Swarovski spotter?

[Jboone23]

Hello all, I am in search of a spotting scope. I've narrowed it down to the Swarovski Btx and the Swarovski ATC. I don't have a retail store within 5 hours of me to try either of them out. I would love to have the btx as I would use it almost daily to look out my porch and glassing from the truck during the off-season and for antlers. the kicker of it is it's basically 10lbs with the 115mm.
The swaro atc is much lighter and compact, but I'm assuming not near as forgiving on the eye strain, and not as great of a living room piece to enjoy while I can't be in the mountains.
Realistically I'm able to do a 6 day backcountry hunt each year, with dozens of weekends outings closer to the truck so a 10lb optic won't kill me if it's a great and clear as I hear it is.
Anybody have experience with either??

Thanks
Jake

 

[yobuck]

Hello all, I am in search of a spotting scope. I've narrowed it down to the Swarovski Btx and the Swarovski ATC. I don't have a retail store within 5 hours of me to try either of them out. I would love to have the btx as I would use it almost daily to look out my porch and glassing from the truck during the off-season and for antlers. the kicker of it is it's basically 10lbs with the 115mm.
The swaro atc is much lighter and compact, but I'm assuming not near as forgiving on the eye strain, and not as great of a living room piece to enjoy while I can't be in the mountains.
Realistically I'm able to do a 6 day backcountry hunt each year, with dozens of weekends outings closer to the truck so a 10lb optic won't kill me if it's a great and clear as I hear it is.
Anybody have experience with either??

Thanks
Jake

Jake, my question is have you had much experience using large binoculars for things like finding game animals?
Mind you i am not attempting to persuade you away from your choice.
But first off, using angle eyepiece optics for glassing while sitting in a pickup truck using a window mount wont work very well.
Straight thru optics would be a better choice for that.
You will also find that for long glassing sessions, angles arent always an advantage to use.
Sitting in a valley looking up at a mountainside is one thing.
But sitting on top and looking down is yet another.
As for the size of the objective lens, yes, the rule of thumb is that the larger the objective, the brighter the picture.
But have you ever looked thru a good set of 80 mm glasses,
or even 60 mm ?
Question, when hunting, if you cant see the animal clearly in your rifle scope, whats the point to finding it at all?
Mind you ive owned large binnoculars having 120 mm objectives. But you know what? on a good day they werent much better for finding game than the 60 mm ones i owned.
And on bad days you wont be using them anyway.
Are you aware of the twin spotting scopes in adjustable bracket setup?
They have been very popular among long range hunters for at least 60 years.
I personally know at least 10 people who use the 80 mm Swarovski spotters in the adjustable brackets.
And i know at least as many who use Kowas, myself included.
The advantage of using Kowa is that they offer individual power eyepieces, as opposed to only the varieable power as most others do.
I know a guy who has a set of the Swaro 80s in a bracket, and he also has a BTX, but i believe it is an 80 mm as well.
I can get his number for you if your interested.
I could also email you pics of different scopes in brackets as well.

 

[Jboone23]

Jake, my question is have you had much experience using large binoculars for things like finding game animals?
Mind you i am not attempting to persuade you away from your choice.
But first off, using angle eyepiece optics for glassing while sitting in a pickup truck using a window mount wont work very well.
Straight thru optics would be a better choice for that.
You will also find that for long glassing sessions, angles arent always an advantage to use.
Sitting in a valley looking up at a mountainside is one thing.
But sitting on top and looking down is yet another.
As for the size of the objective lens, yes, the rule of thumb is that the larger the objective, the brighter the picture.
But have you ever looked thru a good set of 80 mm glasses,
or even 60 mm ?
Question, when hunting, if you cant see the animal clearly in your rifle scope, whats the point to finding it at all?
Mind you ive owned large binnoculars having 120 mm objectives. But you know what? on a good day they werent much better for finding game than the 60 mm ones i owned.
And on bad days you wont be using them anyway.
Are you aware of the twin spotting scopes in adjustable bracket setup?
They have been very popular among long range hunters for at least 60 years.
I personally know at least 10 people who use the 80 mm Swarovski spotters in the adjustable brackets.
And i know at least as many who use Kowas, myself included.
The advantage of using Kowa is that they offer individual power eyepieces, as opposed to only the varieable power as most others do.
I know a guy who has a set of the Swaro 80s in a bracket, and he also has a BTX, but i believe it is an 80 mm as well.
I can get his number for you if your interested.
I could also email you pics of different scopes in brackets as well.

