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Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely #7637969 10/21/19 03:33 PM
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I need to invest in a spotting scope and would like to hear from those who use them for shooting at extended distances. Its essential that I clearly see 6.5mm holes on paper targets at 200 yards and then hits on painted metal gongs at no less than 1,000 yards. 200 yards is where I do load development and 1,000 yards is where I play. Currently I use my Vortex 6-24x mounted riflescope but its not detailed enough for my liking.

I know my needs are pushing me into high end glass territory but being poor folk my budget is around $1,000. Thinking about the Vortex Viper HD but will only have one shot at getting a good scope so I want to choose wisely. Any advise?

Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: 7six2] #7637975 10/21/19 03:40 PM
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Personally I’d say you need a better scope than buying a spotting scope. At $1000 budget I’d look at the SS 5-20 HD

Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: wp75169] #7637995 10/21/19 04:03 PM
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Originally Posted by wp75169
Personally I’d say you need a better scope than buying a spotting scope. At $1000 budget I’d look at the SS 5-20 HD


Agreed I will upgrade my rifle scope when I upgrade my rifle next year or so. But I do need a dedicated spotter because I also shoot rifles without any optics and currently have to lug along my only scoped rifle to see the hits.

Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: 7six2] #7638076 10/21/19 05:24 PM
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I'm about to have for sale a Gen I Vortex Razor 85mm spotter. 20-60X variable and a fixed 30X Mil eye piece. All in a Plano hard case. It will do what you are asking and more. I want my money back out of it, $1200.


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Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: 7six2] #7638077 10/21/19 05:25 PM
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Another possible option would be to use a shooting camera setup such as the one from BullsEye.

Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: J.G.] #7638091 10/21/19 05:39 PM
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Originally Posted by FiremanJG
I'm about to have for sale a Gen I Vortex Razor 85mm spotter. 20-60X variable and a fixed 30X Mil eye piece. All in a Plano hard case. It will do what you are asking and more. I want my money back out of it, $1200.


^^^^ this is what I would do if you can swing the extra budget. That's a fine spotter for that price and one will do exactly what you are asking from it.


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Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: 7six2] #7638346 10/21/19 09:34 PM
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Ever thought about shoot n see targets for 200 yards and using a pair of 15x binoculars for long range spotting? I'll freely admit I haven't spent a lot of time behind spotters, but the times I did it was a real pain in the a$$ to get it set up properly. Binoculars can be used for other things, and they sure are nicer to get set up and stay behind for a while.

Last edited by Crews; 10/21/19 09:35 PM.
Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: Crews] #7638380 10/21/19 10:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Crews
Ever thought about shoot n see targets for 200 yards and using a pair of 15x binoculars for long range spotting? I'll freely admit I haven't spent a lot of time behind spotters, but the times I did it was a real pain in the a$$ to get it set up properly. Binoculars can be used for other things, and they sure are nicer to get set up and stay behind for a while.


Splash marks on white paint stand out great because of the contrast.
I agree with the utility offered by good binoculars. My eyes are old, so 15x binoculars at 800-1,000 won't do what I need to happen! But there is nothing worse than cheap magnification!


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Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: Judd] #7638392 10/21/19 10:34 PM
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Originally Posted by Judd
[quote=FiremanJG]I'm about to have for sale a Gen I Vortex Razor 85mm spotter. 20-60X variable and a fixed 30X Mil eye piece. All in a Plano hard case. It will do what you are asking and more. I want my money back out of it, $1200.


^^^^ this is what I would do if you can swing the extra budget. That's a fine spotter for that price and one will do exactly what you are asking from it.
[/quot




I agree This ^^^^^^


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Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: 7six2] #7638554 10/22/19 12:55 AM
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I have a Leupold 12-40 Gold Ring spotting scope and love it. EBay some pre-owned ones in the 700 dollar range. Our military has been using them for a long time for good reason.

Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: Judd] #7638736 10/22/19 04:56 AM
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Originally Posted by Judd
Originally Posted by FiremanJG
I'm about to have for sale a Gen I Vortex Razor 85mm spotter. 20-60X variable and a fixed 30X Mil eye piece. All in a Plano hard case. It will do what you are asking and more. I want my money back out of it, $1200.


^^^^ this is what I would do if you can swing the extra budget. That's a fine spotter for that price and one will do exactly what you are asking from it.


I agree. That is a very nice scope


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Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: 7six2] #7638876 10/22/19 01:43 PM
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Seems the Razor is regarded as a good value. That's reassuring. I also stumbled across a really good deal on a Meopta. I never heard of them but all good reviews. Hey one more question...I have used angled spotters before and cursed them at the bench...and for this reason wanted to go with a straight body...but now I see that some of these angled scope can be rotated around so that the eye piece is to the side. With this in mind does anyone have an opinion about angled vs straight?

Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: 7six2] #7638895 10/22/19 02:05 PM
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Meopta makes the TS-82 for Nightforce and it's what I upgraded to after owning a Vortex Razor. It's a dang nice scope. You probably can't find that scope for a 1k though so it's probably not the same one.

