one crazy kid
Well-Known Member
I am looking for a good starting out range finder that is reliable and easy on the wallet also I am in the market for a spotting scope for high hunting any advice is helpful thanks.
range finder and spot scope?
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BrentM
Well-Known Member
I think you have to define easy on wallet and what ranges you wish to achieve. For example my wallet and a 15 year olds might be different, I know my wallet and some guys are here is likely living on two different planets.
For shorter ranges Nikon, Leupold, and Bushnell all make good units out to about 600 yards on non-reflective targets. I played with the 1000's in each model and they work fine on reflective.
Leica, Swarovski- good out to 1800 yards reflective and I have had non-out to 1400 on bright days. I have the Leica as it seemed to give me the best results overall. I have the 1600B but am not sure the B is needed.
G7- pretty awesome. You might go this route for 1500 if you want to use it in place of a palm or ipod. I have an ipod with shooter. Works for me but I have to carry an RF and ipod.....I don't mind I can play with ipod while out hunting and take pictures etc. LOL
vectronix?.....never mind
Spotters. Well again, wallet size counts. I have a Bushnell Elite HD with ED glass and it is flat aweseome for the money, if you can find one. In our outfitter camp we have Swarovski, Leica, Nikon etc and it runs right with the lower priced units in the those name brands. Vortex and Nikon (mid level) have decent glass in the less than 1500 price range. Cheap spotters are just that, cheap, I have had couple. Konus for example. It worked fine but it was limited. You might look at Brunton HD as well.
For shorter ranges Nikon, Leupold, and Bushnell all make good units out to about 600 yards on non-reflective targets. I played with the 1000's in each model and they work fine on reflective.
Leica, Swarovski- good out to 1800 yards reflective and I have had non-out to 1400 on bright days. I have the Leica as it seemed to give me the best results overall. I have the 1600B but am not sure the B is needed.
G7- pretty awesome. You might go this route for 1500 if you want to use it in place of a palm or ipod. I have an ipod with shooter. Works for me but I have to carry an RF and ipod.....I don't mind I can play with ipod while out hunting and take pictures etc. LOL
vectronix?.....never mind
Spotters. Well again, wallet size counts. I have a Bushnell Elite HD with ED glass and it is flat aweseome for the money, if you can find one. In our outfitter camp we have Swarovski, Leica, Nikon etc and it runs right with the lower priced units in the those name brands. Vortex and Nikon (mid level) have decent glass in the less than 1500 price range. Cheap spotters are just that, cheap, I have had couple. Konus for example. It worked fine but it was limited. You might look at Brunton HD as well.
one crazy kid
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the feed back I guess what I meant to say was I am looking for a good beginners range finder reliable out to about 600 yards. My cerent effective range is 350 and I hope to double that this summer. As for the spotting scope I am looking for some thing that I can use for a long time reliable out to about 1200 yards.
BrentM
Well-Known Member
Sorry to be a pain but those things are still a bit dependant on non or reflective surfaces. Also, if you want to spot bullet holes on paper at 1200 we have a new set of issues.
So, if you are looking for a RF that will do fine out to 600 yards on non-reflective targets, get the 1000 model RF from Leupold, Bushnell, Vortex, or Nikon for about $350.
Spotting scope. If 1200 yards is the for viewing game, rocks, girls, or large steel plates on bright days then a cheaper scope will be OK, except crap like Barska. The Konus was great for this. At that range and those size targets you don't need a 20-60x80 high end scope. Nikon prostaff, Bushell Ultra HD, Vortex etc. I would look hard the Ultra HD 12-36 for this.
If you are spotting bullet holes on paper, you will have to step it up big time. Even with the best glass you will struggle due to range conditions and mirage. This is likely not in your budget but I would expect 2000 to 3000 dollar optics for repeatable performance.
As I mentioned we tend to pull out the Swarovski HD 20-60 x 80 for extended viewing, especially in low light, for long range, measured in miles, not yards. We are looking at tine length on deer and elk. My Bushnell does very well as I mentioned but it is a 1000.00 on midway and may be more than you wish to spend.
So, if you are looking for a RF that will do fine out to 600 yards on non-reflective targets, get the 1000 model RF from Leupold, Bushnell, Vortex, or Nikon for about $350.