Thanks for such a thorough response.
I have had a vortex 18x56 bino that I borrowed for a month during a first season Rifle hunt.
I actually don't ever glass from a window mount, I drive to location and bino free handed, or will get out and stand at the tripod.
I have only looked thru a set of 80mm glass when I owned a vortex viper 20-60x80 and it was fine for 20-45x but after that I just think the glass quality wasn't there to get me a define image if conditions weren't perfect. I am in a bit of a tough spot living 4 hours from grand junction and 4 hours from Denver.. most shops not having both spotters to compare. I would like to go test them out in person.
I just recently after diving into some forums learned about the twin spotter setups and wasn't sure if that was the way before the btx came out or if that still has some advantages. I will dive deeper into some threads about the twins! As well as look into the kowas because that is one wish i have is that the btx has is a variable zoom.

 

[yobuck]

Thanks for such a thorough response.
I have had a vortex 18x56 bino that I borrowed for a month during a first season Rifle hunt.
I actually don't ever glass from a window mount, I drive to location and bino free handed, or will get out and stand at the tripod.
I have only looked thru a set of 80mm glass when I owned a vortex viper 20-60x80 and it was fine for 20-45x but after that I just think the glass quality wasn't there to get me a define image if conditions weren't perfect. I am in a bit of a tough spot living 4 hours from grand junction and 4 hours from Denver.. most shops not having both spotters to compare. I would like to go test them out in person.
I just recently after diving into some forums learned about the twin spotter setups and wasn't sure if that was the way before the btx came out or if that still has some advantages. I will dive deeper into some threads about the twins! As well as look into the kowas because that is one wish i have is that the btx has is a variable zoom.

Well regardless of the optic quality, including the very best ones, the conditions will dictate the image quality, not the optics.
Having a large objective wont improve the conditions your looking thru.
As for power, the west as a rule will have better air quality for glassing than we have in the east.
But even there, the higher the power the less clarity you will have.
Mirage is a factor everywhere, and again power is your enemy not your friend when dealing with that.
I personally think that you should put the brakes on buying anything.
EXCEPT, maybe, a good quality set of 15x 56 large hand held binnocs.
Certainly Swaro makes a very good set, but then so do others at a much better price point.
And today there are more of them than ever.
Do you drive a Ford or do you drive a BMW? lol
As for hand glassing, you need to stop doing that right now. lol
I would advise you or anyone to go to the (24 Hour Campfire) website. once there, go to the (home page,) at the home page go to the (archives) section, once there scan for the ( big eyes) article. It is now a very old article, and more options as for large hand glasses are now available. But the concept hasent changed one single bit.
I have good friends who have 80 mm Swaros in brackets, and you know what? They glass with 15x56s and then use the larger ones for counting points, which is a requirement in PA.
And i can also tell you this, those same friends will tell you that the 15x56 Tracts are just as good at finding deer as the 15x56 Swaros.

 

[sp6x6]

Ive had a far amount of scopes.At one point I had larger Kowa 774 for glassing from rig, down to the baby 554 for hiking at 28 0z.At that point they are not forgiving and shack easy in winds, and hard to glass for longer times. A good all around scope and can usually find under $1000,mine was $600 new.Leuplod 15-45x60 not very heavy and 12'' long.My go to scope is a swaroski 25x50W X 65.Great all around scope I glass off window mat and tripod,15x56 Ziess. If I'm packing for speed goat its vortex 15x50 , there 28 oz I think.

 

[yobuck]

Ive had a far amount of scopes.At one point I had larger Kowa 774 for glassing from rig, down to the baby 554 for hiking at 28 0z.At that point they are not forgiving and shack easy in winds, and hard to glass for longer times. A good all around scope and can usually find under $1000,mine was $600 new.Leuplod 15-45x60 not very heavy and 12'' long.My go to scope is a swaroski 25x50W X 65.Great all around scope I glass off window mat and tripod,15x56 Ziess. If I'm packing for speed goat its vortex 15x50 , there 28 oz I think.