I prefer angled but it doesn't make a big difference to me, I find you don't need as tall of a tripod with the angled and that generally helps with stability. Straight allows you to open both eyes without looking at the ground. If you plan on shooting Fclass or laying prone and putting the scope on a pole so your right eye looks through your rifle scope and your left eye through a spotter, the angle will work better for this because you can move the eye piece in a better position (like you mentioned above).

They both have their merits.


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Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: 7six2] #7638923 10/22/19 02:43 PM
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As far as the Razor goes the fact that JG has the 30x eyepiece is IMO the biggest selling point. That eyepiece is superior to the zoom that comes with it. I have the same exact set-up (30X Mil) and the only two Spotters that I have looked thru that are slightly better are the Kowa Prominar and Maven.
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Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: 7six2] #7638936 10/22/19 03:03 PM
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I'm not familiar with the fixed 30 eyepiece

Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: J.G.] #7639182 10/22/19 08:54 PM
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Originally Posted by FiremanJG
I'm about to have for sale a Gen I Vortex Razor 85mm spotter. 20-60X variable and a fixed 30X Mil eye piece. All in a Plano hard case. It will do what you are asking and more. I want my money back out of it, $1200.



That's a really nice one!!!


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Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: J.G.] #7639225 10/22/19 09:37 PM
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Originally Posted by FiremanJG
I'm about to have for sale a Gen I Vortex Razor 85mm spotter. 20-60X variable and a fixed 30X Mil eye piece. All in a Plano hard case. It will do what you are asking and more. I want my money back out of it, $1200.


What kind of timetable do you think before your ready to sell?

Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: 7six2] #7639241 10/22/19 09:50 PM
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I like straight. I can use both eyes, and my neck doesn't get sore bending my head down like with an angled. The one I will be selling is straight body.


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Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: 7six2] #7639242 10/22/19 09:52 PM
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Originally Posted by 7six2
Originally Posted by FiremanJG
I'm about to have for sale a Gen I Vortex Razor 85mm spotter. 20-60X variable and a fixed 30X Mil eye piece. All in a Plano hard case. It will do what you are asking and more. I want my money back out of it, $1200.


What kind of timetable do you think before your ready to sell?


It got left in the rain, and got some water inside it. I will be sending it to Vortex ASAP. They will clean the water spots out of it, seal it back up, and send it back. Once it is back, I will sell it. That rotation might take two weeks.


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Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: 7six2] #7639247 10/22/19 09:55 PM
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Originally Posted by 7six2
I'm not familiar with the fixed 30 eyepiece


Fixed 30X is going to be clearer than a variable, as is the nature of fixed power optics. But this one has a Mil reticle, with .2 Mil hashes between whole Mils. I have to have this feature on my range, and in my work, helping people make corrections with their rifle scopes. Even if someone is using an MOA scope, I will see the miss in Mils, do the math, and tell them their correction in MOA.


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Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: J.G.] #7640214 10/23/19 09:26 PM
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Originally Posted by FiremanJG
Originally Posted by 7six2
I'm not familiar with the fixed 30 eyepiece


Fixed 30X is going to be clearer than a variable, as is the nature of fixed power optics. But this one has a Mil reticle, with .2 Mil hashes between whole Mils. I have to have this feature on my range, and in my work, helping people make corrections with their rifle scopes. Even if someone is using an MOA scope, I will see the miss in Mils, do the math, and tell them their correction in MOA.


OK got it. I previously missed the detail about the mil reticle. Thats a plus! So what you upgrading to? Leupold Mark 4?

Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: 7six2] #7640501 10/24/19 02:28 AM
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Swarovski ATS 80, already have it.

Shockingly, the Vortex isn't much behind it in heavy mirage. At least on my range.


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Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: 7six2] #7641669 10/25/19 01:31 PM
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Been looking around and researching for a few days now...think I'll have to open up my budget a little more. I'm still at least a month away from purchasing anyways. Heading to Cabelas tomorrow to get some hands-on time with various brands but leaning towards one of the Meopta offerings or the Leupold Mark 4. The reticle would be nice but if it comes down to it I'd rather have better glass.

Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: 7six2] #7641706 10/25/19 01:49 PM
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You're welcome to come look through the Razor I have, if you're close enough to drive out.

800 yards on my place, but I can drive you half a mile up the road and you can look across 1400 yards of farm land.


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Re: Spotting scope- Help me choose wisely [Re: J.G.] #7641935 10/25/19 04:40 PM
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Originally Posted by FiremanJG
You're welcome to come look through the Razor I have, if you're close enough to drive out.

800 yards on my place, but I can drive you half a mile up the road and you can look across 1400 yards of farm land.


Thanks. I might take you up on it if I find myself over that way for work anytime soon. Razor still on the list. Although my Viper rifle scope gets the job done its a bit cloudy on the high end.

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