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Anyone Use a Spotting Scope on Whitetails?
#6470750
09/27/16 06:17 PM
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 7,359
BenBob
OP
THF Trophy Hunter
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OP
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 7,359 |
I have some situations where I have seen whitetail bucks at a distance and was wondering if use of a spotting scope would be as much help as the trouble it would be to use one. I have had a spotting scope before and tried to use them, but they were cheaper models and the use of them was not worth the effort. Thinking now about getting a better spotting scope, but was wondering if anyone has used a spotting scope in a blind and was it mounted on a tripod or mounted on one of the spotting scope mounts that fits on the window of a truck or car and attached to the window in the blind? I want to see the quality of some of the deer in the area, but can't figure out exactly how to use the spotting scope in that context. May sound like a stupid question, but I don't need another piece of equipment unless it is useful. Also, is the straight view spotting scope the best for that use or is the angled view spotting scope best for that use? I hunt in West Texas, so most of the time I can see further than I can shoot.
Tired, Wired, and Uninspired
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Re: Anyone Use a Spotting Scope on Whitetails?
[Re: BenBob]
#6470788
09/27/16 06:41 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 2,605
fouzman
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 2,605 |
More trouble than they're worth for hunting, to me. Unless I'm trying to come up with the most accurate score I can. But that would be in a scouting rather than a hunting situation.
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Re: Anyone Use a Spotting Scope on Whitetails?
[Re: BenBob]
#6470790
09/27/16 06:43 PM
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Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 244
cjs0134
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 244 |
In west Texas a good spotting scope is great! We spend a lot of time glassing and not so much looking for bucks, as much as looking for deer movement and trying to see where they are coming and going. The cheaper models always seem to be fuzzy and not useful. I am currently using a Vortex spotting scope, straight eye, and love it.
I do not carry it to the blind with me but it is always in the truck on the mid-day trips around the lease.
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Re: Anyone Use a Spotting Scope on Whitetails?
[Re: BenBob]
#6470794
09/27/16 06:44 PM
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Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 386
Las Colinas Hunter
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 386 |
Too much trouble in my opinion. Especially without a stable platform. I tried using one a few years ago, but ended getting more frustrated and using my bino's which were more than accurate.
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Re: Anyone Use a Spotting Scope on Whitetails?
[Re: BenBob]
#6470806
09/27/16 06:51 PM
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,441
Shotgun Willie
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,441 |
I've got one of the angled ones, and I wish I'd have gotten a straight one. Maybe I'll get used to it, but it's significantly easier to find an object in the view finder if it's straight on, as opposed to get past the 45 degree angle in your head. If I was only looking at one thing, like a target or something, it'd be fine, but moving around and trying to locate a specific spot takes some getting used to.
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Re: Anyone Use a Spotting Scope on Whitetails?
[Re: BenBob]
#6470963
09/27/16 08:44 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296
stxranchman
Obie Juan Kenobi
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Obie Juan Kenobi
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 60,296 |
I used to carry one with me but did not use it that much for whitetails. What I did use a lot more was a pair of 15x56 binos with a mono-pod a lot when I was in the Hill Country. I use one daily for mule deer hunting in West Texas.
Are idiots multiplying faster than normal people?
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Re: Anyone Use a Spotting Scope on Whitetails?
[Re: BenBob]
#6471121
09/27/16 10:39 PM
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Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 13,069
PMK
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 13,069 |
I have a couple of spotting scopes, haven't used them in years other than glassing in CO/NM at very long distances. A quality pair of binoculars goes almost everywhere with me now.
"everyone that lives dies but not everyone who dies lived..."
~PMK~
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Re: Anyone Use a Spotting Scope on Whitetails?
[Re: BenBob]
#6471386
09/28/16 01:11 AM
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 6,268
tlk
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 6,268 |
I use mine regularly. You can buy an inexpensive clamp to hold them still. Allows a hunter to study a deer at long distance to determine age and score. If I spot a deer at long distance and determine from the scope he is a trophy then I get out of my stand and stalk him. I would not be without a good spotting scope.
For other species? Elk, etc.? Worth their weight in gold IMO
You can't fix stupid
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Re: Anyone Use a Spotting Scope on Whitetails?
[Re: BenBob]
#6471939
09/28/16 02:03 PM
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 40,016
redchevy
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 40,016 |
I'm getting old... I bought a new pair of binos last year cant remember if they were 12 or 16x, but they are plenty magnification to see whatever I need to look at.
It's hell eatin em live
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