Well if i told you that over the last 20 or so years, i have bought probably 50 spotting scopes on Ebay, you would think of me as a liar. And thats OK, because the prices keep going up. lol
But fact is that the expensive scopes today, will become bargains in 10 years. Many of them will have had very little use and still appear as new.
About 10 years ago i bought a pair of 77 mm Kowa TSN2s in a bracket made by a guy i know well, with a pair of 30 power wide angle eyepieces in the scopes for $1200.
There were no other bidders on those glasses, and i bought them for the opening bid.

 

[sp6x6]

Reminds me I still have my 30W off my Kowa,need to sell that. I thought I was bad having had around ten

 

[Jboone23]

Well regardless of the optic quality, including the very best ones, the conditions will dictate the image quality, not the optics.
Having a large objective wont improve the conditions your looking thru.
As for power, the west as a rule will have better air quality for glassing than we have in the east.
But even there, the higher the power the less clarity you will have.
Mirage is a factor everywhere, and again power is your enemy not your friend when dealing with that.
I personally think that you should put the brakes on buying anything.
EXCEPT, maybe, a good quality set of 15x 56 large hand held binnocs.
Certainly Swaro makes a very good set, but then so do others at a much better price point.
And today there are more of them than ever.
Do you drive a Ford or do you drive a BMW? lol
As for hand glassing, you need to stop doing that right now. lol
I would advise you or anyone to go to the (24 Hour Campfire) website. once there, go to the (home page,) at the home page go to the (archives) section, once there scan for the ( big eyes) article. It is now a very old article, and more options as for large hand glasses are now available. But the concept hasent changed one single bit.
I have good friends who have 80 mm Swaros in brackets, and you know what? They glass with 15x56s and then use the larger ones for counting points, which is a requirement in PA.
And i can also tell you this, those same friends will tell you that the 15x56 Tracts are just as good at finding deer as the 15x56 Swaros.

Thanks for all the info..

Well regardless of the optic quality, including the very best ones, the conditions will dictate the image quality, not the optics.
Having a large objective wont improve the conditions your looking thru.
As for power, the west as a rule will have better air quality for glassing than we have in the east.
But even there, the higher the power the less clarity you will have.
Mirage is a factor everywhere, and again power is your enemy not your friend when dealing with that.
I personally think that you should put the brakes on buying anything.
EXCEPT, maybe, a good quality set of 15x 56 large hand held binnocs.
Certainly Swaro makes a very good set, but then so do others at a much better price point.
And today there are more of them than ever.
Do you drive a Ford or do you drive a BMW? lol
As for hand glassing, you need to stop doing that right now. lol
I would advise you or anyone to go to the (24 Hour Campfire) website. once there, go to the (home page,) at the home page go to the (archives) section, once there scan for the ( big eyes) article. It is now a very old article, and more options as for large hand glasses are now available. But the concept hasent changed one single bit.
I have good friends who have 80 mm Swaros in brackets, and you know what? They glass with 15x56s and then use the larger ones for counting points, which is a requirement in PA.
And i can also tell you this, those same friends will tell you that the 15x56 Tracts are just as good at finding deer as the 15x56 Swaros.

Heading over to the campfire to see what I can learn about "big eyes"
Curious on the advice to ditch the spotter for a pair of 15x56 is this because of FOV, weight, eye relief.. all of the above? Just a pawn to the optics game so this is great info

 

[Jboone23]

Ive had a far amount of scopes.At one point I had larger Kowa 774 for glassing from rig, down to the baby 554 for hiking at 28 0z.At that point they are not forgiving and shack easy in winds, and hard to glass for longer times. A good all around scope and can usually find under $1000,mine was $600 new.Leuplod 15-45x60 not very heavy and 12'' long.My go to scope is a swaroski 25x50W X 65.Great all around scope I glass off window mat and tripod,15x56 Ziess. If I'm packing for speed goat its vortex 15x50 , there 28 oz I think.

I was a bit deterred from the razor 18x56 I borrowed, and I wondered if the 15 was a happy medium, not so narrow FOV and possible to free hand for a quick scan during a stalk or so. I've been really happy with my NL pures 10x42 but would like a little more for viewing tines from a distance. Would the 15x56 bino be worth the extra 5x or would that money be better saved to afford a spotter in the future. I like to digiscope so I definitely see me getting a more magnified glass in the future.

