Spotting Scopes????

[Sako7STW]

I am trying to decide on what 80mm+ spotting scope to get. I have read rave reviews about the Pentax and everyone knows the Zeiss is top notch. Swaro is over priced I think, your just paying for the name. Biggest thing is I found the complete Pentax 20-60x 80mmED scope for $1049 shipped. I then found the Zeiss 85mm for $1295 and I would need an eye- piece that I could find for roughly $400. That makes it $650 more than the Pentax. I am wondering if the Zeiss is worth the extra money or not?? WWUD?

I would also love to hear of any good deals anyone may know about or if ya have a used one, shoot me a PM!

 

[lerch]

Of all of the spotters I have used, messed with, and sell the best one i have seen is the Swaro, you pay for more than the name trust me. Now recently i have played with a Nikon ED Field Scope and i have to say i think it is probably just as good as the swaro, and about $1K cheaper.

with my swaro i was able to spot 6mm bullet holes in a white anti freeze jug a 975yds

steve

 

[Boss Hoss]

I use the Leica APO and am impressed everytime I use it..

 

[ScottBerish]

I am trying to decide on what 80mm+ spotting scope to get. I have read rave reviews about the Pentax and everyone knows the Zeiss is top notch. Swaro is over priced I think, your just paying for the name. Biggest thing is I found the complete Pentax 20-60x 80mmED scope for $1049 shipped. I then found the Zeiss 85mm for $1295 and I would need an eye- piece that I could find for roughly $400. That makes it $650 more than the Pentax. I am wondering if the Zeiss is worth the extra money or not?? WWUD?

I would also love to hear of any good deals anyone may know about or if ya have a used one, shoot me a PM!

I ask you to not spend the $$$ on the Pentax. It's not worth it, IMO.

Kowa is a top of the line spotter, worthy of all serious considration.. The Nikon ED is another winner. The Zeiss is worth more cash than the Pentax.

What are your goals and objectives with the spotter??

Scott

 

[ScottBerish]

with my swaro i was able to spot 6mm bullet holes in a white anti freeze jug a 975yds

steve

A 0.25 inch hole at nearly 1000 yards??? Hmmmmmmmmmm

 

[Sako7STW]

I will be useing the scope for hunting purposes. Looking long ranges for Elk, Antlope, and Deer. I havethe smaller Nikon ED and we have just seen that at times we need a brighter, stronger power scope. My Dad also has a heck of a time using the Nikon with his glasses. Something I have read in several reviews that the Nikon just doesnt do well and I agree.

 

[Wachsmann]

Hello all,
I am looking at somewhat the same thing. I want to buy a new spotter because I went the cheap way and bought a bushnell legend. Its a 20X45X60 or a 20X60X60. All I can say is dont try and use it at any low light conditions and when on the higher mag the image is not very clear. I been looking at some of the Nikons but I dont want to through away 800.00 dollars and not be pleased. I leanning towards saving the bones and getting a zeiss. I have a zeiss rifle scope and binoculars. They preform great in all lighting conditions. Any ideal?. Has anyone used the Nikons that cabelas carries? Looking to spot elk, and deer and would like to be able to make out there points from at least 3/4mile away or better. Thanks.

 

[bailey1474]

A 0.25 inch hole at nearly 1000 yards??? Hmmmmmmmmmm

Say what you want but I was there. Conditions were perfect. Sun was rising behind us and is was a crystal clear morning. I was shooting a water filled white laundry detergent bottle w/my 6-250 shooting the 105 berger vld. Lerch kept telling me I was high. When I adj two clicks down he would tell me I was low. Now I knew something was not right so after about 6 shots I jumped on the spotter, adj the focus just a little and there they were, 4 6mm bullet holes in that jug. The bullet didn't have enough left to expand and explode the jug so it just punched right through and drained the water out.

The only problem I see w/Lerch's story is that it was a laundry det jug and not an antifreeze jug. Might want to think twice about flaming guys that have actually used the equipment.

 

[bailey1474]

Onto the actual questions:

I think the Swaro and the Nikon will both serve you very well. You probably won't notice any difference midday but I think the Swaro will shine in lower light. The Swaro is also much easier to look through. The eye relief is much more forgiving. Don't overlook the Leupold HD either. I know alot of guys who have them and are very happy. Can't say that I've used one to give you a comparison but the guys I know that have them are all long range shooters that know their stuff and all are very happy.

 

[lerch]

A 0.25 inch hole at nearly 1000 yards??? Hmmmmmmmmmm

Yes Scott, .25" bullet holes at 975yds, if you dont believe it maybe you should get out and shoot some of these products sometime.

when Bill was shooting the plastic jug i told him i thought he was throwing little bits of dirt on it, i quickly realized that these were actually the bullet holes!! now this was under perfect conditions i admit but it did happen, whether you believe it or not.


Of the best spotters i have ever seen or used it would be the Swaro HD first then some of the Leica's and the Nikon ED Field Scope.

steve

 

[ScottBerish]

Good Morning Gents,

Unwad your Fruit of the Looms.

There was no flame. Your statement, without qualification, could be construed that anyone who buys the Swav spotter could expect to see 6mm bullet holes at the range stated. While the equipment is top notch, I think it was important to qualify that statement. Perfect conditions allowed you to see what you saw.

"Conditions were perfect. Sun was rising behind us and is was a crystal clear morning. I was shooting a water filled white laundry detergent bottle w/my 6-250 shooting the 105 berger vld"

Any wind, mirage, haze, dust, looking toward the sun or whatever else usually raises its ugly head when spotting under field conditions and you are likely not able to see what you describe, no matter the spotter. There are a lot of guys who are relatively new to this game and their expectations need to be realistic.

Thank you for clarifying your statement.

As for your derisive and emotional comments about equipment use, the fact they were made based on a written one line challenge/question to your statement tells me all I need to know about my credibility.

Take care,

Scott

 

[NightforceKen]

Scott,

being that you like me deal in Optics, I thought you would be a good person to ask from a non Biased opinion. I have used quite a few differant spotters and am now starting to look into a new spotter for 1K plus hunting.

I am hoping to find a spotter that graduations in MOA that way my spotter and I are on the same page.

I have looked at the USO spotter as well as a few others. You deal with some optics i have not yet had a chance to toy with and I would like you opinion. Also to throw in a curveball i am looking for this optic to be under 1K.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Ken

 

[lerch]

No superior glass allowed us to see what we saw, if you think otherwise i invite you to try the same thing with a Simmons Spotter

Your statment is no big deal. Bill and me are in a unique position where we can test much of the optical and other equipment on the market and give a honest, no BS evaluation to our fellow board members. We speak from alot of personal experince and are not just trying to be salesmen on here, we are trying to help people out and keep them from making alot of the same mistakes we have.

I believe we have qualified our statments through personal experince and hands on testing

 

[AJ Peacock]

I use a Kowa 603 ED Prominar with a high end 20x-60x eyepiece (TSE-Z9B). It is phenomenal, however I haven't looked at other top of the line scopes. It is easily clearer than my 10x40 zeiss binoculars (they are no slouch either).

Just another option to make your decision even tougher

AJ