4ked Horn - What spotter did you get?

[craigp40]

4ked Horn, I'm in the same situation you were back in March with regards to getting a decent spotting scope. After reading your posts, I found that I am in the exact same position with the same criteria.

Back then, you were leaning towards Minox as your choice. I was just wondering if the Minox is what you ended up going with and how pleased you are with them. If not, what did you decide on?

Since my budget is about $600, the Swaro's, Leica's and Zeiss's are out of the question. I am also curious whether a 15-45x60 can spot hits on steel at 1000+ yds. Should I go to 20-60?

 

[chris matthews]

Craig - Shoot me an email- I have a 25x Kowa that might work for you....

 

[4ked Horn]

Yes I went with the Minox with regular glass. It is the ED62. They make one with flourite glass that is more expensive so I opted for the standard glass (with all the regular coatings of course.)

I looked through all the scopes in Boise that met my criteria and it was the most clear and had all the appropriate features. My numero uno catch was that it focused at full zoom and when the conditions are right to actually see this it performed well. Some days when it is hazy or there is mirage it simply won't happen but it is not the scopes fault. The mechanical ability to focus IS functional. I even saw my first ROUND planet through it. All other scopes I have used show every heavenly body as an unfocused 4 pointed dot.

I bought it in time to go with GG and his crew to shoot the elusive 2K chuck and 80% of the time had it set on 20x. It was only after the mirage died down and Brian B was shooting at 2300 Yds that I cranked it up to 45x. I almost sorta kinda wish it went down to 15x but I am very happy with my purchase. I was able to resolve features that were the size of a quarter at over 1k yards. It was actually better than that but I don't remember the distances exactly. For example I could see the round keyhole area on the T handle of their truck canopy when they went to look for GGs 1877 yrd chuck but the truck was parked a bit closer. I think it was at about 1100ish from my scope.

I would also reccomend a good solid Bogen tripod and one of the Bogen pistol grip tripod heads. There are two major types of pistol grip head. One has the grip between the scope and the top of the tripod and the other has the grip angled out to the right side. GG likes the first and I like the second. Try them and see what you think. A Bogen tripod will cost $100 and up and the head will start at around $120. Both are fine and solid pieces of gear that will help you get the most from your scope. I in fact, don't own a tripod or the head yet but I tried them extensively while looking at the scopes and I will get them. You SHOULD USE CHEAP AND GOOD TRIPODS WITH THE SAME SCOPE. This is the best way to confirm for yourself that there is a difference.

To reitterate, The Minox met and / or excelled in all my areas of concern except the warranty. Some said this was a big deal for them but I know how I treat my gear and unless the coatings fog up in a few years I will never use the warranty anyway.

If you have any questions that are unanswered in the catalogs or their stark website let me know. I will be glad to tell you what I know and what I think and I will be clear as to which it is.

No BS. I promise.

 

[4ked Horn]

One more thing. I have not yet used it to spot impacts on steel at 1000 but I was able to see the impacts splash and shatter concrete when Brian hit 3 to 5 inches low on that 2300 yrd chuck.

You will have to ask others about seeing bullet holes on white paper or grey stars on white steel at various powers and yardages. I think 45x should be more than enough and mirage will more than likely be your limiting factor. 60x will only make the mirage seem worse and the slightest breeze will shake your scope so everything looks like it is in an earthquake.

 

[goodgrouper]

Oh now I feel bad 4kie.
I was going to clean your gun AND ask how you liked the Minox on that trip but somewhere in all the 2k excitement it got pushed aside. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Anyway, I didn't remember hearing you complain about not being able to see what we were shooting at so it must have been pleasing you. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[4ked Horn]

YOU ARE AN AWFULL PERSON!!!

Just kidding. The truth of the matter is that I forgot all about it as well. When the chucks are up who cares about cleaning the gun and when the chucks are not up I was too busy looking through the scope to remember to discuss much of that topic.

I am very happy with the Minox and the coppermelt now that I have learned how to use it.

 

[craigp40]

Thanks 4ked! That helps allot! I'm really leaning towards the Minox now, but I also have the Nikon under consideration as well. What was your evaluation of the Nikon line?

Regarding the Minox, is it heavy or bulky for carrying in the field? I'm not going to be packing this thing through the Rocky Mtns, but I also don't want it so big that it becomes a burden to carry.

What were your thoughts on the removable eyepieces?

How about fixed vs variable eye pieces?

 

[4ked Horn]

If you have an excell spreadsheet I will send you an email with my notations on the top 5 contenders for my criteria. This included two nikons and a leupy.

It is not compact per se but it is not large either. I think you will need to decide which category to stick it in. I will most likely never pack my scope anywhere that I don't go on a vehicle so size was not a HUGE concern. I wanted good light transmition for the size but I certainly didn't want the Hubble telescope either.

Fixed power is a fine idea especially if you are thinking about something like the Minox 22 wide angle. I really like that I can switch lenses and I will also be getting the available photo addapter. I would realy like to have a picture make it onto the cover of VHA someday. (Me and every other member of VHA)

 

[craigp40]

4ked, please send the spreadsheet, I would love to see it. Just use the email address in my profile. Can you also include in that email where you bought it? I'm shopping around as well.
Thanks again for all the info.

 

[Gandolf1]

Chris if your selling that Kowa I might be interested.

H

 

[4ked Horn]

110100011100010100101111110001101001010101111101000010010100011010010101.....
Flying at you through time and space at 256kbps.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[4ked Horn]

I forgot to mention that I got it at sportsmans warehouse.