 

[yobuck]

I was a bit deterred from the razor 18x56 I borrowed, and I wondered if the 15 was a happy medium, not so narrow FOV and possible to free hand for a quick scan during a stalk or so. I've been really happy with my NL pures 10x42 but would like a little more for viewing tines from a distance. Would the 15x56 bino be worth the extra 5x or would that money be better saved to afford a spotter in the future. I like to digiscope so I definitely see me getting a more magnified glass in the future.

Like most other things, there is no real one size that fits everything.
The large hand glasses when attached to a tripod will cover most hunting situations.
15 power is a very comfortable power to use, and yet enough power to satisfy most hunting situations as well.
A single spotter is all most would need in addition for checking rack size etc.
And they will work very well on a window mount as well, which can be a very handy thing to have and use.
As for the 15x, i have both 20x wide angles and 30x wide angles for my twin Kowa scopes setup.
Kowa dosent offer a 15x eyepiece, but i had a set made by a very good optics guy from a set of telescope eyepieces.
And i use those most of the time for glassing.
I also have just one zoom eyepiece that goes to as i recall 50 power that i can install in one of the scopes if i need more power.
Frankly i have never used it.
As for the 24 hour Campfire article, when i first read that over 10 years ago, i had been using twin spotters for over 40 years.
But i bought a set of the Minox 15x58s they had tested in that article. At the time i bought them they had introduced a new model in 15x56. Cameraland was selling the old 15x58 model on a closeout for $500, and i bought them.
We did our own side by side test at long range in the yard of our camp. We had a set of 15x56 Swaros, a set of 15x56 Leica Geovids, the 15x58 Minoz and a set of the old 50 mm Bushnell
spotters in a bracket with 16 power eyepieces.
All were side by side and aimed at the same hillside.
The only guy who felt that the Swaros were just a little bit better, was the guy who owned them. And even he admitted that for the large difference in cost, he wouldnt buy them after seeing them compared with the Minox.
But i only had about $400 invested in those 50 mm Bushnells,
including the bracket, and for the money, most guys would take those over the others.

 

[sp6x6]

The vortex I had are the budget $500 type new can find on sale and are 15x50,they are light enough to pack and good bang for the buck, my Ziess much heavier are a better optic

 

[LaHunter]

Hello all, I am in search of a spotting scope. I've narrowed it down to the Swarovski Btx and the Swarovski ATC. I don't have a retail store within 5 hours of me to try either of them out. I would love to have the btx as I would use it almost daily to look out my porch and glassing from the truck during the off-season and for antlers. the kicker of it is it's basically 10lbs with the 115mm.
The swaro atc is much lighter and compact, but I'm assuming not near as forgiving on the eye strain, and not as great of a living room piece to enjoy while I can't be in the mountains.
Realistically I'm able to do a 6 day backcountry hunt each year, with dozens of weekends outings closer to the truck so a 10lb optic won't kill me if it's a great and clear as I hear it is.
Anybody have experience with either??

Thanks
Jake

Your two choices are at the opposite ends of the spectrum. There are some good spotting scopes in the 65-85 mm range. You will not be packing that 115 mm spotter with the BTX eyepiece very far. The ATC is a great spotter I assume, for its size, but its size will limit its effectiveness from a purely optical perspective. I have the Swaro 20-60 X 65mm HD spotter that is packable and is very good optically. It does a lot well, but maybe not the best at any one category.

 

[yobuck]

The vortex I had are the budget $500 type new can find on sale and are 15x50,they are light enough to pack and good bang for the buck, my Ziess much heavier are a better optic

Well i wont comment on any ive never looked thru, and ive never looked thru either of those.
I will pass along what others i trust might think however.
Point is that if you place them side by side on the same day looking at the same things, you just might have a mind change about spending twice the amount of money for the small differences you might find. Assuming you find them.
Color will as a rule be at least slightly different between different ones. For a bird watcher that will be a big issue, but for a hunter not so much.
For a person who might be locked in on having angle viewing as opposed to straight thru, the Kowa Highlander glasses would be worth strong consideration.
They only weigh about 14 # and are binoculars, not spotters in a bracket.
They have 80 mm objectives and although they come standard with 32 power eyepieces, they can be swapped out for 20s as well or i believe 50s also.
I have spent lots of time looking thru them as a late friend owned a set.
When he died i sold them for his wife to a man in know for $3200.
He sat in the yard of our camp for several hours comparing them with his sons 80 mm Swaro spotters in a bracket.
He did prefer angles for the places he hunted, but non the less he wanted good quality as well.