Need advice on a good spotting scope

[Matrixmadman]

Hello, I need advice on a good Spotting scope up to 300 yards to buy.
Thanks

[Pthfndr]

Konus or Nikon. Stay away from Barska or any other Chinese made spotting scope. They do not do well past 100 yards or on full magnification.

[HK Dave]

Depends on your price range. Best bang for the buck under $500 I've ever found is a Bushnell Elite 20-60x80mm.

If you have $1000+... the Vortex Razor 20-60x85mm is PHENOMENAL... i think you need to get past $2K to compete with it.

[TMB 1]

http://www.amazon.com/Bushnell-SpaceMaster-15-45x-Spotting-Scope/dp/B000F4EMF0/ref=sr_1_34?ie=UTF8&qid=1442891845&sr=8-34&keywords=bushnell+spotting+scope

[Matrixmadman]

Great!!!. Thanks for the Ideas and the input. Its greatly appreciated.

[JMP]

It depends on what you are going to use it for. If you are just trying to see the impacts on paper at $300, any of the low-end Vortex spotting scopes will do fine. My problem with spotting scopes is that it is quite expensive to get a good one, and even then, it's simply a birdwatching scope. For active spotting, you will generally want one with a first focal plane reticle for someone to help with your adjustments. I am partial to the Spotter 60.

[sonofeugene]

Check out Pentax. Most reviews put them in the same class as scopes in the 3000+ range. Certainly they are a bargain for the money.

I have the 20-60x80. Awesome scope.

[TMB 1]

Just bought one. What to you carry yours in? I'm thinking of making one of my large Pelicans a 308 rig

I just use the backpack case it came with most of the time.

[skohl]

Alpen Scope at Costco

http://www.costco.com/optics.html

This is a really good scope; especially at this price. If you look around the internet it gets great reviews.

[MarkG35]

Great price for the Alpen!

[billped]

"The" Alpen ... there are two. Which one is GTG?

[Matrixmadman]

Which one do you think is better?

http://www.amazon.com/Bushnell-SpaceMaster-15-45x-Spotting-Scope/dp/B000F4EMF0/ref=sr_1_34?ie=UTF8&qid=1442891845&sr=8-34&keywords=bushnell+spotting+scope

[oceanwest]

Many years ago I made the mistake of buying one of those bushell spotting scopes, maybe they have updated the optics but it still looks the same from the outside, and looking at the specs it has the same horrible eye relief as the one I got. At the time I didn't realize how important eye relief and exit pupil are to usability. You will need to take your shooting glasses off to look through it, and even then getting your eye centered is a pain. The 4.5-14 Leupold scope I bought it to spot for worked much better than the Bushnell spotting scope. I would skip that one even at a fraction of the cost.

[TMB 1]

IDK haven't used an Alpen.

[TMB 1]

Many years ago I made the mistake of buying one of those bushell spotting scopes, maybe they have updated the optics but it still looks the same from the outside, and looking at the specs it has the same horrible eye relief as the one I got. At the time I didn't realize how important eye relief and exit pupil are to usability. You will need to take your shooting glasses off to look through it, and even then getting your eye centered is a pain. The 4.5-14 Leupold scope I bought it to spot for worked much better than the Bushnell spotting scope. I would skip that one even at a fraction of the cost.

Mine is an older one, but it must have updated since yours.