Cabela's spotting scope

[WWDHD?]

Interesting Cabela's spotting scope on sale starting on Thursday. Sounds good on paper: 15-45x65, ED glass, 11.6" L/48oz., $599. Kind of looks like a Vortex Razor to me but the specs are a bit off from it so IDK. Anyone looked through one of these or have any thoughts on this SS? Are Cabela's optics still good now that Bass Pro has owned Cabela's for a while now?

[theduracellbigd]

Never looked through. I do have thoughts though.... haha Seriously though, I have never bought Cabela's optics because we all know they do not make them, who does is sometimes known or is not, now more than ever if you need to re sell the item, then what reputation does Cabela's have for optics in all generations of buyers and in the future?

They sell optics to make money like all brands but they are a middleman and how much does a customer really save? Is the savings, if any, worth the unknowns, and brand reputation for future sale and pride of ownership. The Cabelas SS might be the best deal ever but in the long run taking into account pride of ownership, resale value and warranty service I would say No.

[theLBC]

i would speak with doug or joel at camerlandny and ask them for advice.

[mixicus]

At the $600 price range, you may consider moving to a known quality spotter like a Kowa TSN601 or 602 with a long eye relief 25x eyepiece for ~$725.

[pennstater]

i would speak with doug or joel at camerlandny and ask them for advice.

Yep.

[WWDHD?]

At the $600 price range, you may consider moving to a known quality spotter like a Kowa TSN601 or 602 with a long eye relief 25x eyepiece for ~$725.

I looked into the Kowa and as popular as they are it will cost a whole lot more than that to get one with the latest HD or ED glass. I have a pair of Cabela's 10x42 binoculars with ED glass and they are noticeably brighter and slightly sharper than a pair of Leupolds that do not have modern glass of the same power that a friend has. ED glass has dropped down to the mid and even some lower priced optics so I want that in any new SS I might buy.

[Mute]

ED means nothing if it's not backed up by a manufacturer that knows what it is doing. I'm not saying the Cabelas scope is bad, but it's an unknown. In this price range, stick with Kowa or a Vortex.

[theLBC]

i suspect many of them are made by the same factory for more than one seller. that is why i can only suggest asking somebody that looked through them.

[WWDHD?]

ED means nothing if it's not backed up by a manufacturer that knows what it is doing. I'm not saying the Cabelas scope is bad, but it's an unknown. In this price range, stick with Kowa or a Vortex.

Understand you for sure. I'm trying to find the best overall SS for target shooting at a ranges between 50 yds to maybe 200 at the most. Maybe more someday. .22LR mostly as well as .223. Eye relief is important to me. I don't care about resale value. My budget is $500 max. I think there's got to be a good quality SS out there that can do what I want and last for many years to come.
If I was shooting much longer distances in competition or on a hunting trip where being able to id an animal from half a mile away could spell the difference between bagging your trophy or wasting a day and money- one of the $1500+ big name spotting scopes would be a good investment and I would spend as much as I could. I don't think that's needed for my intended use. This is why the Cabela SS going on sale soon interested me. They have a very similar warranty as Vortex and many other brands.

[theLBC]

Understand you for sure. I'm trying to find the best overall SS for target shooting at a ranges between 50 yds to maybe 200 at the most. Maybe more someday. .22LR mostly as well as .223. Eye relief is important to me. I don't care about resale value. My budget is $500 max. I think there's got to be a good quality SS out there that can do what I want and last for many years to come.
If I was shooting much longer distances in competition or on a hunting trip where being able to id an animal from half a mile away could spell the difference between bagging your trophy or wasting a day and money- one of the $1500+ big name spotting scopes would be a good investment and I would spend as much as I could. I don't think that's needed for my intended use. This is why the Cabela SS going on sale soon interested me. They have a very similar warranty as Vortex and many other brands.

i have a feeling eye relief and cost go together. i use a cellphone camera so it isn't as critical to me. anyway, i don't think you need to spend that much for 200 yards.

for myself, i also didn't want to spend $1000+ on something i would not use very often and i wanted to see what i could find to compromise.
unfortunately i don't live near a place with lots of scopes to look through so i could compare them, and i don't know any other long range shooters personally to look through theirs. =/

so as i was "researching" i came across this video.



based on this and other reviews from bird watchers etc., i decided it was worth $250 to find out.

I put up some pics and a video through the scope in this "review".

https://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1627515&highlight=svbony

just got my new tripod so i can post some better examples here for you.

all of these are taken through my cell phone with a cheap adapter.

just the cell phone. the red boat is about 120 yards away.



scope at 20x



scope at 60x



scope at 20x zoomed in with cell phone.



scope at 60x zoomed in with cell phone. brightened picture manually.

[smoothy8500]

Eye relief is important to me.

Scopes with a fixed 25 or 30X eyepiece generally have the best eye relief. Kowa has a 25X LER (long eye relief) occular lens that allows looking through the scope while wearing safety glasses. No other inexpensive scope allows that. The Kowa TSN 600 series (601 or 602) with the LER lens will set you back about $750, which is more than your budget but can be found on the used market for less.

Prior to buying a Kowa scope, I used a Konus 20-60X80 scope. It did very well for me when I first started shooting NRA high power service rifle. For $200 it had good resolution to 200yds. I'm sure the Cabela's scope will serve its purpose well for you.

[Mute]

A vortex Diamondback HD 16-48x56 cost $500 and for $100 more you can go up to the 20-60x85 model. These are quite good for any spotting scope in this price range. If you have access to expertvoice, you can get these for 40% less.

[WWDHD?]

What's "expertvoice" ?

[AregularGuy]

Also 40% off Vortex for Military discount.

theLBC, that is a perfect solution for my old eyes. .223 on paper at 100 yards is miserable to try and decipher. Do you happen to remember the maker of your cell phone adapter?

[Mute]

What's "expertvoice" ?

It's a sports gear aggregate site that allows people from various industries (e.g. LE, EMT, NRA Instructors...etc) to sign up and get access to discounted pricing. You should check them out and see if you qualified for any of the various categories:

https://www.expertvoice.com/