Help with a Spotting Scope

[cundiff5535]

Hey gang, been on a while just do not post all that much. I am about to dive into a spotting scope in the next few weeks. I have it narrowed down to a three options and am hoping you guys will help me decide what is the one I should buy.

Vortex Razor
Zen Ray Zen ED2
Kowa TSN82SV


I live in the Chicagoland area so sadly, I have no place to shoot past 600... and realistically the most Ill be shooting is 300. I shoot A LOT of BR .22LR at 50 and 100 and shoot AR 223 loads at 200. Thats the majority of my shooting. I will say, I have HORRIBLE eyes so I am not sure if you all think that is impactful.

I will probably buy used if the value is there but, I do want to get a nice scope. But, I am not sure what makes most sense for ME? <--- Since this is my first spotter, I am not sure.


When it comes to Optics for my rifle, I know what I like based on the many, many optics I have owned (pretty biased toward Nightforce, Zeiss, and Vortex). I do not have the time or money to burn through 10-15 spotting scopes to find out what best fits me. What I do know is that I need to make a decision soon. Weather is breaking at its almost time to start shooting again! (I am not a cold weather guy so, no chance Im going out in anything under 50 to shoot

Anyway, all help is so very much appreciated!

 

[class3nfa]

I agree buy it right the first time and never look back. If your happy with the NF scope mabey take a look at them for your spotter. I don't have any experience with Vortex Spotters. I've used Swarovski and Ziess in Hells canyon and have been very impressed. Quality glass is a must in a spotter or the image gets dark and blurry when your trying to look at bullet holes at a long distance. Good luck with your hunt

 

[JW74]

I just received my Zen Ray Zen ED2 20-60x83 last week and so far love it. It seems to be just as good as my shooting partners Vortex Razor HD. I was shooting at 200 yards last weekend and could clearly and easily see my bullet holes in the target at that range. Had some mirage on high power but not too bad. Will test it out at 1000 yards here in a week or two.

 

[dah605]

I just picked up the Vortex Razor HD this past weekend at the NRA Annual Meeting. I was going back and forth between the Nightforce and Vortex--I really like my Nightforce scopes. The clincher for me was the 30x MOA eyepiece for the Vortex. Nice and easy to swap out in the field should that be necessary. The deal I got through Europtic helped too

-David

 

[Senderofan]

Any of the spotters you list would be excellent. When I made my decision nearly two years ago...I went Meopta. Ended up finding a BNIB angled 82 HD with 20-70X eye piece for an amazing deal from a legit dealer. This is the same unit that NightForce uses as their spotter. You can perhaps search around and find a better deal like I did.....but really, any of those you list would be excellent choices.

MeoStar® S2 82 HD Angled

TS-82

Wayne

 

[cundiff5535]

Any of the spotters you list would be excellent. When I made my decision nearly two years ago...I went Meopta. Ended up finding a BNIB angled 82 HD with 20-70X eye piece for an amazing deal from a legit dealer. This is the same unit that NightForce uses as their spotter. You can perhaps search around and find a better deal like I did.....but really, any of those you list would be excellent choices.

MeoStar® S2 82 HD Angled

TS-82

Wayne

Wayne, I spent a good amount of time with the guys over at Sport Optics and Chris and Trey confirmed the same thing you just did. Maybe Ill look at the exact setup you have. Are you happy with it?

 

[Senderofan]

Wayne, I spent a good amount of time with the guys over at Sport Optics and Chris and Trey confirmed the same thing you just did. Maybe Ill look at the exact setup you have. Are you happy with it?

This is the last spotter I'll ever buy. I had wanted a top tier spotter for many years....but just couldn't stomach what the prices for the Swaro or Zeiss were running. I'm not saying the Swaro or Zeiss aren't worth the price...they are just a bit out of my reach or comfort zone shall we say. I think the Meopta compares very favorably to Swaro or Zeiss.....Extremely clear, excellent color rendition and bright at all powers. It seems very robust...but I'm extremely careful with my optics. As you probably already know, there are two eye ices available. The 30-60X is considered the "Wide Angle" eye piece as it gives a 60 degree field of view at any mag. The 20-70X gives 45 to 63 degrees of viewing. So that's also something to consider when purchasing.

Good Luck....any way you slice it...you're going to end up with an excellent spotting scope. One that will serve you well for many, many years.

Wayne

P.S.
Glad you're having a conversation with an optics dealer. Generally all my purchases are solo...after a fair amount of internet searching. The Meopta is at the top of the list in terms of overall satisfaction for me....just my humble opinion.