that the Kowa 88mm with Promanade glass is the pinnacle of spotters and then the Ziess, Leica, Swarovski's. I have the 20X60X80 Swarovski and I am wanting to upgrade to the Kowa