Spotting scope. If 1200 yards is the for viewing game, rocks, girls, or large steel plates on bright days then a cheaper scope will be OK, except crap like Barska. The Konus was great for this. At that range and those size targets you don't need a 20-60x80 high end scope. Nikon prostaff, Bushell Ultra HD, Vortex etc. I would look hard the Ultra HD 12-36 for this.
If you are spotting bullet holes on paper, you will have to step it up big time. Even with the best glass you will struggle due to range conditions and mirage. This is likely not in your budget but I would expect 2000 to 3000 dollar optics for repeatable performance.
As I mentioned we tend to pull out the Swarovski HD 20-60 x 80 for extended viewing, especially in low light, for long range, measured in miles, not yards. We are looking at tine length on deer and elk. My Bushnell does very well as I mentioned but it is a 1000.00 on midway and may be more than you wish to spend.
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
Leica makes some good items for fair prices. I've played with the Leica rangefinders a little bit, and found them to be of good quality, and really accurate.
I have played with the Swarovski rangefinders a good bit, too, and I wouldn't mind having one of those, either.
If NF would come out with a rangefinder that would be SWEET!
I have played with the Swarovski rangefinders a good bit, too, and I wouldn't mind having one of those, either.
If NF would come out with a rangefinder that would be SWEET!
one crazy kid
Well-Known Member
The spotting scopes primary use will be spotting animals rocks I think are animals and steel. Girls? were did that come from?
BrentM
Well-Known Member
It's a simple attempt to be funny.
The lower cost scopes will be fine for 1200 yard spotting on animals etc in decent light. I would look at the 300-700 dollar range. I have looked through Vortex and they seem fine. I still lean toward the Bushnell HD glass tho. For the money they are pretty good. The ones I have cost $1500 MSRP. but I bought some HD binoculars for my kid not long ago and I really like them for them money. He leaves my Swarovski EL's alone now.
The lower cost scopes will be fine for 1200 yard spotting on animals etc in decent light. I would look at the 300-700 dollar range. I have looked through Vortex and they seem fine. I still lean toward the Bushnell HD glass tho. For the money they are pretty good. The ones I have cost $1500 MSRP. but I bought some HD binoculars for my kid not long ago and I really like them for them money. He leaves my Swarovski EL's alone now.
one crazy kid
Well-Known Member
That makes more sense stupid me.
Thanks once again for all the information it has really helped.
one crazy kid
Well-Known Member
does anyone have any experience with Burris spotting scopes or Burris optics period as in quality durability etc... any info would be helpful thanks.
Canadian Bushman
Well-Known Member
I have a burris landmark 20-60x80 its a good spotting scope. I can see 30 cal bullet holes in white paper out to just under 500yds with good light. As far as spotting splash its very doable. My only complaint is the eye relief. On full zoom you gotta be right on it, but its seems a lot of your lower end spotting scopes have that problem. I personally invested well in my rifle scope and do 95% of my spotting with that.
As far as range finders, i think your skill will progress rather quickly and you will soon be out shooting a cheap one. Coming from someone who has had a few, its much cheaper to buy a really nice one from the start.
As far as range finders, i think your skill will progress rather quickly and you will soon be out shooting a cheap one. Coming from someone who has had a few, its much cheaper to buy a really nice one from the start.
Shane1
Well-Known Member
save your money for a g7 rangefinder, they are amazing. I went from bushnell to nikon to swaro, to g7. I've used the new Lieca a friend has. The G7 is worth the wait. Put your spotting scope money toward it, use decent bino's and your riflescope if it's up to par. The one piece of glass I find I always leave home is my spotting scope. I understand a tight budget I"m on one but with cheap rangefinders you'll find unreliable performance and when hunting with a rangefinder you can't trust with sub par performace the results will not be pleasant. I wasted alot of money jumping threw rangefinders, save yourself the pain, wasted time and expense. The minimum I would use hunting at 800 yards and under would be the new lieca 1600 or swaro. over 800, g7 or vectronix. exact range is extremely important. Lieca and swaro will both range much farther and work fine for some peolpe at longer ranges, my experiance with both in the conditions and terrain I hunt were in-consistant beyond 800, shooting targets wouldn't matter near as much as game.
I agree.
Good advice on the LRFs.
Perhaps the best value in spotting scopes is the 80mm Pentax.
You wont find better optics at any price.
This is a great place to save a little money.
The 80mm Swarovski is about as good optically (not better), but the build is no doubt of higher quality. For triple the price it had better be well built!
