Spotting Scope

[JTfish]

I'm looking to buy a spotting scope for my dad for his 70th birthday. He wants something he can take to the coast and look for whales, ships, etc. as well as take to the mountains for general nature viewing. He doesn't hunt and doesn't do much shooting; however, I'm sure I'd borrow it from time to time to take to the range for some 100-300+ yard targets.

Currently I'm looking at the following two scopes in the $400 to $500 range:

Bushnell 20-60 x80 45 Degree Legend Ultra HD Spotting Scope, Black, ED Glass

Leupold 20-60x80mm SX 1 Ventana Spotting Scope

If anyone has any experience with either of these scopes your feedback would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you think of anything that may be better/cheaper, that would be great as well. Thanks.

[OpticsPlanet]

I have to say go with the Bushnell with the ED glass. I have used that scope for paper puchin' with a .223 out to 200 yards.

Chase B.

[RookieShooter]

I have to say go with the Bushnell with the ED glass. I have used that scope for paper puchin' with a .223 out to 200 yards.

Chase B.

Can you see the hole clearly at 300 yards? I'm in the market for a good spotting scope too.
Thanks

[Tripeaks69]

Did u check Kunos 20-60 x 100mm? I have one and Im happy with it...


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[OpticsPlanet]

Can you see the hole clearly at 300 yards? I'm in the market for a good spotting scope too.
Thanks

300 yards might be pushing it a bit. Never used that one out to 300. On a cool day with good light it might be possible.

Chase B.

[Nate Haler]

I'm looking to buy a spotting scope for my dad for his 70th birthday. He wants something he can take to the coast and look for whales, ships, etc. as well as take to the mountains for general nature viewing.

Two eyes are better than one. A binocular will be WAY more comfortable and practical for your dad to use. And if you get him an oversized/high-magnification binocular, then be sure to confirm that it's compatible with a tripod mount.

Forget the spotter, it's too specialized, and is useless without a tripod.

[Shagdonk]

After doing some research, I decided on the Celestron C90 MAK Spotting Scope.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=681637&highlight=celestron

http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-52268-C90-Mak-Spotting/dp/B0038QYRDO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363140202&sr=8-1&keywords=C90+MAK+Spotting+Scope

[HK Dave]

I own the Bushnell, it is the best bang for the buck. It was originally a Bausch & Lomb design... and those folks knew optics. I forget what bird watchers forum I was reading, but I remember something about Zeiss being involved in the design.

I have one and I'd say it probably goes head to head with a Vortex Viper HD Spotter.

[JTfish]

Thanks for all the great advice and suggestions. I hadn't considered the Konus and I like the modularity of the Celestron. Nate, the binoculars are a good idea, but he has some and I think he's looking for something that can reach out a ways. My parents have a little bit of a view from their house so I'm assuming he will keep the scope set up on a tripod near a window.

HK Dave, thanks for the background on the Bushnell. I'm leaning toward that scope.

As I've been reading about spotting scopes, someone mentioned filters. Since the scope may be used to look for ships and whales over the ocean, would something that can accept polarized filters be necessary or would polarized sunglasses serve the same purpose?

[HK Dave]

Hmm the Bushnell hood is threaded... but you'd want the filter to be as close to the front element as possible... I don't recall that being threaded, but not completely sure.

The one disadvantage of the Bushnell is that it's hard to fix fixed eye pieces... despite it being interchangeable.

[davidwilsen]

Hi,

You may once visit at online dealers EuroOpitc.com provides wide range of latest spotting scopes for digiscoping as well as view the natural beauties. It's also very affordable.

[JTfish]

I decided to go with the Bushnell. Spoke with a rep at Bushnell this morning and he mentioned that they have a 1 year "bullet proof" satisfaction guarantee so its worth a try. Sounds good to me. Thanks again for the feedback and suggestions.

Optics Planet: I sent you guys a PM.