Spotting Scope for High Power Shooting

[M1Shooter]

A friend asked me for a spotting scope recommendation for high power shooting. His main concern was to be able to adequately see .22 and .30 caliber holes on his target at 200 yards. He also wears glasses and was concerned about eye relief with the spotting scope he ends up with. He's willing to spend upward of $800 to $900. I advised him to go with a Kowa TSN-821 and a 27x long eye relief eyepiece. From what I can tell, this seems to be a very common setup for many high power shooters. Am I on the right track? Maybe someone has a better recommendation.

[ocabj]

Yes, the 821 with the 27x LER is the most popular choice. The Kowa 661 with 25x LER is also a good choice too. Slightly cheaper, and you get a lighter scope.

The Konuspot 80 is a low budget choice that is actually getting good word of mouth from even the most discriminating shooters. I have never looked through one before, but everyone I've talked to has been impressed with the quality for the cost.

But I would highly recommend the 661 with 25x LER or the Kowa 821 with 27x LER. I have owned the 661 (and currently own the 821). Both are fine scopes. The only reason I 'upgraded' from the 661 to the 821 is because I got an excellent deal on an 821 that I couldn't pass up.

[ar15barrels]

The Konuspot 80 is a low budget choice that is actually getting good word of mouth from even the most discriminating shooters. I have never looked through one before, but everyone I've talked to has been impressed with the quality for the cost.

Is this much akin to Nikon's $300 scopes compared to Leupold's $900 scopes.
While the Nikon is "nice for the price", I still like the Leupold better and don't particularly mind paying for quality.

Am I better served just getting a 66mm Kowa right from day 1 or would the 80mm lens of the cheaper Konus make it look as good as a 66mm Kowa if we said that I don't have the budget for an 82mm Kowa?

Have any links to discussions/comparisons about these two spotting scopes that are not tied to a commercial site?

[Prc329]

The Konuspot 80 is a low budget choice that is actually getting good word of mouth from even the most discriminating shooters. I have never looked through one before, but everyone I've talked to has been impressed with the quality for the cost.

I have one and love it. If you really look you can find one for under $200. I do not think you can see holes at 600 with it but I could see the impact on steel at 800.

[M1Shooter]

Here's a website that will interest high power shooters looking for a good deal on a spotting scope.

http://jarheadtop.com/

[ocabj]

Is this much akin to Nikon's $300 scopes compared to Leupold's $900 scopes.
While the Nikon is "nice for the price", I still like the Leupold better and don't particularly mind paying for quality.

Am I better served just getting a 66mm Kowa right from day 1 or would the 80mm lens of the cheaper Konus make it look as good as a 66mm Kowa if we said that I don't have the budget for an 82mm Kowa?

Have any links to discussions/comparisons about these two spotting scopes that are not tied to a commercial site?

Like I said, I've never looked through a Konuspot, but people who I have talked to who are serious shooters say the Konuspot 80 is surprisingly decent. Even Sgt. Brandon Green of the USAMU (NTI and Wimbledon Cup winner) told me that he was surprised with how the Konuspot performs.

Granted, if it were *that* great, everyone would sell their Kowas and buy Konus scopes for the lower cost. But from what everyone is saying, it's not garbage like the Leupold Wind River spotting scopes. It *sounds* like the Konuspot is better than the Bushnell Spacemaster (the older pre-2005 versions were excellent scopes).

I'll probably shell out $200 for one and do a side by side comparison with my Kowa 821 sometime.

[Prc329]

Like I said, I've never looked through a Konuspot, but people who I have talked to who are serious shooters say the Konuspot 80 is surprisingly decent. Even Sgt. Brandon Green of the USAMU (NTI and Wimbledon Cup winner) told me that he was surprised with how the Konuspot performs.

Granted, if it were *that* great, everyone would sell their Kowas and buy Konus scopes for the lower cost. But from what everyone is saying, it's not garbage like the Leupold Wind River spotting scopes. It *sounds* like the Konuspot is better than the Bushnell Spacemaster (the older pre-2005 versions were excellent scopes).

I'll probably shell out $200 for one and do a side by side comparison with my Kowa 821 sometime.

Next time I hit the range will be the 8th. Probably Angeles or APS. If you aren't in a match I'll bring my scope and you can compare if you like.

[Gunner1]

How about a NcStar 20-60x with laser pointer? I was shooting yesterday at the San Joaquin Rifle and pistol range ( Visiting relatives) and someone had one of these fine ebay spotting scopes. If you look really hard you can see .45 holes in targets as far away as 25 yards Man it was bad and the guy that owed it did not like my response of sorry man but this thing is terrible until I let him look through my leupold wind river sequoia 15-45x60 spotting scope. I paid about $220.00 from optics planet for it. I really like it anyway.

Gunner

[bwiese]

I'm tired of shifting my position to spotting scope.

So it's time to brew up an imager eyepiece/adapter that sends video to a 6" LCD monitor.

Will probably put a low-light CCTV CCD camera in front of eyepiece with adapter tube, and then just pipe out NTSC video to the display.

[rksimple]

I'm tired of shifting my position to spotting scope.

So it's time to brew up an imager eyepiece/adapter that sends video to a 6" LCD monitor.

Will probably put a low-light CCTV CCD camera in front of eyepiece with adapter tube, and then just pipe out NTSC video to the display.

That'd be nice. There was someone trying to do the same, but with a camera on target and a receiver and display at the shooting position. With the distances involved, your setup would be much more practical.

[Prc329]

I'm tired of shifting my position to spotting scope.

So it's time to brew up an imager eyepiece/adapter that sends video to a 6" LCD monitor.

Will probably put a low-light CCTV CCD camera in front of eyepiece with adapter tube, and then just pipe out NTSC video to the display.

It wouldn't be that big but you can get adapters for Digital cameras. My spotting scope came with an adapter. I just need to pick up a t adapter for my camera. I believe some cameras can also output the display live. I may be wrong though.

[Paratus et Vigilans]

I'm tired of shifting my position to spotting scope.

So it's time to brew up an imager eyepiece/adapter that sends video to a 6" LCD monitor.

Will probably put a low-light CCTV CCD camera in front of eyepiece with adapter tube, and then just pipe out NTSC video to the display.

Bill,

Could you rig that up so the video output goes to an eye-piece on my "other" eye? You know, like they have on the "land warrior" get up? That would be cool!

[ocabj]

I believe Nikon and Bushnell have a Digiscoping solution with a 5-6" LCD screen and a live image. One guy showed up to IFG one day and had one setup. I didn't look at it in action, but I heard it actually worked.

[Parag]

Orion Telescopes, where Bill got his spotting scope, also has adapters for cameras, TVs, and serious astronomy. I think they recently added a low(er)-priced sensor.

Let's see - there's this item, but I can't tell if it's a video or just camera-like timed shots:
<http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=astro-imaging_camera/~pcategory=astro-imaging/~product_id=52068>
Uses your PC as a viewer so you'd have to haul around a laptop too.

You could attach a cheap digital camera with one of these:
<http://www.telescope.com/control/category/~category_id=spotting_accessories/~pcategory=accessories>
Use the camera's LCD as a live viewer, or hook up its USB port to your laptop for a larger view. Some cameras also have direct TV out so you could also pick up a cheap LCD TV for viewing.

-- Parag

[bwiese]

Yeah Parag, but I hate the USB solution. Just want a cheap NTSC LCD monitor.

Some of those T-mount things are real contraptions, too.