Spotting Scopes

[BushmasterFanBoy]

I'm in the market for spotting scopes. Right now I don't know the market at all and I would like to have a solid understanding before I go out and buy one. I would hate to have another "Bushmaster fiasco", where I plop down darn near what a (insert good brand here) costs and then find out years later that I could have had something of better quality for a similar price.

My Requirements:

Rugged: I want something that can take a good beating in the back of a trunk or truck
Clarity: I will be shooting on cloudy days with little light
Magnification: I will be shooting from 50 to 400 yards and want to be able to detect hits on paper targets
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Is This Any good? (http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=466045&t=11082005)

If anyone has links to spotting scopes they have purchased that have worked well for them, please post it. As always cost is a factor, but I am certainly looking to get the most bang for my buck, yet still satisfy these requirements if possible. If anyone knows a good forum that would be great too, and I would like to have a good idea of who the best are and who the worst are.

Thanks very much for the help, I appreciate it!

[Skintop911]

I'm currently using an issued Bushnell Legend, 20-60x. It has excellent clarity in various lighting conditions. My soft-sided kit has lived in the trunk of a car (or 4x4) for the last year or so without ill effect. There are better and worse, but this meets my needs. And it was free. Prior to the Legend, I had mostly mil-surp units. Those also did well for what I need.

The snipers and long-range guys among us will likely have more useful info to you.

[BushmasterFanBoy]

Skintop thank you very much. I look forward to hearing more from others, please feel free to chime in!

[donr101395]

I've been using an Alpen 18X-36X the last couple of years. IMO it's a good spotting scope in the value category. It comes with a soft case, hard case, tripod and window mount and is in the $140 range. It's bumped around plenty in my shooting box in the back of my pickup.


Edit: Sorry just saw your 400 yard requirement. This one is good for about 200.

[mpardun]

I bought mine without the kit for $399 from Bear Basin (along with a Swaro z6i).
http://leupold.com/_images/more_views/golden-ring-15-30x50mm-compact-angle.jpg
http://www.bearbasin.com/spotting.htm#leup_spot (http://www.swfa.com/pc-6191-347-leupold-15-30x50-compact-golden-ring-spotting-scope.aspx)

I have used/owned a few others over the years: Bushnell, Nikon, Zeiss, Leica, Minox and the Leupold (at the $400price point) is much THE BEST, for several reasons:
1: US Made (don't buy the Sequia/Green ring...Chinese made)
2: Very Good Optics (not Swaro/Zeiss caliber, but not too far off)
3: NO BS lifetime warranty
4: Waterproof
5: Ruberized/nicely finished

[BushmasterFanBoy]

I bought mine without the kit for $399 from Bear Basin (along with a Swaro z6i).

I have used/owned a few others over the years: Bushnell, Nikon, Zeiss, Leica, Minox and the Leupold (at the $400price point) is much THE BEST, for several reasons:
1: US Made (don't buy the Sequia/Green ring...Chinese made)
2: Very Good Optics (not Swaro/Zeiss caliber, but not too far off)
3: NO BS lifetime warranty
4: Waterproof
5: Ruberized/nicely finished

What do you use yours for? Can you pick out .223 sized holds at 400 yards in paper? What distances have you used it with?
Thanks for the reply these are really helpful.

[mpardun]

What do you use yours for? Can you pick out .223 sized holds at 400 yards in paper? What distances have you used it with?
Thanks for the reply these are really helpful.

Range: had them for 3 months and only used for 200 yard range work to date, worked flawlessly (.223) mostly at 30x. My eyes are not great, if I were doing longer range work, I'd take my much larger 60x Zeiss set-up, 3x the size, 5x the money, but sweet!

Also used for hiking/spotting on Rocky Mtn National Park, very compact and fairly light, travels well in pack.

[HolyRoller]

Probably the most popular spotting scopes in the highpower crowd are from Kowa. They aren't the cheapest, or most expensive, but they're great values. You get super clarity and resolution that picks up even faint mirage. The most capable Kowas are the 82mm size, but the 66mm or older 77mm will probably get you done. I run a straight TSN-822M and have found the straight scopes to be easiest to use for standing and sitting and general observation, but for prone, which is where scoping is most critical, I really should have gotten the angled scope. It's hard on the neck to look through a straight scope from prone.

HP shooters with Kowas nearly always use the 27x long eye relief eyepiece. You can get higher magnification but I doubt you'll be able to reliably see .22 holes in the black at 400 yards with any scope. It's hard enough at 200 yards. I put my Kowa on a Big Blue stand from www.creedmoorsports.com which also will probably have the best price on Kowa glass. Many online retailers sell them and remember that you have to buy the eyepiece separately so be sure to look at both the body and eyepiece prices.