Need advice on a good spotting scope

[Thanatos2203]

I bought one of these a few weeks ago and used it to watch otters in Pacific Grove and spot shots down in the desert. Price was what I wanted to pay, its rubber armored, came with an ok tripod, carrying bag, and hard case. Works pretty well for what I need and I don't worry about hurting it.

http://swfa.com/Bushnell-20-60x65-Trophy-XLT-Spotting-Scope-P48382.aspx

As far as the eye relief on Bushnell's is concerned, that's more of a magnification factor than a brand factor I believe. Anytime you get up to 60x things are going to be more difficult, especially in the budget price range.

[oceanwest]

TMB, can you see through it without having to take off your shooting glasses? I ask because I don't know what the eye relief was spec'd on mine so it's hard to compare it to other scopes. The new one is 11mm, which doesn't sound lie a lot. I'm asking because like the OP I'm looking to get a new spotting scope but want one that has considerably more eye relief. I see scopes like the Alpen that have 18mm and then really expensive ones like Leopold Gold Ring 20-60x80 that have 30mm of it. Even 30mm isn't much by rifle scope standards but it's 3 times what I was guessing my old Bushnell had and even twice that would be a huge improvement.

[TMB 1]

TMB, can you see through it without having to take off your shooting glasses? I ask because I don't know what the eye relief was spec'd on mine so it's hard to compare it to other scopes. The new one is 11mm, which doesn't sound lie a lot. I'm asking because like the OP I'm looking to get a new spotting scope but want one that has considerably more eye relief. I see scopes like the Alpen that have 18mm and then really expensive ones like Leopold Gold Ring 20-60x80 that have 30mm of it. Even 30mm isn't much by rifle scope standards but it's 3 times what I was guessing my old Bushnell had and even twice that would be a huge improvement.

Yes I can see through mine fine with glasses on. It's 15-45 power.

[MarkG35]

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

The 788 is nice.
Very good price from Costco.

[OpticsPlanet]

I second the motion for the Alpen 788. Our customers love them and I haven't been anything but impressed with their optics.


Michael C.

[lone shooter]

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.

Just bought one. Thanks!!

[lewdogg21]

TMB, can you see through it without having to take off your shooting glasses? I ask because I don't know what the eye relief was spec'd on mine so it's hard to compare it to other scopes. The new one is 11mm, which doesn't sound lie a lot. I'm asking because like the OP I'm looking to get a new spotting scope but want one that has considerably more eye relief. I see scopes like the Alpen that have 18mm and then really expensive ones like Leopold Gold Ring 20-60x80 that have 30mm of it. Even 30mm isn't much by rifle scope standards but it's 3 times what I was guessing my old Bushnell had and even twice that would be a huge improvement.

I wear glasses and have found I need a minimum of 17mm in order to get a full field of view through my binos while wearing them. Taking your glasses on/off each time sucks.

[oceanwest]

Thanks that's good info. I just ordered the Alpen, it is supposed to have 18mm of eye relief. iIt is also $299 on Amazon right now.

[TMB 1]

I wear glasses and have found I need a minimum of 17mm in order to get a full field of view through my binos while wearing them. Taking your glasses on/off each time sucks.

With my binoculars I have to remove eyecups to use the with glasses. The Spacemasters is rubber so I just touch glasses against it, works fine. I can definitely see where more can be better with glasses though.

[26.2madness]

I second the motion for the Alpen 788. Our customers love them and I haven't been anything but impressed with their optics.


Michael C.

What are your thoughts on the Alpen 725 or 728? I need a spotting scope to sight-in my .223 at 100 yards. It is highly unlikely that I would use it for anything else or sight-in at farther distances. I would like to get something less expensive than the Alpen 788. Will either of these work?

Thanks.